T LOunge for February 27th, 2023

Maria G’s Restaurant – Kensington, London, England

It’s MONDAY and we have a veritable avalanche of awards season red carpetry to throw at you! Grab a banquette and settle in. You’ve got a lot of judging ahead of you.

A New London Exhibition Revisits The Wardrobes Of Celebrated Female Poets
Poets in Vogue focuses on the work and lives of a handful of 20th-century poets including Edith Sitwell, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. It is not a straightforward account of what these women wore, but rather an imaginative response to the ways in which they wrote and dressed. Academics Sophie Oliver and Sarah Parker have worked in collaboration with textile conservation display specialist Gesa Werner to recreate various garments, placing them alongside carefully chosen poems, photos and recordings. “[We wanted] something that was a little bit experiential and immersive,” Oliver explains. “So that got us thinking – rather than trying to tell a story about the relationship just between these poets and clothes, why don’t we make some clothes?”

The Queer Stories in Florida’s Black History
Despite recent attempts by the state government to argue otherwise, queer stories have always been a part of Florida’s Black History.
When we say gay in Miami, Miami Beach is uplifted as the queer capital—a paradoxical place that draws more than 170,000 people each year for the Pride Parade, but also has a deep history of anti-Blackness that persists still today.
Little is said of Miami’s historically Black neighborhoods where the LGBTQ+ community has always existed. And now, the state of Florida wants to ban Black history, queer history, and intersectionality. I want to liberate these stories.
Black history in Miami is largely silent on Black queer folks, with Miami’s LGBTQ+ history embarrassingly devoid of Black stories. Two years ago, when I embarked on my research to correct this historical vacuum by unearthing and documenting Miami’s Black queer history, Naomi Ruth Cobb was the first person who agreed to sit down and talk to me.

Could Ketamine Revolutionize the Way We Treat Depression?
Once toted as a party drug, ketamine has saved this author’s life.
There are two key elements working together in ketamine treatments. First, the medicine enters the brain’s prefrontal cortex and simply gets to work by fixing the parts that get broken when someone is depressed. Yes, the brain literally “breaks” from firing negative thoughts on repeat for so long. As someone who’s been muscling their way toward recovery, this was a huge bonus. I could lay back knowing that the ketamine was stimulating the regrowth of synapses (connections between neurons) and increasing neuroplasticity, (the ability of the brain to modify its connections), effectively rewiring my brain.

From Gidget to Steel Magnolias, 20 Charming Vintage Snapshots of Sally Field
With two Oscars, three Primetime Emmys, and a career of extraordinary variety and depth to her credit, Sally Field is a veritable American icon. It’s little wonder, then, that she was tapped to receive this year’s SAG Life Achievement Award, joining a prestigious group of past honorees that includes Helen Mirren, Robert De Niro, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White. (Andrew Garfield, the Peter Parker to Field’s Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man, will be on hand at the Screen Actors Guild Awards tonight to present her with the prize.) “Sally is a massive star with a working actor’s ethos—just keep doing the work, being as good as you can,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement last month. “Every stage of an actor’s life brings different opportunities, and you just need to keep working. Sally does not stop and we hope she never does.”

Sir Kensington’s Ketchup Is Being Discontinued
It’s time to…ketchup…on the news.
Sir Kensington’s ketchup is no more.
On Feb. 21, the brand announced it’s ending production on its artisanal condiment, which was free of high-fructose corn syrup, in a rather heartfelt post on Medium.
“Ketchup was what started it all — it’s what brought us together in college in the spring of 2008, to cook up some sauce and challenge a great American food monopoly,” Scott Norton, the co-founder of the company, shared in the post. “The rollercoaster of our Sir Kensington’s journey has had many highs and lows, but we didn’t imagine the flagship product meeting its end in this way. We’re saddened to think about how the ketchup will not endure, despite the tens of thousands of hours our team spent getting it out into the world, and the millions of customers who enjoyed it.”

How ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Achieved Those Epic Aquatic Visual Effects
The visual-effects team invented new techniques to create vast vistas and intimate close-ups.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is a sequel, but the VFX team had a mandate far beyond supplying “more of the same.” The follow-up to the 2009 original “Avatar” had many new demands — and these jaw-dropping innovations have helped make the film one of the top box-office films of all time.
Joe Letteri, heading up his team at Weta FX, tells Variety, “We were working on this film since the last one finished, identifying what we could do better. Then there was a big burst of research-and-development” about six years ago, when writer-director James Cameron delivered the scripts for this and three more sequels; that’s when they realized the full scope of the film, which takes place in water about 60% of the time.

Catherine Martin Talks Bringing ‘Elvis’ to Life Through Costumes and Production Design
Costume designer, production designer and producer Catherine Martin and her collaborators helped bring her husband, Baz Lurhmann’s, visually grand story “Elvis” to life, building the iconic sets in Australia, including Elvis Presley’s mansion Graceland.
She also built more than 90 costumes for Austin Butler’s Elvis, a mix of re-creations and fictionalized outfits, and over 9000 costumes for the film overall. She earned a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination for the work, and landed three Oscar nominations for her work on the film including outstanding costume designer, production design and producer.
Here, she talks about how “The Wizard of Oz” impacted her, as did Luhrmann’s respect of crafts.

I Chose To Move To The Suburbs For My Children. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Made Me Happy
As Fleishman is in Trouble premieres in the UK, Lucy Foster writes about the intense relatability of Libby Epstein’s suburban malaise.
I get up in the evening, and I ain’t got nothing to say. I come home in the morning, go to bed feeling the same way. I ain’t nothing but tired. Man, I’m just tired and bored with myself. Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help.
Despite being background music, Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics raging against the ennui of everyday life are writ large as Libby Slater picks her way home after another bruising night in New York City. Libby is a 41-year-old former men’s magazine journalist who, after a career defined by being overlooked, has given up her dream to be the next Gonzo superstar. She has retreated back to her New Jersey home, to her thoroughly decent lawyer husband, and for two years has been a stay-at-home mum to her two children. She goes to dancercise classes with her mum peers, performing routines to 1980s power ballads; she takes her kids to the local pool in the summer heat; she goes to barbecues in friends’ backyards. She lives an ordinary, middle-class suburban life. And she doesn’t recognise herself.

A Look Back At The Wildest Oscar Campaigns In Recent History
Oscar campaigning is something of a fine art – one perfected by publicists who know the exact combination of adverts, high-profile interviews and glad-handing at events that will result in a coveted nomination, or even a win. However, there have also been times when they (and their ambitious clients) have gone, shall we say, off-piste in their pursuit of a golden statuette. Below, we revisit the most unusual Oscar campaigns in recent history, from Melissa Leo’s self-funded extravaganza to the recent storm surrounding To Leslie.

Danielle Deadwyler’s Gravity-Shifting Intensity
The multi-hyphenate discusses her role in “Till,” her approach to art, ego death, and the retrograde values of the Hollywood system.
I like to keep the body active,” Danielle Deadwyler said, as she placed me in the center console of her car. It was a Monday in Atlanta, and we were video-chatting as she drove home from her morning ritual, a movement class with the choreographer Juel D. Lane (who happens to be her cousin). The city is her city, and not just in the born-and-raised sense. Deadwyler is an artist as community emissary, bringing Atlanta’s artistic and political histories to bear on her work.

Lily Kwong Brings a Meditative Vision to the New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show
Using thousands of flowers and traditional Chinese artwork as inspiration, the artist tells a captivating tale of our ancestral connections to the plant world.
On a jarringly warm and sunny February morning, Lily Kwong guides a small group of journalists through the exhibit she’s brought to life as guest designer for the 20th edition of the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show. Posing for a few snapshots on request, she is naturally elegant and undeniably striking in a bright red jumpsuit—precisely what a scout thought about 15 years ago after spotting Kwong on the street and launching her modeling career. What started out as a dreamy opportunity to explore the world eventually led her down the path to her current calling as a landscape artist.

Our 20 Most Popular Recipes Ever
If you ask us, every recipe our food editors have created is a hit, but there are some dishes that really stand the test of time. Case in point? These 20 recipes are the ones you, our readers, visit most. If you’re not already making these hall-of-famers, then it’s time to give them a try.
Our collection of most popular recipes includes breakfast classics, comfort food favorites, no-cook condiments, and easy-to-make desserts. Each deserves a spot in your repertoire—they are the type of essential dishes that every home cook should master.

Irish Coffee Isn’t Just for St. Patrick’s Day—Learn How to Make Everyone’s Favorite Nightcap
When made correctly, sipping one after dinner is a truly memorable experience.
Irish coffee is a classic—the flavors of coffee and w
hiskey complement each other perfectly in this hot drink. It gets a bad rap since because it often isn’t made the right way: Some restaurants serve coffee and sugary Irish cream, coffee and flavored syrups, or a little whiskey poured into a basic cup of Joe and call it Irish coffee.
When it’s made well, Irish coffee is a truly memorable experience—and one you’ll want to enjoy on the regular, not just on March 17. What’s more, Irish coffee is an easy dessert cocktail to make at home. And when sipped through a float of freshly whipped cream, it’s a delicious and elegant after-dinner drink.

5 Best Porch Ceiling Paint Colors, According to Interior Designers
Plus, why so many porches are painted blue—especially in the South.
Painted porch ceilings are as southern as ice-cold sweet tea. And if you’ve ever sipped tea on a southern porch, you may have noticed the playful blue ceiling above you. This unique home detail is a long-standing tradition—one that’s been practiced for generations. But it wasn’t born out of a popular exterior design trend: Painted porch ceilings are actually rooted in superstition. As the story goes, homeowners would paint these overhangs “haint” blue to scare away spirits that couldn’t cross the water-like shade.

People living near the Ohio train derailment will have to watch their health for years
It’s the beginning of a years-long effort to clean up and track the effects of chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
Many residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have warily returned to their homes after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled more than 100,000 gallons of dangerous chemicals into the air and water earlier this month.The towering smoke cloud from the burning vinyl chloride has drifted away, and the track has been cleared. Trains are now running again through the town. But the 4,700 residents of East Palestine say they still smell chemical residue in the air, see an oily sheen in the water, and are suffering from headaches and nausea. Concern is mounting about the long-term effects of the disaster.

Chloë Sevigny Is Still the Coolest Girl in the World
Nearly three decades after her breakout in Kids, the true original is as booked and busy as ever.
Sevigny, 48, washes her hair with Five Wits shampoo and conditioner, the house blends of the East Village salon Blackstones. The owner, Joey Silvestera, is a friend of Chloë, which is kind of like saying someone is a “friend of Dorothy” as a code for belonging to a particular echelon of New York-based creative talent. (Some of them also know Dorothy.) Over three decades of working simultaneously in New York’s film, television, and fashion industries, Sevigny’s rare combination of traits — extremely kind and unbearably chic — has amassed an extraordinarily talented group of individuals around her, like cool downtown flies to cooler downtown honey.

The Best Waterfall in Every U.S. State
The tall, the small, the powerful, and the pretty — these are America’s best waterfalls.
So often waterfalls are judged on their beauty or their brawn — the tallest, the most powerful, the most beautiful. All are valid superlatives. But what makes one the best? What about a waterfall makes you want to visit, to hike to its location, and stand in its spray? There’s no wrong answer, but perhaps — whether it’s the surrounding area, its historical or geographical significance, its aesthetics, or a combination of all three — we can concede that some are slightly more engaging than others.
Waterfalls have a somewhat mystical place in our psyche. Raw and enchanting, they make you feel small. And sometimes, the best ones are just fun to check off your travel list. America has more than 17,000 documented waterfalls. Here’s the best waterfall in each U.S. state.

Forget ‘Queen Consort.’ Camilla Will Officially Be ‘Queen’
Plus, why Harry and Meghan will likely not get their pre-Coronation King Charles apology, and how Camilla’s grandchildren—and Prince George—will be center stage at the Coronation.
Camilla Parker Bowles will be known as “Queen” rather than “Queen Consort,” according to sources speaking to the Mail on Sunday. The paper says the change in title will happen after King Charles’ Coronation in May.
Last week Camilla updated the name of her charity, the Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room, to the Queen’s Reading Room. The Court Circular could also soon reflect the change, the paper says. A well-placed source told the Mail: “There’s a view in the Palace that Queen Consort is cumbersome and it might be simpler for Camilla to be known just as the Queen when the time is right. The Reading Room was a sign of that. Her Majesty is the Queen after all. Prince Philip was Prince Consort officially, but he wasn’t known as Prince Consort. The Queen would of course still be Queen Consort so the Palace of course wouldn’t stop anyone calling Her Majesty that if they so chose.”

[Photo Credit: mariags.co.uk, northern-lights.co.uk]

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