1| I went to a baby shower this weekend, so Amanda Machado’s article about the cultural values we learn by celebrating weddings and babies and bypassing career accomplishments and life experiences hit especially hard. I live for the day that I can attend a Travel Shower or a New Job Shower.
2| WOW, what a beautiful description of the pain that comes at the intersection of mental illness and faith. Molly Polig opens up about her lifelong struggles with depression, anxiety, and self-harm, and how trusting in God through all of that makes it both better and worse.
And now, the Star Wars-related things on the Internet!
1| S. Jae Jones has the same reaction I did while watching the movie: delighted disbelief at seeing herself (as a female) all over the screen!
2| Tasha Robinson counters the claims that Rey is a Mary Sue with the admission that hey, haven’t male characters been overly competent/skilled/suave FOREVER? I’m perfectly happy to sit back and enjoy a female character that is too good to be true.
3| John Green nerds out about how The Force Awakens brings back the mythic quality of the original trilogy that was so lacking in the prequels.
1| Rachel Held Evans wrote a really beautiful piece about how we can never escape the faith of our childhood or arrive at a new “better” faith. Instead, we wrestle with acknowledging our privilege and interpretations as we seek deeper truths, celebrating and critiquing the Church as we do so.
2| David Schell wrote about how the angst of Advent was transformed into joy when he heard about the warm welcome offered to Syrian refugees in Canada. It’s a super heartwarming look at what happens when Advent becomes real.
3| Jaya Saxena wrote a school report about the life of Alexander Hamilton based only on the musical with no historical context, and it is hilarious!
Today I am going to talk to you about America’s ten dollar founding father without a father, Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton was an important figure in American history for many reasons. He was America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, founded the New York Post, and together with his friend and rival Aaron Burr invented rap in 1776.
Videos
1| Buzzfeed has been doing a lot of amazing articles and videos for their Mental Health Week, and I especially loved watching the Try Guys go to Therapy. Their videos are usually based on humor, so it was really cool to see them open up about themselves to each other in a group therapy session.
2| Star Wars stars (old and new) create an a capella music medley with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots!!
3| Another Star Wars song! This one is a parody/summary with killer harmonies.
1| This hilariously over-the-top description of one man watching Hamilton and being forever changed made me laugh out loud three times.
Intermission arrived. We all sat stunned in our seats, unable to move, unable to leave the temple that this theater had become. Many were rocking and weeping; others soiled themselves. I tried to recall the details of my life before this moment, but nothing came: All I was, all I ever would be, was a person seeing Hamilton.
2| I’m guilty of under-appreciating Martha Jones (I mourned Rose for a long time), but this blog post helped me remember the Doctor’s companion’s awesomeness!
3| The remake of Final Fantasy 7 is apparently going to be episodic. I’m totally okay with paying all the monies, but I’m going to HATE waiting. What a geeky conundrum.
4| One of my favorite things in the world is when Stephen Colbert goes on a Tolkien rant, and this one (where he channels Atticus Finch in order to exonerate a Turkish man) is one of his best.
5| WHAT A TRAGEDY. On Friday, our last day in New York City, I said, “We should try to get on Stephen Colbert’s show like we did Seth Meyer’s.” But it was north of everything else to do, so we passed the opportunity by, TO MY NOW IMMENSE REGRET. Who appeared as a guest on Friday’s show and had a rap battle with Colbert? Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE (uh, second best, after Hamilton itself).
1| Intrepid Travel has created a year-long adventurer’s trek across the world, and I want to go so badly! Covering “34 countries, 5 continents and over 200 breakfasts” (lol) it’s not a bad deal at $75,000. Anyone want to fund me?
2| I am so late to the Kid President game, but his pep talk is a thing of pure beauty. “We got work to do – we can cry about it, or we can dance about it.”
3| J.J. Abrams explicitly says his new Star Wars movie was made so that women and girls would feel included in the universe, and my 8-year-old self is SO HAPPY. I’ve seen commercials where a young brother and sister team up to take down Stormtroopers with lightsabers, and I’m so glad a new nerdy generation will be raised without all the “I’m a girl – should I like this?” shame that I did.
4| I’ve never watched The Tudors, but this emotional reaction to the historical inaccuracies feels like it could apply to most TV shows (and movies.)
5| One Direction was on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where Harry lost a game of tattoo roulette and Louis sat on James’s lap pretending to be a cat, and I had absolutely zero feelings involving tearing my eyeballs out of their sockets and/or shouting into the sun.
6| White Walls & Wanderlust put together a list of Christmas gift ideas, and I fell in love with the Etsy shop ResilienceStreetwear, which has t-shirts that say things like “Single and ready to get nervous around anyone I find attractive.”
1| This is old news by now, but still, every time I watch the trailer for Captain America: Civil War, I devolve into a shrieking mass of fangirl. BUCKY AND STEVE!!!
It is also, apparently, the only thing I had time to care about on the Internet. Which is totally fine by me, because Bucky and Steve!!!!
1| Hamilton is taking the Internet by storm, and this article on The Mary Sue makes a compelling case that the hero of the musical is not Alexander, but Eliza Hamilton.
2| BuzzFeed has created a list of 18 reasons Japan is amazing, including tons of vending machines and organized signage.
3| The Gospel Coalition posted a spot-on critique of Christian films, culminating in a sentiment I agree with 100%.
What if God Is Not Dead was about a Christian wrestling with the fact that he knew atheists smarter and more ethical than himself?
Suddenly we would have a chance to say something vulnerable, honest, and profound. But as long as Christian films are motivated by a desire to trap people into hearing a gospel presentation, or as a consolation for losing the culture war, they should not make the final cut.
4| The Travelettes wrote a beautiful ode to female solo travelers, reminding us of the beauty, frustrations, and worthiness of exploring the world.
5| Andrea Wenger’s writing blog has a post about the writing process of INFJs that I found very accurate. She’s got posts for other personality types, too, so check them out if that sort of thing interests you.
1| There’s a bookstore in Paris (Shakespeare & Company) where people can stay the night, even live there, so long as they “read a book a day, help out in the shop for a couple of hours, and write a single-page autobiography for George’s archives.” People who stay are called Tumbleweeds, which is just adorable.
2| The drama surrounding the “anti-Christmas” Starbucks red cups is succinctly described and shot down by Buzzfeed.
3| Nikita Gill is blowing up on Instagram for her beautiful and powerful short poems.
This essay speaks to so much of what I love about traveling – the solitude and introspection allowed when you’re flying 30,000 feet above the ground. However, Kelly’s appreciation is tempered by her anxiety about all the things that can go wrong while traveling. I don’t share that fear (mostly because I naively assume everything will work out in the end), but I assume her thoughts and emotions will resonate with someone else!
Yet, I find myself craving the time I spend on airplanes. Quiet and solitude capture me for the length of the flight. My mind wanders away from the pressing deadlines, the ever-growing to-do list, and the what-must-be-done to what-could-be-possible. When I travel, I tend to face myself, the good, the bad, and the ambivalent. I cannot escape who I am by pushing onto the next task, the next essay, or the next school event. The captive time of each flight leads to revelation, small and large.
2| The Try Guys Get Prostate Exams
Someday I will do an entire post on the Try Guys, but for now, their latest video: getting testicular and rectal examinations to bring awareness to Movember, an organization dedicated to men’s health. I like when the Try Guys get political and raise awareness for things, and I really like when they’re making jokes to hide their fear and discomfort. This video has both IN SPADES.
This is the post that tipped me over the edge and made me try listening to Hamilton: An American Musical (which I hardcore fangirled about over here). I used to read JJ’s blog all the time, but then she tapered off and didn’t write consistently for a couple years. I keep checking back, though, and was rewarded to find that she’d broken her 6-month dry spell…to write about Hamilton! FINE, I thought, if even she is raving about this weird musical, I’ll give it a try. Plus, I was very intrigued by the fact that a line from the show was apparently, “I’m a general, wheeeeeeee!”
Jamie the Very Worst Missionary (this is her given name in my head) has turned 40! Oh, like, a month ago. I don’t check her blog all that often, I guess. But! Like everything else, she describes and analyzes this milestone with candor and humor, once more confirming that I want to be her when I grow up.
As my 40th birthday approached, people kept trying to make me feel better about being almost dead. They kept saying encouraging things like “40 is the new 30!” or, even more ridiculous, “40 is the new 20!” And I just smiled back and nodded with a look that I hope said, “YOU ARE EFFING DELUSIONAL.” That’s a damn dirty lie, that’s what that is. And we need to talk about it, because A) You have been the victim of this lie, and you think something must be wrong with you because when you turned 40 you definitely DID NOT feel 30. Or B) You haven’t turned 40 yet, but you think you might someday, and you’re clinging to the hope that 40 is the new 30, or preferably the new 20.
This week I fell in love with Tom Hiddleston (again), some nerdy news surfaces, and a scientific approach to faith. Click “Read More” to check out these Internet marvels for yourself!
Guillermo del Toro did an interview with The Mary Sue about Crimson Peak and his habit of making movies with competent women taking up most of the screen time. I was initially interested in the movie because of Tom Hiddleston, but now I have an even bigger reason to get over my fear and watch the gothic horror/romance film!
The Toast is a new website I discovered because of my friend Elizabeth. They cover a lot of topics, but this article by Nicole Cliffe about becoming a Christian and falling in love with prayer. This is exactly the kind of Christian blogging I want to emulate, because she writes with passion and clarity, but never once alienates her potentially non-Christian audience.
Prayer has been one of the pleasant surprises of becoming a person of faith. It’s something I truly enjoy, and has been weirdly transformational to my life, I guess? I wish neither to oversell nor undersell it to you as something to do (I’m not a particularly talented or motivated evangelist, you may have noticed.)
When I first became a Christian (July 7th, 2015, The Jesusversary), Mallory’s dad told me that he thinks God gives a spiritual starter pack to new converts, like how sometimes you can get a way better deal on your phone plan if you’re a new customer instead of an existing one. That there will be long seasons in your life where you feel like God is ghosting you, and you’re just plaintively texting into The Void. That you just won’t feel like there’s anyone on the other end of the line. And those times will come and go, in the average life of a believer, but for this first six months to a year, many people get to feel great nearness in their prayer life, and it’s a gift.
It Is Trish 