In last week’s mailbag I named Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. as a celebrity couple I am emotionally invested in. Well, speak of a couple of sweethearts, Freddie popped up on the Oldish podcast and he talked about how he and SMG keep a low profile—they don’t go to trendy hot spots and wait out the paparazzi who show up in their neighborhood to doorstop their more famous neighbors. There are some celebrities so famous they can’t avoid paparazzi—the ones getting doorstopped—but Freddie is right, for most of them, privacy is maintainable just by avoiding the places paparazzi hang out. (Celebitchy)
I agree with Heather, this dress on Zoey Deutch needs a little more oomph to really make it work. The sleeves need more structure, perhaps, or color, or maybe just a more adventurous shoe to pull it all together. It’s not a bad look, it’s just not the best look. (Go Fug Yourself)
Chris Pratt “both sides’d” the election with a weak sports metaphor. Is anyone surprised? He encourages us to check on our neighbors after the election, which is well meaning, but dude, I have seen “kill Hillary” signs in some parts of the country, there are places it’s not SAFE to knock on your neighbor’s door if you’re having a difference of ideology. Also, “accept the results”, don’t act like that’s an equal problem on both sides of the line. I cried the morning Trump won in 2016, I didn’t do a violent coup about it. You know who did, though?
Anyway, in 2016, I wrote something for Pajiba about the Cubs winning the World Series on the eve of what was then shaping up to be the most contentious election of my lifetime. Sports can unify us, but only in the short term. It’s a temporary relief from larger ills, and “good sportsmanship” isn’t going to save us as a society. We’ve gone too far down the darkest road for that sort of pablum. I don’t know how we fix the divisions in our country, I don’t think we can, frankly. So thanks for the pep talk, Worst Chris, but this isn’t a problem both sides have to solve. (Pajiba)
Speaking of Chicago things, is Malört less gross now than it was before? It’s a Chicago staple, an absolutely disgusting liquor everyone insists is a “classic”, that originated in Chicago, moved to Florida, then came back to Chicago in the late 2010s. Ever since Malört’s production came home, people have been debating if it tastes “better”. I had my first shot of Malört at 15 in my friend Evelyn’s basement. I had it again when visiting another friend at college when I was 17. It’s f-cking disgusting, so I avoided it ever since, but I tried it again when Chicago production resumed. To me, it tastes as putrid as ever. The people who say it tastes “better” probably just got used to it. It has always tasted like if someone spilled grapefruit juice on a dirty shag carpet, then you sucked on the spill stain a year later. (Eater)
Kathleen DuVal traces the history of democracy in Native American and First Nations societies, from great capitols in the 11th and 12th centuries, to more de-centralized alliances of the 13th century and beyond. Historians have long argued that the Iroquois Confederacy inspired the founding fathers when writing the Constitution, but DuVal goes one step further, tracing a map from populism back to a more grounded, checks-and-balances form of representative government that could light a path out of our current political mess. Of course, the US government has never particularly excelled at listening to Native leaders, but it’s never too late to start. (The Conversation)
