Fri-Yay #8

Listening

American Greed doesn't seem to have a YouTube channel, which is a bummer. Above is the Fyre Fest episode. That one was a wild ride and explains it to people like me...who think going to a random event with a bunch of unknown (to me) people sounds awful. I think Coachella and Glastonbury sound super unfun...but fun to me includes a spa and not being around other people. 

You could say I'm....utterly boring. 

Here's another channel with more clips and such. The show is on Peacock (the streaming service), so that's fun too. 

I've got a few new podcasts to add to my list! I'm really excited about them as they're by the BBC Radio/BBC Sounds, who have done other productions I really enjoyed. One is about Anna Delvey, the fake heiress that conned people in NYC. There was a write up in the Cut if I remember correctly and one of her friends wrote a book about her friendship with Anna. It's a story that would (and probably was) on American Greed...which I love. 

American Greed is a television show on CNBC. They cover fraud crimes, art theft crimes, grifting, ponzi schemes, medical malpractice fraud cases, occasional murder (if fraud is involved). I think it's fascinating. 

On the true crime podcast train, I've been listening to Casefiles as I work. This is an Australian based true-crime podcast, although he covers crimes in other countries. I don't find him gratuitous, which I appreciate. Although, I do have to skip some of the episodes as they're too scary or rough. He usually gives warnings if it's going to be really rough. Or if there are children hurt/murdered. He did a deep dive on EAR/ONS/Golden State Killer, Mr. Cruel, and the Hinterkaifeck murders. He (the anonymous host) is Australian and has a very chill, soothing voice. It's a nice background noise...even with the subject matter. 

Watching

The Alienist! I wanted to read the book first but I had loaned it out...and I'm pretty sure I won't see it again (my friend had it at her house and had a bad breakup...and the book disappeared when her ex moved out). It's fine as I can get another copy. They're re-running season one before the second season starts so I hope to start that this week. I'm not sure how gritty it gets (or drama filled) so it might just be on in the background if it gets that way. 

I've honestly not watched much television. I had planned on watching Psych Movie 2...but I've been slammed with work. 

Reading

I'm in the midst of a true crime book and I'm trying to determine how factual it really is. It's told via a first person narrative and leans into the sensationalism (because it's a true crime story of an historical crime). I'm not sure if I like it or not. I've also started a re-read of a historical romance series on my kindle (in order to shelve them in the proper ratings). It's all over the place but settling between 2-3 stars per book. A few stand out. It goes on for like...twenty books as the author writes about every family member. I don't think I would have continued this series if I started today but it was my first historical romance series and I just keep reading them. 

I categorize my kindle books by rating (1-5) and genre (and sub-genre at times). Whilst on Goodreads I round up, I'm mercilessness on the tablet itself as it's just for my eyes. Was the book almost a 3.5 star? Nope, three on the tablet. I'm mean like that. 

I've gone through a bunch of bookmarked links this past week as well. I've saved a ton of financial information (and possible companies to invest in). So it's just going through. The goal is to de-clutter as my whole life is a mess. I've also saved quite a few longforms that I've gotten to read (sometimes years after saving!) This particular one is only a year old. It deals with Lorena Gallo (nee Bobbitt); Lorena rose to infamy because one night she cut off her (then) husband's member. There was a trial and some evidence of abuse came out. That was all almost twenty years ago and before this wave of women and men talking about abuse in marriage (the article even talks about how the idea of marital rape was just confirmed a crime in all fifty states). I think taking a look at Lorena's case (and John Wayne's account as well) with a modern discussion about marital rape, spousal abuse and, even the MeToo movement is a brilliant idea. I thought the line: "It occurred to me that there would be no documentary, no Bobbitt jokes or permanent place in popular culture, had John severed some vital piece of Lorena" was horrifically accurate because it's very true. The article is titled You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story, But Not All Of It. Jordan Peele created a documentary for Amazon Prime titled Lorena (video: Lorena trailer). 

I also picked up a more recent article from Rolling Stone. Since I'm on the MeToo and Sexual Abuse reads. It's titled How the Media Turned Child Rape Into a "Tryst" for Mary Kay Letourneau. I usually roll my eyes at the very emotional whines about "the media!" from a certain subsection of the internet. In this case, I did agree with the soft wording being so at odds with what really happened. You still see it though, especially with the Jeffrey Epstein case (when the sexual acts are reported on, it's very rarely coached as "rape of a child" and instead a softer phrasing. It's super annoying. This Vox article also talks about the challenges of writing about all this. Anyways, this is an older event but the people involved are still alive (except Mary Kay, who died recently). The main story is that Mary Kay, married mother, 'started a relationship with her student (Fualaau).' The issue, besides the fact that she was married, was that her student was thirteen (to Mary Kay's thirty-four). It was a mess and a tabloid headline for a long time. Eventually (after she was arrested, revoked bond by continuing to pursue him, and sentenced) Mary Kay married this (now grown) student. The narrative was "star-crossed lovers" instead of a predatory sexual assault on a minor child. I do remember a lot of discussion amongst the boys I grew up with that referred to boys in cases like this as "lucky," a disturbing facet on its own (touched upon in the article) whilst the wonder for many of the girls and women (and many of the older men) seemed to question why she'd even want a teenage boy. I'm sure it's very difficult for Fualaau, they had two children together (they've divorced) and he grew up in this media storm. He might or might not view it as harshly as an outsider. I don't know. I found the article interesting because it talked about the shift in the reporting for Mary Kay throughout her life. 

I forgot that Mary Kay's father was a member of the John Birch society (he was expelled from the Birchys and also had an "affair with a student"). One of her brothers worked for Trump and Academi (nee Blackwater, now Xe).

Soooooo.....

Buying

I bought a mask from the UK. It was an impulse purchase and I had a giftcard for Etsy. I haven't received it yet so I can't talk about that. The first mask I bought was from Etsy and the shop delisted! I was really horrified (Etsy made it right of course) because I've never had an issue on the platform before. Every mask purchase since has been fantastic. I tried making a mask (before the tutorials came out) and it did not go well. I think I could swing it now. Maybe.

The mask I bought is super bougie and pretty. The price has gone up a bit since I bought it but she has rave reviews. Hopefully it gets here soon. Look, if we're going to be in a pandemic and have to wear masks than I'm going to have fun with them. It's like an accessory and I love a bougie accessory. 

The next thing I bought were more work related (50/50) than want. My computer speakers have been making static noises for years. I've put it up with it out of sheer laziness but it finally got so bad that I had to buy new speakers. I was hoping they would make it to the end of this pandemic so I could go look at nicer speakers at a computer store and talk to some of the people there. It wasn't to be. My speakers gave up the ghost a week ago and I ordered some off Amazon. I didn't know what I was doing (obviously). They change colors (LED lights) and the sound is decent. I'm happy but it's only been a few days.

​I might go on a further no-buy and stock up money for investments because I keep buying lipstick off Macys. 

The last one I bought was Chanel's rouge allure luminous intense lip colour. Their naming needs work obviously. 

I picked the color 607 (Camelia Rouge Metal). Which is a red with blue undertones and some shimmer. The reviews on Macy's are complaining about a sheer finish but I found it to be fairly opaque. So I'm not sure what happened there. The cap has a beautiful rose motif on it which is lovely. Temptalia gave it a good review.

I've tried to be good other than that. Just the pretty mask, pretty lipstick, and pretty speakers. I like pretty things!