T LOunge for August 10th, 2023

PinMadeleine Bar at Grand Hotel Birmingham – Birmingham, UK

Shall we go for luxury today, darlings? After all, it’s THURSDAY, is it not? Treat yourselves. Even if you haven’t earned it, act like you have. We’re off to scrape some content off the content grill. So to speak.

Issa Rae’s Career Advice? Don’t Be Afraid to “Be a Bitch”
“Madame President” shares her secrets to success.
The multi-talented Issa Rae is a bonafide Hollywood powerhouse, but her road to success was not one she paved alone. “I tell young people [just starting out in their careers] to search for other young people who are just as hungry as they are and collaborate with one another,” says Rae. “I think there’s such a power in working with the people next to you and building together.”

As The Only Single One Among My Friends, Seema Patel Is My New Heroine
I recently published a book about living without romantic love, and while writing it I had to confront how I had suppressed some of my feelings about this dynamic in order to appease others. I was ashamed, but also frightened I might be rejected, or worse, that I’d be dismissed because I “couldn’t understand” what it’s like to be in love. That one is hard to argue with because it needles my feelings of inadequacy, and so I can’t marshal my response without emotion flooding in. I would say it’s the experience of not having had romantic love that is the harder one to understand.

A beginner’s guide to crystals
How to incorporate the practice of crystal healing into your own self-care rituals
In turbulent times, many of us harness tools to ground us; to calm anxiety and soothe stress. So it’s not surprising that alternative therapies like crystal healing have come to the fore. The concept of using crystals to manifest and heal has been around for centuries, but with celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Miranda Kerr speaking publicly about their belief in the practice – and accessibility flourishing thanks to online shopping, it’s had a more mainstream resurgence in recent years. And, as with most trends reentering the zeitgeist, social media has played a huge part in its popularity – in more ways than one.

53 best LGBTQIA+ movies, TV shows and documentaries to watch on Netflix right now
Not just for Pride Month.
While we’re, of course, engaging with LGBTQIA+ content all year round, it’s nevertheless an important time to make sure we are always hearing enough voices from the community in all capacities. Therefore, it’s probably a good time to branch out and delve a bit deeper into the Netflix vault.
So, whether you’re part of the LGBTQIA+ community, you are an ally, or you want to understand more about the queer community experience, we have rounded up the best LGBTQ+ movies, TV shows, documentaries and reality TV shows on Netflix to watch now. These are the TV shows, documentaries and movies that aren’t just for Pride or LGBT History Month, they’re for all year round!

25 iconic Bond Girls who nearly put 007 out of a job
I spy with my little eye…
Bond Girls have always been a Hollywood staple since the 1962 film Dr. No.
While we might not wholly agree with the concept of the Bond girl, we have undoubtedly loved the films over the years, and the fact of the matter is, with names such as Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead and Xenia Onatopp, it’s hard to take the whole thing seriously as it is.
Some were good, some were bad, some were spies, some were bodyguards – ALL were clearly gorgeous. While some played the love interest of the iconic hero Bond, many held their own as they kicked butt and fought off the baddies, proving that they didn’t need a man to come to save them. Meanwhile, in major twists, some ended up being villainous themselves.

What to see, do and experience in Malaysia: the ultimate guide
Returning to Malaysia after three decades, our features director finds a country where the cultural riches of the past merge with the pleasures of modern day living
Another day, I wandered the streets of the island’s capital George Town – a Unesco heritage site – to see the 19th-century mint-green Pinang Peranakan Mansion, a house so ornate and full of antiques that it featured in Crazy Rich Asians and the wildly successful Singaporean series The Little Nyonya. The Peranakans evolved through the migration of 15th-century Chinese immigrants to the Straits of Malacca (Penang, Malacca and Singapore) and the Dutch-controlled island of Java.
Their mixed-race descendants, part Chinese, part Malay or Indonesian, created a unique culture as well as arguably some of the best food in Malaysia (my particular favourite being asam laksa, a tart variation with tamarind and garnished with fresh onion, mint, torch ginger flower, pineapple and cucumber).

I took a ginger shot every morning for a month and it transformed my energy levels
I was never really a ginger shot girl. Before about two months ago, I had only ever had a few ginger shots. Every now and then, I’d pick one up from M&S or Pret if I felt the tell-tale signs of a cold coming on. Or maybe, I’d grab one on-the-go if I felt particularly tired and needed more of a pick-me-up than my usual oat flat white could offer.
However, all of that changed a few months ago when, during a dive in the deepest parts of the internet, I found myself reading an interview with (famously energetic and peppy) Anna Kendrick from 2020 in Shape Magazine (honestly, don’t ask me how I got there — I have no idea).

To Watch And Be Watched: What Does The Female Gaze Mean In The Fashion Industry Today?
The female gaze has existed as long as art has, but what does it mean in today’s world? Charlotte Jansen traces its meaning and significance in fashion, culture and beyond.
The thing that strikes me most about the female gaze is that it is a rallying call, not only for women but for all the perspectives that have been missing throughout history in art and culture, where the male viewpoint has dominated. The concept of the female gaze is not new – women have always been active gazers – but the term is useful today to articulate an age-old absence in all forms of art, fashion and culture. And yet it means so much more than this.

How To Get Rid Of Clothes Moths
With warmer weather comes the inevitable plague of papery wings sure to send you wild with anxiety, but there are ways to safeguard your treasures. Care for your clothes with the Vogue guide to getting rid of moths.
Damp, warm conditions wreak havoc with your hair, but there’s something much more horrifying to keep you awake at night when temperatures rise: moth larvae are enjoying a perfect munching playground. Prepare for a biblical onslaught. “For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool,” to paraphrase Isaiah.
The clothes moth has good taste: luscious cashmere is its favourite dish, closely followed by natural fibres including silk, lambswool, shearling, feathers and cotton. So, how to defend your Dolce, guard your Gucci and secure your Celine against imminent infestation? Follow Vogue’s tips for safe-guarding your wardrobe.

Jamie Reid, Whose Artwork Defined Punk, Protest, and the Sex Pistols, Has Died at 76
Artist and graphic designer Jamie Reid—the creator of, most famously, the cover art for the Sex Pistols 1976 “Anarchy in the U.K.” and 1977 “God Save the Queen” singles—has died at the age of 76. The “Anarchy” single featured a torn and tattered Union Jack flag beneath ransom-note-like décollage lettering torn from newspapers that spelled out “Sex Pistols”; Reid’s “God Save the Queen” artwork, more notoriously, featured his defacement of Cecil Beaton’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, replete with a safety pin through her mouth.

S’mores Shoes Are Here for Cozy End-of-Summer Vibes
Slip into these toasty-looking Jet-Puffed shoes around the campfire.
Finding a soft and squishy pair of shoes nowadays is easy (we’re looking at you, Crocs). But finding a soft and squishy pair that fit well can be more difficult. Enter Jet-Puffed. Yes, as in the marshmallow manufacturer Jet-Puffed.
As an expert in all things squishy, it’s teamed up with a shoe brand to bring us some peak-summer snack-inspired footwear: the S’mores Shoe.

Critic’s Notebook: Let’s Talk About Sex, Just Don’t Show It
The NC-17 rating slapped on Ira Sachs’ ‘Passages’ and breathless talk about a few scenes in ‘Oppenheimer’ have renewed questions of whether — or why — American movies seem more sexually uptight than ever.
Let’s be clear: Passages — which Mubi opened Aug. 4 in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to other cities in the weeks to come — is a movie with a generous amount of sex, both gay and straight. But it’s neither particularly explicit nor remotely gratuitous, even if it’s frequently quite hot.
The sex is, above all, integral to the movie’s emotional texture, to the way the characters navigate their volatile relationships, the way they express their feelings and explore their connections through their bodies as they come together and pull apart. In other words, the film’s candor in depicting sex and nudity nudges it closer to European cinema than American.

‘Barbie’ Banned in Kuwait, Accused of “Promoting Homosexuality” in Lebanon
While Warner Bros’ hit movie may — finally — be coming out in Saudi Arabia, it faces a different fate in other Middle East countries
Bill Maher may have recently claimed that Warner Bros.’ blockbuster hit is Barbie is “man hating,” but in some corners of the Middle East it’s being accused of the opposite.
The film — which has already surpassed $1 billion globally in less than three weeks — has now been banned in Kuwait with moves to do the same in Lebanon.
In Lebanon, which has traditionally been considered among the more liberal countries in the region regarding the LGBTQ community, the culture minister Mohammad Mortada said that Barbie “promotes homosexuality” and “contradicts values of faith and morality,” by diminishing the importance of the family unit.

36 Hours in Prague
Prague, the Czech capital, is finding a new balance between preserving its past and embracing the future, improving many of its important historic sites while making striking additions to its skyline. A reset on tourism during the pandemic has left the city feeling more focused on local residents, with many new parks, bike trails, pedestrian bridges and other amenities showing up outside the historic center. The best new cafes, bars and restaurants, as well, are often found outside Old Town, in neighborhoods like Dejvice, Vinohrady, Holesovice, Karlin and New Town. Stop by for a coffee, hit up one of the many great new bakeries or visit a charismatic old beer hall as you explore a city that is clearly entering its prime.

Alice K. Ladas, Author of Landmark Book on Female Sexuality, Dies at 102
Working with collaborators, she wrote “The G Spot,” which became a cultural sensation and sold more than a million copies.
Alice Kahn Ladas, a psychologist and psychotherapist whose best-selling 1982 book, “The G Spot: And Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality,” created a tipping point for female sensual autonomy by introducing ways for women to experience greater sexual pleasure, died on July 29 at her home in Santa Fe, N.M. She was 102.
Her daughter Robin Janis confirmed the death, adding that Dr. Ladas was still seeing patients at her home office the day before she died.

How Cooking Videos Took Over the World
They are an unavoidable part of being online. But are they making us better cooks?
Videos on TikTok with the #foodtok hashtag have been viewed more than 64 billion times. But cooking videos are not only an unavoidable part of being online — they’ve also infiltrated physical spaces. TikTok-esque cooking videos air on large vertical screens on New York City subways and on iPad-size displays in the back of cabs, in the lobby of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the waiting room at the doctor’s office. They are everywhere.
TikTok may be the look of today, but cooking videos have captured our attention for decades, shaping how we eat along the way.

13 Super Charming European Cities Well Worth a Day Trip
Go ahead. Get out and explore more.
You’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the little streets of Paris, the palaces of Vienna, or the twisting canals of Venice. After all, there’s a reason these iconic cities are as timeless and as popular as they are. But Europe is more than just these well-known destinations. In fact, some of Europe’s most beautiful and exciting cities are often also some of the continent’s smallest or most unassuming.

How to Etch Glassware With Monograms, Patterns, and More
Put a personal touch on thrifted glasses with these simple steps.
Flea-market or thrifted glasses can be transformed with monograms, stripes, and whimsical polka dots. All you need is etching cream, available at craft and art-supply stores, masking tape, and a steady hand (if you want to cut a custom template). On the glassware shown, we used masking tape to make horizontal stripes in varying widths and adhesive hole-reinforcers (for loose-leaf paper) to make the polka dots.

15 Broiled or Baked Steak Recipes That Are Perfect for Dinner Tonight
Want a steak with a crisp, seasoned crust and a juicy center? The secret is to bake or broil steak in the oven, as shown in these hearty recipes.
When you have a good-looking steak sitting in the refrigerator but it’s either pouring rain or too cold to even think about grilling them, your oven is a great substitute. The three methods (grilling, broiling, and baking) all share the same technique for cooking steak: dry heat. This is the best way to get a steak that has a dark brown crust on the outside and a medium-rare or medium doneness on the inside.

[Photo Credit: robertangelldesigninternational.com, thegrandhotelbirmingham.co.uk]

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