FriYay #23

Why did I save this video to bookmarks? No clue. Here it is though. Neat huh? 

The descriptior says: "E.P. Prestwich's footage of the launch of the battleship HMS Albion on 21 June 1898 … when the ship hit the water for the first time, it created a wave that swept away a jetty, drowning an estimated 39 people in the process, one of the worst peacetime disasters in the Thames's history."

Reading:

I have made a huge dent in my bookmarks. I don't know what I was doing with myself when I saved all these random things to read but I'm going through them now. Mostly because I'm stuck on what I want my office décor to look like. I had started with yellow and bright/happy, but that's as far as I've gotten. Anyways...

7 James Street is an interactive longform article (I love these). This is a true crime one about a murder in the UK. It's about the murder of Lynette White, a welsh woman, who was found in Cardiff after being stabbed. People reported seeing a white man, bloodied on the steps of the house where Lynette had been found, but police arrested 5 black men instead. These five men became known as the "Cardiff 5." Eventually the five men were freed and in 2000, the police reopened the Lynette White murder case and found usable DNA from under the baseboards and on some cellophane. The article also touches on corruption and manipulation of witnesses, the economy of the docklands in Cardiff, and miscarriages of justice. 

The Fifth Force of Physics is Hanging by a Thread by Nautilus writer Philip Ball. It was written in 2017, so that's how behind I am. I'll be absolutely honest, physics is not my love. I struggle with it. The article talks about how the four forces already known (gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear focus. A fifth force would be either an entire new force or just a modification of general relativity (thus only four forces, with one needing tweaking). I understand enough of this to understand that I don't understand any of it well enough. 

The book here I did read. I believe I got it in a subscription box and I was thrilled because they likened it to The Great Gatsby (a favorite book for me). I see why they did that, but it wasn't quite like that. I'd say it was a marketing choice that did a disservice to the book, personally. 

On it's own, I thought it was quite nice. It flowed. It was written well. I fell like I've talked about it on the blog before but since I'm using the pictures, I thought I'd mention it again. So, ignore the blurb basically. 

​I read Gratitude by Oliver Sacks yesterday. Quite lovely and heavy all at once. It was my first Sacks book actually, although I own the one where he talks about migraines.  

I also read Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I ended up liking the beginning but sighing my way through to the end. It was a fast read (for me) and I felt that instead of creating a mystery or romance, Sutanto created a shallow slapstick hijinks featuring a Indo-Chinese group of women (the Aunties). I think if you suspend all belief (technological and forensic), this is probably a fun little caper. I just couldn't do that, so I was disappointed. 

WAtching:

I taped Meet Me In St. Louis awhile ago (like...at Christmas?) but just got around to watching it. I've seen it before but I was younger. It's based on a book by Sally Benson, with the same title. I didn't realize that the movie was made (near the end) during WWII. It's set during the 1904 St. Louis Fair (the Louisiana Purchase Exposition). I know less about the 1904 Fair than earlier ones (art historically and culturally) but I know Dr. Pepper was introduced there! I love Dr. Pepper! Also, the Summer Olympics were held at the same time. Crazy times!

The song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was written for the movie and the character played by Judy Garland sings it to Tootie (her younger sister in the movie). The story is about a family in St. Louis told through a year's lens. It follows the romances of the two oldest daughters (one played by Judy Garland). Their father accepts a job elsewhere, causing the family to have to leave the city. Garland sings the famed song to her younger sister during Tootie's crying fit over leaving. Eventually, the father decides to stay in St. Louis and the family go to the fair. The movie was filmed in color and it's costuming is delightful. 

Warner Brother's has a behind the scenes photo shoot. 
The Judy Room has an article about the making of Meet Me In St. Louis
LA Times' interview with Margaret O'Brien (who played Tootie)

Listening:

I've been on a podcast boom. I've listened to quite a few different ones. Some were not great, but there have been some okay ones. I'm currently listening to the BBC's Radio 4 "History of the World in 100 Objects." It's great and I wish it was more visual. I think there's a book? I'm not sure, I'm only half way through it. 

I've also listened to an audiobook. I'm not great with audiobooks because my mind will wander unless I'm focusing on it. I don't know how people multi task like that. So, I just lay in bed and listened to the book. It was the second to last Janet Evanovich book. The narrator is great (better than me) but I do not enjoy how she does the men's voices. Mostly Ranger tbh. She's going for smooth I think but it made my skin crawl. The funny thing is when I saw what other people said, they thought it was sexy. Obviously I'm in a minority. 
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The other thing I've been listening to has been this Classical Essentials List on Spotify. There's about 170ish songs and lasts for 19 hours. So, I can have it on all day while I'm working. There are a few songs that I prefer to skip on most classical playlists (Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune usually) but this one has very few skips for me. 

Buying:

I bought one dress from Macy's, a bunch of makeup from Ulta, and a lot of bath bombs off Etsy. 

Nothing I needed but all stuff I wanted. 

From Macy's I bought this dress. It popped up on the app and I just loved it. I live in a hot climate and most people were short shift dresses or boho maxi dresses (I'm a maxi dress gal). It's from Bar III and it's called the Pleated Ombre Maxi Dress. I got it on sale (around $53) but it's originally priced at around $100. 

It is polyester...which isn't the best fabric for the heat to be fair. I wish they had gone with a cotton or a softer layering material. It looks lovely though. 

I bought a lipstick by Lipstick Queen at Ulta...which is not on the website anymore. I have a lot of lipstick from them but I'll probably start weaning myself away. Morphe bought them and I just don't like Morphe. I mean, they haven't done anything to me. I guess it's just they seem to stumble on every problematic person to collaborate with. Also, I find their products not suited to me. Whatever. I bought the shade "Girls Will Be Boys." It looks to give a slight purple tint.  
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​I also bought a Holika Holika Velvet Heart Crush Lipstick in the shade Bite Me (RD 01). I think this product has been out a while because I've seen it in Korea before but I just haven't gotten around to trying Holika Holika makeup (I have tried their skincare). 

On the image, the shade I bought is the top left color. It's a dark, blood red. There are more shades than that of course. Ulta has them priced for $12 per tube. 

It's cheaper on YesStyle, but that's not including shipping. 

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I've fallen in love with Beekman 1802. It's an American Brand (not sure when it started) based out of New York. I buy on Ulta but they have their own website too. The first product I bought from them was a bit of a splurge at $45. It was their Milk Drops Probiotic Ceramide Serum. It's a light formula that rubs into the skin twice a day.  

So I bought a second product to try out. It's the Dream Booster Bakuchiol Beta-Retinol Better Aging Serum. This one is $23, which isn't as huge of an investment. 

The last thing I bought was the Rituel De Fille Rare Light Creme Luminizer. It's a cream highlighter type product (can be used all over). I ended up buying the darker pink color (Moon Pillar). 

I did read that it has a shorter shelf life so I'll keep that in mind but hopefully it won't dry out or separate. I've been wanting to try this brand for quite awhile so I figured I'd take the plunge. 

Sometimes I go a little ham and buy bath bombs in bulk (like three or four per shop). One of the shops I've bought from before is called Bathtub Bombshells, based out of Canada. They have bath bombs that my younger brothers love (more James Bond type or "man" bath bombs with tanks etc.). 

I saw this and laughed. I have a dark sense of humor I guess. It's shaped like a toaster and titled "My Last Bath Bomb." 

It reminded me of a Monk episode. Its the one where Monk gets put in Witness Protection and ends up at a Federal Safe House until the trial. 

While there, he meets a couple at the local store and finds out they're across the lake from the cabin. One night, he hears the man scream (which is when he's murdered). The man is murdered by his wife throwing a toaster or radio in the bathtub. At the end of the episode, the woman and Monk are in a cabin being shot at by hired assassins (it's a multi-murdered episode) and when the local law enforcement asks why they're shooting, someone answers "they're trying to kill Monk" and she pops up and says "good." It always makes me laugh. 

I found the scene! It's above! Yay me! It's around 2:14 when she says "Good!"

But she drops the toaster earlier in the episode.