Top 7 Films on my To-Watch-List & the Art of the Pre-Award Season Cram Session

by Maria

I could not tell you the last time I went to the theater to see a movie. For a preteen or adolescent of the early aughts, East Louisville's Cinemark Tinseltown was the place to be at 8:30pm on a Saturday. But times have changed, teenagers have changed, I've changed, and everyone who's anyone has Netflix. When I entered my late teen years and loitering in the multiplex parking lot fell out of vogue, I began to regard myself somewhat of a (pseudo-)intellectual and seasoned film buff and nothing at all was lost. Only in the last few years have I completely fallen out of touch with modern cinema. The impending award season serves as a stark reminder of just how fundamentally uncool I've become.

The annual sense of panic triggered by the announcement of Golden Globes inspired me to create a system in years past, in which I prioritize and binge-watch as many critically acclaimed motion pictures as humanly possible before one gilded statue is given to Daniel Day Lewis again. Of all the films or performances with nominations I've only had the pleasure of seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Theory of Everything, and Gone Girl, all three of which I enjoyed. The next seven on my list are under the cut.

Three Places I've Lived, Why You Should Visit, and What to Do When You Do

by Maria 

I've spent my 22 years between predominantly Catholic cities with famous drinking cultures and have mostly lived to tell the tale.

1. New Orleans, LA, USA (NU OR-ləns) 

I called New Orleans home from 2011 to 2013. If you know anything about the city beyond red beans and rice and the devastating Hurricane Katrina, I probably don't need to drive the point home any further that New Orleans is so much more than Bourbon Street. The culture is so unique that assimilation becomes difficult for those unfamiliar, and I'm certain that's part of it's allure. I'm not making an argument that Bourbon Street isn't worth a stroll (with closed toed shoes, trust). I'm not saying Mardi Gras doesn't earn its reputation. I'm certainly not making any unique assessment of the city, as New Orleans has been a darling of travel writers and food bloggers for as long as I can remember. But if you do pay a visit, I'd like to give you a jumping off point.

When you think of New Orleans, the ancient electric streetcars screeching up and down St. Charles and Canal probably quickly come to mind. They're horribly inefficient, often crowded with a combination of elderly tourist groups and locals with armfuls of groceries, but inexpensive and undeniably safer than driving after a few drinks. I'd absolutely recommend using them. 

A Perpetual Catholic School Girl's Take on New Years Resolutions

by Maria 

Has it already been a year since we vowed to implement a new all-natural skincare routine, to have the most organized Spring semester yet, to start writing that novella? Let's spare ourselves some disappointment in 2015 and take a page out of the Catholic guide to aiming low. I've been attending Catholic schools since 1998. Primary schools, single-sex high schools, two Catholic Universities, even a brief flirtation with Jesuits. Between Louisville and New Orleans, I've only lived in overwhelmingly Catholic communities that have provided me with countless unique lessons in pragmatism. Always befriend the nuns. A little leg stubble keeps the navy blue crew socks over the ankle and insures avoidance of wardrobe violations. Give up nail-biting for lent when you've never so much as gnawed off a hangnail. I have a 22 year degree in narrowly sidestepping Catholic guilt and feel the call to evangelize.

Set yourself up for success in the New Year. Resolve to drink more coffee. To make more thirsty instagram comments. To buy more books that you don't intend to read but look fabulous on your end table. Let's each channel our inner Catholic School Girl Forty Days Before Easter Sunday and pick something doable this time. You're welcome.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a #TBT

Two birds, one stone 

How To: Top 5 Ways to Trick Yourself Out of an Existential Crisis

by Danielle

(For best results, try combining all five.)

1. Eat an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's. In the bath.

2. Order an alarming amount of sushi for dinner. Enough that the restaurant includes three sets of chopsticks. Ignore your dwindling back account. Ignore the judgemental look the delivery guy gives you when he realizes all this sushi is just for you.

3. Waste a couple hours browsing Asos. Free shipping + free returns = little-to-no guilt. (Even less guilt if you just add things to the 'Saved Items' page and never actually make a purchase.)

4. Light your favorite candles. Turn the lights off. Hide under three layers of blankets and bask in the good smells and near-darkness. Bonus points if you use those blankets to build a fort.

5. Binge-watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Resist the urge to compare your accomplishments to Rory's. She may be a teenager, but she's probably more together than you. After all, you're the one on the verge of an existential crisis, and she's the one who went to Yale (oops, spoilers).

Good luck.

The Origin of the Man Bun

by Cori

Let’s talk about something really controversial—or rather not controversial at all, but just something that women (it’s not just me, right?) these days are fawning over: the elusive “Man Bun.”

Where did we first see it? Who decided it was chic? Was it Kate Moss? Does this mean I’m a lesbian? Clearly, there has been a lot of circulation over the hairstyle, so I took to my journalism skills, or lack there of, to get the full story behind the first man bun.

For those of you who don’t know what a man bun is, and I’m so embarrassed for you right now, Urban Dictionary defines it as “when a man has a bun.” Take that how you will. This was defined in October of 2010, but the origin of the man bun is way before that.

The originator of the man bun (and you won't see this in any of your textbooks) is... Buddha.

Look at that—Buddha sporting the man bun in all of his peaceful glory.

Now that you know the source behind man buns, it’s obvious why celebrities like Jared Leto, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harry Styles, and Li Shang from Mulan are participating in the trend.

Never change men, never change.

Seriously... don't...