Babetown

We have a real goddamn opinion.

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Shows That Make Me Miss my Mom ft. The Badass Babes in Them

by Carleigh

My parents were out of town this weekend and after a couple long days in the sun I just wished I was chillin on the couch eating ice cream with my mom.

The Good Wife - Alicia Florrick is a fantastic multi-dimensional female character but Diane Lockhart is the QUEEN who runs the firm [world- girls]. She’s so outwardly fearless but as an audience we still get to see her hesitations and moments of softness that make her real. One time the other partners were trying to kick/buy her out of the firm and she said this: “I want what I’m worth." And then no person underestimated a woman ever again and Diane strode off into the sunset with her dog, Justice, who existed for at least one episode.

The West Wing - The only thing I really have to say about the West Wing is man, I hate The Newsroom [sue me]. The WW episode I have the clearest memory of watching with my mom was the one where the president’s daughter gets roofied & kidnapped so, yikes. CJ always seemed like a BA? But this show is important as the foundation of TV I associate with my mom so it’s on the list!

Elementary - This modern steadfast (mostly) episodic version of the Sherlock Holmes story is great for all those reasons. I can pick it up at almost any point and know what’s going on, Joan is always wearing something incredible, there’s the fact that she’s the best Watson, Sherlock has tattoos and I love a good mystery. My mom saves all the episodes on the DVR for me and I can always ask her if I’m confused about an extended plot point. <3

Sherlock - How about this little 1-2-punch? The BBC version of the story is also a fave of ours. One night this spring my mom and I were hanging out while my dad was out of town and we were like “THIS OUR CHANCE” we could finally watch the holiday special that we had missed earlier in the year without making my dad scoff. We went to order it on Amazon and I paused, “Oh...it’s fifteen dollars…” we sat staring at the screen for a moment and then my mom pulled the Roku remote out of my hand and hit “purchase.” What a lady. Oh, Mary Morstan/Watson is very smart and cool too. Also semi spoiler alert, if you’ve watched that episode you know it really deserves to be in this list.

Scandal - TBH I think we both tapped out of this one sometime after the 17th shout-fest-turns-to-love-fest between the President and Olivia Pope but it’s a testament to a couple things my mom and I (and many babes) love: 1. Powerful, smart women 2. Wine 3. Popcorn 4. Fashionable workwear.

Fixer Upper - Dear Joanna Gaines, I will nanny your kids for the rest of my life for FREE if it means we can be photographed barbecuing and feeding goats together and all the other delightful chores you spend your time doing between your amazing properties. But real talk, when we were in San Antonio a couple months ago, I suggested to my mom daily that we drive the three hours to Waco to check out Joanna and Chip’s business ventures. She seriously considered it for at least two entire minutes which is a win in itself. Fixer Upper is an HGTV treasure that my mom and I discovered and then binged the first season together. Joanna has so much determination and never seems to doubt herself. She also manages to keep a normal-ish schedule and spend a ton of time with her kids which is pretty admirable for a busy reality TV star and business woman. Just as much as we fawn over Joanna and Chip we mock-watch The Property Brothers which is really a nostalgic activity all in itself.

Honorable Mentions:

7. NCIS 8. ER 9. Madam Secretary 10. Parenthood 11. Downton Abbey 12. Scorpion

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“I EAT BREAD EVERYDAY”: What I Learned About Nutrition in My Online Nutrition Class

By Sarah

If for some reason you’re in a position to take a nutrition class, or even just page through a book on the topic, I highly recommend it. There are so many interesting topics in a basic nutrition class, like global issues related to food and food safety. There’s also a huge component about personal choices and eating habits. Here are some things I learned in my class that I think will stick with me -- I’m certainly not an expert (#TakesNutritionOnce) and I really am not in a position to give advice or speak for anybody but myself, but, some chestnuts:

It’s important to celebrate the “good” things you’re doing. I used to eviscerate myself for being “bad.” And I’ve always felt a certain level of guilt for not being the kind of person who meal-preps tupperwares of salmon to last a whole month. I’ve been learning how to congratulate myself for the things I do that make me feel good, instead of criticizing myself for the things I think I’m doing wrong.

The zip-lock bag of ten dry, unsalted almonds that’s been in your purse for four months is actually going to be there forever. I’ve read this a hundred thousand times in women’s magazines: “Keep something healthy in your bag so you don’t splurge on whatever’s in front of you!” Ughhhhhh. In my experience, purse snacks are nasty and give me nothing but guilt because I rarely want to eat them. The biggest thing I learned in my nutrition class is that it’s okay to prioritize pleasure over business.

Add, don’t subtract. Okay, so my (online) professor never said to set fire to the granola bars in my backpack, but they did say an important tactic in healthy eating is adding, not subtracting. Instead of saying “I’m going to stop having this thing,” you can say, “I love having this thing, so I’m going to keep eating it, but I’m also going to have something nutrient-rich with it.” For an assignment, I documented everything I ate for three days and broke my meals down by macronutrients and vitamins and minerals. It turns out I wasn’t getting nearly eating nearly enough iron or calcium -- so I’m focusing on adding those.

Make your own definition of healthy eating. This stuff really couldn’t be more personal, so don’t let any old blog tell you what’s good or bad for you. I don’t know why nutrition is an area where I’ve usually believed anything anybody tells me. To be fair, it’s hard to learn about nutrition. The research is lacking, and the info you find online and in magazines can be dramatic and misleading. This is why I actually do recommend buying a used nutrition textbook, or finding a PDF of one online, because they tend to synthesize available research and promote sensible eating over fads. They’re boring but good.

If you are able to see a Registered Dietician, do it. I’m saying this as someone who’s never seen an RD, and I’ve never even checked if my insurance would cover it. So yes, blah blah blah. But, if you want to change the way you eat, or if you have specific goals related to nutrition (weight loss, muscle gain, managing a condition, etc.), I really do recommend seeing an RD. I wish I had seen one before embarking on my Weight Watchers Sojourn™ (more on that later?), but I really didn’t know about RD’s before taking my nutrition class. They’re the experts, and they’re trained to look at your diet, in the context of your overall health and lifestyle, and guide you toward a plan that will work for you.

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Horace and Pete and the Third Genre (Tragedy)

by Jenny

You’ll agree with Louis C.K., “It’s a really fucking good show”.There have been plenty of reviews talking about Louis C.K.’s financial stake into his latest quiet and strange endeavor, however very little that begins to discuss the ten installment work. It might being doing the show an injustice to be writing or revealing what this really is. 

Hell no/ I can’t complain about my problems/ I’m OK the way things are/ I pull my stool up to the bar/ At Horace And Pete’s/ Sometimes I wonder/ Why do we tear ourselves to pieces?/ I just need some time to think/ Or maybe I just need a drink/ At Horace And Pete’s 

The intended (lack of) roll-out was to find an email some unassuming Saturday morning gently notifying that you could purchase the first episode of Horace and Pete. That’s it. You didn’t once read someone else’s recount of the tragedy.  This delivery is true to C.K’s rhetoric about “Twitter and the way everybody writes headlines”. A headline can inform your opinion whether or not you choose to read it or if the author even believes in what they are writing.  Having even the knowledge that 10 episodes are available to you instantly (after purchase) changes your relationship with the show. 

You’ll notice immediately that Horace and Pete’s is absent of any Cliff and Norm, just an airing of grievance and ache. We hear exactly what everyone else in the bar is hearing, then there is silence, hardly a chatter nor background music to fill the viewer’s attention. You’re being directed at exactly what should be given attention. There’s something to being the wallflower, observing the routine.  Watching as people fight for and against their stagnation.

“I don’t feel good, Maggie. I dunno, it’s stupid. There’s nothing...everything’s fine, you know? Everything’s okay. I just don’t feel good.”

The premise of a show in a bar has been done many times with ensemble casts of recurring pals. However, the true gem of the setting allows the patrons to have someone to turn and talk to, but not anybody to be responsible to. Louie aptly quotes Billy Joel as an explanation for a bar’s regulars, “They’re sharing a drink called loneliness, but at least it’s better than drinking alone”. This stage meets multi-cam production services the tragedy, it does not give the audience mercy. 

Take your time Horace and Pete’s designated intermissions and pauses to let the room breathe.  Watch at your own pace, even in the era of binge watching, you’ll find a hurried experience trying on your heart.

Please, no limes, no mixed drinks, just give me America. I truly endorse the heartbreaking experience that is Horace and Pete.

Lighter Thoughts:

“Racist is what you do, not what you say”

For a 100 year old bar, they have the worst pours

Would I notice if my liquor was watered down?

I too exclusively text back my parents after their repeated calls

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Reviews of Some Stuff I Missed Out On the First Time Around

by teeny

The Hold Steady I feel like everyone I’ve loved and respected has been trying to get me to listen to The Hold Steady. This includes my 12th grade Poli Sci teacher, all of my friends who wear glasses, and my girlfriend. I’ve given the band multiple tries since high school, and I still generally feel the same way: Craig Finn talks too much, oh my god he talks so much, wow he’s still talking. But I’ve also found The Hold Steady is great on those mornings when I’ve run out of podcasts to listen to. Plus, I love my girlfriend and the song “We Can Get Together” is very cute and makes me feel like a white teen at prom.    Final Review: 4 “Vinyl is the plural of vinyl” T-shirts socks and sandals Foot comfort is a feminist issue! I strongly feel this way! I recently got into the world of ultra-comfortable mom sandals. I have these by Keen brand and they make me feel sensible and polished and carefree and fun. Life has only gotten more awesome since I’ve added socks to my look, because it means I can rock my sandals on cooler days, too! Our very own Sarah is basically the patron saint of this look so I thank her deeply. I’ve never felt more confident and chic.    Final Review: 10 pairs of animal printed socks Bernie Sanders I feel like I was the last one out of all my friends to #FeeltheBern. I was apathetic and cynical about the election in early 2015. I don’t know how it happened exactly - I think I had a romantic dream about that that beautiful punim and universal healthcare and, well, next thing I know I’m singing his praises from the hillside. I’m emotional about the way Bernie has moved and motivated so many people I know, especially in an otherwise terrifying political climate! I know this is a stressful time to be here for Bernie, but I just wanted to say that it’s been a fun ride. Oh, and it’s not over yet! Get out and vote!!!    Final Review: 50 starred and spangled Birdy Sanders cupcakes Pants Since I was a kid, pants have always oppressed me. No room for my wide hips and tiny butt at the same time. Weird gaps in the knee pit. Always having to hold onto my belt loops in case they'd fly right off me when I was running for the bus. Or I'd get teeth marks all around my middle, which really cramped my style at meal times. I'm still not fully on the pants train because I'm convinced the conductor is The Man, you know, CORPORATE AMERICA. But I have been wearing pants a lot more in the last year and they're not half bad. Especially when you only have 20 minutes to get ready and out of the house. I've said it before and I'll say it again, ‘Pants: you can just wear them with a shirt.’        Final Review: 3 and a half smug smirks breakfast One of the worst things about me is that until pretty recently, my breakfast habit was 3-5 cigarettes and a Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Drink or depth charge. It was messed up and I regret every second of it. Now that I've made it out on the other side, I'm happy to report that I've found real breakfast and it is fucking glorious. I wasn't exactly opposed to breakfast before, but I definitely thought I didn't like most breakfast foods. But I learned that any food can be a breakfast food! Also, I love breakfast food! Recent fave breakfasts have been (1) an eggy hash with broccoli, soy chorizo, and portabella mushrooms and (2) coconut pancakes with raspberry jam.         Final Review: 100 gloriously Instagrammable brunch pics + a freshly brewed pot of coffee

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Scattered Thoughts on Stress and Key Changes

by Sarah

Do you have music you only listen to when you’re stressed or sad or mad or you have a lot to do? For me, it’s Shania Twain – I have been so Cathy-cartoon stressed lately about chemistry and statistics and getting all my to-do list things checked off for nursing school that she’s 75 percent of what I’ve listened to in the past month.

My favorite thing about Shania is her use of the dramatic key change – she’s the queen of this. You have to listen to her song “Forever and For Always.” (You have to - it’s here and also a version with Willie Nelson here.) It’s an example of how well she’s mastered a divisive technique -- at the end of this song, Shania delivers on a satisfying, much needed rush of emotion.

The kind of key change Shania uses is sometimes known as a “truck-driver gear change” which is a cute way of saying it’s a modulation in a country song. It’s not exactly a compliment -- some people say the technique is like “a tired, overworked truck driver performing an unartistic, mechanical function.”

I’m of a few minds here, because I do think a lot of country music (both contemporary and classic) is gimmicky and relies on tried/true sounds and tropes at the expense of...being good. This is part of why I love it; 9 times out of 10 I know what I’m gonna get and it’s like putting on a blanket. And – also! – I appreciate how artists of all kinds take shortcuts to our hearts. Like, here, I’ll do it right now -- oh my god i’m so stressed about starting nursing school please just agree with me about this small thing and listen to three hours of Shania Twain in my honor and mail me dollar bills!

This memory sticks with me: one of my high school friends would always be so excited about key changes that when a particularly good one was on its way, they would point to the car stereo and announce it before it arrived (“Key change!”). This is how I feel when I listen to Shania. But I don’t know, I’m not about to sit up here and say a Dierks Bentley key change is a revelation.*

*I love Dierks and/but he’s bad. P.S. Please reply to our email and tell me: do you like Dierks? Also, what’s your favorite key change, in any kind of music? My other favorite: Beyonce’s “Love on Top”

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A Babe We Know: MDB on Survivor

By Carleigh

This interview is spoiler-free except for a note regarding Season 33 theme at the end of the article.

Last night Survivor extinguished the torch of its 32nd season and the first half of its sixteenth year on television. If you know one thing about Survivor, it should be that it was a game-changer for television in demonstrating that reality TV was a powerful option for networks.

If you know one other thing it’s that there is so much more to it than that.

Each season 20 people are divided into tribes to survive for 39 days. Every week they compete in challenges for both rewards and immunity from Tribal Council where contestants on losing tribes vote each other off until three remain. The final contestants must then convince a jury of the ten players previously voted off to vote FOR one of them to win one million dollars. Production doesn’t commit to many other rules which constantly changes the game and forces players to strategize in new ways. Many seasons have themes categorizing tribes (for example this season is Brains vs Beauty vs Brawn) and often include contestants returning for more than one season.

While this season’s finale viewing numbers won’t hit close to the first season’s phenomenal 50 million, it should hold steady to the last several seasons with nearly 10 million finale viewers. That’s a solid number but through my adult years watching the show I haven’t encountered many others analyzing the tribes’ moves week to week. When it came up that Omaha-to-Madison transplant, Mary Dahlman Begley

was also an invested fan I was ecstatic. While I’ve been pestering her with questions and theories ever since, last weekend we finally sat down to pick apart the deeper facets to our appreciation for the show.

Here are a few highlights:

CDPK: Would you want to be on Survivor? Do you think you would do well?

MDB: Yeah, I would do it. I think I would be pretty good at the social part because I’m generally good at talking to people. But I think I’d end up overplaying my hand, thinking I had alliances that I didn’t. I’m fairly trusting of people but also cynical.

One thing I know for certain is I would be bad at challenges. I have bad balance, no endurance and I don’t run. I think I would be a pretty amusing character though. That’s for sure.

CDPK: Do you have a strategy in mind?

MDB: I would play up different parts of my background. You can’t be completely devoid of context or else you have no cards to play. Like I’m a receptionist right now and I think I would say that [to play off perceptions of traditional gender roles] and make myself less threatening. I think that classifying yourself is maybe not the most progressive or feminist thing I could engage in but sometimes it’s important.

CDPK: Yeah, classifying yourself becomes an important thing to do to relate to people on the show. At the beginning you’re all trying to figure each other out and trying to put each other in a box so you might as well figure out the box you’re prepared to be put into.

MDB: Definitely. And thinking about avenues I could go down. I want to present as a version of me but would I tell people I was in a feminist punk band called Prom Queef? Not necessarily. But sometimes it can work in your favor. How I would present myself would play differently to different people.

CDPK: Sometimes I think people enjoy having their own realization like, “I never thought I’d get along with this person but I do.”

MDB: The sweet irony of a Vietnam refugee having a friendship with an American veteran [which happened on this season]- It’s so beautiful. You couldn’t write that on a TV show, it’d be too cheesy. I think that’s one of the most compelling things about Survivor. They have an essentially blank slate that’s a fairly level playing field and largely devoid of context. You can only build upon your relationships in the game and navigate any inner biases or attitudes you have. It’s a pretty true expression of those people’s character and maybe the human race in general.

Something I wanted to see if you agreed with is the assertion that Survivor is an equalizer. Everyone is going through the same conditions and you’re deprived of the normal context of your life. Usually challenges are varied enough that it levels the playing field a lot.

CDPK: I guess so. Especially because generally it’s only a few people really making outstanding performances in challenges. It’s more important to be able to talk to people and strategize that way. And for a good portion of it it’s just about keeping the tribe strong. Just don’t totally mess up a challenge.

MDB: Or be too good. Which wouldn’t be a problem for me.

CDPK: The only time I see it being unequal with the sexes is I just don’t know how women deal with their periods except to have an IUD.

MDB: But in 2000 [the first season] they wouldn’t have had them.

[My boyfriend] often asks me how I can watch The Bachelor as a feminist. “Tortured” is kind of how I can. But I don’t have to make a compromise when I watch Survivor because I sincerely believe it’s an equal playing field. Except for maybe any period stuff. But I guess broadly, men, they have larger body mass, need more food. Maybe that’s a disadvantage. I think it’s so far removed from the advantages and disadvantages of gender or other traits that cause bias in daily life.

CDPK: This is not scientific but people talk about how women can sometimes bear pain better than men. Maybe that’s relevant. I think it’s so much about just how uncomfortable you’re willing to be. Physically but also emotionally. I’m just going to sleep on this bamboo. I’m going to be covered in bug bites…

MDB: Gonna be sunburned.

CDPK: Yep! And I’m going to be rained on. And it’s going to be fine.

MDB: As a woman, I have to put up with shit. I’m a receptionist, I get called “honey,” I have to smile at people all the time. But because I know how to put on that exterior I feel like I have a certain amount of social intelligence that some other people don’t have to develop.

CDPK: I have not met many other people our age who admit to watching Survivor. Usually when I mention it people remark, “Oh that’s still on?” Do people ever think you’re watching Survivor ironically?

MDB: A lot of people think I watch it ironically. I get accused of things like that a lot. I like Carly Rae Jepsen and I also like to watch Top 40 videos, none of it is done ironically.

Few people get it. But I think that finding the people that do like it is really cool and powerful. I love that you love it. I love that [my friend] Luis loves it. Luis has interests that are so disparate from me. He loves video games and I hate video games. But this is something we both care about.

I always wonder when I’m going to stop watching but then I think ‘When is survivor going to end?’ Never.

Survivor Season 33: Millennials vs Gen X (ugh, I know) begins this Fall on CBS

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Babe's Guide to International Movies

by teensy

It’s finally beautiful outside! Which means that this is a great time to sit in your room and watch movies by yourself. Here’s a chill af guide to getting into international films:

Getting Ideas:

Mubi is a really nice resource because it’s created by film fans who just want to share stuff. It’s free to browse and a really great tool to explore films, even if you never intend on being active on the site itself. A few example lists: Portuguese Women Directed This, Cinema of Palestine, Colonial/Postcolonial World.

Omg, get on Tumblr! There’s a great community of people who post about watching movies with pretty screencaps and occasional passages from film writing or cultural theory, if that’s your bag.

Film journals like Sense of Cinema or Bright Lights or film organizations like Global Film Initiative.

Some colleges or universities with healthy film departments will have film societies or screening groups. Check out their websites - sometimes they’ll publish curated screening lists or syllabi. For example, Doc Films at the University of Chicago has an archive list of their past screenings (Ex: Contemporary Latin American Cinema!) Also, Black Cinema House in Chicago hosts screenings of films by and about the African diaspora.

How to Watch:

Youtube - People have kindly uploaded a lot of great films onto Youtube with subtitles included! The quality can be questionable at times, but more often than not, it’s rpretty good. Here’s a Bengali movie that I really like called The Cloud-Capped Star or Meghe Dhaka Tara (Ritwik Ghatak, 1960). (Important side note: it is very, very sad.)

Netflix Instant - A lot of hidden gems, honestly!

Hulu+ - Mainly for the Criterion Collection

Your nearest public library!

kat.ph - A pretty great torrent site that I did not tell you about

For subtitles, you’ll probably want to check opensubs

What to Watch (a few recommendations!):

Introduction to Third Cinema + the documentary that started the Third Cinema movement, Hour of the Furnaces Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 (Solanas & Getino, 1968).

Watch movies made by women!

Recently, I’ve been trying to watch movies in the L.A. Rebellion scene. Black filmmakers in the U.S. made these films in the late 60’s to 80’s. Though it is a domestic film movement, it’s often overlooked! Watch Haile Gerima’s Bush Mama or Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust with me.

Chhoti Si Baat (1975) by Basu Chatterjee is one of my all-time favorite rom-coms. Quirky and adorable and a nice peek into what’s often considered “Indian New Wave” or Parallel Cinema. This one is cute, but some are very dark and/or challenging like Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (1969).

The Time that Remains (2009) by Elia Suleiman is a movie that I think about constantly and highly recommend.  Also, as if you didn’t need more reasons that the Oscars totally suck, here’s an article about the Academy snubbing Suleiman in 2002 because he is Palestinian.

Some basics:

Stop calling movies that aren’t from the US, UK, or Canada “foreign films.” This is condescending af and totally erases the immense generic specificity between movies from every other part of the world besides Europe and parts of North America. Plus, “foreign films” are used for cultural capital & that seriously bums me out, especially because European films are usually, if not always, privileged.

Criterion Collection and the canon are not the end-all-be-all to films. CC and the canon focuses on the US and Western Europe and lacks racial diversity (even with regard to movies from the US). When non-Western cinema cultures are included, they’re typified by a couple films or a single director like Satyajit Ray (India) or Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand).

Suspend your judgment, and give things a chance. A lot of white American people are so used to being represented in mainstream culture that they can’t imagine learning from or appreciating art that isn’t explicitly for or about them. Or, some folks focus on ‘difference’ so much when watching international films that the experience becomes an old-school creepy anthropology excursion i.e. voyeuristic as hell. I know this point has been written about  in a ton of awesome articles before. I'm bringing it up again because I think that by seeing art that isn't about white people or from the Global North as ‘foreign’ or ‘strange,’ we ingrain elitism and prop up barriers that are condescending and inaccessible at best and honestly dangerous at worst. Plus, I'm also selfishly hoping more white people want to watch the movies I like so that they become more accessible for me and then I won't have to scour the Internet for hours to find a decent print of something #sorrynotsorry.

This sounds like a lot of rules, but the main thing is that watching movies is really fun and there’s so many of them that aren’t the same tired Hollywood narrative. Try something out and then talk about it with me!

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Burrito Bonding

by Jenny

In my early days of independence I’d steal teensy after school and make a stop at Chipotle most weeks. She would more often than not watch me eat a burrito to spend time before she had to be back home.

The order: white rice, black beans, chicken, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, guacamole. Lemon in my water.

My defunct college band took its time rattling off sub par band names before we came to a great decision. Some top suggestions were Secret Burrito or The Buddies, both of which were fostered while we indulged round table on the corrugated metal .

Self imposed rules: If eating in- always a burrito. If taking out- a bowl and add fajitas. If taking out to lounge completely alone with myself- always a burrito.

An early visit to the Mexican Grill was with my brother - he bought my burrito and I was quite proud I could finish the whole thing. I was coaxed into a bite of his with guacamole, and I didn’t quite like it the first try. Maybe it seemed that his acquired eighteen year old taste buds had let on some secret I wasn’t a part of. Today, I stand with a firm pro-guac platform.

My method of tackling the burrito is to maintain a cyclical rotation. I never squish my burrito. I make little mess and every bite is perfect. My hands service a rotisserie of nibbling. Tried and true since, probably, 2006. This is a genuine love for the day brightener that is a burrito that is your everything - an everything burrito.

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No, we’re not calling this a discussion on adult grilled cheese or adult sleepover or adult contemporary.

Jenny: What makes it a grilled cheese and not a sandwich with cheese?

Sarah: Good Q. I think if the cheese is the star of the show. That’s the difference in my humble opinion.

Carleigh: The spirit with which you make it. Pan fried. Or grilled, I guess? You don’t often see grilled cheese actually made on the grill. But it’s not a panini, not pressed. Very little, I guess.

J: I’m a fan of a panini press, but now I’m thinking about the brilliance that is Chef by Jon Favreau and that beauty of a grilled cheese he creates for his social media mogul son.

Teeny: A wise person once told me, “Cheese is the glue of a sandwich.” I think that's definitely true and a grilled cheese is more like if the cheese was glitter glue. The cheese is the highlight but there can def be other ingredients involved.

J: I kind of hate when people say 'adult grilled cheese'

T: it makes me think someone is going to fuck the grilled cheese !

C: adult + anything makes it about sex. Except maybe adult fitness.

T: Even that makes me think of like sexual fitness !

S: I want a grilled cheese on rye bread w thousand island dressing and pickles . I also want one w bacon and a slice of tomato .

T: So why is that second one a grilled cheese ?

S: Oh I didn't mention the cheese in either. But lots of cheese in both. Like a ton, like a disgusting sad amt.

J: What's everybody's perfect grilled cheese?

C: I kept trying to hit on the best of summer flavors for my sandwich (cilantro + lime! tomato + balsamic! Basil + fruit!) but stepped outside and realized I’m kind of jumping the gun on summer in the Midwest both weather-wise and per what produce is readily available. I'm craving a bite for in-between seasons- a sweet potato/granny smith puree, gouda + a soft cheese, Madison Sourdough.

S: My favorite grilled cheese is: sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, on wheat bread. Slightly burnt. How often do you guys eat grilled cheeses? I probably have them once a year, at most. always so good.

J: My dream grilled cheese includes thick cut sourdough or marble rye bread with pepperjack, + what’s in the fridge. So i’m talking spinach, red onions, tomato, basil, sliced or shredded cold leftovers, and someday - kimchi.

T: Here are two creations straight out of my childhood: chili cheese toast and pineapple cheese toast! Chili cheese toast is wheat toast pan-fried with whatever cheese you have lying around (nothing fancy), sliced green chilies, bell peppers or tomatoes. Sometimes my mom would add a little grated ginger or fennel seed to the cheese for an added kick. Serve with piping hot masala chai! As for pineapple toast, you'll ideally want Amul cheese, which is canned and extremely processed and my favorite thing in the whole world. Slice a big ring of pineapple or use canned pineapple and grill this baby into a delicious, sticky, and surprising treat. Best eaten in the bath, after a long day.

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Toastmasters of None

by Jenny

Toastmasters International is an organization that began as a boys club for public speaking and leadership. Featuring lots of clapping, self (more clapping) congratulation, and (clapping) circle back acknowledgments (even more clapping). As part of a work mandated club, I am now a charter member of this organization. The goal, I suppose, was to have an army of representatives to spread the good word of the company, but otherwise it delivers an hour of biweekly torture. But hey - as I was told: ‘this is not fucking optional’.

In the hour before my introductory speech I dizzily wrote three pages scrambled into something that seemed, enough! How could I not lean into all my worries and make it about the anxiety of speaking for an audience. My formative years did provide me with somewhat relevant experience for articulate speaking - college radio.

It’s interesting to bask in the jitters that came with DJing: you’re alone in a room with an unseen audience. Hearing your voice in headphones while attempting to be an authority on music makes you quite vulnerable - someone might call to tell you how you misspoke while the scratched CD is skipping AND there’s a bat in the record closet. These things will all happen, maybe at the same time, all while you contemplate the pronunciation between contemplative or contemplative.

Toastmasters encourages feedback in no less than 10 timed minutes after a speech. Your whole club bands together as a rotating cast of evaluators, timers, and grammarians to uncomfortably hone their skills and yours.  Aside from obvious comments about using less ‘ah’s and ‘you know’s with your speech or restraining from darting eye contact, the feedback just isn’t going to sink. We all know our verbal ticks, but maybe once, you’ll receive something to take home. My lesson was to free myself from my prescribed notes, to take a step back and actually speak to my experience. To appear natural with my gestures and stop clasping my hands as if I were protecting the smallest bean.

A secret to radio, and possibly all public speaking: Any listener should feel as if you’re right there with them. That you’re their partner in the side car for the same journey, always trying to be real, conversational, and deliberate.

Required lesson: don’t force yourself into pronouncing the whole title of a french song, no you do not know how to say it, do not try it for the first time on the radio. Optional follow-up: Radio K and Nocturnity, “L'espace au sol est redessiné par d'immenses panneaux bleus...” by Fly Pan Am, the kind of guy that listens to post rock and calls into a radio show to correct pronunciation.

[thisisbabetown-blog]

Tarot-scope

by teeny

ARIES: THREE OF SWORDS REVERSED Sometimes the greatest embarrassment is disappointment. It means revealing our deepest, naked wants. That we had expectations that were unfulfilled, that we were childish or unrealistic. You were only unrealistic in believing you could divorce your practical, outward self from your emotional, creative self. Maybe you are embarrassed of this sprawling and urgent version of yourself. I urge you to give your desire some attention.

TAURUS: ACE OF SWORDS Reach through the fog! Bound into the passionate void! Cut through the bullshit! Peel back your floorboards! Do one, two, three handstands in the new grass! Skin your knees! You’re ready for action. You have been preparing for months now, you’ve been asking all of the right questions, you’ve been steadying yourself for change. I am so proud of you. And now I ask you to be proud of yourself - don’t be afraid to bleed. You will be protected.

GEMINI: FOOL REVERSED Exploration without commitment leads to dullness. Your wonderful openness is distorting your own awareness of your needs. You need prudence now. Take part in work that has a texture to it - work that requires patience, training, maybe even frustration.

CANCER: SEVEN OF PENTACLES You’re feeling secure, finally. I’ve seen you, working such long hours and with such careful diligence. Now is the time to reap the rewards for your hard work. Do not fret if some of the returns on your investments are delayed. This universe is cyclical and you have done more than enough to ensure that you will be rewarded.

LEO: KING OF WANDS REVERSED Something has affected you and turned your chest concave. No one can tell that you are not feeling confident right now. I’ll keep your secret safe with me. You are beloved and you only need patience with yourself and with those around you right now. You have not lost your force, but think about the force of water - hardness erodes with time.

VIRGO: ACE OF WANDS You are an optimistic being! I saw a deer that looked just like you once - supple and graceful, leaping into golden flowers! Know that this is the real you - the actualized one! You are greatly aware now, blessed with intuition. Use this time to make something beautiful or to fall in love with yourself. Maybe you will wear a dazzling outfit and find that no one can take their eyes off you. You have importance!

LIBRA: TWO OF PENTACLES You need to keep your life in balance - a task perfectly suited for you, Libra! Your mastery of temperance is so admirable, but I worry that you overlook the value of play. Many moments call for diplomacy, but don’t be afraid to decorate your pendulum. What choices would add color to your sensitive and diligent approach to the world?

SCORPIO: THE TOWER REVERSED You were always the bravest of us all, fighting fire with sheer certainty. But a process of change has started now that requires the shattering of your sense of self. You are complex, furious, deliberate. You will never lose anything, dear one, but the alchemy taking place will force you to recognize new shapes or kinds of light. Keeping a tight reign on your reactions might lessen pain for the moment. You’re missing the cooling thunderstorm of spring for fear of being struck by lightning. You’re still the bravest of all of us. I promise.

SAGITTARIUS: FIVE OF PENTACLES You’ve always craved freedom, believing that order was meant only to cage you. But some “cages” are just houses, some houses are homes. Some homes are places where people grow flowers, fall in love, stare out of the window and dream. Accept the hot cocoa from the old woman who wants to take care of you. Accept her compliments on your dress, your hair, the mark on your face that you believed was proof of your woundedness. See your wounds as places you have grown love from barren soil. Now be brave, and share it.

CAPRICORN: SIX OF PENTACLES REVERSED You have trouble accepting generosity - a protective independence borne out of harsh experiences. Gifts from others have come often come with strings attached. Now is the time to open up, your muscles have clenched into rigidness. Your resilience has saved you -- but, now when you smile, I see only your white knuckles. Don’t wound yourself out of pride.

AQUARIUS: KNIGHT OF PENTACLES REVERSED You’ve grown listless. Days upon days of unglamorous and necessary efforts have certainly started to wear on you. You are not timid and you are not asleep. Draw your sword, now is the time to enter a period of deep release. There is more to life than the stacking of daily actions, moment by moment. We have dreams, too.

PISCES: KNIGHT OF SWORDS You are an emotional warrior and right now your energy is at a peak! You’ve done so much work within your inner life. You are being noticed! Someone is drawing a picture of you and adorning it with hearts! I beg to know, where are you charging and why so fast? Bask in your own appreciation.

[thisisbabetown-blog]

My 3 Favorite Fungi Twitters Right Now

by sarah

Subject to change, but, for now, my favorites:

1. @garymysnail

The snail was my intro to Fungi Twitter and will always be my favorite. They post beautiful phone pictures and are active participants in #wildflowerhour.

2. @MarilynnsFungi

Marilynn Vallaincourt is in California and I love her pictures and her sense of yumor. She posts pictures of Amanita fungi, aka Supermario mushrooms, aka emoji mushrooms. Occasional selfies and memes.

3. @BobMcIntosh

This geologist is the king of the Penicuik Woods in Scotland and I have no way of knowing if he gets to wear a crown or a cape or what. But - good pictures and updates about the woods.

[thisisbabetown-blog]

Obituary No. 2

By Carleigh

I was sitting at my desk at work when the screen of my phone lit up and caught my eye.

A notification from Amazon:

Shipped: Your package with Brass bell 8 inch high will be delivered Wed, Dec 02.

The Amazon app on my phone was signed into my dad’s account and initially the order confused me. For a moment I imagined the bell swaying back and forth on it’s handle, ringing. Then, as if cueing the answer, the ringing stopped and I realized the bell wasn’t being shipped to my parents.

There was the 6x strength magnifying glass more than two years ago, the Discman after that, the three or four notifications for a couple more magnifying glasses in varying intensities, and then the portable multimedia player. Like the others before it, the brass bell was headed to my grandmother in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Another notification of her aging.

In the past couple of years, as my grandma’s health declined, I thought a lot about how people say you should record your grandparents, about how we need to preserve history. I asked a lot of questions about our family and tried to piece together names and faces I found in old photos.---The problem with trying to write about loving someone is that it's futile to put a reasonable amount of words into a logical form to explain what the person meant to you.

The problem with trying to write about someone who’s gone is that it can be hard to figure out why you’re writing at all.

My dad already wrote a really nice obituary. Everyone else who loved her already knows what it feels like. My grandmother will never read this.

Probably, I’m mostly doing this for myself. Bear with me.

I think that I’m young and naive and thought that I didn’t need anything to hold on to but I do.---Amazon.com is now the memory bank of the minute ways my dad took care of his mom. Up close each note is just a transaction, not even bestowed with the seriousness of an heirloom. But all together they’re a record of my dad being present with her, even when he wasn’t physically. Each object shipped, a “thinking of you”.

The week before she passed, my grandma gave me two family heirlooms- ceramic portraits of my great-great-great grandmothers. During that visit she said several times, how blessed she felt to have a family like us. I said how lucky I was to have a grandmother like her.

Like many others, in the past year I became temporarily enamored with Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Like the Berenstain Bears before me, I have too much stuff and Marie Kondo offered cute tips on how to purge all of my American junk.

Part of Kondo’s theory is that you just need to take a moment with your things to acknowledge the time you had with them and then you can get rid of them. While this has worked alright for me in terms of clothing, I can’t ascribe the same tactics to things I associate with those close to me. Kondo says you don’t have to worry about losing memories when you get rid of their physical manifestations,“No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel in the here and now are most important.”

But I’m not trying to live in the past, I’m trying to keep my grandma in my present. ---For years, my grandmother had drawers full of jewelry that all had notes on them in her script, “FOR CARLEIGH.” I finally went through them the other day, a little more than a month after her passing. There are several watches (none of them work, several are broken), antique pins (some dating as far back as 1916) and dozens of clip-on earrings (my grandmother never pierced her ears).

I’ll get rid of the watches and some of the costume jewelry. But if you know anything you know that pins are cool and I already figured out I can use the earrings for collar embellishments. Someone tweet Marie Kondo, this stuff isn’t going anywhere.

I will have my grandmother’s memory everyday- displayed on a shelf in my apartment, pinned to my lapel and tucked away in my vanity drawer. My grandma will always be with me through what she left behind, the same way my dad was there for her in what he sent ahead.

Marie’s teachings aren’t totally lost on me. I know I have more than material possessions to remember my grandma by. I also carry her in my middle name. I inherited her love of dogs, travel, and folk music. If i’m really lucky, when I get older I’ll resemble her with the snowy white hair she also passed on to my father.

It's a simple conclusion but I needed the time to get here. I have her forever: in her things and in my heart.

My grandmother, Delpha "Del" Vera Fenner

[thisisbabetown-blog]

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