So, the Oscars…

If you were tired of seeing your social media blow up over another awards ceremony, you might want to unplug this weekend: because it’s finally the Oscars everyone’s been chatting about, boycotting, and analyzing to pieces.

You may have seen this apt hashtag #OscarsSoWhite rumbling around, as we see a lack of nominations for talented multicultural actors, writers, and directors AGAIN. This happened even though movies like Straight Outta Compton, Creed, Concussion, and Beasts of No Nation came out this year. What took everyone by surprise is that the only nominations for Straight Outta Compton and Creed went to white people (Original Screenplay and Supporting Actor to Sylvester Stallone respectively), even though we saw worthy performances from Will Smith for Concussion, Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation, and Michael B. Jordan for Creed.

This certainly magnified the greater issue in Hollywood of diversity in front and behind the cameras, as well as the system that allows films to be made and recognized. As we finally see a little more diversity in screen actors, we need to see more scripts that provide great roles for them, directors and producers to create the films, and studios to sign off on them. And then we need Academy members who honor their votes to the best in the craft over their buddies.

How Does Oscar Voting Work?

The way the votes work are that the Academy (the roughly 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) nominate fellows who deserve to be recognized for their work — actors vote for actors, editors vote for editors, and so on. These nominees are announced in an elegant fashion and the same people cast their votes to select a winner in categories like Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Song.

So think of this like your high school’s Homecoming Court nominations: friends are going to support friends in order to get them the nominations. But unlike high school, only those worthy enough of being members are allowed to make the nominations — which leaves a lot of old Hollywood with voting power. Although the current Academy president, Cheryl Boone Issacs, has been handling the situation as best as she can, you can tell by the leadership that there is still a need for more diversity.

Out of the 51 Governors of the 17 branches, 33% were women. Although this is higher than I expected, it is still not parity. With more diversity in leadership gives more representation of the variety of voices in Hollywood and America.

Our increasingly multicultural country desires movies that tell a variety of stories and that represent more of America today. We can see that the gap movies have yet to fill is being capitalized by TV. In old Hollywood, TV was secondary to film: the artistry, the quality, and the variety of entertainment. With numerous cable channels, premium cable, and alternative hosts of content like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, there are more opportunities for stories to be made. Just look at the quality of shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and Transparent? If these were movie concepts, do you think you’d see it in theaters?

TV has become an elevated arena where you see skilled directors, actors, and writers are showcasing their work. Netflix and Amazon are being known, within the industry, as very agreeable partners to work with in developing and running a show, allowing the show-creators to have more control over their own work. We are in a new Golden Age of TV where the creativity is able to shine and we get to enjoy a variety of quality entertainment.

As Consumers, What Can We Do?

Support movies and TV programs that give us something different than the “same old, same old.” Talk about it with your friends. Suggest TV shows or movies to them that they may not have considered before. Of course, you can still enjoy summer blockbusters that everyone gabs about, but perhaps there’s an independent film you’ve been curious to see as well.

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So Internet, I’ll be watching the Oscars (just because I want to see what Chris Rock brings in his re-written show) and popping over to the live-stream of #JUSTICEFORFLINT hosted by stellar people like Ryan Coogler (director of Creed), Ava DuVernay (director of Selma), Hannibal Buress, Janelle Monae and more. They’re running a fundraiser for the people of Flint, MI who are in desperate need for clean, fresh water to live. (Pop in next Wednesday as I pull a full analysis of how the government failed the people of Flint!)

Until then, cheers: Amelia

Fancy Friday: Pop Culture Podcasts

When you work in an office environment where you could sit for 5 hours straight in the dearth of Excel, you need some audio pick me ups. Because glancing to Twitter every 10 minutes is not generally appreciated by management.

Surely this is where you listen to every Spotify playlist they’ve ever made, but you could also laugh along or learn some stuff while you’re “working.” And pop culture is my bread and butter: TV, movies, celebrities, books, stuff that’s headlining, all of the above.

Podcasts that Cover Today’s Trending Topics

Pop Rocket is hosted by comedian Guy Branum, who has worked on amazing shows like Chelsea Lately, The Mindy Project, Awkward and does stand-up! He has a power panel consisting of Margaret Wappler (journalist), Oliver Wang (academic and DJ), Wynter Mitchell (digital strategist), and occasionally Karen Tongson (academic). It’s smart, hilarious, and it feels like you become best friends with them after a couple listens.

The Post-Super Bowl Post

I’m sure that a lot of people were surprised to see the Panthers fall to the Broncos last Sunday (you know Eli Manning was).

But what I’ve always take time to recap on is the ads, of course! Being at a watch party with a bunch of advertising friends really steps up the expectations during commercial breaks — we’re a tough crowd to please! Although our opinions varied from ad to ad, there were a few that stood out to me:

The “Aww” Factor

Heinz Ketchup “Wiener Stampede” | Agency: David Miami

A usual Super Bowl ad trope is the cute puppy, and they went all in on it with the Heinz family of condiments waiting for the adorable wiener dogs in hot dog costumes. Such a simple concept but it was charming and adorable and how can you deny that little kid as a ketchup packet??

Fancy Friday: Cooking for One

This is the second post in my new post series called “Fancy Friday”, where I talk about what I’m fancying that week. Enjoy!

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I’m living solo in a studio apartment, which means when I cook there is no one to pawn off leftovers. (To be honest, I was always THAT roommate that ate everyone’s unwanted leftovers — don’t want to waste food!) I’ve made the mistake before of not scaling down recipes, which are often 4-8 servings! That’s turkey chili for a whole straight week, which is delicious but tiring after awhile.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t get a chance to flex my culinary muscle! Cooking for one means I only cook what I want to eat and not have to tone down the spices. Food is an important part of culture and you have the ability to explore other cultures through their cuisines.

I’ve made everything from Indian chicken korma to Mexican tinga to Greek gyros. It’s exciting to buy ingredients I have never used before and transform mealtime into an experience! Truly I need to read up on some food photography tips, but for now I share on my Instagram with photos taken from my rickety iPhone 4.

What I’ve found is that certain recipes that are automatically portioned out (tamales, stuffed peppers, ramekin dishes) seem to be easier to scale down, since you can accurately imagine how much food you are making. But for all other recipes (soups, stews, pasta), scale down the recipe to 2-4 servings depending on how much you like leftovers. My trouble is always when purchasing meat, which is usually at least a pound. If you want smaller purchases of protein, head to the meat/seafood counter! They sell cuts by the piece and you can get smaller amounts of seafood for your “just for one” recipes. I spoiled myself with those bay scallops above, about $5 for 1/2 lb.

And I am a big fan of farmers markets! Fresh, local produce is the way to go. And when you live in a wonderful produce state like California (and Michigan), you have to take advantage of what is in season. It also gives you an opportunity to try something new as well! Find a farmers market closest to you here.

And even if you’re not a cooking aficionado, you can try your hand at a new recipe! Perhaps an old favorite tweaked with new ingredients or something completely unfamiliar using things you already have. You don’t need anything fancy to make a good meal! Just love and patience 🙂

My Go-To Cooking Implements:

• Rice Cooker: I’m half Asian, so it’s a given. The first thing my parents gave me for my college dorm was a rice cooker. Asian priorities.
• Slow Cooker/CrockPot: A machine that sits and cooks a whole meal while you’re at work? Win! Just peruse Pinterest & Buzzfeed and see all the people who rave over slow cooker recipes.
• Wok: Hello? Stir frys for days! And fried rice. And a million other things.
• Cast Iron Skillet: A pan that can go on the stovetop AND in the oven; that means frittatas, skillet brownies and more.
• Panini Pan: My dad gifted this and I was ready to get my pressed sandwich on! Primo grilled cheeses, toasted wraps, and the ability to put grill marks on anything without a grill.

My Go-To Recipe/Food Sources:

• Martha Stewart: The queen of the craft and kitchen, she is my source for trying out seasonal produce and what I can do with it. Also, if you want to make gourmet and beautiful food, she is key.
• Food Network: Want to learn some basic cooking techniques? Try the recipes you’ve seen in your favorite show?
• Iowa Girl Eats: A healthy lifestyle blogger, Kristin is a Midwest girl (holla!) who loves using fresh food to make healthier recipes. Stellar food photography, btw.
• All Recipes: Got a taste for something or have an idea of what you want to make? Search here from tons of user submitted recipes and find which one suits your fancy.

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Hopefully this post maybe inspires you to get creative in the kitchen, or just watch Food Network on end and be insanely jealous of their skills. But just like in the Pixar movie Ratatouille (which I’ve made before!), “Anyone can cook.”

Cheers Internet, Amelia

Super Bowl 50

The big weekend is coming up (and is also doubling up as my birthday weekend too!) and y’all know it’s about those big bucks ads. Can you believe that you can watch it in fast forward JUST for the commercials? That’s crazy!

I enjoy a good game AND the ads, but it seems like less brands have thrown their hat into the ring for this round. It makes sense, since the budgets are huge for Super Bowl commercials and more brands are allocating money into digital. You can still make an impact with Super Bowl watchers double-screening on social media (example: Oreo) and there’s also the anti-Super Bowl commercial like Newcastle did in 2014:

But the Super Bowl is a space for national awareness strategies (introducing a new brand or product) like for Jublia fungal cream or for major players to maintain and entertain (car brands and beer). If you’re going to show up for the Super Bowl, you better not disappoint. Everyone becomes an ad critic and we revel in that consumer right on that day.

Get serious, America

Let’s talk about women in politics.

Ramping up to the 2016 caucuses, we have two female presidential candidates: Carly Fiorina (R) and Hillary Clinton (D). Carly Fiorina, formerly the CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP), had gained early steam in the Republican presidential debates proving herself with actual policies and plans — but has fallen out of favor in the polls. Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, Secretary of State, and US Senator, is not new to the presidential race and is facing tough numbers as of late against Bernie Sanders.

In my Millennial mind, I’m thinking, “Finally! The first time there are two female presidential contenders!” To my great surprise, this is not true.

Pioneering Women of American Congress

Back in 1972, two groundbreaking women took a chance at becoming the first female — and minority — president: Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and Patsy Mink, the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress.

Shirley Chisholm (D-NY)

An educator turned politician, she ran her US congressional race in Brooklyn back in 1968 under the slogan “unbought and unbossed.” She was like an original political outsider, irking the status quo politicians of the late sixties: old, male and white. But that didn’t dismay her; just like in her slogan, she worked her way onto the Education and Labor Commitees and championed early education and child welfare.

When she began her political career, running for NY state legislature, she saw a need for the people to be truly represented and fight for their needs. A skilled debater in college, Chisholm had the prowess to enter a tough political atmosphere and make a difference. She helped establish the WIC program, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

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Patsy Mink (D-HI)

As a high-achieving Japanese-American high school student in WWII Hawaii, who was class president and valedictorian, it’s hard not to see Patsy Takemoto Mink’s bright future in politics. She fought and beat segregation policies at University of Nebraska by building coalitions between the students, faculty, parents, and even corporations. This ability to unite different stakeholders played a strong role in her political career: solidifying the Democratic Party’s stance on civil rights in 1960, championing Title IX and introducing the Early Childhood Act and Women’s Educational Equality Act. She also readily questioned the creation of the Department of Homeland Security with concerns of people’s civil rights, citing what she had witnessed of the Japanese internment camps in her youth.

Fancy Friday: Books About Comedy

So I want to start a themed-post day again. Last year it was my “Motivational Monday” posts with quotes from various people. This year I’m inspired by one of my fave podcasts, Pop Rocket, where they have a segment where each contributor shares what they’re obsessed with in pop culture this week.

My riff on it is “What I Fancy” Friday, shortened to “Fancy Friday”. So, if anything catches my fancy that week, I’ll share with y’all!

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What I have been OBSESSED with for over a year now are books about comedy. I most recently received Judd Apatow’s new book for Christmas:

I’ve always been fascinated with how people get to where they are today — Wikipedia “early life” sections are my go-to’s sometimes — and Judd Apatow has fun interviewing the greats of comedy and those who have been impacted by his work. He always knew he was a comedy nerd before it was a term and started his interviews as a teenager for his high school’s radio station. To reiterate: he interviewed young Seinfeld as a teen with a radio show. That’s determination!

And the title’s byline is true, he has conversations with these people. They’re fun chats, full of tangents, quips, and sarcasm — and reflections from Judd too. Although it’s not a book with a purpose of being biographical, you do see Judd’s journey into and through his comedy career thus far.

It’s a great book to read while traveling and is granted to make you chuckle — and make people curious to what you are reading!

Already read this book? Try…

Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers is a similarly formatted book where comedy greats are interviewed about their craft, their humble beginnings, and their journey. This book is probably more focused for the comedy nerds and aspiring comedy technics, but it is still entertaining and engaging.

Again, a great travel book and will make you chuckle!

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling is her sophomore book of essays that hit it out of the park. She dives deeper into her experience of her show The Mindy Project (it being canceled and being promptly picked up by Hulu), her childhood experiences, and her becoming a role model for young girls and women. When you read it, it’s like getting advice from a friend that’s a few years older: you laugh and you trust that she wants the best for you. Recommended for the young feminist’s bookshelf!

Yes Please by Amy Poehler was on my Most Wanted Booklist last year and I read through it in 24 HOURS. Probably a record for me, considering it’s a 300+ page book, but it absolutely sucked me in! You can hear Amy’s voice and soul through this book, which is tireless positivity and support for herself & her peers. Also, contrasts so well with Tina Fey’s book in showing their different comedic styles (Tina’s snappy wit to Amy’s all-in comedic commitment). Hard to believe she’s a momma, but I bet she’s killing it as a mom!

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This is just a mere sample of my favorite books about comedy/from comedians. I’ll definitely need a part II of this post! And I probably need another post just for young feminists (shout out to Emma Watson’s new feminist’s bookclub, Our Shared Self).

Now with future posts on the to-do list, I’ll keep reading away — and I hope you are too!

Cheers Internet, Amelia

 

You CAN Have Nice Things

I’m a product of very VERY thrifty parents — it’s a skill, no doubt, but also kind of a curse. You start subscribing to the philosophy of “quantity not quality” and buy things you really don’t need just because it’s on sale or really cheap (*cough cough* Forever 21 and H&M aka my whole closet). Fast fashion shops like those allow you to buy into all the trends for as fleeting as the trends are: good for a couple months, and then it rips or disintegrates.

It’s a result of the globalization of our markets and the access to inexpensive labor overseas. ETZs, cheap oil, and growing culture of consumerism all pushed this ideology of buying everything we want cheaply. With the increase in demand comes shortcuts made by companies to make those CrAzY deals. John Oliver entertains with a good synopsis of this:

And it’s not just in fashion where we see “quantity over quality”, it’s also in how we consume food, give gifts, outfit our homes. All this stuff is great…until you have to move. Then you have to sort through everything and figure out what you really need, or pay to move the excesses.

Sun for Snow, Juices for Pizza

You know that moment when you just decide to leave everything you know and are familiar with for a chance at something new and exciting?

Where you sacrifice the seasons for the mildest weather in the US, the heavy coats for lighter layers — and the pizza for salads and juices?

I left the heartland for a little California living. How cliche. But in the City of Angels are endless dreamers and opportunities to be had, so I’m not alone.

Yes, people do look at me weird when I say ‘pop’ instead of ‘soda’, rejoice in the cloudy weather, and forgo a car for more environmentally-friendly means of transport, but it’s fun to find all my Midwest trademarks I hadn’t noticed before. My appreciation and optimism will hopefully take me a long way.

Book, please.

I’ve always been an avid reader, gobbling up so many books that my mom used to limit the amount I could buy at Barnes & Noble. What can I say, I get sucked into another world and I seek a new one within 3 days.

One time, my mom caught me reading late at night. She stormed in, took my book, and chucked it at the top of my closet (a fate my Furby had faced as well).

With so much content available to us — on-demand movies and TV shows, web series’, short blog posts, Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook — what has happened to the long-form story or article? Really going in-depth on a topic or creating an alternate universe through the power of the written word?

It’s not lost. Both Entertainment Weekly and Buzzfeed have ‘book’ sections of their publications. And how many YA books have become box office franchises in the past few years? The storytelling is still there, and we still crave it, but it is a matter of making time for it.

I love getting encapsulated in the book I am reading — sharing the latest revelations to whoever is around me.

Can you believe it?? Blank ‘n’ blank just committed a crime and pawned it off on his mom! Like whaaaat?

But I also enjoy stepping into someone else’s life, seeing things from their perspective and subsequently reevaluating mine. It helps me open my eyes to experiences I haven’t had, places I’ve never been, and ideas I haven’t considered. This especially helps me since I want to be a storyteller myself: by witnessing and absorbing the skills of other storytellers, hopefully it will help me become a better one!

Places Where I Find Things to Read

Overdrive (website & app)

Remember the good old library? Where you can check out books for free?

You can still do that, but for ebooks and audio books! Overdrive allows you to access your public library’s online collection of books and borrow for 21 days time over your iPad, iPhone, or Kindle. And it’s still free.

Books app (iOS)

Perhaps you already have this app buried away in your iPhone, but if you are interested in the classics (Bronte sisters, Shakespeare, etc) they tend to be free since the copyrights are long gone on those novels.

Paperback Swap

Got a bunch of novels you have no use for anymore? Offer them up in the swap marketplace for others to enjoy! Each book sent out earns you a credit for you to request a book. You do have to pay for shipping (media mail ~ $2-3), but compared to the cost of a new book? It’s worth it.

Short-form Reads

Medium

A product of Twitter’s, this clean blogging format has the voices of tech leaders, feminists, writers, and more. Each article shows you how long of a read it is, which makes it perfect for the morning commute (via train/bus).

LinkedIn Pulse

Also filled with industry leaders and CEOs, this feed has short articles ranging with professional advice to discussion of issues today.

Well, I’ll be reading away on my tiny little iPhone 4 screen. Got any other suggestions for places to read, short-form or long-form?