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Gen X advice for Gen Z: Woman shares the things she wishes 'somebody told me in my twenties’
'You date people you think you deserve. You deserve better.'
01.18.23
Gen Xer shares some timeless advice for Gen Z.
Meghan Smith is the owner of Melody Note Vintage store in the eternally hip town of Palm Springs, California, and her old-school Gen X advice has really connected with younger people on TikTok.
In a video posted in December 2022, she shares the advice she wishes that “somebody told me in my twenties” and it has received more than 13 million views. Smith says that she gave the same advice to her partner's two daughters when they reached their twenties.
The video is hashtagged #GenX advice for #GenZ and late #millennials. Sorry older millennials, you’re too old to receive these pearls of wisdom.
Here is some of the timeless advice that Smith shares in the video.
Perfection is bullshit.
You will never be more good-looking than you are today.
Put your phone down and enjoy your life.
Don't change for anybody.
Don't worry about making mistakes.
Laugh at yourself.
If somebody shows you their true colors, believe them.
Travel.
You end up dating the people you think you deserve. Usually, you deserve better.
Don’t forget to always wear your sunscreen.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties. #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp dont be an asshat in the comments if you are older, its not helpful.
She followed up the video with a sequel with even more sage advice.
Know who's on your side and who you can ask for help.
Don't smoke.
Don't spend longer than one year with the wrong person.
Find your own style.
Don't stress over the small stuff.
Good manners don't go out of style.
Do the work that it takes to be really good at something.
Your happiness is more important than other people's disappointment.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties part 2 #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp
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Pop Culture
People rally behind Christina Applegate after troll accuses her of 'bad' plastic surgery
Sometimes the response is more important than what was said.
01.19.23
Internet rallies behind Christina Applegate after troll comment.
In the age of the internet, most people have run into their fair share of internet trolls. You know, the people that just look for a reason to say something mean for no real reason at all. It's also pretty safe to assume that celebrities see more trolls looking to hurt their feelings than the average person.
Recently, Christina Applegate had a run-in with a commenter who decided the actress needed to know she didn't care for her face. The comment was left under an article about Applegate attending her first red carpet event since she announced her diagnosis of MS in August 2021. The "Dead to Me" actress attended the Critics Choice Awards with her daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, 11, and the duo rocked all black.
Applegate admitted to being nervous about the event in a tweet, but somehow I don't think someone being upset about what her face looked like was at the top of her concerns. The unidentified person wrote the rude remark to which Applegate decided to respond to via private message to tell the person their comment "wasn't nice." The exchange was unfortunate to say the least.
The vocal critic replied to Applegate's direct message by saying, "MS didn't make you look that way a plastic surgeon did," before going on to call the actress a scammer. To be fair, it's not often a celebrity sends a non-celebrity a private message, so the scammer comment might be able to be overlooked. But the follow-up message from the person just confirmed they were likely looking to hurt feelings, as it simply read, "A bad plastic surgeon at that."
\u201cSooooo I made the unfortunate decision to look at some comments on an article from people mag about me and my kids at the CCA.Of course I told her that it wasn\u2019t nice. This was her reply.What is wrong with people. By the way, I laughed.\u201d— christina applegate (@christina applegate) 1673975331
The internet was having none of those shenanigans from the unidentified commenter and immediately came to the actress's defense.
"Some people are ugly on the inside. That's not you. It's never been you. And they are just jealous you're beautiful inside and out," one commenter wrote.
Another said, "You are beautiful. Period. So many people suck these days and strangely I'm always so shocked by it. You are beautiful and no matter what anyone says you are a bad ass and beautiful. Keep laughing!"
While Applegate said she laughed at the messages from the troll, it's clear from the comment section that people want to make sure that the actress knows they have her back. "People who are actual loving human beings who care for one another wish you all the happiness and bliss away from these types of people. Continue to live YOUR best life, and especially with your kids," another person wrote.
\u201cJust a fun fact, the suit my kid is wearing was Scott Weiland\u2019s suit from one of his solo album covers. Scott gave my husband, Martyn, that suit long ago in the glorious 90\u2019s Also we were quite a pair last night. She fractured her ankle this week, hence the boot, and me\u2026MS\u201d— christina applegate (@christina applegate) 1673932719
One person told the actress, "You are beloved. An icon. Your career is enviable. I thought, and so did my boyfriend, that you looked beautiful. It's beyond sad what people choose to think or post these days. Reading comments is always a 'brace yourself' kind of choice. Stay strong!"
Surely the troll is feeling a bit sheepish after discovering that she was indeed messaging the real Christina Applegate and hopefully it serves as a lesson to be kind in the future.
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Joy
Thousands of women share image of Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh with a powerful message
'De-condition and unlearn what you’ve been wired to think: that women are your competition.'
01.17.23
Jamie Lee Curtis celebrating Michelle Yeoh's Golden Globes win was an empowering moment for all women.
The 2023 Golden Globe Awards was an incredible night for Michelle Yeoh. The 60-year-old actress had waited 40 years to play the lead in a Hollywood film, and winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy for her starring role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" was a dream come true.
Yeoh's moment in the spotlight made headlines that night as her award speech went viral. But following the ceremony, another moment went viral—the split second Yeoh's name was called as the winner and the reaction of her co-star, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Curtis herself had been nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the film but didn't win. (That award went to Angela Bassett in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.") But whatever disappointment Curtis may have felt about not winning her own award did not diminish her response to Yeoh's win, which was immediate, intense and immensely joyful.
A screenshot of Curtis' triumphant celebration of Yeoh's win was shared on LinkedIn by Erin Gallagher, CEO and founder of gender equity company Ella, along with a powerful message that's resonating with women everywhere.
Gallagher wrote:
"Ladies, this is your vibe for 2023: unabashed hype woman.
Full on. Full out. Full force.
This photo was taken last night at the Golden Globes when Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress for her role in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'
Look at Jamie Lee Curtis.
Look. At. Her."
Erin Gallagher's post about Jamie Lee Curtis hyping Michelle Yeoh's win has been reshared thousands of times across social media.
Gallagher continued:
"You can feel her energy, her fire, her power.Her excitement, joy and passion for Michelle is palpable. The photo moves. It vibrates.
If you saw this photo without context, you may think that it was actually *Jamie* who won.
Ladies, this is your vibe for 2023.
Hype. Other. Women.
When she wins, fight the urge to question…
…who does she think she is?
…why is she getting attention?
…did she really deserve it?
…is she really that good?
...what about me?
Guess what? The world has sold you a lie.
Her success doesn’t detract from yours.
Her wins don’t create your losses.
Her joy can’t steal the joy that’s meant for you.
De-condition and unlearn what you’ve been wired to think: that women are your competition.
It's a trap. Meant to distract us. And to keep us keeping each other down.
Find your Jamie.
Hype their Jamie.
Be her Jamie."
The message hit home, and hard. Reposts on Facebook have circulated thousands of times as women share the message with an enthusiastic, "Yes, this!"
The sense of competition between women is often unspoken and not overtly encouraged, yet it exists. Research indicates that women have had complex relationships with one another, marked by both competition and cooperation, throughout human history. Throw in the uphill battle for social and political power in the modern era and it's perhaps unsurprising that women can sometimes see other women's success as threatening to their own.
That isn't really how it works, though. It's not like there's a finite amount of female good fortune to go around. Success is not pie. As Gallagher points out, another woman's success does not detract from our own, and there's ample awesomeness out there for all of us.
Plenty of forces will try to pull women down and hold them back—do we really want to add to that? Be a force that lifts women up. Hype those you know who are crushing it. Celebrate their successes. Be their Jamie. There's nothing but winning in it for us all.
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Pop Culture
Fans of 'Everything Everywhere' are flipping out over Stephanie Hsu's leaked audition
An iconic performance from the very beginning.
01.19.23
Deadline/Youtube
She even brought in her singing chops
There are a million reasons to love the film “Everything Everywhere, All At Once." It has comedy, drama, sci-fi and kung fu rolled into one compelling story. It literally has all the things.
However, Stephanie Hsu’s iconic performance as the fabulously nihilistic Jobu Tupaki has got to be at the top of the list.
Jobu Tupaki has all the inherent makings of a fan favorite—amazing outfits, attitude at a level 5,000, and some insanely cool fight moves. But while she is the antagonist, Jobu in many ways serves as the heart of the story, making it a challenging role to pull off.
Well, Hsu knew exactly how to do it. And her audition tape proves it.
Occasionally, movies or television shows with large fan bases—”Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and “Game of Thrones,” for example—will release audition tapes, giving viewers a chance to see characters brought to life for the very first time. After all, it’s always cool to see the very first glimpses of something that will later become a cultural phenomenon.
Deadline released Hsu’s audition for “Everything Everywhere, All At Once” in Dec 2022, which has been viewed over a million times.
In it we see Hsu do Jobu’s signature hand gestures, deliver an existential monologue and even perform an improvised song about the infamous everything bagel—which was so good it ended up being part of the movie.
Long story short—she nailed it.
Watch:
Chalk it up to her raw talent, extensive theatre background, or maybe a stroke of divine inspiration, but Hsu’s performance was so special that the Daniels, who directed the movie, ended up rewriting the character.
Fans were equally mesmerized by her tape, who gave the most heartfelt praise in the YouTube comments:
-“No wonder she got the part. She's captivating, relatable, intimidating, and authentic all in one. Most actors don't have this much rawness in auditions. Her acting here is incredible enough to go straight in front of a big-screen audience”
-“I love that she’s not hung up on the ‘perfect performance’ and allows herself to be carried away by the energy of the moment at times. What a powerful performer.”
-“She came beyond memorized. She came FOCUSED.She came with a goal. She came with a fully realized character and was STILL able to be flexible enough to take direction mid sentence. Truly, a master at work.”
-"Everything Everywhere, All At Once" is A24's biggest hit to date, not only making a breakout star of Hsu, but forging new career milestones for Michelle Yeoh, who took home a Golden Globe for "Best Actress," and Ke Huy Quan, who won a golden Globe for "Best Supporting Actor."
It goes to show that when it comes to telling a great story, all you need is a few simple ingredients—authenticity and courage. Well done Stephanie. May you talent be revered in all the universes.
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Identity
Florida politician said Shakespeare never used pronouns 'in his plays' and got a fact check
Shakespeare's plays were 'fluid' to say the least.
01.19.23
via Pixabay and Ballotpedia
William Shakespeare and Lavern Spicer.
In William Shakespeare's “Sonnet 59,” he makes the point that there is “nothing new but that which hath been before.” Here, he admits that even the Bard himself struggled to come up with new ideas that hadn’t been written about previously.
This problem stems from the fact that people tend to think the struggles we have today are entirely new when they’ve been part of the human drama for centuries. A great example is how society grapples with gender nonconformity. In 2023, there is a vigorous debate, which tends to fall along political party lines, over the use of personal pronouns.
Lavern Spicer, a Republican from Florida who has lost two congressional elections, has made a point of fighting back against the use of pronouns. She’s gone viral for incorrectly claiming that pronouns weren’t used in either the Bible or the Constitution.
Spicer was back at it again on January 1 when she tweeted, “Shakespeare didn’t walk around putting pronouns in his plays. That’s why they’re classics. Imagine if this dude wrote ‘My name is Macbeth and my pronouns are they/them.’ SMH.”
Shakespeare didn’t walk around putting pronouns in his plays.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) January 1, 2023
That’s why they’re classics.
Imagine if this dude wrote “My name is Macbeth and my pronouns are they/them”.
SMH.
The former congressional candidate received countless responses from people explaining that Shakespeare used pronouns in his writing and gender-neutral ones at that. Further, many of Shakespeare’s plays featured themes of gender nonconformity.
Spicer’s tweet showed that she probably hadn’t read much Shakespeare.
So you’ve never read Shakespeare, then.
— Darrin Bell (@DarrinBellArt) January 2, 2023
Sweetie, crossdressing and gender confusion are MAJOR PLOT POINTS in *several* of Shakespeare's plays. Just say you've never read any of his work next time, it'll be more honest.
— Suzy (endless screaming) (@mis_cue) January 16, 2023
Shakespeare's plays regularly commented on sex, gender identity/fluidity and expression. One of the best parts of Shakespeare is how often productions choose to explore these concepts. This is a very silly tweet.
— Sam (@SamHunt999) January 17, 2023
Twitter user Jason Tondro explained that Shakespeare used the singular "they" "before it became the target of a cultural war."
Shakespeare took great delight in confusing the audience about gender, and I’m gonna give you just two examples because I’m waiting for take-out. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/NaWaWPSQaD
— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023
The famous best example is Twelfth Night, in which a male actor dresses up as Viola, a young woman who dresses up as a young man who falls in love with another man and who is loved by another woman (who is played by a man). 2/3
— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023
But my personal favorite is Othello, when Desdemona’s maid explains women behave badly because they learned all that shit from men, and then you remember both women are being played by men, so the whole scene is really men holding up a mirror and saying “take a long ass look”.3/3
— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023
Shakespeare used the singular “they” centuries before it became the target of a cultural war, and it’s funny the OP should cite Macbeth because that’s where Shakespeare wrote “Unsex me here” ffs (take out is late). /4
— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023
Cross-dressing was also a regular part of all of Shakespeare’s plays because, during his time, women weren’t allowed to be actresses so female roles were played by young men or boys.
— Cheryl (@cheeryohs) January 14, 2023
Ma'am...Twelfth Night's ENTIRE PLOT involves a woman (who would have been played by a male actor) dressing as a man. A performance of that play is where this very famous picture comes from, with Anne Hathaway playing the role of the play's protagonist, Viola. pic.twitter.com/fVhpbc3wsB
— Rowan The Fox (@SexyBurlapSack) January 17, 2023
Twelfth Night, in which a male actor dresses up as Viola, a young woman who dresses up as a young man who falls in love with another man and who is loved by another woman (who is played by a man).
— David Williamson #FBPE #FBPPR #AutismParent (@Ourtosh) January 17, 2023
It was also funny that of all of Shakespeare’s plays she chose to make an example out of “Macbeth.”
Macbeth literally opens with Macbeth asking the witches their pronouns pic.twitter.com/Hc9cutlWKb
— Doug Dodson (@DougDodsonENews) January 18, 2023
Oh Lavern, you never fail to amuse me. Do you know what "DRAG" stands for? Shakespeare's stage direction: DRessed As Girl. All productions had male actors, including those playing the female parts. Yes, Lady Macbeth was a dude. I doubt if you've ever read a word by the Bard.
— StarryKnight (@tpkirb) January 17, 2023
Looking back at Shakespeare’s work proves that pronoun use has evolved and will continue to do so.
Ironically, Shakespeare is a perfect example of how pronoun usage changes with the times. We don’t use thou, thine, or thy anymore but he did. The culture changed and thrived. It can do so again.
— Kate Lonsdale (@KateWritesStuff) January 17, 2023
Spicer fired back at her critics using the most inclusive of all nongendered pronouns, “Y’all.”
Y'all triggered.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) January 17, 2023
To be charitable to Spicer, it seems she tried to make the point that things were better in the past because we had defined gender roles. But she used an awful example to make her point. Further, her point is wildly incorrect because gender nonconformity has been part of humanity since the beginning of time.
Shakespeare’s work isn’t timeless because of his pronoun use, but because his work touched on universal human themes that have remained relevant for hundreds of years. Shakespeare wrote about love, family, power, death, ambition, fate and yes, gender.
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Community
Artist creates stunning—but temporary—wildlife portraits with natural, foraged materials
Hannah Bullen-Ryner uses just nature and her hands to make creatures that are meant to blow away.
01.19.23
Hannah Bullen-Ryner's gorgeous creations aren't built to last.
Some people create art as a way of immortalizing a piece of themselves, to leave behind some creative evidence of their existence and communicate through their art long after they are gone. But what of those who create art that isn't meant to last?
Hannah Bullen-Ryner, a full-time mother to twins, walks to the woodlands and fields about 10 minutes from her flat in Hertfordshire, England, each day as a ritual. She sits immersed in nature, in all kinds of weather, and creates whatever creature decides to "visit" her out of whatever natural items she can forage.
She uses no tools—no scissors, clippers or glue. All she has are her hands and her camera to capture her creations before they are scattered by the wind or washed away by rain.
Sometimes her land art "visitors" blow away within seconds of her creating them, but Bullen-Ryner isn't bothered.
"Right now it is the ephemeral nature of my work that makes it special to me," she shares on her website. "I lay my emotions down on the ground and they blow away. That is a very cathartic experience."
The only materials she uses are things she finds in nature—twigs, leaves, petals, rocks, shells—some of which she saves and reuses and some of which get carried off by the wind to "visit" someone else.
Bullen-Ryner used to be a painter and a photographer, and her painter's eye comes through clearly in her land art. However, it's an entirely different beast to create a brush stroke just as you want it to be and to use individual pieces of whatever you find to "paint" with.
"I flow every single day unless the weather is too crazy," Bullen-Ryner shares. "It has become a spiritual ritual and something that really improves my mental health. I decide after I have sat down, placed my gathered elements down and cleared a space...sometimes I don't know until after I have already begun and other times I use reference photos to work from. It very much depends on my mood too. Sometimes I want to make something cute and uplifting, other times it's more dark or energetic."
Some of her creations involve minimal materials for a more impressionistic animal, such as this lion.
Others look almost like an actual painting, like this wee badger.
"I create to share my love of nature and to soothe my soul," she writes.
And believe it or not, most of these creations could fit in the palm of your hand.
"My work is very, very small," Bullen-Ryner shared with Street Art Utopia. "I need very tiny ingredients and I am never not looking. I’m a magpie and have tiny pebbles and things constantly, in every single pocket. I also recycle elements over and over and over again. I store them in half coconut shells that I leave on site and cover with an old fence post. If petals have dried I dunk them in some water until they are workable again."
Oh, by the way, here there be dragons as well.
Bullen-Ryner sells prints of her favorite photos on her Etsy shop just once a month and only for a few days or until they sell out. (Her mother runs her Etsy shop and Bullen-Ryner writes that she "can't risk breaking her.")
You can follow Hannah Bullen-Ryner and see more of her ephemeral animal friends on Facebook and Instagram.
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