All posts in: Refinery29

Life
20 Mar 2021

A Note For This Week

Like many of you, I am still grappling with my feelings and my words on how to describe or even make sense of what happened this past week in Atlanta. I can’t. And it’s going to take me more than a few days to process. What I won’t do is mince words. If the media and the police dept. won’t say it, I will. This was absolutely a hate crime. There is no other way to see it. If you are someone that is publicly saying that 6/8 people killed having been Asian women at three targeted massage parlors is not a hate crime, you are making a racist statement. Ask yourself why you are defending a 21-year old gunman who has done this and what purpose this serves you. How do people begin to defend the gunman? Because he likes pizza, music, and God? And why is calling it a “hate crime” something you cannot acknowledge? Acknowledge human lives.

I’m sure when I’m ready, I will put together something more structurally sound – maybe more grammatically correct. For now, as I continue to gather myself, I want to share out a few pieces that have been written or created by other AAPI people on the aftermath of not only this week, but what we have been facing for the last year.

Style
15 Feb 2021

An Evolution Of Lara Jean’s Outfits

Saying goodbye to our favorite characters is never easy especially when you’ve grown to love a heroine like Lara Jean. For the last three years, we’ve watched Lara Jean blossom from a shy high school student into a young woman who chooses to love herself as she makes a tough choice on the verge of college. My friends say that the level of confidence that she has gained in these years is one that we always wished we had. It has been such a pleasure and a joy to witness her growth. As we say goodbye to her this weekend after watching the last installment, I feel like it’s necessary to revisit some of her best looks. Thank you for everything LJ!

Is it just me or did seeing this outfit make you want to go out and buy your own bomber jacket again? The pink so so 80’s, but modern at the same time.

Read more “An Evolution Of Lara Jean’s Outfits”
Culture
17 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • The Kamala Harris Vogue Cover Has Issues [Refinery29]
  • The Grammy Awards Have Been Postponed [Nylon]
  • The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and Pro-Trump Rioters [Cosmopolitan]
  • A Reservation for Insurrection [Intelligencer]
  • 10 Things You Never Knew About IKEA [Cool Material]
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
  • The Best Sandwich in Every State [Food & Wine]
  • Governor’s Ball 2021 Announced For September [The Fader] honestly how
  • Why Do I Spend Weeks Avoiding Tasks That Will Take Me 10 Minutes To Do? [VICE]
  • You Know Awkwafina, But Have You Met Nora Lum? [Harper’s Bazaar]
  • How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success [Business Insider]
  • How TikTok’s ‘For You’ Algorithm Works [Wired]
  • Netflix Promises At Least One New Movie Every Week in 2021 [The Verge]
  • Yelp Will Display How Well A Restaurant Is Observing COVID-19 Guidelines [Eater]
  • Ariel Pink Goes On Tucker Carlson [The Fader] And no, we don’t feel bad for the guy at all.

Uncategorized
06 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • 5 Ways to Elevate Your Lunchtime Sandwich [Men’s Health]
  • For My Asian Mom, Feeding Me “Everything” Was An Act of Love [Refinery29]
  • TikTok’s Top 10 Songs of the Year [Hypebeast]
  • How Tinned Fish Took Over the Internet [Refinery29]
  • 11 Minutes of Exercise A Day May Help Counter the Effects of Sitting [The New York Times]
  • The Bay Area Will Fully Lock Down on December 6 [Eater]
  • Around the World in 130 Chicken Soup Recipes [Atlas Obscura]
  • How to Make Hot Cocktails That Actually Taste Good [Thrillist]
  • Photographer Explores Asian American Identity in ‘Where We’re Really From’ [NPR]
  • Whether on the Street or in Museums, KAWS is Having an Effect on Popular Culture [The Study]
  • Warner Bros. to Release All 17 Movies in 2021 Lineup on HBO Max [Hypebae]
  • Radio Disney to go off the air in 2021 [FADER]
Design
04 Aug 2020

Blog Roundup

  • Michelle Obama Is Hosting A Brand-New Relationship Podcast [Vogue]
  • A Typing Test For You Because… Why Not? [Source] I’m at 94 WPM!
  • Mask Wars? New Yorkers Will Sit This One Out. We’ve Already Seen Enough Death. [Vogue]
  • The Definite 50 Worst Teen Drama Couples of All Time [Buzzfeed]
  • Actually, Mark Zuckerberg Is Wearing the Correct Amount of Sunscreen [Mel Magazine]
  • People Share 30 Reasons Why Group Projects Are the Worst [deMilked]
  • How NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Became The Unexpected Launchpad for Musicans of Color [Hypebeast]
  • Can’t Fall Asleep? 17 Ways to Make You Feel Tired AF [Greatist]
  • How Dating My Reality Show Director Opened Me Up to a Real Relationship [Refinery29]
  • Who Influences the Influencers? [High Snobiety]
  • Every Decision is a Risk. Every Risk is a Decision. [FiveThirtyEight]
  • Nirvana Performing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” In A Music Store A Week Before Its Release [Kottke]
  • How Black & White Photography Became A Complicated Symbol of Female Empowerment [Refinery29]
  • The 20 Best Reality Show of All Time [Esquire]
  • The Best Instant Noodles [Wire Cutter | New York Times]
  • Padma Lakshmi Wants Us to Eat More Adventurously [New York Times]
  • Designer Creates $3,900 Wetsuit That Looks Like A Real Suit [deMilked]
  • Take A Look Inside Numbering’s Safe Deposit-Themed Flagship Store in Seoul [Hypebae]
  • J. Cole Is Training to Be in the NBA – Can He Actually Do It? [High Snobiety]
  • Soup Base Ramen Noodle Wrapper [Cool Material]

Culture
17 Jul 2020

Aisha Dee Calls Out Her Series “The Bold Type”

As cheesy as it may seem, I am a sucker for television series that highlight strong female friendships. I’ve always been a girly girl, but a girl that knew how important it was to be surrounded by great girlfriends and strong women. When I watched the pilot of “The Bold Type,” I wasn’t yet convinced that this would be my show, but I came to love it. It even became a series that I recommended to other people in my network. Kat, Sutton, and Jane were career-driven, had strong beliefs in the world and love for each other.

Earlier this week, Aisha Dee, who portrays “Kat” on the series posted to her Instagram her thoughts on how Kat’s storyline was going in the season and her thoughts behind the scenes on the show. It’s clear that the show’s fourth season was missing the mark. I felt validated hearing Aisha’s words after the fact. The criticism is that Kat a woman of color and a bisexual was now “hooking up” with a conservative character named Ava who has a father that supported conversion therapy. Aisha nailed this one on the head in her post, “this is something Kat Edison would never do.”

As I watched this storyline play out this season, I was disappointed. If this was the director that the writers wanted to take then did I really know Kat Edison at all during this time? We know now that she didn’t agree with this. She opted to portray her character’s story honestly, but to me it wasn’t believable. Her post also mentions how the series missed the mark in several areas: including being without a BIPOC writer in the room for two seasons and without a stylist that knew how to work with her hair.

View this post on Instagram

for us ♥️

A post shared by Aisha Dee (@aishtray) on

Spoiler alert: after Aisha’s post, a change was made to the ending of the finale yesterday evening where Kat broke it off with Ava. It took guts for Aisha to do what she did, but I hope is that others will follow in her example. In order to spark change, you have to speak up about it. Upon writing this post, I read two other posts that I thought were well written following this story.

[Refinery29] [Vogue]

People
15 Jul 2020

Blog Roundup

  • How a 4th of July Meal Exposes the Coronavirus Risk for Thousands of US Food Workers [Buzzfeed]
  • How To Be Alone [Vox]
  • We Shadowed A Restaurant Server for a Full Shift [SFGate]
  • We’re Going to Run Out of TV [The Ringer]
  • What Will College Be Like in the Fall? [The Cut]
  • Does Being Underwater Stop Your Period? [Refinery29]
  • Does Wearing a Mask Make You Look Hot? [GQ]
  • What If Working From Home Goes On…Forever? [New York Times]
  • No One Knows How to Throw a Pandemic Wedding [The Cut]
  • Why Time Feels So Weird in 2020 [Reuters Graphics]
  • Why The Internet Is Blowing Up About LA’s Most Infamous Jam Maker [Eater]
  • We Need to Talk About Digital Blackface in Reaction GIFs [Teen Vogue]
  • Simone Biles Cover Story [Vogue]
  • Have You and Your Friends Had the COVID Talk? [The Cut]
  • Who Does Boba Guys ‘Bridge Cultures For?’ [SF Weekly]
  • Nobody Made Reading Look As Cool As Shaq Did [Mel Magazine]
  • What Movies Present As Normal, But It Actually Isn’t [Bored Panda]
Style
14 Jun 2020

Blog Roundup

  • Stunning Hotel Pools From Around the World [Getaway]
  • Asian Snacks Are More Popular Than Ever in America. Here’s What That Says About Asian Americans [Refinery29]
  • 28 Black Films That Are Infinitely More Informative Than “The Help” [High Snobiety]
  • How to Do Thoughtful Work When You Just Can’t Focus [Fast Company]
  • America Is Giving Up on the Pandemic [The Atlantic]
  • I’m Supposedly An Adult. What Time Should I Go To Bed? [Mel Magazine]
  • A Socially Distanced Live Music Venue Will Open in London Later This Year [Hypebae]
  • What Luxury Brands Can Learn From Looting [GQ]
  • 5 Photographers Speak on Responsibly Capturing and Sharing Protest Images [Nylon]
  • Twitter Now Asks You To Read An Article Before Sharing It [Popular Mechanics]
  • Grammy Awards to Remove “Urban” Term From All Its Categories [Hypebae]
  • What’s Going On in CHAZ, the Seattle Autonomous Zone? [The Cut]
  • 50 Things Every Man Should Own [Cool Material]
  • Eddie Huang on the Oppressive Whiteness of the Food World [Grub Street]
Culture
06 Jun 2020

Blog Roundup

  • The 50 Most Influential Nike Dunks in History [High Snobiety]
  • Donald Trump, The Most Unmanly President [The Atlantic]
  • The Professional Whose Job It Is To Wear Your Clothes Before You Do [Fashionista]
  • Millions of Amy Coopers [The Cut]
  • When You Are Your Parents’ Retirement Fund [Refinery29]
  • Why Remote Work is So Hard — And How It Can Be Fixed [The New Yorker]
  • How Coronavirus Spreads Outdoors vs. Indoors [Vox]
  • adidas and AllBirds Are Joining Forces [Vogue]
  • Impulse Shopping Helping Americans Endure Coronavirus Lockdown [Study Finds]
  • In Quarantine, Cooking Is Our Love Language [The Cut]
  • An Influencer Responds to Backlash for a Black Lives Matter Protest Selfie [Dazed]
  • The Appeal of the TikTok Everyhouse [Curbed]
Life
23 May 2020

Saturday Check In: Long Weekend Edition

Even though it feels like we’ve been experiencing summer for a couple weeks now, this is usually the weekend to solidify it. As a treat, I was able to also take off Friday giving myself a four-day weekend that I didn’t realize I also needed. With all of us still in shelter-in-place (some practicing, some not) the delight of a long weekend doesn’t hit the same as it once did. It’s hard to feel like we are entering summer when we essentially have something already that resembles a summer break.

Despite that, I’m noticing that time is just flying by, but also that it’s hard to tell the differences between a weekday and a weekend. Normally during Memorial Day Weekend, we’d be headed out on a day trip or even taking a trip. A year ago, I was in Denver with my girlfriends and this year we’re just going to have to get creative. In an article that I read about time in quarantine, a sentence stood out to me.

“People lose track of time when the future is in question,” – Refinery29

Without anything to look forward to whether it is plans or trips, I’m noticing that it’s easier for me to get my days and weeks all mixed up. Those moments in my calendar year were what helped me to identify my seasons and the time of year. Currently, all of that is lost. However you choose to spend your Memorial Day Weekend, I hope you’re taking care of yourself, practicing social distancing, and hanging in there!

Here are two pieces that I read related to me writing this post:

  • The Trouble with Quarantine Fridays [Digg]
  • Time Is Slipping Away From Us All [Refinery29]