Moves Magazine - April 2019

l i fe s t y l e fo r c i t y wo m en

noomi rapace

M OV E S MENTORS 2 019

JUST BEL IEVE I T!

THIRTY

new age o f aqu a r iu s

boiler room fashion STEM girls do it best

Backsliding let old flames die out

a date? you better be worth it

Cameron

Boyce There ‘s hope for us

tayl or schilling

...sexy, stylish & stellar

contents

departments 018

backstage how we do it

020

contributors the photographers

024

bitch shout it out as loud as you like

028

rant rubin’s vase

032

dish solo

036

rockstar presidential eats

038

cheers city cocktails

040

rewind changing times

068

rant lyin’ eyes

072

profile sally hawkins

078

profile cameron boyce

082

profile dianna agron

086

power women the party

090

profile stephen graham

Sally Hawkins photography by Seamus Ryan 010

Sally Hawkins photography by Seamus Ryan 010

contents

features 046 home for the holidays 050 cover story noomi rapace 058 fashion boiler room 066 it’s a bug’s life high protein 086 power women the honorees 096 thirty is the new twenty?

098 cover story taylor schilling 105

power forum the mentors

Noomi Rapace photography by Sean Gleason 012

mamoonah ellison PUBLISHER

richard ellison

EDITOR IN CHIEF

nicky black

ART DIRECTOR

phil rowe, assoc. editor pete barrett, ass. production editor marie butler asst. editor sarah joan roston editorial asst. wendy wright, graphic design emmy best graphics editorial chesley turner, bill smyth, joe bannister, zoë stagg, ron dole, yasmin yaqub, christina ying features liz watson, dora oliver, elsie cleveland art department richard peters sarah jeffries event director monty reynolds admin office managers susan north, jessica mcginley office assistants anna johns, jo bell, jen parke web & tech support james johnson, zach bartley social media caroline campbell, melina sidou, photography tony gale, nathan heyward,maksim axelrod sales marty ann robertson YES Sales Consultants, L.L.C. contributors: David Yellen, Robert Ascroft, Daniel Prakopcyk, Greg Williams, Travis Keyes, Sean Gleason, Seamus Ryan, Shanna Fisher, Chelsea Claydon, Tony Gale, Travis Keyes, Bo Poulsen, Anna Shagalov, Kristin Herrera, Ryan Hall, Brooklin Rosenstock, David Edwards, Stewart, Chris Shanahan, Shanna Fisher, Dean Burnett, Paul Bloom, Nancy Isenberg, Carol Anderson, Timothy Snyder, Tomass, Laura Mareno, Matt Dunston, Jennifer Rocholl, Matt Monath, Nathan Johnson, Emily Barnes, Orlando Behar, Paster, Ejaz, Callan Stokes, , David Sheff, Willam Davis, Chesley Turner, , Elle Morris, Celia Vargas, Zoe Stagg, Nathan Heyward, Frances Rossini, Sophia Fox-Sowell, Melissa Farley, Andrew Roth, Jeff Maksym, Matt Stubbs, Samantha Kelly, Zoe Stagg, Zee Krstic, Fiona Hill, Michael David Adams special thanks: Halstead, Kasey Kitchen, Marla Farrell, Maria Candida, Pandora Weldon, Zach Rosenfield, Bryna Rifkin & Narrative team, John Grant, Claire Timmons, NEON, Melody Korenbrot, Chris Mazzilli, Ashley Sloan, Splashlight Yves Durif, Sue Choi, Danielle Dinten, Fiskars, Michelle Caspers, Landsend, Think Dutchess, D’Arcy Brito, Sophie Taleghani, Becktive, Michelle Richards, Katie Feldman, Pamela Gomez, Turner Networks, Audrey Adlam, Discovery Networks, Stan Rosenfield, Cindy Barraga, WW Norton, Harper Collins, Hortus Restaurant, Eve Sadoff, Joseph Anayati, Studio 60, Electric Pony Studios, Shelter PR, Platinum Properties,, Lisa Cera, Alison Garman, Carri McClure, Joseph Cassel, Penguin Books, Sonia Lee, The Wall Group, Tracey Mattingly, Robin Bouchet Benet, Tyler Albright, J, Susan Patricola, Barbara Jariri, Rosemary Mercedes, Mia Santiago, Segundo Guaman, Delaney D’Amore Platinum Properties, Asia Geiger, Jillian @ Exclusive Artists, Mindy Saad, Wendy Iles, Vera Steinberg Criterion Group, Weiss Artists, The Wall Group, Giant Artists, Kelly Brown, Erin Walsh, Robert Vetica, Marisa Dutton, David Stanwell, Solo Artists, The Rex Agency, , Leila Barrett Denyer, Karolina Borchet-Hunter, Philip Kadowaki, Bective, Magnet Agency, Exclusive Artists, Artmix Beauty, Starworks Artists, Darin Barnes, Ruth Bernstein, Molly Schoneveld, , Stephanie Gonzalez, Warner Bros Pictures, Next Models Paris, WWRD, Crabtree New York Moves Magazine p.o. box 4097 lexington ave., new york, ny, 10163 ph: 212.396.2394 fax: 212.202.7615 all contents © 2012 New York Moves Magazine reproduction without permission is prohibited.

ISSN 1553-8710

www.newyorkmoves.com Application to mail Periodicals postage rates is pending at New York, N.Y. and additional mailing offices. Send address changes to New York Moves, P.O. Box 4097 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. 10163.

New York Moves assumes no responsibility for content, text or artwork of advertisements other than those promoting New York Moves, placed in the magazine. The opinions and viewpoints of the contributors do not necessarily represent the opinions and viewpoints of New York Moves, L.L.C.

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backstage

Men hold the key to their own undoing and the wayward paths that we take inevitably lead us into the open arms of disaster. Not the all-encompassing, gender-free “men” of scholarly work, but men who use urinals, shave: the male species. The social-psychology of men runs the gamut from pushover to alpha-male, but pop culture and real life keep yielding the same truism: men don’t ask for or take direction. It is a phenomenon that has been well-documented in textbooks, on film, and in the primetime sitcom for years.

Real dudes would never let a directionless man survive a night in the desert, or woods, or abandoned house inhabited by cannibals.

There is always some deserted space where evil lurks, waiting to tie up and torture us when our self-determined wrong turns lead us astray.

It seems counter to logic that all men, at all times, are impervious to the suggestion of others. But we all remember that family road trip where Dad either did not pull off the road or insisted on a beleaguered shortcut through some notorious urban sprawl. While pop culture has made horror and comedy out of the less-desirable situations in which men’s headstrong choices have landed them, reality has given us examples of this propensity working to achieve truly great things. Highlighting the good that comes out of male-pattern stubbornness and militant self-reliance, however, is often veiled in layers that inaccurately skew the man’s actuality and somewhat downplay his contribution to society.

It is personal creative impulses that change cultural norms. While so many of New York’s beloved cultural monuments are built around the achievements of men with unwavering personal styles, they are often politely termed non-con- formists or rebels. Critics of Edouard Manet’s time pegged him as the leader of the avant-garde and a rabblerousing bohemian, an opinion that prevailed as public perception. In reality, Manet was a well-off family man with enviable social positioning. By distorting the image of the artist into that of an eccentric recluse locked in his studio, we compromise and shadow over his cultural significance. In truth, we can attribute cultural milestones to such personal singularity of vision.

While it is shamefully difficult for society to valorize the maverick artist as a man who takes no direction, within the scope of politics it is a different story. Men’s failure to seek out advice or direction in the political arena is the signal of leadership.

But, like most men whose decisions can place others in positions of either comfort or peril, there comes a time when the course being taken must be questioned. In light of this, society should actually be skeptical of the politician and not the artist. At what point does a man’s disavowal of direction need to be intervened upon before we all wake up bound, gagged, and victims of mutant cannibalism?

Where unchecked ambition exists, the propensity towards chaos also lurks. This may sound ominous and lofty, but if the men that we place in power draw on a certain public trust and do not ask for direction, the world could end up being stalked and butchered in a Wes Craven-like desert. It seems maybe the founders of our country had some insight into this dual-edged quandary of men and gave us a system that, theoretically at least, checks and balances itself. The problem that invariably arises, however, is that the system can be overrun by men who listen only to one another, or other men that they deem worthy advisers: judicial appointments, heads of emergency response organizations, and commanders of Armed Forces.

The fortunes of men who do not ask direction can entertain, inspire, and murder the human race, but how did this come to be?

Personally, I would rather consult maps until my eyes go blind than pull off a road and ask for direction. It seems irrational to think that this stems only from my sense of pride.

I can’t imagine that an educated man of reason finds his self-worth so easily shattered by such a minor gesture of interpersonal assistance. I consult maps because I consider myself especially adept at using them, and I trust that my instincts will guide me to my destination. This is fundamental to the stereotype: men inherently think that they are masters at what they do. If they don’t, they overcompensate. Either way, the result is the same and we end up lost.

While we must not turn a blind eye to the possibility of legitimate cultural or social progress that can be made from this inborn characteristic, now, more than ever, we must urgently sound alarms when men consult their own maps rather than those of their peers. It is one thing to take a wrong turn in a slasher film, but quite another when such persistence continues to shape events far into our collective futures.

It’s a predicament that has made us all laugh or recoil in movies and on TV, but really it’s nothing so trivial.

019

contributors

O

t r i b tO rs 020

GREG WILLIAMS is an English photographer and film director. He is known for his film and editorial work and as an early user of digital video technology. Williams began his career as a war photographer before moving into film and editorial work which has been featured in Vogue Italia, GQ, Vanity Fair and Esquire.

ROBERT ASCROFT’s work has been described as Cinematic Beautiful Light that is crafted and precise with an innate sensibility to capture an intimate moment. His work appears in Print, Web, Billboards and on Television across the globe. His client list includes SONY, Rolex, Gap, J Walter Thompson, PUMA, Reebok, Universal Music, British Esquire, DirecTV, BLT, FOX, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Arista Records, Proenza Schouler, Narciso Rodriguez, Rolling Stone, Gotham, Harpers Bazaar, NY Times “T” Magazine. A native New Yorker, Robert now divides his time between New York and Los Angeles. His work is shot on both coasts as well as on location around the globe.

TRAVIS W. KEYES forged his path into the world of photography after a career in nightlife and entertainment. Discovering a new sense of happiness and fulfillment in his work, he founded Travis W Keyes Photography and EventsOne photography in 2014. Travis is also the Chairman of the Board for APA/NYAmerican Photographic Artists.

DAVID YELLEN is a portrait photographer whose intimate and dynamic portraits give the viewer a sense of seeing straight into people’s lives. He’s as comfortable working on a sound stage as he is in the swamps of the deep South, and his images can be seen everywhere from billboards for Discovery Channel to covers of Forbes magazine.

DANIEL PRAKOPCYK is a New Jersey nativeand trained under legendary photographer Danny Clinch.

His work has been featured in GQ, Playboy, Complex, Rolling Stone, and Spin, and has collaborated with brands including Spotify, Daniel Wellington, Drobo, Away, KFC, Master & Dynamic, and Leica.

SEAN GLEASON was born in Washington DC and grew up in London where he currently based. He studied photography at the renowned Bournemouth & Poole College of Art and went on to assist many great photographers including David Sims and Mario Sorrenti. He has shot for many of the worlds top publication including Elle, Interview, Vogue, Tatler, GQ, Esquire and Instyle, working with both models, celebrities and sportsmen.

SEAMUS RYAN is an award-winning London-based photographer with a passion for people and the portrait genre. His strong lighting skills and easy Irish charm ensure a steady flow of celebrity commissions as well as bold character work.

In a twenty year career he has worked on countless national and international advertising and editorial campaigns.

Aflac isn’t slow to celebrate the power of a strong, diverse workforce Extraordinary people with powerful ideas are a driving force at Aflac. Nearly 65 years ago, our founders recognized strength in diversity. We’re proud to say that today, 45% of Aflac’s employees are ethnic minorities and 66% are women.

Get to know us at aflac.com Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999.

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We suit you best

bitch

“... Jon and Kate plus eight we don’t need...”

“Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings...”

(Irony intended. NYM) I’ve never been the type to think about having my own children. I have enough fun getting my monthly prize; don’t need to win an extended 9-month lottery.

But just think about it, there are plenty of children sans parents. Isn’t about time that we start taking care of the suffering ones first instead of our own selfish desire to replicate versions of ourselves?

What is it about contractors that make them feel that they’re allowed to operate outside the rules? You gave me a quote and I agreed with the number listed under total—how the hell did you manage to find so many extra things to do that I’m suddenly four thousand dollars over it? I asked for a quote so I knew what to expect, jackass, not so you could play the lottery with my money. You have no problem demolishing; oh no, that takes five seconds. But to actually finish things? I’ve been waiting for 3 months! And now you want to get snippy with me when I don’t offer you the check BEFORE I get what I’m paying for? Maybe if you managed to get it right the first time—without trying to wring me for the last penny in my pocket —I’d be more willing to part with it, but from where I’m standing, this job ain’t finished and you ain’t getting paid for something that’s not done.

Eloise, publisher, Washington Heights “Creativity takes courage” Waldo Emmerson

John and Kate plus 8 we don’t need.

Artist. An artist is someone who creates, who pours soul and love into everything they produce and give that production their undivided devotion and attention until it’s completed. An artist can be someone who may be unrecognized by anyone other than their friends and may not be making a living off their art. An artist is not and never will be someone will fucking work for free. Let’s think about it: You want me to take my time, my energy, and my supplies to create you a piece of art. Presumably this is because you like what I can do. So why wouldn’t you treat this like any other exchange of money for service? Why wouldn’t you pay to make sure I can buy my markers, paper, pens, sketchbooks, paints, glitters, glues, needles and threads and keep making the art that you like enough to want to have? This idea that artists are people you can pay $5 for a fucking oil portrait that takes three weeks to perfect needs to be taken out into pasture and put down.

Jill, college senior, Long Island

Jessica, lecturer, Upstate

Harsh? I don’t think so. According to Oprah.com, “There are over 143 million orphans around the world...enough children to go around the equator three times.”

So yes, if you have more than one child of your own, you are having too many children.

Aside from having children for personal reasons, a lack of education on safe sex and religion are also two main reasons for many impregnated women to keep their baby. Take a stroll in the heart of any city; many mothers promenading with their children are within the age range of 18-25 years old.

Mostly Catholic, it pains me to see them abiding by the Bible for a fabled after-life instead of taking actions to live a happy and realistic existance in the here and now.

Let’s face it; the children are the victims here.

Orphans or not, they are not in anyway in control of the environment in which they grow up. There are enough children already breathing the air, desperately waiting for someone to love them.

New Yorkers are born all over the world.

They just need to find their way home.

Give ‘em the Bum’s Rush

To the average Middle-American, New Yorkers must look like a motley crew. According to televised

images, we’re either incredibly misguided for buying $1,000 Manolos when we can’t pay our rent or depraved criminals for chopping up perfectly nice people—like tourists—and putting them in dumpsters for the hard-bitten cops to find. Beyond uncouth, beyond unfriendly, to the rest of the world, New Yorkers appear altogether uncivilized.

But only real New Yorkers know just how much white-knuckle, tooth-grinding self-control it takes to get through the day without losing their minds.

The normal, everyday gripes and grievances we share with every other city, like unruly traffic, is just the beginning.

After a long day at work, we tread though sidewalks filled with garbage and samples of bodily waste—from both four-legged and two-legged citizens—only to come home to one of the most notorious sources of stress: real estate. Like miserable workers who hate their jobs but stay for the health insurance, many among us stay in nasty apartments simply because we can (barely) afford them. While painfully dysfunctional relationships live on because neither person wants to give up the apartment, some of the healthiest connections fail to progress because both parties know that eventually, someone is going to have to give up his or her pad. Giving up an apartment in New York implies infinitely greater commitment than marriage. You can always have an affair or get a divorce, but you’ll never find another rent-stabilized studio on the West side that allows pets and has a view. Even the few optimists among us would never pat a friend on the back and say, “Don’t worry, you’ll find another apartment.” Because you won’t.

Just when you think getting out of the apartment is the answer, there’s the commute. While some take a bus to a train to a train to a train, others spend precious time navigating the incredibly overcrowded streets. Just trying to propel oneself down a packed sidewalk can be a lot of work. We’ve all seen the tourists’ stunned expressions when a local darts into the street to get ahead of them on the sidewalk. “What’s the big hurry,” the wide-eyed visitors seem to be asking? Well, that harried person sprinting over the curb and into the street lives her life in crowded places, cramped cubicles and sweaty subway cars. She just wants to get home and to her tiny apartment and put her feet up on the sink, the radiator or wherever they’ll fit.

Given the volume of people and their relative velocity, a simple walk down a midtown street at rush hour is a potential bloodbath. Yet a roll of the eyes and maybe a few profanities is usually the only result. For every jerk that blocks the sidewalk talking on his cell, there are hundreds of others who keep to the right of the subway stairs and wait for passengers to exit before they board the car.

Sometimes we yell at each other and blow off a little steam. “Hey, whatsa matta wit you?” we might bark, shaking a proverbial fist. But what’s a little yelling? I yell. You yell back. We recover, feeling a

“...New Yorkers are born all over the world.

They just need to find their way home....” little lighter, and go on our way. The fact is, we’re stressed, we’re rushed, we’re brash—but uncivilized? Not a chance.

Popular wisdom tells us it’s the little things that eventually drive us over the edge. Pile up those little things—the spitting, smells, noise and grime— on top of money worries, apartment woes and basic transportation hassles, and the minor annoyances add up to a lot of straws on the camel’s back. For us it’s daily minutia, but it’s enough to drive many rural folks and suburbanites up the wall in short order. Yet we face it, most days, without incident.

Our communication style may be quick and dirty and our tempers might be short. But in the meantime, we’re doing yoga. We’re taking deep breaths and counting to ten. We’re helping each other, and yes, sometimes we even help tourists. And, incidentally, some of those tourists look pretty cranky.

I wonder if it could have something to do with the size of their hotel rooms? Imagine that.

Esme, writer, Hell’s Kitchen

Don’t you rock me, Daddy’o After all the progress (real and imagined) we’ve made on the subject I wonder how much we really have achieved. On a recent viist to my parents in upstate New York I was brought uncomfortably face to face with the divide in the US. The subject on this occasion was my dad and his unchanged 1950’s rejection of (and revulsion against) marriage not involving one man and one woman. So for him (and all the other countless millions of holdouts in this great nation of ours) I will—for one last time—reiterate the REALITY. “Dad, this totally outdated and debunked ‘gay marriage’ debate needs to stop. It’s not a real debate—it never has been. On one side you have ‘treat humans like they’re humans’ and on the other you have ‘keep some humans lower class and enjoy discrimination’. It’s ridiculous. The gays are not coming for your heterosexuality. Letting them marry each other will affect your marriage like eating Japanese food will change you into a Japanese person. And please stop throwing around the phrase “traditional marriage” like it’s some kind of magic spell. “Traditional marriage” was the exchange of property—a daughter for

money and goods—as agreed upon by two old men. And you know what? In a generation your homophobia won’t matter. Your children are growing up without your prejudices and you can’t stop them. Stop making yourself look like a bigger ass than you already have. We sit up half the night dissecting every aspect of your argument—moral, societal, religious etc.—and just when I feel I have made some progress and we’re off to bed, you have to call up the stairs, ‘I know you don’t really mean it son.“ If this resonates with other people, I ask this question of them. What in the world can we do?

Andy, service industry, Midtown “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Oscar Wilde To the woman at the Bl**m**g**les’ fragrance counter: When I walked into your store, I had intended to purchase gloves, and maybe a scarf, even a new coat was a possibility (albeit from the the sales racks!) What I did NOT expect, intend, or desire was to be gangbanged by a myriad of floral scents that, while maybe pleasant individually, combine to create an olfactory nightmare of monstrous proportions. (An offence which, if emanating from another source would lead to social ostracization.) I appreciate that, while I find it unpleasant, it is your job, but until being a cheap parisian prostitute is MY job, I ask that you keep your fragrance to yourself. (Or more likely, Messrs Bl**m**d**es management, I will keep my money in my purse)

Max, editor, Chelsea

down for a relaxing glass of wine. But, no! You walk home and there is some RANDOM fucking sporting event that has just invaded his mind and has him sitting in the recliner looking like he’s just had a lobotomy. And it’s never fucking ending!

There’s baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, tennis, football, hockey, not to mention the BWOT’s, or the big-waste-of-time’s; poker, horse racing, gymnastics, NASCAR, martial arts, rugby, lacrosse, and the fucking spelling bee! ESPN has every fucking trick in the book to brainwash our men into sitting in front of the TV like a cracked-out junkie. I could start a lap dance in fucking pasties and a g-string and STILL have him watching water polo. Ladies, reclaim your power! Stick it to the man! I want to watch a fucking chick flick and nothing’s going to get in my way. And that’s why ESPN hate’s parental controls, like the one I set to block that shit two days ago. I can’t wait to go home tonight and see his face. Sucka!

Philip, engineer, Queens “...OMG life’s just a big RIP. IKR...”

Everyone thinks that today’s society enables them to be jaded and experienced. In some way or another, we all think we’re special and that we’ve been through just as much as everyone else. Well, ladies, that’s absolute bullshit. I can tell you now that you have absolutely nothing in common with those who’ve experienced true hardship. It’s ridiculous to think that just because you couldn’t salvage enough from your paycheck to do your weekly mani-pedi, you think you are going to be destitute. This world is chock full of people who have nothing and have been through the ringer.

No, ladies, just because your thirteen pounds overweight doesn’t mean you can hold it against the world. It doesn’t mean you can identify with rape victims, destitute single mothers, or the homeless.

Sure, the economy’s in trouble and life isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but appreciate what you have now. Who knows what you’ll have in the future?

Ariana, receptionist, NJ Haway The Lads The biggest mistake mankind has ever made was creating ESPN. Don’t even tell me you’ve never been shunted aside because there is unlimited ESPN in your household. You slave away all day long and come home to your man, maybe looking forward to that ‘hello’ kiss or even just sitting

email: bitch@newyorkmoves.com snailmail: Moves: PO BOX 4097 Lex. Ave New York, NY 10163

025

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With a workforce 15,000 strong, we rely on employees of all ages and genders to bring their individual diversity of thought, experience and perspective to help us take great ideas and turn them into real products. From our summer internship program to our entry-level opportunities, we seek those future trendsetters who want to truly move the world forward through technology. And we don’t want our impact to stop there. Not only are we all about creating great solutions; we’re also about creating a culture of responsibility that enables our outstanding people to work together to improve the communities in which they live, work and play.

Avnet is honored to be a part of this Moves Magazine event that supports women in STEAM at every level and encourages them to ‘walk the talk’ in their own organizations. Why? Because at Avnet we believe everyone can Reach Further. avnet.com

rant

Rubin’s Vase

The human physche really does exemplify that Churchill quote: A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. esme parker I was flipping channels the other day and I landed on one of the gazillion make-over shows. This one’s premise was especially heinous. Little Susie from Akron approaches the show’s producers with a photograph of her favorite celebrity.

“I wanna look like her,” she declares, dewy-eyed, gormless and grinning.

The perky can-do hosts bring out the crack team of flamboyant stylists. By the end of the show, they promise, Susie will look just like Kylie Jenner or Selena Gomez. (Or some other girl who Susie will never look anything like.)

ugly after a late night of drinking. We assume that they never fought over the same petty crap that we fight with our mates over. Amal never yells at George, “Why don’t you use up the old milk before you open the new one?” And George never yells back, “Get off my f%*#ing back!”

We’re seduced by the glossy image of their relationship and we secretly, silently (silently because we know how stupid we’re being) use it as a yardstick to measure our own relationships by.

That yardstick is utterly superficial. We might want to know about the contents of our favorite star’s makeup bag, but we’d rather not go deeper than that.

Since they never have genuinely ugly people on these shows, Susie is a perfectly attractive young woman. There’s nothing wrong with her. If you saw her walking down the street, you’d think to yourself, “There goes a perfectly attractive young woman.”

If celebrities somehow become real people with real ideas, think of all the unsightly human failings that might come with the package. Acne, hammertoes, politics, you name it.

I know this is hard to do, but try for a moment to imagine that you’ve never heard of Kylie Jenner. Picture yourself walking down any New York City street.

Kylie walks by in her full regalia. If it were me, I’d think, “There goes the most overly made-up looking 21-yearold I’ve ever seen.”

Some celebrities might actually read the newspaper and have opinions. But do we really want to know? We might be interested in learning about the bad behavior of drunken stars and starlets, or in what kinds of hair products they use, but not who they voted for in the presidential election.

Young people aren’t the only victims. Plenty of women old enough to know better watch television and read magazines and try to find out what the big secret is. How does JLO get her ass to look like that?

How does Keira Knightley stay so thin? They go to their plastic surgeons with People magazine in hand.

They spend all their hard-earned cash at Sephora buying skin care products that cost as much as a month’s rent.

Americans have always been dazzled by Hollywood beauty and glamour. But there’s a difference between real beauty and the illusory perfection that we’re all so obsessed with these days.

Even though we all know intellectually that those slick, glossy magazine photographs are manipulated, we conveniently forget. We forget that people on television are made up and lit in the most flattering of ways. We think people really look like that. We feel inadequate because we, in our ordinary lives, in our overpriced makeup and designer knock-off clothes, don’t look like celebrities.

We’re like the guy who watches so much porn that his expectations for sex become ridiculous. The problem isn’t even that he thinks porn sex is better. He’s forgotten what real sex looks like.

What about the “personal” lives of our celebrity idols?

We’re heartbroken when celebrity marriage secrets “leak out” because we were under the impression that George and Amal were living a fairy tale. We’re crushed to find out that it was just that. We assume that George and Amal never break wind or pick their noses or look

Now that it’s possible to actually redesign your physical appearance to meet the prevailing standards, those standards just become more and more absurd.

Women don’t need to age and men don’t need to lose their hair. Nobody needs to suffer with small boobs, a big nose or crooked teeth. As long as you’ve got the cash, you can say goodbye to every unsightly physical feature that genetics had in mind for you.

And as long as we’re creating a plastic package, why not make the contents seem as shiny and seamless as possible?

It’s a bottomless pit.

The economy’s in trouble (no matter what they tell you) and political and corporate corruption has reached an all-time high. Social Security is as insecure as it has ever been.

Not a very attractive picture.

Better to keep our eyes glued to the pictures that are pretty—they just get prettier and prettier every day.

029

dish

SOLO

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My alone feels so good, I’ll only have you if you’re sweeter than my solitude The best thing about dating is not doing it.

By Esme Parker

Seriously. I don’t just mean because you think you’ve found The One (as in The One Who Will Leave Dirty Socks On The Kitchen Table, The One Who Will Eventually Become Intolerable.) I mean just because you choose not to.

It’s easy. Go on the wagon. Sorry, I don’t date. Dating just…isn’t for me. Thanks, but I’m one of those people who…just shouldn’t date.

Let’s face it. Dating is a warped, stunted mutant. It’s not seaworthy. It’s not viable. We’re taking antique pegs from the 1950s and 60s and trying to jam them into feminist/post-feminist 21st century holes. It ain’t gonna work, kids.

Maybe it’s just me. Something about growing up with certain ideals about gender equality didn’t prepare me for sitting by the phone waiting for some guy to call so that he can take me out to dinner. Nor did it prepare me to be walked down the aisle in a white gown by a father figure and “given away,” but that’s another subject altogether.

Sorry, but I have no romantic ideals about the 1950s, when our mothers had no birth control (perhaps we wouldn’t be here if they did) had no idea how to take control of their own sexual health and choices, and often ended up in a shotgun wedding to someone they barely knew.

So what happens if you Just Say No to this mutant called dating? When I was a young adult, there was no dating. You just sort of hung around and if you were lucky you ended up sort of making out with the person you sort of liked. Then, suddenly, I woke up one day, I wasn’t a teenager anymore, and there was all this ancient protocol I was expected to follow. Where the hell did it come from?

Internet dating is one culprit. When you date on the Internet, you can specify exactly the kind of partner that you want (or think you’re supposed to want) to meet, and yes, perhaps marry. The result is literally countless ads by men who are looking for someone “attractive” (what the hell does that mean?) and ads by women who are looking for someone “professional” (egad!). The upshot is that she better be hot and he better have money. It goes on from there, of course…he’ll have better luck if he’s over 6’ tall and she’ll do better if she can call herself “thin” with a straight face.

And then what? The date (which will generally come at the man’s bidding) is an interview. It’s an opportunity to grill the potential suitor (over Pad Thai or Sushi) on a variety of subjects.

Where did you go to college? How do you get along with your siblings? How long have you worked at your current place of employment? Is there any history of mental illness in your family? Are you currently taking anti-depressants? Do you think you would even be on this date if you were?

This is also the time when it becomes clear whether he’s lied about his height or she about her cup size.

Somewhere within the next 24 hours will come the Moment of Truth. This is where the man decides whether he will ask her for a second date and where the woman decides whether she’ll say yes if asked. He might be a bit concerned that she has crooked teeth. And what if she wants kids? She might worry about his offhand comment about credit card debt. And what if he doesn’t want kids?

It all sounds kind of clinical and vulgar, doesn’t it? And what’s all the panic about? There’s something disturbingly desperate about trolling the net looking for someone you can see yourself sharing a bathroom with for the next fifty years.

Okay, maybe this is easy for me to say right now because I am currently sharing a bathroom with someone. But I’ve been single before—believe me. I’ve been single a lot. And I spent a lot of the time that I was single trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with it. I love to live alone, I love to travel alone, and I love to come home after a long day of dealing with people and have nobody to deal with. And yet, I always felt like a loser if I wasn’t constantly entertaining or pursuing some romantic intrigue or another.

It just isn’t right, somehow, being single. It’s not acceptable.

Your family always assumes you’re free at the Holidays and they don’t even ask. Your coupled friends invite you to a party and then they hesitate a minute and look at you with pity in their eyes.

Then they carefully list all the singles on the guest list, including children and pets.

This is supposed to make you feel better.

In the panic to get hitched up with someone, anyone, we submit ourselves to all manner of wretched torture (fix-ups, blind dates, horribly awkward computer-aided matches) so that we can proclaim to the world that we no longer bear the painful stigma of (dare we say it) singlehood.

Is it because we think that we’re unlovable, just because we don’t choose to be saddled with someone who we know isn’t right for us, or because we don’t choose to spend our free evenings sitting across from some guy who’s staring at our chest trying to figure out if we told the truth about our bust size?

Seriously?

But don’t fret. If you’re single now, take advantage of this time. Enjoy it. Take a class, hang out with your friends, eat ice cream in bed, watch a Melrose Place marathon on a Saturday afternoon. Sooner or later, The One is probably going to show up.

You know…The One Who Takes Up Most Of Your Free Time and doesn’t Like GOT. It will probably happen just when you start to really enjoy yourself.

. Warsan Shire 033

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rockstar

“Mr President, Sir...

It was Nineteenth century gastronomer Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin that said, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” Being that the White House is the most important place in the nation, one would think that all of their meals would rise to a certain standard. The State Dinner is one place for the President to show he leads. Reserved for U.S. allies and foreign Heads of State, they are meant to celebrate historic American achievements. Putting on a show for the State Dinner does matter, and failure will surely gain the president bad press. In her book, What She Ate, Laura Shapiro claims that Franklin Roosevelt had the most reviled cook in presidential history, who cooked “leathery roasts and watery vegetables.”

Tasked with preparing Thanksgiving-themed state dinner, the Washington Post declared that they would be heading to the coffee shop instead.

It was Ulysses S. Grant that set the opulent standard for State Dinners when he insisted on a 30-course French meal for King David Kalakaua.

From then on a dinner at the White House was considered to be a glamorous gesture of diplomacy. The spectacles of these events remain ingrained in the American consciousness, but they are often not a true reflection of the food tastes of the sitting president. For example, even though President Ulysses S. Grant was able to put on a spectacular State Dinner, he himself was fastidious with his food, particularly food with blood. Even though he was a war general, Grant had an intense phobia of blood to the point where he insisted his steaks be overcooked to the shade of charcoal.

What the Presidents ate away from the demands of their public roles was quite different. Coming from all parts of the country, our presidents arrived

in Washington D.C. with diverse palates and different standards of good health. For their State Dinner, the Kennedy’s arranged for multi-course French cuisine for the President of Pakistan under a 30-by-30-foot tent decorated by Tiffany. For all his style and glamor, it turns out JFK preferred a simpler meal whenever he was at home away from his duties. He was always a soup and sandwich man for lunch and often requested his favorite dish which was New England Fish Chowder.

Thomas Jefferson served mac and cheese at his State Dinner in 1802. If you feel a slight cringe at the thought of mac and cheese being served to foreign dignitaries, know that Jefferson discovered the dish while living in France. Anything served at White House became popular, so people clamored for the dish after it’s debut at Jefferson’s State Dinner. His aforementioned love of French food indicates a refined palette that included a love of wine, but he also enjoyed local fare from his native Virginia that included oysters, crab, and Virginia ham.

If we know anything about the eating habits of presidents, leadership allows for a bit of indulgence. As kitchen equipment modernized, Americans started to eat more fried food. Fried food became highly requested in the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt loved his fried chicken soaked in gravy, and Lyndon B. Johnson liked fried food in the form of chicken-fried steak.

Johnson himself was pushed into his presidency following JFK’s untimely assassination, and if eating habits are an indicator of stress, it’s no wonder that he took comfort in fatty foods.

...your pork rinds are ready”

By Christina Ying

Johnson wasn’t alone in his taste in unhealthy food at the White House.

George H.W. Bush’s favorite snack was pork rinds covered in Tabasco sauce. His son, George W. Bush loved cheeseburger pizza, which was Margherita pizza that was topped with every ingredient of a cheeseburger.

Bill Clinton was another president that indulged in rich fatty foods. His favorite meal was a cheeseburger with all the fixin’s and was a regular at Doe’s Eat Place in Little Rock, where he’d indulge in greasy jalapeño cheeseburgers with extra mayonnaise. He would also stop by McDonald’s during his daily jogs.

After his presidency, Clinton underwent a series of heart-related surgeries and had to change his diet dramatically. He went almost entirely vegan and publicly credited the dramatic change of diet with saving his life.

There are indulgent foods, and there are just puzzling tastes. Richard Nixon loved eating Cottage cheese with ketchup and would eat it just about every day.

Sometimes he would even top the snack with some pineapple. If you’re already disgusted just thinking about it, Nixon loved this dish so much it was the last meal he ate at the White House. To celebrate the landing on the moon, Nixon commanded a 1,440 guest list versus the traditional 140. It was the most expensive State dinner to date at about $50,000. Nixon held the party at Century Plaza Hotel, with gold table linens, and ice cream topped with an American flag.

Every administration uses food to communicate their values. While Barack Obama enjoyed mostly organic meals, President Trump has made it known that despite his wealth, he has unpretentious taste in food. The “self-made”

billionaire can afford to eat in places most Americans can only dream of, but like most Americans, Trump loves eating fast food. The New York Times declared Trump as “the nation’s fast food president.” When he was campaigning in 2016, you can see photos of him enjoying Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King on his private plane. And of course putting on a fast food banquet for his famous sports guests.

Neurologist and psychiatrist, Alan Hirsch, who founded the Smell and Taste, says that people tend to eat the opposite of their personality. “For example, the timid gravitate to spicy foods. Cherry lovers such as George Washington are aggressive, workaholics and prefer living modestly.” If we take another look at Richard Nixon, Ketchup eaters according to Hirsch, are achievement-oriented, risk takers. We can’t say how the cottage cheese plays into that personality assessment, but is it safe to say we can blame Watergate on Nixon’s penchant for ketchup?

With so many health-conscious food trends, it’s not unusual for people to hide the food they truly love to eat. Food is also a reflection of education and class, and we expect our leaders to have only the best taste in food. If we’ve learned anything from our presidents’ food preferences, it’s that they are just like us. We want to show the world, that we exotic and healthy food choices, but we’re alone and in the comforts of our homes we indulge in things that are not always the best for us. Every president has the privilege of having a personal chef, so why not eat whatever you want no matter how strange the request may be.

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cheers

What’s in a name??

By Christina Ying

We can thank New York City for introducing the American cocktail.

New York bartender, Jerry P Thomas wrote the Bartender’s Guide in 1862, and from there sparked America’s creativity in coming up with the best libations to keep the party going. Every state has its unique take on the perfect mix of spirits and local resources. Here are some of America’s unique cocktails inspired by their home city and state.

The Charleston: This cocktail was created by beverage director and Advanced Sommelier, Patrick Emerson, who created

Alabama Slammer: This drink is claimed to be the favorite of quarterback Brett Favre. Served in a collins glass, an Alabama Slammer is a cocktail made with Amaretto, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, and orange juice.

Although the drink was made famous at the University of Alabama at tailgate parties, its most famous appearance was on the big screen in the movie, Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise.

Arkansas Buttermilk: Buttermilk is the nucleus for many of the South’s culinary delights, which makes it no surprise that Arkansas would have a drink named in its honor. Although no buttermilk is required, there are enough ingredients to keep you warm like a buttermilk biscuit. To make an Arkansas Buttermilk you’ll need pineapple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, grenadine syrup, vodka, and whiskey. It is customary to serve the drink in a “new” plastic gas can...one that has been cleaned of course.

Boston Rum Punch: It is said that the Founding Fathers enjoyed 14 large bowls of Rum Punch after signing the Constitution. Taken from other British colonies in the Carribean, Boston produced thousands of gallons of rum. It was estimated that the average American annually consumed 3.7 gallons of rum at the time of the American Revolution. Our founding first lady, Martha Washington, perfected the recipe for generations to come. To make this colonial delight, you will need sugar, English black tea, nutmeg, lemons, oranges, and your favorite rum.

Blue Hawaii: This bright blue cocktail made of rum, pineapple juice, Blue Curaçao, sweet and sour mix, and vodka and was invented in 1957 by the legendary bartender, Harry Yee. Lee was the head bartender of the Hilton Hawaiian Village when he designed the drink for Dutch distiller Bols, and from there he created the famous cocktail with its signature blue color, pineapple wedge, and cocktail umbrella. “Blue Hawaii” is a tip of the hat to Elvis Presley’s most famous Hawaiian film of the same name.

The Bronx Cocktail: This is a gin-based drink that combines both sweet and dry vermouth with a splash of orange juice. It was created in 1900 by a bartender named Johnnie Solon who was considered to be the best in his craft.

Solon worked at the Men’s Bar at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, said that his first alcoholic drink was the “Bronx Cocktail” at a party right during World War I. Although it was a spectacular cocktail, it, unfortunately, sparked the beginning of his alcohol addiction.

t h i s drink for a cocktail competition, replicating what the Charlestonians drank in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is one of those beverages that is synonymous with the South with its combination of lemonade and iced tea. In addition to the Madeira,

Signature cocktails only for certain cities ( ...and some states. Oh and maybe specific bars and some people...)

vodka, mint, and simple syrup, it’s a refreshing modern drink that takes you back to another time.

is that it features apples grown in the Chimayó valley. Jaramillo wanted to create a cocktail flavored with the cherished local apples, paired with New Mexico’s favorite spirit, tequila. This New Mexico favorite requires lemon juice, Creme de cassis, Apple cider, and your favorite Tequila.

Colorado Bulldog: The Colorado Bulldog is a moderated White Russian that includes vodka, coffee liqueur, cream or Half and Half, and Coca-Cola. It was an actual bulldog that inspired the name of this beloved drink. His name was Peanuts, an English bulldog and the original Colorado State University mascot. Just like a real bulldog, this drink is sweet and dreamy with a little bit of a bite.

Long Island Iced Tea: This is the type of cocktail that is intended to either start the party or keep the party—mixed with five different kinds of spirits that include vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, and gin. The splash of cola is only there to add color. Robert “Rosebud” Butt claims credit for inventing the party cocktail in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, but other historians argue that it was created in a local community named Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Wherever the roots may be, it put Long Island, New York on the map and created blackouts for many patrons for generations to come.

Manhattan: Born at the Manhattan Club in the early 1900s, and the original recipe was a mix of “American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth, and Angostura bitters.” The Manhattan Club still claims ownership of the recipe, and the influence it’s had over the past modern century is undeniable. Like Manhattan itself, the cocktail evokes a certain level of class that has stood through the test of time.

Missouri Mule: This cocktail was created by Joe Gilmore for President Harry S Truman while also honoring the donkey mascot of the Democratic Party.

Gilmore was one of the longest-running Head Barmen at The Savoy Hotel’s American Bar, who invented numerous cocktails for special, important guests. To make the drink, you’ll need Bourbon whiskey, Applejack, Lemon Juice, Campari, and Cointreau.

Chimayo Cocktail: The Chimayó cocktail was created in 1965 by Arturo Jaramillo, owner of the Rancho de Chimayó restaurant in Chimayó, New Mexico. A tequila and apple cider-based drink, what makes it unique

Old Vermont: Vermont is the center of all things autumnal, and there’s nothing better to set the mood of fall than drinking an Old Vermont cocktail. Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S, so it’s no surprise that maple syrup is the highlight of this drink. The Old Vermont is a mix of gin, orange juice, bitters, and you guessed it, maple syrup.

Washington Apple: This drink is most likely inspired by President George Washington’s beloved home state. In honor of his beloved apple tree, this tasty whiskey cocktail has a nice sweet crisp. This boozy apple treat is made with Crown Royal, apple schnapps, and cranberry juice.

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music

(...that made a difference)

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON This is the song that defined her legacy. Recorded for The Bodyguard, her co-star Kevin Costner was the one who suggested covering the famous Dolly Parton ballad for the film.

Houston’s interpretation invokes sadness and joy from the first few seconds, leaving listeners with goosebumps and yearning for more. Her voice remained magnificent even when she was troubled and there hasn’t been a song since that’s been able to match it.

RESPECT ARETHA FRANKLIN Aretha Franklin was just 24 when she wrote her first signature hit. Widely considered to be an anthem for the Civil Rights and the Feminist Movement, it is Franklin’s passion and powerhouse vocals that make the song stand the test of time. The song itself was revolutionary as the U.S. was in the middle of turmoil with the Vietnam War and inner city race riots. It was needed during such societal turbulence. Resonating today, women still have to demand freedom and respect.

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND BOB DYLAN Adopted by both the Civil Rights and antiwar movement of the 60s, the song’s political evocation is still relevant today. Although Bob Dylan proclaimed the answer to society’s issues is “in the wind ” and not in his lyrics, “Blowin’ in the wind” has been one of Dylan’s most impactful hits. The artful symbolism of the lyrics is what made it effective as a protest song, but Dylan himself would argue otherwise. As enigmatic as the song may be, it has served as an answer to countless weary souls and will continue to be for generations to come.

ALL APOLOGIES NIRVANA Kurt Cobain dedicated “All Apologies” to his wife and daughter, as a way to atone for all his failures as a husband and father. Even though he was the frontman of one of the most successful rock bands of the 90s, Cobain never dealt with the success well and committed suicide in 1994. “All Apologies” has remained one of our most intimate connections to Cobain and serves as a gateway to face our own failures and darkness.

REHAB AMY WINEHOUSE Amy Winehouse was an amazing, troubled, talent. It was her complicated nature that created some of the most memorable music in the millennial generation. “Rehab” woke up the charts in 2006 with its jazz vocals and 60s soul influence. It’s an autobiographical depiction about her refusal to attend rehab.

She admitted entering rehab for “just 15 minutes” and then walking out. Without perfection and polish, Winehouse showed the world the perils of fame and The album that solidified Madonna as a pop music icon, this one showcases that lay atand her foundation as an artist. There stardom,the butballsy-ness it was her transparency wasn’t anything that Madonna was afraid or ashamed to sing about asauthenticity a woman.that She championed makes her music.female empowerment on tracks like

GOOD RIDDANCE GREEN DAY This hit deviated from the band’s signature punk sound with mellow acoustics, even though Green Day’s front man, Billie Joe Armstrong, once declared in an interview that his band would never “do a Neil Young.” It was ironically the band’s most successful single since their debut, as the song was being played everywhere from TV shows to high school proms.

The song soundtracked the most significant moments on primetime television which includes ER and Seinfeld. Although the song brings a sense of yearning and nostalgia, the song is actually a spiteful tribute to an ex-girlfriend according to Armstrong.

BORN THIS WAY LADY GAGA was in tune with the emergence of the “inclusive generation.” Many would argue that this was the gay anthem for millennials, but Gaga was ahead of the spectrum before anyone else. According to Gaga herself, “Born This Way” is visually, thematically, and lyrically about birthing a new race within the race of already existing cultures of humanity—that bears no prejudice and no judgment.” Her impact continues to lead the charge in challenging gender norms and multiidentity issues, providing a haven for those who did NOT fit into society’s restricted boxes.

LOSE YOURSELF EMINEM Eminem has taken on many personas throughout his career, but “Lose Yourself” seemed to be the closest to his true self. Its anecdotal tale that describes his rise from living in a trailer park to becoming a rap superstar. Eminem wrote the song for his first feature film, 8 Mile, and it became the most successful song of his career with a Grammy win and Billboard success. With its dramatic beat and inspiring lyrics, it shows how much Eminem fought for success and for the first time saw what he was truly made of.

JOHNNY B GOODE CHUCK BERRY One of the founders of rock and roll, he combined fantastic guitar skills with a distintive sound in songs that were not only catchy but always had the hint of a hidden meaning (usually sexual and not always picked up by the ‘wholesome’ 1950s audience.). Listen to any early sixties Beatles or Rolling Stones album (that’s vinyl, guys) and you will hear Mr Berry’s influence.

CANDLE IN THE WIND ELTON JOHN “Candle in the Wind” remains the best-selling chart single of all time, selling more than 33 million copies worldwide. Both Bernie Taupin and Elton John wrote the first iteration of “Candle in the Wind” in 1974. When Princess Diana died unexpectedly in 1997, Elton John rewrote and performed the song for her funeral, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana’s charities. The song is about the idea of fame or youth being cut short for someone in the prime of their life. With Princess Diana’s death, came the end of a generation’s most popular and influential British royal.

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rewind

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movies

(...that left their mark)

BLACKFISH 2013 For generations, SeaWorld was a tourist attraction known for its performing killer whales and other live sea shows.

Blackfish focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld who killed three individuals during live performances.

The film exposed audiences to the complicated emotional life of killer whales and the cruelty of keeping them in confined spaces. The film took the issue beyond animal rights advocacy, and the exposure has caused SeaWorld to lose business and stock value. Although the park has lost a tremendous amount of support it reportedly still keeps orcas in captivity.

SUPERSIZE ME 2004 Director Morgan Spurlock is the reason we all think twice before heading to McDonald’s. The reason for Spurlock’s investigation was a lawsuit brought against McDonald’s on behalf of two overweight girls, who allegedly became obese as a result of eating McDonald’s. Spurlock’s embarked on a 30-day experiment during which he ate only McDonald’s food. The results were quite astonishing, leaving Spurlock in a dire physical state. His physician encouraged him to quit the experiment prematurely. It resulted in McDonald’s eliminating the Super Size options in their menu, while also including healthier options.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH 2006 Climate change was always a hot topic within the scientific community, but Al Gore’s documentary on the subject changed the global consciousness. Before An Inconvenient Truth, climate change was a cause far from the worldwide protests that we see today. His passionate plea and supporting evidence was hard to ignore. With the thousands upon thousands of young people marching the streets to fight global warming, we can’t ignore the impact that Al Gore’s documentary had in creating urgency on the issue. Because of this film, people finally understood the reality of global warming, and for many, it was a call to action to save the planet.

GET OUT 2017 For years Jordan Peele had used comedy to expose audiences to social issues, but when his feature film Get Out became the breakout hit of 2017, it solidified him as an American horror director. With a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes upon its debut, the film riveted audiences with stellar performances and innovative artistic direction. The film superbly displayed complex racial tensions not yet explored in the Horror genre. Its themes of slavery and liberal hubris made it the cultural thinkpiece of the year, while also becoming the highestgrossing film domestically directed by a black filmmaker.

PHILADELPHIA 1993 Philadelphia sparked a shift in Hollywood films toward more humane depictions of the LGBT community. There was a point in time where sexuality was a taboo subject, and shockingly, even by 1993, the topic of gay issues was awkwardly avoided. Philadelphia was a transformative film that put the HIV epidemic front and center of societal discourse. Tom Hanks, an already leading Hollywood actor, took a bold chance playing the title role of a gay man living with HIV. It was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to depict the perils of HIV/AIDS and homophobia accurately.

13th 2016 According to 13th, one out of four African-American males will serve prison time during their lifetime, and that statistic is directly tied to the 13th Amendment. When the 13th amendment was ratified in 1865, it left an exploitable loophole for slavery to simply use prison system to target and imprison black men. Director Ava DuVernay masterfully directs a harrowing discussion around the intersections of race, justice, and mass incarceration. It’s a compelling and infuriating film, and DuVernay started the discourse needed to address prison reform in the United States. .

LEAVING NEVERLAND 2019 It has proven to be the most controversial film of 2019. Upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Michael Jackson fans protests its screening outside. The Jackson Estate has reportedly sued HBO for $100 million. The film’s two main subjects allege they were sexually abused as children by Jackson. Despite America’s love for the King of Pop, it’s difficult to look away from the testimonies of these two men who spent so much time with the reclusive superstar. They are the imperfect victims in many ways, but they deserve a listen before one can make an absolute conclusion.

SCHINDLERS LIST 1993 It is said that director Steven Spielberg waited over ten years to make the film because he felt he was not ready to take on a project about the Holocaust at 37. The subject matter forced him to confront the antisemitism of his childhood, while also showing the world the atrocities experienced during WWII. An international hit, Schindler’s List became an education tool for awareness about the Holocaust. In his mission to combat ignorance, Spielberg continued his work by preserving the interviews of the remaining Holocaust survivors.

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BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN 2005 As late as the mid-1990s, gay lifestyle was still fighting to be taken seriously on TV and Film. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger were painfully complicated in this dramatic western love story about two gay cowboys. It’s a tragic tale about a repressed love that will never be accepted, but watching their love bloom under these circumstances is mesmerizing. In 2006, Brokeback Mountain was nominated for Best Picture, but lost in a significant upset to Crash. It was speculated that the Academy’s older membership was reluctant to embrace the film at the time, but since its breakthrough, there has been significant growth in the spectrum of LGBT films.

BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE 2002 Before 1999 we knew a world without highly publicized school shootings. In Bowling for Columbine, political documentary filmmaker Michael Moore explores the complicated lives of shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, while also analyzing the relationship between Americans and their firearms. The film is not the first of its kind to declare violence as an epidemic, but in hindsight, Moore put a spotlight on many of the gun issues that are still in contention within our political spectrum. Even if you don’t agree with Moore’s assessment of American gun laws, his interviews of those affected by gun violence are harrowing and life-changing.

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According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a holiday is defined as a day free from work that one may spend at leisure, especially a day on which custom or the law dictates a halting of general business activity.

Wow, really? I think maybe we should all give that a whirl. It sounds like a fantastic idea.

The definition that follows even more obvious, yet how many of us actually remember it? A religious feast day; a holy day.

I come from a family of intellectual, argumentative atheists and agnostics. I never went to church as a child, and yet my mom will call me in the early Spring and ask if I’m coming home for Easter. Are we celebrating that Our Lord Has Risen? Hell no. It’s all about food.

Easter is an excuse to make roast lamb.

Thanksgiving is even more ridiculous. As good lefties, we eschew the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. “Yeah, thanks for the vittels, now we’re gonna whack you over the head, give you smallpox, and steal your land,” one of us might quip while preparing the turkey stuffing. Idealogically, we hate the idea of Thanksgiving. It goes against everything we stand for. And yet, sometime in late October I usually get a call from home: “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” and then I’m treated to a preview of the menu.

I hate to generalize, but of all the religion-based holidays celebrated in the United States, I think Christianity holds the title for Most Holidays Celebrated by People Who Have No Idea What They’re Really Celebrating.

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Finally, this is the biggie: Christmas. Although in our house we don’t worship Christ, supposedly we don’t approve of commercialism for its own sake, all the kids have grown up, and yet Christmas is the holiday that’s not negotiable. There’s no such thing as not going home for Christmas. I can’t even consider it. I can wiggle out of Easter and Thanksgiving without a serious fracas, but Christmas is the Big Cheese of all the Christian holidays celebrated by my utterly non-religious family.

Frankly, it’s loaded. Last year we tried to enact a law whereby no adults bought gifts for each other outside their immediate family.

Every single person broke the rule. We can’t bear the thought of not participating in this ritual. It feels dangerous. We don’t want to appear stingy. Cynicism is okay (in fact, it may be compulsory) and yet, nobody can bear to be called a Scrooge.

Every Christmas, as much as I enjoy myself, I also find myself looking around the room and thinking about how tired everyone looks. I watch my cousins, who have two teenagers, drop off on the couch on Christmas afternoon, after their kids have opened the gifts that nearly pushed them into bankruptcy. Everyone looks absolutely exhausted. Everyone is broke. More people are coming over for dinner. The breakfast dishes are still on the table, dinner still needs to be prepared, and everybody’s ready for a nap.

As much as I love spending time with my family and enjoy buying gifts for them, every year I wonder what the hell we’re doing all this for. Can’t we find another way to enjoy each others’ company and express our appreciation for each other? One that doesn’t wear us out physically and financially?

By Barbara Allen

...the Holidays The answer is obvious. Of course it’s possible. But will we do it? No. The emotional baggage attached to Christmas is far too heavy.

to stay home, maybe watch football. Nothing was open, so you wouldn’t dream of going anywhere. Whether or not you tied one on the night before, it was a day to recharge your batteries.

Think about it for a minute. What do you need most right now? Another shiny bauble from your aunt? Another long drive or train ride or flight during the busiest travel season of the year? Another grand or so added to your Visa balance? If you’re like me, what you really need is a damn day off.

Now, a federal holiday still means no mail or banking, but the malls are all on fire with mega sales and retail workers are putting in overtime hours. Many people use federal holidays to shop and to “catch up on work.” Gone are the days when we relished an opportunity to do absolutely nothing.

Statistics show that Americans are not only logging more and more hours at work, but that the advent of communication technology has irreparably blurred the line between work and personal time.

American workers are so driven and competitive that they can’t resist the urge to check their work-related email and voicemail. Even those who are fairly apathetic about their jobs tend to feel obligated to stay on top of work-related issues in their off hours. We don’t get enough sleep, we don’t take enough vacations, we eat badly, and we’re paying for all of this with a host of stress related illnesses. We never step out of our routines long enough to gain any real perspective. We work so much that our relationships suffer: marriages fail, friendships fade, and kids raise themselves. Worse yet, despite all this work we’re supposedly doing, most of us feel like we never have enough money. We’re still borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, and the cost of living is rising as we speak. And we wonder why we’re all popping anti-depressants and pigging out on junk food to feel better.

President’s Day, Columbus Day, Memorial Day…they’ve all become workdays for many Americans. This sends the message to the rest of us that we really should be doing something. Shouldn’t we? Is it really okay to lie around watching Lifetime? Or to take a 2 hour nap? Or a long bath? Or read a novel?

Then, when we finally get a day off, it’s not really a day off. New Years’ Day used to be National Hangover Day. You were supposed

This is why when my mom calls about Easter or Thanksgiving, I generally thank her for the invitation, and beg off. I plan a day of nothing. The city is quiet. I stock my fridge and sleep late.

Sure, I feel like I’m missing something. “But it’s Easter,” a little voice inside me says. I can get over that. When I go to bed the night before, I remember that I have a day ahead with nothing planned – a day to rest and be a bit spontaneous. And that, indeed, is what I have truly been missing.

I guess you could call it “A day free from work that one may spend at leisure, especially a day on which custom or the law dictates a halting of general business activity.” I love that idea. I love it so much, I could almost get religious about it.

cover story

Noomi Rapace doesn’t ‘ want you , to know who she; is Sometimes’she “ feel doesn’t ‘ even know herself . ’I like every character I’ve ‘ ever done’ basically changed something in me.”

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“... I wrote that little part. Because that’s what I hold on to. When things go south and you feel like, ‘Fuck. I’m losing it!’ It’s the small things. You need to make sure that he has a clean pair of socks ...”

The Swedish-born actress’ career has spanned over three decades and three languages, and she carries every character she’s played with her. “There’s always a new Noomi coming out in the end of the project. So, it’s not going back to who I was before. It’s more about like finding who I am now.” Sometimes that’s harder than it seems. In the sci-fi thriller, What Happened to Monday, she played seven sisters at the same time. That’s more than just learning seven times the amount of lines, it’s more like splitting your soul seven ways — a feat that requires some magic, and a lot of planning. “I knew like, ‘Okay. This day I’m playing five sisters,’ and I had a plan for how like to kind of move in and out of them, I made playlists — like music to help me to enter characters and leave a character, and I had different fragrances so each character smelled a certain way.”

Putting that kind of load on one’s psychic RAM isn’t without its consequences. “When I came back, my short memory was gone for like 10 days. Like, I made a plan for the day and then an hour later I was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. Is it Monday or is it Saturday? Or like ... What am I doing today?’ Like, I had to call my sister once, I was driving in London and I just all of a sudden was like, ‘Oh my God. I don’t know where I’m going.’” Noomi hid out for days, spending quality time with her couch while she waited for her cache to clear a little. “I felt like an infant almost, like a newborn that needed to like start all over and like learn how to basically like function again.” It might seem like staying closer to the surface of a character would be a necessary part of self-preservation, but she won’t even consider it. “For me, that’s not a sacrifice. Like, I feel like it’s my duty as an actress to give that and to go as deep and as far as I possibly can.

Because, everything else would be like a betrayal to the role or the roles I’m playing.”

She disappeared three times into the role of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish-language film trilogy of the Millennium series, starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She shot all three movies back-to-back and had to walk away from the character forever. “I gave a year and half of my life to Lisbeth Salander. When I was done, I was done. It was over in me. Like,

I never want to go back to it. And, I have a lot of respect for Rooney Mara and Claire Foy, but I feel like I don’t have a lot of interest in watching others do it either. It was just finished in me and I feel like I almost went too far. It was very intense. It’s a chapter in my life where I gave everything and then, when I was done, I was done.”

In Stockholm, the heist drama based on the true crime story of the 1973 bank hostage crisis in Sweden, Noomi returned to her geographic roots.

“I grew up knowing about it. I was always very fascinated by it.

But, I didn’t know the details of it. So, when I started digging into it, I just realized like, ‘Oh my God. This is kind of- pretty extreme,’ It’s like strangely romantic.

And, I started seeing from Bianca’s perspective pretty early on in the process.” In the film, Noomi’s hostage character is as still as Ethan Hawke’s bank robber is brash, and she finds the titular Stockholm Syndrome between the lines. “I always try to find those cracks in the characters. Because it’s a contradiction.

Because as soon as the character’s just black and white and is like, ‘Oh yeah. She’s a good girl,’ you know, ‘She is taken hostage and she tried to survive. And, in the end, she kills the bad guy.’ I mean, that’s just boring. Because like in real life, people are not like that.

There’s no such thing as good and bad in that simple way like of seeing it.”

Noomi uses the small moments to let the character breathe, and in that way, live.

There’s a tiny scene in Stockholm where her character’s husband comes in while she’s being held hostage. She calmly gives him a recipe for dinner for the kids. That beat stands out — and was her creation. “That whole thing, that was my idea. I wrote that little part. Because that’s what I hold on to. When things go south and you feel like, ‘Fuck. I’m losing it!’ It’s the small things. You need to make sure that he has a clean pair of socks. That he has like clean underwear for tomorrow. This is a survival kit, that kind of weird, rational, everyday-life details. And then he doesn’t do it.” It seems like it’s just fish, but it never is. “I think the

fact that he doesn’t cook the fish is also one of the facts is why she is drawn to Ethan’s character — he sees her!” It’s as if being understood is its own power. “To recognized is such a strong thing. Because, you want to be seen. You want to feel alive. And, even if that person is like holding you, keeping you away from like — basically controlling you, and you’re his hostage. If you feel seen and you feel like, ‘You know, he really needs me,’ I mean, he’s halfway into your soul.”

Playing a character based on Jacquie Davis, a real-life female bodyguard who has protected everyone from U.K. royalty to J.K. Rowling, Noomi found herself on the other side of power in Close. With a female director and a female lead, it’s a gritty action movie with zero perfect hair and zero running in heels. Director Vicky Jewson vision matched Noomi’s. “What made me say yes to working with her was that she said, ‘I don’t want to do a film about women fighting and a female bodyguard that is sexy. I don’t care.

It’s not about looking a certain way. It’s not about selling it and being attractive. It’s about making it real.’” It’s a fight she’s had over and over. Kicking ass, makes a mess — despite how Hollywood tries to sell it. “I’m like, ‘Okay.

Why should I wear makeup? Why should I be pretty if I’m trying to survive?’ Like, ‘I’ve been escaping,’ or like, ‘I’ve been struggling.’

She’s gone through Hell, and what’s the logic behind me having mascara, looking pretty?”

Disrupting the mascara myth of the female action star is just the beginning. The next step, is making more space for female stories — told correctly. “We need more female writers and directors, because then their stories will be told. There’s a lot of amazing male writers who can write female characters. I’m not saying that. But, I just feel like the lack of female voices in this film industry is a big hole, because there’s fewer female stories.” And less understanding of what it really means to be female. “Every woman and every girl knows we are human.

We are not like an object. We are not like eye candy. And, just the fact that you know so many times you get put into this position where you’re supposed to something attractive. And, the male character can be the real one, the raw one, the one who looks like rough and like broken. I feel like it slowly is changing but it’s still like a lot of work to do.”

It’s change that almost needs to happen in the real world before it can be reflected back from the screen. “Just look at the political climate in a lot of countries — especially in the U.S. What

are we saying to our daughters? What are we saying to our sons? If that’s like… what’s in charge? I feel like there’s a lot to do. But, it is changing. And, it makes me really happy and I’m very proud of being part of it. But, I think that every woman and every girl, we need to fight our own battles everyday of like being truthful to what we believe in and not try to satisfy people.”

A huge part of that desire to satisfy people is probably in your pocket racking up notifications right now. Noomi has bowed out of the social media sideshow for the most part, for her sanity and for her craft. “I feel like the whole social media culture is so much about being liked and being recognized and getting, like, proof that what you’re doing is right, that people approve it, and that what you’re doing is working.

But like so many times it’s based on sex and seduction. I would like to have a small part in changing that.” Tweets and status updates also threaten more than a sense of self, they share too much about yourself.

For someone whose goal is to lose herself in a character, social media makes it much harder. “I would like the audience to go in and watch a film and forget that it’s me, to fully fall into the story and see the film and forget that it’s an actress. I don’t want them to know what I had for breakfast. I don’t want them to know who I’m dating or what me and my son did this morning.”

Noomi Rapace doesn’t want you to know her, but she wants you to know this. “I live for acting. I love being an actress. It’s the most beautiful profession I can imagine.

And, it will never be boring and I can never be good at it because I need to start from scratch every new project, every new character I start from zero. And the moment I become too famous or people know too much about me, I feel like I will — it will just stand in the way for people to see my work and they will see me.” She’s set to lose herself in more complicated characters in upcoming projects — and her loss is our gain.

“.... But, I think that every woman and every girl, we need to fight our own battles everyday of like being truthful to what we believe in and not try to satisfy people ...”

“... We need more female

writers and directors, because then their stories will be told. There’s a lot of amazing male writers who can write female characters. I’m not saying that. But, I just feel like the lack of female voices in this film industry is a big hole, because there’s fewer female stories ...“

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Super s drunk ? boyfriend gone ? dad s upstate ?

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a S T E M girl does it quicker cleaner and so much better by herself

Cheap Monday pleated dress Subversive Jewelry ring Erikson Beamon pin

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Cheap Monday vest Charlotte jumper Izzy Camilleri gloves Subversive Jewelry ring Donald J Pliner booties

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[left] Alexander Wang tweed pants Subversive Jewelry necklace Manuel tank top Tashkent suede boots [right] Jason Wu dress Wolford stockings photography by Ejaz Khan assistants Alden Wallace & Juliette Jacovidis model Cassiani @elite stylist Lola C Shepard makeup lldiko @ utopia with makeup forever hair Richard Cooley @ utopia

feature

It’s a Bug’s Life

WHAT ’S TH E DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EATING FRIED S HRIMP AN D FRIED CATERPILLAR? NOT A DAMNED THING! AS PER USUAL IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND. Chocolate chip cookies are, undoubtedly, an, all-time, American favorite. They’re warm and gooey while slightly browned at the edges and speckled with oozing chocolate. These creamy cookie crumbles are all well and good, but if you think this classic cookie is ready for a revamp, you’re in luck. Substitutions like peanut butter for chocolate chips, applesauce for butter, or (don’t judge) mealworm for flour all make for a much healthier interpretation.

Yes, you heard me right. Mealworm. As in, the yellow, scaly, wriggling, barrel-o-worms?

Yep, that’s the kind I’m talking about. Mealworms feed on bran and oats, so why not? They’re like the hyperactive twins of squirming Fiber 1. They’re a perfect substitution for flour adding a nutritiously nutty flavor, as well as an extra punch of protein (without all those extra carbs).

And since these wormy wrigglers are a favorite snack of mice and hummingbirds, any pet store will surely have a ready supply. Don’t be scared either, because this “Flour” preparation is a breeze: Simply rinse off a bowl of live worms and throw them in the freezer for

15 minutes, a quick death. Bake them at 200 degrees for one to three hours (to dry them out) and grind them on up. Voila! Mealworm a la mode. Or, if the idea of worms in your cookie makes you lose your lunch, why not try adding ½ a cup of roasted grasshoppers. This will definitely make a tasty, albeit, crunchy, batch of Chocolate Chirpie Cookies.

Are you grossed out? Well, you shouldn’t be. Over 3,000 ethnicities in more than 113 countries around the world have been eating insects for centuries. Bugs have more nutritional value than any other creature, and with over 1,700 species, every pallet is sure to be satisfied. But something is stopping us from munching on tangy, deep-fried crickets instead of popcorn or noshing on savory roasted water bugs: our gag reflex. In the States, the idea of eating bugs is repulsive. Foul. Sometime between creation and Westernization, we developed a stigma that exempts us from the rest

of the world. Bugs were deemed as disgusting mentality it hasn’t changed. But, they can significantly alleviate millions of rumbling bellies.

Entomophagy, the practice of humans consuming insects, was a necessary part of survival in societies long before tools were created for hunting and farming. As improvements were made in the farming industry, cultivated edibles became our main source of sustenance. Insects became farmers’ worst enemies and ours too.

Imagine ticks and fleas in your pet’s silky coat, mites in the carpet, roaches scrambling for crumbs between cracks in the counter, lines of ants marching regimentally from the cereal box to a fixed destination unknown to us... these visuals justify all the toxins, traps and pesticides we use to counter-attack. We spend billions of dollars a year to kill and poison what could be, metaphorically speaking, tomorrow’s dinner. Little do we know that the consumption of bugs has the potential to be a win-win deal: we could save billions of dollars nixing pesticides, increase our food production by the thousands (by gathering bugs from crops instead of exterminating them), and close the book on the organic vs. nonorganic debate, since everything would be pesticidefree. But for now, the joke is on us.

Take Honey Nut Cheerios, for example.

Honey Nut Cheerios are a staple of the average American diet.

General Mills advertises the “irresistible honey sweet taste” and swears you’ll love “lowing your cholesterol”, but what they neglect to say is Honey Nut Cheerios are flavored with bee larvae. (As in, the larvae of a honey bee.) Understand that bees use their “honey stomachs” to ingest and regurgitate… yes, regurgitate nectar a number of times in the hive until it is partially digested. This regurgitated nectar is stored in the honeycomb and later extracted by beekeepers to flavor your favorite breakfast. But remember this, honey is larvae and isn’t much different than the larvae of other bugs. The only difference, I suppose, is its consumption is widely accepted in our society. Honey is used to flavor and sweeten more than breakfast; it’s used in jams, jellies, as well as the syrups that flavor sodas; it’s a natural sweetener far more nutritious than sugar.

Is it surprising, then, that insects are far healthier than farm-raised animals? Lipids in bugs are long-chained unsaturated fats, and much less damaging to our health than the saturated fats predominant in conventional livestock. A one

hundred gram serving of beef contains 288.2 calories, 21.2 grams of fat and 23.5 grams of protein, while the same serving of grasshoppers has only 150 calories and 6 grams of fat, but 20 grams of protein and far less cholesterol. And, just a snippet of information for those of you making a conscious effort to diet and/or stay healthy: bugs have nearly the same protein content as beef and will keep you just as full for half the fat and calories. Certain bugs also host an excess of vitamins and minerals. Beat that, suckers.

In addition to being healthier for our bodies, bugs are healthier for the environment.

More bugs and less beef would reduce the need of grazing cows. A decrease in cows reduces cow flatulence, also known as methane, one of the leading aerial pollutants of the depleting ozone. Insects also reproduce twenty times faster than cows for one-tenth the amount of food. The consumption of bugs is surely more economical– what carcass is there to chuck? What guts are there to burn or hooves to market as dog delicacies? Oh, that’s right. None.

And there’s something else you should know, something you might not want to know. You have, in fact, been eating insects since you were born. That peanut butter on your shelf contains insect filth, and so does that wheat flour sitting next to it. It’s nearly impossible to rid produce–vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts – of all insects or insect waste. Since insects are more beneficial than harmful, the FDA has no problem allowing small amounts of them in your everyday food, processed foods included. Formally, this regulation is called the Food Defect Action Levels, and is defined as “levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans.”

We’re no longer straddling ‘organic’ territory, not at all. These small helpings of insect parts are literally “natural and unavoidable.” They’re a nice nutritional boost, and it’s not like you’d even notice a small speck of insect poop.

Or do you? You assume those little black specks in your loaf bread are spices or grains, but they’re actually insect parts. And what about flour? Beetles, weevils, and other pests present in granaries get caught in the crossfire and end up being mulled along with grain. It may sound horrifying, but our idea of insects is far too Hollywood. There’s positively nothing grotesque about consuming insects. And there’s absolutely no reason why you’d have to stare them in the eye and feel their legs brush the back of your throat. You wouldn’t swallow a hunk of raw beef would you? Apply the same rule to insects. You can remove their extremities, fry, salt, flavor to taste and pop them in your mouth. Try new cuisines! Sample new delicacies. And next time you’re wondering why “this dish tastes so good,” keep in mind bugs can easily be concealed in your food.

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LYIN’ EYES

The United States is certainly climbing an uphill battle, but what will we trip on first, the cross or the rifle?

Before the Supreme Court‘s game-changing decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to make same sex marriage legal, the argument went a little something like this (paraphrased, of course): Supreme Court ruled that as a civil servant, she swore a duty to follow the law not defy it.

Since the case, Davis continues to receive accolades as “God’s chosen one” from the Christian community, calling her a martyr for their cause. All this praise for a woman whose own marital record mirrors Kim Kardashian’s failed relationships! She has been married four times and divorced three—oh yeah, she’s the poster child for the Catholic Church all right.

Along the same lines, the government largely controls education in America, at least in public schools. And on that note, Sex Education in this country is a fucking travesty.

Speaking as a young woman who attended Catholic School for both Elementary and High School, it comes as no surprise that I learned that saving yourself before marriage is the only form of birth control I needed to prevent early sexual activity... riiiiight.

And girls don’t have periods and boys don’t get erections during class. Awhuh, you just keep holding on to that American Dream, Father Timothy!

Teenagers act like every day is opposite day; tell them not to have sex, and well, they’ll be going at it like rabbits before you offer them a purity ring. Proper Sex Education is the only scientifically proven teaching method that effectively educates young students about how to safely initiate in sexual activities by giving them lessons on birth control, STDs, and making the decision to have sex their own. Yet despite the overwhelming lack of scientific evidence that Abstinence-Only Sex Education does not actually prevent teens from engaging in sex, limit their number of partners, promotes safe sexual encounters, or reduces teen pregnancy, Congress still managed to spend nearly $2 billion over the last 25 years on abstinence only programs.

Welcome to politics in a conservative nation.

The Kim Davis controversy in addition to the diminished sex education in America perfectly exemplify the only two slippery slopes that continue to obstruct the United States government’s objectivity since its inception in the 18th century: The idea that the Constitution 068

and its Amendments are written as universal omniscient laws instead of laws that need to adjust and change based on current events and the needs of modern America.

But now that Gay Marriage and Sex Education are no longer the hot buttons to push for debate, the new “slippery slope” obstacle course is of course, Gun Control.

The Second Amendment goes something like this: “A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

This epidemic is an unnatural phenomenon that can no longer be subscribed to a few bad apples that were mentally unstable and had unfortunate access to deadly firearms. No, these criminals were in fact quite lucid conspirators when they legally purchased weapons capable of mass destruction and then open red in a school, movie theater, mall, or other public place under their own accord—acting alone or within a group to cause immediate harm to innocent people under the guise of civil liberty.

According to the Gun Violence Archive in Washington D.C., there were 340 mass shootings in America in 2018, just 15 days shy of statistically a mass shooting every day. There have been 95 mass shootings this year so far. We’re only April, and already more than three-quarters of the days on this calendar are marked by mass gun violence.

In 2014, the Center for Disease Control declared guns a public health risk—forcing the National Rifle Association and other right wing politicians to look at the scope of destruction gun violence has caused to the population from a medical perspective as opposed to simply a judicial one.

By bringing doctors to the frontlines, it greatly reduces the distance between the two.

Gun violence is not isolated in America; but mass shootings amongst civilians are a national domestic threat that doesn’t a affect other developed countries. The gun murder rate in America is 20 times higher than Germany, Canada, Greece, and Italy. Furthermore, since 2012 approaching three-quarters of a million fatal and non-fatal crimes involved a firearm, according to the Department of Justice.

The NRA and Gun Rights Activists continue to invoke the Second Amendment as their defense for why they remain unmoved by the astronomical increase in gun violence over the past two decades. Or they say, “Well if one of the victims had a gun, they could have stopped the shooter.” Yes, because by all logical standards, one dead criminal and countless injured or murdered victims

far outweighs the safety concerns than if guns were limited & more difficult to access and mass shootings became a dark stain of the past. Wrong!

Statistically, if you build a pool in your backyard, you increase your risk of drowning. In the same light, if you purchase a firearm, and keep it on your person, in your car, or around your house, you increase your chance of a gun related incident— be it an accident or a purposeful deed. By removing the catalyst of both events [guns], you subsequently remove the immediate threat.

This radical legislation has been proven to work—just look at Australia. In response to a mass shooting in April 1996, newly elected conservative Prime Minister John Howard, it announced a bipartisan deal with state and local governments to enact sweeping gun-control measures. The country’s new gun laws prohibited private sales, required that all weapons be individually registered to their owners, and required that gun buyers present a “genuine reason” for needing each weapon at the time of the purchase. (Self-defense did not count.) The experiment that is the USA is still a shining light on the hill but it is becoming increasingly obvious that the light is being obscured by muzzle flashes. We are not stupid, guys. You cannot continue to ignore the evidence and pretend that our gun laws have nothing to do with the problem. “Guns don’t kill, people do” might have some truth in it but if these “people” were to try killing a hundred others in quick succession with a knife or baseball bat, nobody could deny they would be thwarted very quickly.

The solution? You have just got to keep pitchin’.

Politicians, usually to the far right near the Bengay and hearing aids, like to use the phrase, “slippery slope,� when they’re up against a bill about to be put to a vote. It usually involves some far fetched, exaggerated notion illustrating the fear for national or international socially acceptable security should we slip and fall without end down the rabbit hole and find ourselves in an alternate universe where die hard American heterosexual religious fanatic white male patriots are the minority and more progressive minds have the votes for a change. By Sophia Fox-Sowell

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Sally Hawkins... (...we love you!)

By Chesley Turner photography: Seamus Ryan Sally Hawkins is inspired by the great artists.

Not Hepburn and Olivier and Bergman.

Not the lions of the silver screen, or even the masters whose works line the walls of the Met and the MOMA. No, the artists that Sally can reel off like a whimsical summer reading list are the ones that light every child’s imagination.

“Maurice Sendak, Quentin Blake, Roald Dahl... they’re my heroes, really. A great story is a great story. It sort of transcends age.” When you consider the fact that she grew up in a creative household, the daughter of two children’s book creators, this isn’t surprising. The penchant for the creative never left her. It became her view of the world. “You know, the value of art – I’ve known nothing else really – it gives you space to express yourself. I found it so easy to do. It’s like a language for me.”

Children’s books and literature offer a different take on the world. Not the staid

structure of adulthood where emotions are often hidden or tucked away. “They’re much more honest and they give that freedom for incredible creativity, which is being human. Usually the most lifeaffirming and heart-expanding stories and books and artwork. I find them eternally uplifting and inspiring. Like Shel Silverstein.

I stumbled across him at the Lion Book Shop in New York years ago and just fell so deeply in love with him.”

Sally’s work often reflects this appreciation of the honest creativity in a good storybook. Whether she’s playing a mute woman falling in love with a merman, a happy-go-lucky school teacher, or the foster mother of a remarkable talking bear, her roles are on the quirky side.

“It’s more to do with what I’m drawn to.

Maybe that’s to do with who I am. I find those characters more interesting. I’m just more interested in people that maybe don’t quite fit.

“... You know, the value of art – I’ve known nothing else really – it gives you space to express yourself. I found it so easy to do. It’s like a language for me ...“

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I suppose everyone feels like they don’t quite fit, if they’re being honest, or haven’t found their place in the world. I like odd shapes in art, and I like odd shapes in characters. And I think that children’s stories are just more honest about looking out of place.”

Fiction readers, Sally points out, are predominately female. So it makes sense that we are seeing more films come to the big screen led by women, written by women, directed by women.

But the playing field is by no means level. “I think the real question is, still, that we need to keep talking about pay. You know, I’ve been discriminated against throughout my working life, and surprisingly so.” It’s easy, she says, to go along with things and not question the pay rate, because it’s inconceivable that a woman be paid less than her male counterpart in this day and age. “And yet, until you ask the question and you receive the answer, which is: yes, you’re being paid less than a third of your male counterpart....

It’s so incredibly...it just makes you feel sick.”

How many times must we ask the question and raise the argument before we’re taken seriously?

It’s not time to quit yet. “I think that people are very willing to acknowledge the fact that female-led films and protagonists are very much alongside males, but we have to keep asking questions. Unless we do, people will be quite happy paying less, and happily discriminate quietly. I suppose we have to keep knocking away.”

The magic of the movies is undeniable, especially when the right team comes together. The Shape of Water won Oscars for best picture, director, original score, and production design in 2018. For Sally, the entire production was a dream, from start to finish, not least of all because of how it began.

“The way it happened was kind of like a fairy tale.

I just happened to be writing a mermaid story, one that’s set in the future and is very different, about a girl who doesn’t know she’s a mermaid.

Her body is falling apart and – it’s like a modernday Metamorphosis, that’s what I wanted to do.

So I’m writing, with a view to do maybe a short film. I’m literally sitting in a little cafe in Putney in South London, and I got the call saying: Guillermo Del Toro is interested in a merman-type story. And I sort of almost fell off the chair. I didn’t know if I’d manifested it.”

Guillermo Del Toro, Sally says, is the master of fairy tales. Despite the fact that there was no script and just a vague description of “quasimodern-day mermaid story set in the Cold War,” she was in. And so, she became part of a dynamic and diverse cast to tell the tale. When asked about working with former Moves cover man, Michael Shannon, who played the role of the vindictive Richard Strickland with terrifying grace, Sally gushes. “He’s a gorgeous, gorgeous human being. He’s close to genius. I just admire him so much and love working with him, and watching him work. His attention to detail is like a surgeon. But then, the greatest actors play the meanest parts because they’re brilliant. But as

soon as you step outside of that he’s just...he’s just the sweetest guy. They all were!”

Sally breathlessly ticks through the cast list.

“Stuhlbarg!” (referencing Michael Stuhlbarg).

“And then you’ve got Doug Jones, who’s got the biggest heart I know. You don’t see his beautiful face, but it just transcends the inches of rubber suit. And Octavia Spencer.... I was just thinking about Shape of Water this morning. How did that happen to me?” It’s nothing but sheer luck, she thinks, to have landed such an enchanting part in a tremendous story with an incredible cast, led by the master of the genre.

“It is so much luck. You know, this business is kind of like gossamer. One element out and it can fall apart. It was the greatest gift. And I’m so delighted for Guillermo because he just gave his heart. He is a genius. So every single heart was behind that film because of Guillermo. He just goes to the end and back again.”

Perhaps one of the most striking but simple elements of The Shape of Water is that the good characters have kindness and empathy, and the bad characters do not. “As Guillermo far more eloquently put than I ever can: Compassion is a great human gift. It transcends everything.

Everything.”

Humbly, Sally claims she didn’t have to do a thing in the film. “I just had to be. That’s all I had to do. Be. And learn. And I learned so much just by watching greatness.” And yet she is the emotional lynchpin and the hero, showing us what can be endured if we set our minds to it, what can be realized if we truly see, and what can be achieved when we let our hearts lead. Still, she’s thrilled she didn’t ever have to say a word, during the film or during its after-life in the world. “I could just be there in celebration of it.”

With almost equal enthusiasm, Sally pivots to speaking about her upcoming film, Eternal Beauty. “It’s a very low-budget film we shot last year with a beautiful dear friend of mine who I’ve known for several years and love eternally.

Again, talking of quirky, interesting characters that don’t really fit, the character here, Jane, really is the essence of that. And then some.”

Sally speaks of Eternal Beauty like a mother bird wanting the very best for her fledgling, just before it takes flight. “You want it to have a life beyond the art-house down the road.

You just want its life in the world to expand beyond and beyond. You want people to see it. It’s an important story, tackling mental health in a really unusual way, and I just adored, adored doing it.”

It’s clear that Sally Hawkins sees her acting as a way to connect perceptions and emotions and art – just like the children’s books she still buys everywhere she goes.

[previous spread] Goat black jumpsuit [these pages] Topshop Boutique print blouse (bottom left) and orange coat photography by Seamus Ryan stylist Michelle Kelly @ carol hayes groomer Michele Rowbotham location London

“... I think the real question is, still, that we need to keep talking about pay. You know, I’ve been discriminated against throughout my working life, and surprisingly so. It’s easy to go along with things and not question the pay rate, because it’s inconceivable that a woman be paid less than her male counterpart in this day and age ...”

solstice

feature

You may say he was a dreamer, but he certainly wasn’t the only one and despite our present day predicament, which Lennon would have been protesting with every iota of his being, we get ever closer to his vision and further away from that materialistic, gilt edifice. Time is indeed up.

SOLSTICE

By Avvaiyar Kamari Feminine power is not to be disregarded. One may agree with the paleoarcheologist Marija Gimbutas on the strong presence of numerous MotherGoddesses before a massive patriarchal invasion from southern Russia.

One may recognize that the power of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth lay in its positioning over an ancient Goddess shrine. That its reproduction in purple paint on canvas, and transportation to numerous ecclesial and academic sites, produces ecstatic kneecrawling along the holy maze baffles me. See the power of ideas?

The idea of the holy; the idea of the feminine. Both struggle to grasp postmodern consciousness, They had better succeed, as together these two powers just may divert humanity from an arguably evident course of self-annihilation. Looking back, we see that in Minoan Goddess-centered sites, weapons were less in evidence than tools. Those that were introduced by invaders were by no means capable of mass destruction, although they seemed so at the time. Now nuclear, chemical and biological deathagents blast away, threatening life as we know it. Mother Earth trembles; Mother Goddess shudders. Time for propitiation. But how?

As the contemporary ecologian Thomas Berry has often repeated: We must celebrate the great festivals of Earth.

From the sacrificial explosion of the supernova that created our solar system to the changing of seasons, these should be honored. Some have been, and still are. Seasonal celebrations traditionally signal joy, or perhaps reflective cleansing. But historically, these have taken place in disguise; initially liturgical; lately commercial.

Seeing Halloween decorations seep into stores in August makes one want to regurgitate. It has been stated that the autumn holiday now surpasses Christmastide in generating market profits. Halloween, sacred in archaic Northern traditions as Samhain (pronounced Sow-an; Celtic transliteration systems are more mystifying than Pin-yin) has been absorbed into the Neopagan calendar as the night the doors of life and death stand open.

Its Christian gloss as All Hallows’ Eve masked its pagan soul. The people wouldn’t give it up.

Neither would Northern cultures relinquish the great winter festival, Solstice.

From the Latin sol, sun, and sistere, to cause to stand still, the sacred day reflects ancient belief in many ethnic groups that not only was the sun halted in its course, but it might go away altogether if nobody did anything to bring it back. So the people would dance, drum, chant and feast, hoping to assure the sun wouldn’t desert them. So far, it has worked. Sun, we have. What we may not have for much longer is heating fuel. It is fruitless to propitiate energy providers. Let’s return to the idea of the sacred – and the feminine.

As the Christian church co-opted the great Pagan festivals, clothing them with symbols of Christian relevance, Summer Solstice morphed into the feast of John the Baptist. Legend has it that the desert ascetic and martyr, precursor of Christ, stated: Now I must decrease, that He may increase. That would give liturgical weight, as if any were needed, to the diminishing power of the midsummer sun and preparation for its (virtual) eclipse by the birth of the Son, the Divine Child.

Enter the Virgin Mary, an incarnation of the Goddess. The tradition of divine virginal conception prevailed throughout the ancient Near East [near to what? Let’s call it what it is: West Asia!]

The Lucan birth narratives themselves were taken from the Protoevangelion of James, a document that never made it into the Biblical canon, and was labeled a Gnostic gospel. Canonical or no, it established Mary as at least semi-divine. As well as their Earth festivals, the people wouldn’t give up their Goddess. The church brought them both back, if much altered.

It’s time to restore both festival and Goddess. If we can reintroduce the idea of the sacred nature of Earth: bountiful, forgiving (so far), the Mother of all beings, and celebrate Her changes, manifestations; Her very existence, and do it in simple fashion, with dignity and joy, perhaps we can bring about some understanding that destroying Her is by far more sacrilegious than trampling on anyone’s sacred scrip-

tures. Earth’s own sacred scriptures are written in fire, air, water, ground; in all living things. Honoring Her seasonal transitions is something everyone can do. Earth celebrations do not need to conflict with whatever formal religion shapes their thought. Goddess is Goddess; Earth is Earth. One can conflate them or not. And one can always be mindful of the Virgin Mary.

To celebrate Solstice effectively, one needn’t sign up with the Latter-Day Druids, unless one really is hell-bent on dressing up in white wool and mistletoe and trekking to Stonehenge.

It can be done by a group of loving friends gathered in a darkened room around some form of fire (not so easy in a New York apartment, where even candles must be cautiously monitored, but possible if one is seriously motivated and creative), drumming, circling, calling for the Sun’s return with a simple chant, such as Darkness veils Fire and light, Sun, blaze forth From the womb of Night!

Or Fiery Star, golden Sun, Return, return, return, return!

Let me offer the caution that is ill-advised to attempt to smudge indoors.

When everyone feels all drummed, circled and chanted out, it’s a good time to stand in place in the circle, hold hands and reflect on the power and vital importance of the great star of our solar system, and on the sacred nature of fire and its proper use. Then, as with all celebrations, it’s time to eat. Something yellow and round would be good.

Pancakes were traditional in Old Russia, where they really knew about diminishing Sun, and they don’t take much time to prepare. Golden, semi-sweet wine might be offered, and oranges, or an assortment of golden fruits. For those blessed with a real fire, it is best to linger until it dies out by itself.

Again, it’s important to keep it simple and joyful, but profound. We need social activism, but so far it hasn’t resolved the fate of the Earth. Mindful ritual may suggest a turning of hearts and minds. Let’s give it a try.

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“...We have all of this shit, we have all of these things that we love to flaunt and talk about and that’s fine but at the end of the day what are we doing to actually help other people?...”

Cameron

By Moonah Ellison Photography: Travis W Keyes

there really is hope for us yet Actor Cameron Boyce has a ton of energy—the guy never stops moving. At his photo shoot at Hortus in NoMad, Boyce lit up the space. Just has that quality needed with today’s millennials. Well-known for playing Carlos in Disney’s Descendants films, Boyce happens to be 19, with boyish looks and a youthful smile.

He’s on a roll, carving a nice acting career with some soon-to-be meaty choices: The third installment of the Descendants will be released this year, his toplining indie feature Runt is also hitting theaters in 2019, and Mrs. Fletcher, a half-hour comedy for HBO where he will be starring opposite Kathryn Hahn in the fall.

Looking young, I jokingly had to ask if he was able to vote in the midterms. He did. It was his first time voting. “The actual voting process was interesting and pivotal for our country,” reflects Boyce, whose grandmother, Jo Ann (Allen) Boyce, was one of the Clinton Twelve, the first African-Americans to attend an integrated high school in the south, in 1956, as ordered by Brown v.

Board of Education. “I’m not big on tearing people down and I’m way more of the mindset that we need to kind of build each other up. For anyone who’s ever felt marginalized because you couldn’t vote—and you know a lot of the youthful voters have more of a progressive mindset—we had a lot more young progressives, open-minded people that were part of the voting process this time. It’s our turn let’s not disappoint, let’s go out and do what we need to do to try and get our message across and get some of the people in office that we feel will do a better job.”

Voting for the first time hits home for Boyce, especially with his relationship with his grandmother, Jo Ann (Allen) Boyce, whose story came to life earlier this year in a poetry book she wrote called This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality (Bloomsbury, 2019), a book based on her experiences. “She’s one of the reasons why I think the way that I do,” gushes Boyce. “She’s incredible. I pick her brain because of what she went through. The story wasn’t really documented, wasn’t really told as much as it should’ve been so it’s really been this interesting process for us recently to try to get her story out along with the other 11 [Clinton Twelve] students. It’s kind of common knowledge that there was another group that desegregated an all-white high school in Little Rock Arkansas call the Arkansas Nine and everybody thinks that they were the first to do it and it actually wasn’t them it was the Clinton Twelve.

“Right now in this [political] climate it’s one of those things we all need help finding our center again it’s one of those stories where you kind of drop everything and listen.

For Boyce, there are movies to be made, but there’s also a side to him that is all humanitarian and his work with the Thirst Project speaks volumes.

The Thirst Project is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 whose mission is simple: Build a socially-conscious generation of young people who end the global water crisis. Boyce was honored by the Project with the Pioneering Spirit Award for his efforts to bring awareness to the Global Water Crisis and raising more than

$30,000 to build two wells in Swaziland to bring clean drinking water to the region. He continues to actively support the organization and its cause.

He also launched a t-shirt campaign with his own design.

“I was really drawn to the organization from the start and now two campaigns in and we’ve raised over $100,000 dollars building these wells. That’s one of those things that you will think about forever; it’s so much better than being in a movie or being in a show—it’s real, you’re actually affecting people’s lives in a positive way. We have all of this shit, we have all of these things that we love to flaunt and talk about and that’s fine but at the end of the day what are we doing to actually help other people?”

Meeting Boyce at his photo shoot in NYC then chatting on the phone, he seems to want to dispel the myth that Millennials are self-centered, lazy, and any other stereotype you can lump them in. Millennials are en masse making change happen like the Boomers did in the 60s, and Boyce believes his generation shouldn’t be underestimated. “There are so many people who don’t think that young people have the foresight or the wit to make a difference or to get something off the ground. They think that we’re lazy and they think that we are selfish and they think we don’t have the answers because we’re young. We’re directly challenging that idea.”

In Boyce’s view, his generation has so many things wrong with it yet won’t take living in this country for granted. Although there are many

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problems we all face, sometimes you have to catch yourself and appreciate your surroundings. “The way we live is so easy and we’re so privileged and we have all of these things and we’re so spoiled and there are so many problems that we would even consider problems that it’s pretty crazy,” says Boyce.

Many social and economical topics concern Boyce. He’s astonished at the greed of the one-percenters and finds it crazy how the middle and lower class take up a majority of the population yet there are so many people who have this insane amount of money and power.

It’s not hard to see how this wouldn’t concern someone who hasn’t turn 20 yet. What world are we leaving them, the next generations with sky high debt, endless wars, shrinking Middle Class, and so many social issues.

Whatever happens the first realization for Boyce is our addiction to technology, the phone and its apps for one. Part of the social media machine—he has over 7 million followers on Instagram—Boyce feels it’s important to disengage every now and then.

“We have the world in our pockets and I found myself going to an app, going to Instagram because it’s a habit. It’s so hard for us nowadays to pull ourselves out of that because we’re so far deep into this world where everything is readily available. It’s important to constantly be aware of things that are happening that maybe don’t directly affect you, but you just sort of want to know because it’s there. Social media is the driver of our entire society whether you like it or not so we have to be careful with this stuff, it’s crazy.”

Right now Boyce is filming Mrs. Fletcher, and, along with Runt, should bring his acting credentials to the next level and out of the Disney universe. Runt is a thriller about a group of troubled high school seniors that are pulled into a downward cycle of violence. Mrs. Fletcher, based on Tom Perotta’s bestselling novel, is a dual coming-of-age comedy about an empty nest divorcée played by Hahn.

Boyce plays Zack, the college roommate of Hahn’s son Brendan, played by Owen Teague.

“It’s just really cool to be around these people because coming from the Disney world, which is just so politically correct and doesn’t necessarily reflect my values.

To do stuff that’s more gripping and sort of challenging makes me very happy to be a part of it.”

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“...It’s our turn let’s not disappoint, let’s go out and do what we need to do to try and get our message across and get some of the people in office that we feel will do a better job...”

Boyce

Make sure to check out behind-the-scenes video footage of the New York Moves photo shoot with Cameron Boyce. Go to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/NewYorkMovesMagazine to check our Cameron as well as other BTS celebrity shoots.

photography by Travis W. Keyes stylist Gabrielle Rosenberg groomer Jacqueline Cookson location Hortus new york city

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Dianna

Agron

A portrait in style, elegance and...fun

By Moonah Ellison Photography: Tony Gale

We all know Dianna Agron can sing. We saw her on six seasons of the FOX hit show, Glee, where she played mean girl cheerleader and teen mom, Quinn Fabray, and, well, she’s nothing short of fantastic. But what you probably didn’t know is that she can really sing. Really good.

So much so that she played the Café Carlyle—the same Café Carlyle that has Woody Allen in-residence—this past January. She paid tribute to female-fronted acts of the ‘60s and ‘70s. This is her second run at the Carlyle and we’re happy that she got to sit down with us before her run started.

“My first run here was a little over a year ago and this has kind of been a dream venue to play,” gushes Agron.

“I love the hotel—they have so much history here—and I think the Café is the perfect space to do a show like this.

You have ninety people and you can see everybody in the room which is an incredible feeling. It’s just like this cozy, womb-like experience and everybody’s really with you which is kind of so fantastic. I’m so happy to be back and to have it be a bit longer.”

This year the show was tailored a little bit more playful and lively, and with a full band—seven musicians joined Agron— and allowed for so much more depth to the performance, which also added strings and horns.

For Agron, it’s always been about the music; it was always playing in the house when she was a child growing up in San Francisco. By the age of three she was dancing and all the movies she was watching were musicals so when she made her way to LA, she was desperately seeking, you guessed it, musicals. “I remember saying to an agent I had in L.A., I said ‘I’m very excited to audition for musicals by the way’ and he said, ‘What year do you think this is?’ And I said, ‘The year that I audition for many musicals.’”

When selecting a playlist for her show, Agron found music that suits her voice and that is music from the 60s and 70s. She wanted there to be a playfulness so some songs like “Oh You Beautiful Doll,” “Peggy Lee Is There All There Is?,” or Eartha Kitt’s “I Want to Be Evil,” those songs can be theatrical.

There’s an interesting side to Agron, aside from the lights and the cameras and the flashing bulbs. It’s a

gift of giving, being concerned with the world around her. Agron has been involved in numerous charitable organizations and has always wanted to understand how people are living in other parts of the world. “Going to Jordan was an unbelievable experience. Right before it I had spent some time with refugees in Germany. It was very helpful to see the camps there and kind of understand their daily life, wanting to experience something firsthand and if I can be helpful, that’s what I strive to be and just understand the situation a little bit better.”

With her latst film project, Berlin, I Love You, which released in February, Agron got to direct her own segment with Luke Wilson. The film is ten segments, each directed and written by a different artist. The cast also includes Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jim Sturgess. “I do think artistically I feel lucky that I’m able to do things other than acting and I guess maybe because I grew up watching actors who were doing three things at once: they were acting, they were dancing, they were singing. So I guess when I was formulating my ideas about storytelling I didn’t see one specifically. I saw it much more broad.

“I’m certainly not the first actor to get behind the lens.

There are so many previous to me. I understand the want and the itch that you want to scratch jumping behind the camera…. When they came to me to act in a piece, I asked to direct it because they didn’t have a director attached.

But for now, New York is home and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I came to New York when I was 13 for the first time and I was absolutely obsessed and I knew that I would live here at some point,” Agron insists. “Throughout my 20s whenever I had a moment off I was always coming here and I knew the day would come. Everything I love is built into this city. I love going to the theater, I love seeing live shows, I love stumbling upon things and walking everywhere and just observing people around you doing all kinds of things. You build into your day these kind of magic moments of seeing a building you’ve never seen before or witnessing something that’s very unusual or a woman singing at the top of her lungs while on her headphones, just enjoying her day. I just really appreciate all of those things.”

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photography by Tony Gale location The Carlyle new york city

“...Why Berlin? Berlin is a place that I’ve spent a lot of time. I’ve been there 4 or 5 times. And the series— I’ve seen Paris, Je T’aime, I’ve seen New York, I Love You—and I think just as I enjoy reading a book of short stories, I love watching a film that has a loose theme and then everyone comes together with their art. So when they came to me to act in a piece, I asked to direct it because they didn’t have a director attached. It’s a place that I love and actually when we were shooting there they had this Festival of Light so all the major monuments in town, they have artists project these really beautiful kaleidoscope art moving on the building so it kind of felt like Berlin was showing off even a little bit for me...”

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moves power women l i fe s t y l e fo r c i t y wo m en

l i fe s t y l e fo r c i t y wo m en

POWER WOMEN 2018

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Rewi n d Ka t h a r i n e Hep bu r n favo r i t e m ov i es (t her e's a l o t)

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Op t i m i s m It rea lly is j u st co m m o n sen se

L OOK ISM 21s t cen t u r y & i t ’s s t i l l b ea u t y over b r a i n s

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Michelle

Moves Power Forum Women's Rights, Social Fairness & , Equal Opportunity

&

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Rodriguez

Patricia

Clarkson

2018

After dinner acceptance speeches at the Moves 2018 Annual Power Woman Dinner & Presentation Gala once again showed our nominees to be more than equal to the challenges of a rapidly changing and often femaleunfriendly world. Expectations were high but easily surpassed by these truly exceptional female leaders.

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leave on stands through 02 2019

photographery: Nathan Heywood Tony Gale Maksim Axelrod videography: Fabienne Riccoboni Emiliano Sanchez

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Stephen Graham Not your usual Cheeky Chappie

By Art Green Photography: Greg Williams

He’s familiar. So so familiar. Usually playing a bad ass in some action film.

We first came across Stephen Graham’s work in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, the crime comedy from 2000 (a film universally known for Brad Pritt’s Irish accent). Graham played a dolt, Tommy, and people have been known to stop him on the street and say, “Do you got the minerals?” a cryptic line of his from the film that’s stuck.

He’s been perfecting the art of the so-called character actor ever since, appearing in such films as Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York; Sgt. Myron ‘Mike’ Ranney in HBO’s Band of Brothers; Taboo with Tom Hardy; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman and the late John Hurt; as Scrum in the Johnny Depp-led Pirates of the Caribbean franchise; and Al Capone in Scorsese’s prohibition tale for HBO, Boardwalk Empire.

Graham has built a reputation for taking whatever role comes his way and well, perfecting it. See above. Perfecting it. Graham will next be seen in Line of Duty season five, making its U.S. premiere on Mondays on Acorn TV, North America’s largest streaming service for British and international television.

“...He was a brutal man you know... but I always try to look behind that little kid, for that little crack, that little chink in the armor...” (on Al Capone)

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“... To be given that opportunity to come over and to get to work with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino was mind-blowing ... they really welcomed me onto the set and I liked to improvise and play about and they were all for that....it was just a joy and an absolute dream ...�

I catch Graham right after a day of filming a comedy, something he normally doesn’t do. But It’s a comedy (played straight with Daniel Mays) about two police officers so even this unusual project has something of an underlying hard edge. He is also playing record producer Dick James in the summer release of the Elton John biopic, Rocketman, and has a role in the Scorsese film, The Irishman, a mob flick and one of the most anticipated films of the year. The star-studded cast includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, and Ray Romano; Graham plays Genovese crime family Captain Tony Provenzano.

According to Graham, the standout role that cemented him as an actor was a film called This Is England and won Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards in 2006. It centered around a gang of skinheads showcasing raw topics and was a film that truly brought all his talents to the forefront.

“To me, that was the one where I learned about my craft and what it was to be an actor.”

Graham tends to get these very dark kinds of roles that he’s not afraid to dive into. “I have a really happy, stable home and wife and I suppose for me personally it’s these kinds of characters that I play and I always like to bring some kind of humanity to them. Even if someone plays Al Capone.

For me he was a sociopath. He was a brutal man you know, but I was trying to find trying to find in his life that he loved his son and he loved his wife.

He was a family man. So when he was a psychopath surely I always try to look behind that little kid, that little crack, that little chink in the armor.”

Now, Line of Duty is on the platter and before joining the cast, Graham was a hooked fan of the BBC series. With the show making its U.S. debut on May 13, he plays the guest lead villain, John Corbett. “I’ve always been a fan of it from the very beginning and it’s a police drama, but it’s extremely tactical and it’s very true to life and it’s got an amazing audience here in England,” says Graham. “It’s modern day but brings back that kind of old police investigating and it’s just a really great experience to work on.”

He worked with LOD star Vicky McClure on This is England and considers her a very good friend.

“They always have amazing guests on the show and it just so well written. Jed Mercurio, who also wrote Bodyguard [British television series], is a fantastic writer. It’s the way he writes, his tension.”

Graham jumped at the chance to work with Scorsese again on The Irishman and was like a giddy child seeing a real-life superhero.

“As a kid you watch films and you could only dream of working with somebody like Martin Scorcese; working with him was one of my wildest dreams.

That’s not something you think is attainable,”enthuses Graham. “So he called me again when he was doing The Irishman and said he needed me to come over and meet Robert De Niro.”

“To be given that opportunity to come over and to get to work with both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino was mind-blowing in many ways. They really welcomed me onto the set and I liked to improvise and play about and they were all for that. I mean they’re just so involved in the creative process and want to make this scene the best that they could be and it was just a joy and an absolute dream.”

Downtime? Graham is a soccer, er, football fanatic.

Liverpool’s his team. Even though they haven’t won it in 19 years, he’d like his son to see Liverpool win the Premier League.

“I love to watch as many matches as I can. My son plays football and I help coach his football team which is great. I get a little bit carried away occasionally on the sidelines but it’s great you know; that’s kind of how I spend time with my family when I’m not working. That’s where I switch off.”

He’s fond of our city, but is happy living in England. “I really love New York. I really love New York as a city. It’s very similar to Liverpool. I find that kind of vibe and find those kinds of people really friendly and really cosmopolitan and it’s just a really lovely city. I loved working there.”

“I have a little village that I live in England, very green, and we walk to school with the children.

As an actor, you have no other life anyway. You go where the work is, where the good scripts are and the set. I’m sort of used to that now it doesn’t phase me.”

“It’s disconcerting a little bit being away from home for huge amounts of time, but this is the life I’ve chosen. And I’m very blessed and I’m very lucky to do what I want to do.”

“I get these moments where I pinch myself and I think wow this is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and fortunately, I know I’ve been blessed.”

“I’ve been given the opportunity to live my dreams.”

It’s a an indication of Graham’s acting chops that a man so obviously happy and content can give such life and realism to the dark characters he often plays. He totally commits every time.

He is one of those actors who, when you see his name on the cast list, makes you want to watch the movie!

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read all about it + latest on millennials lifestyle + thirty is the new t

latest revelations + women now i says world leader feature

twenty + millennial latest + official + 30 is the new 20 + major breakthr quotes + “it’s about f****** time” in control of their own destiny + major

r + global consensus + majority (women) will maj soon rule + “it’s aboutnf*** us +time s*** n e s o l c + globa r e d a e d l er worl h t o n a says Once upon a time, little girls grew up dreaming of the day they would graduate from high school, marry their childhood sweetheart and have all their little ducks in a row—and in kindergarten—before they hit the ripe old age of 30. Once upon a time, life expectancy wasn’t quite what it is today.

At the turn of the 20th Century, women averaged a mere 48.3 years on this planet. By the turn of the 21st, that figure had risen to nearly 80. If that growth pattern continues, we 30-somethings will only be hitting our mid-life crises at the age when our grandmothers actually became our grandmothers.

Thirty is the new 20. It’s evident everywhere you look, from the pages of magazines to the cubicle next to you. Manufacturers have finally realized that women want to see a bit of themselves in the spokeswomen that hock their products. So, instead of being expected to buy clothes or makeup from Hollywood’s precious young starlets, we have Charlize Theron for Dior, Margot Robbie for Calvin Klein and Michelle Williams for Louis Vuitton. Today the women who actually have the money to spend on such products, are presented with women who have been places, done things and lived life.

We have greater greatness to look forward to past the 40-year mark. Indeed, 30-somethings have all the experience and knowledge their younger followers are clamoring to achieve, and it shines through. Ask any 30-something woman how she differs today from a decade ago and you’ll hear positive phrases such as “more confident,” “more comfortable and at peace,” and “with age comes wisdom.”

“Worrying about what people think isn’t a priority as it was

when I was in my 20s,” says Lisa, a medical device sales representative who is single and fine with it. “Insecurity ruled that decade.

I’m comfortable in my skin now and I realize what’s truly important in life.”

What can be a little frustrating is the realization that certain people may have been trying to point you in the right direction all along. “You realize what your parents told you as a kid is unfortunately true,” says Anna, a recently married finance manager and CPA currently finishing up her MBA. But there is greater goodness in the knowledge you gain for yourself. “You know the importance of family and a life partner. And you don’t date guys who are not good for you,” Anna adds, noting the further importance of knowing “who your real friends are and what your priorities are in life.”

Many women beyond their 20s point to solidifying relationships and the positive impact that a strong circle of friends can have on one’s life. Joy, a process engineer, while “good at being single,” highlights the importance of making as many friends as you can along the way. “You cannot be successful without them!”

Women are also quick to note, however, that life as we know it at this age would not be all it is had we not first worked through the last decade. Kim, who is also single and works in film production, suggests that women aren’t necessarily “better” in their 30s, just wiser. “We are more secure with ourselves and more sure of what we want out of life. Our need to go out every night and dress to impress is gone.” While a great outfit or pair of shoes might help you fake certitude, these women would rather make an entrance glowing with the real thing. “We are who we are and we’re proud of it!”

Jen, a research scientist currently pursuing a PhD in biochemistry, echoed those thoughts.

“Women in their 30s are made to look at life differently than our younger counterparts due to more life experiences,” claims the mother of two. “Every stage in life serves a purpose, teaches us and sometimes scars us, but ultimately makes us who we are.”

That process of learning and growing shows in everything from a woman’s face to the way she enters a room. Joy, notes it’s often education and experience —once believed to be antifeminine—that make a woman attractive and give her the confidence to let her more feminine side shine through. “Women age beautifully and are much better looking in their 30s.”

“Live your own life happily, without making excuses to anyone, including yourself,” says Sarah, a stay-at-home mom, with a degree in corporate communications, who is currently expecting her second child. “If you don’t want kids and the white picket fence, don’t apologize. If you don’t choose the six-figure salary and designer clothes, don’t be embarrassed. And if you’re fortunate enough to have it all, enjoy!”

Thirty-somethings are moving through their current decade excited about the realization that education, degreed or otherwise, never stops. And they believe firmly they are better equipped to deal with whatever the world throws their way with each passing day. “Everything will still be there in the morning,” Lisa says, “and some things just don’t need to be on a time clock. That was a tough one, but I finally realized that it’s a lot less stressful for me if I let things take their course. I can’t control everything. Wow, what a concept!” By Jennifer Quail

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“...I’m not defined by any of it ... it’s not up to me to explain myself to anyone as a woman. I am free...”

tayl or

schilling

BY MOONAH ELLISON & ZOE STAGG PHOTOGRAPHY ROBERT ASCROFT

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“...I had to learn so much about my own personal freedom in a prison. There’s a metaphor there that I feel in twenty years I’ll work out. How did a significant part of my life happen in prison?...”

Taylor Schilling is busting out. After seven seasons as Piper Chapman on the Netflix Original series Orange is the New Black, the show that knocked down old ideas about more than just life behind bars, concludes with its final episodes in 2019. “I haven’t known a world outside of that world for a minute,” she muses. Schilling landed her part with the cast of characters at Litchfield Penitentiary, young. She’s grown up then, ‘on the inside.’ “I had to learn so much about my own personal freedom in a prison. There’s a metaphor there that I feel in twenty years I’ll work out. How did a significant part of my life happen in prison?”

The show itself marks a significant shift in the entertainment landscape. Premiered as part of the first season of original content from Netflix in 2013, it not only ushered in the modern concept of “the binge” on its way to becoming the platform’s mostwatched series, it introduced us to a cast of characters that pioneered the way we think of diversity on screen. The mostly female cast looked like nothing Hollywood had ever produced before, and made the characters more than identities—they were people we could identify with, even as they evolved.

“The journey of the show was to say, ‘My identity is expanding and I am more than thing.’ This is woven deep into the fabric of Orange is the New Black, individually and as a collective, and each character is dealing with multiple identities, and allowing each identity to be freely expressed and not be defined by it.” It took a story about people locked up, to show how we can create prisons of identity, anywhere. “Which I think is something is the crux of a lot of conversations right now. Like I can be this and I can be that, and I’m not defined by any of it and it’s not up to me to explain myself to anyone as a woman. That I am free.”

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Inspired by the memoir by the same name, Schilling’s character is based on real-life Piper Kerman, even though the show is far from a true biopic. “When we began, it was really vital to connect strongly to Piper Kerman who’s the real character that the story Orange is based on. She’s a real woman who’s extraordinary. It was very important to me to spend time with her and we visited Rikers together, and I asked her many questions. I was so nervous when she was on the set. I wanted to impress her so badly and learn about her life, some parallels in our lives, and just sort of tried to experience her.” For Schilling, a former graduate student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, immersing herself in the character and her world, wasn’t something she could just leave at the office. “I can point to different seasons where certain dynamics were being played out on the show that felt so heavy. And it felt heavy to keep living with them because there’s not catharsis for the character or it doesn’t make sense for it or it doesn’t line up. It’s kind of living in this huge state of confusion.” She places each observation thoughtfully, her voice light and turning fondly. “But by the same token there were the first couple of years of making this show it was kind of creative piece of euphoria. It really felt honed in and exciting.

So it was both things like any process. The other thing about this show was that it was very right. It never took itself too seriously.”

The experience “set her palate” for working on important material with “ferocious women,” a condition that sounds like a dream, and the perfect conditions to launch forward into her life, post-OITNB. “I’m fascinated by people, like, ‘Wow, you just sat back and let yourself emerge into yourself without judging or putting your foot on the gas?’ I’m sort of in that process right now, of what does it look like, what do I want to do, what feels really joyful, what do I feel is important, what is of impact.” What it looks like at the moment, is the comedy Family, and the horror flick The Prodigy, a whiplash of projects embracing her newfound freedom. From projects to politics, Schilling doesn’t shy away from making the bold choice on the screen, or tweeting what she believes in—even in a world that seems bent on scaring us into being afraid of everything.

Where we might see a headline or a hashtag and believe the worst, Schilling sees it as a chance for magic. “There are very few people that I speak to in my personal life that don’t have some experience of fear or overwhelm of the world that we all inhabit. It’s almost like an opportunity to have some sort of alchemy—focus this fear instead of doing the opposite, taking the step in courage. I think it’s an opportunity. You can make some sort of magic if I can wrangle my own fear into something transcendent that comes out on the other side. Something that transcends fear.” In a world where sometimes it seems like the

only way to survive is to just shut down, she almost treats the concept gently. “It’s a soft way of being in the world and there’s a lot of fear that gets lobbed around, and wanting to prove, or fix, or make right.” Instead of fear, she finds courage and instead of pressure to succeed, she finds room to grow. “We don’t put any value on relaxation, that’s something else that I’ve been talking a lot about lately. It’s almost like internal capitalism. This idea that we have to constantly produce—I do think that rest is a radical notion. Time for germination, or gestation, or allowing things to percolate—I’m not particularly good at it, and this is something I’m exploring in my life right now, and it takes a great deal of trust. It’s different.”

While she might be learning to let things breathe, her education is what grounds her.

“It’s a reference point for myself, of myself that holds me to myself. It shows me who I am.” Schilling calls her schooling vital. “I come from a lower-middle class, working class, and my parents did a lot of work to get my brother and me into a public school system that had a good reputation.” It was an experience that made her feel like an outsider, and taught her money wasn’t what was really valuable. “I do think that there are currencies that we deal in that transcend money, and I know that that is coming from someone who has enough money to feed and clothe and put a roof over my head.

But eventually the values that I barter in catch up with me and provided as much as a quality of life as the financial means that I barter in. For me that’s always important to hold, that the values that I hold are commensurate, if not far more important to the life that I’m living than however much money that I have.” It’s a particularly poignant perspective in light of recent headlines of the Rich and Famous. “The whole Varsity Blues thing has really bowled me over,” that is the college admissions cheating scandal that ensnared kids and their influential parents alike, outed for paying for advantage.

“It’s stuff that we all know. It’s hard not to get angry, not to be absolutely furious. It’s such an unsophisticated way to knock the system!” The pay-for-play disadvantage hits close to home and her incredulity pitches her voice. “I wish there was more of a pretense, more of a show me, trying to believe that the system worked, or it’s a meritbased system. It’s really infuriating.”

Ever the alchemist, she pitches the outrage right into context. “I do not envy the life of some of these wealthy and privileged people who get what they want but are sort of bankrupt in the inner world that I’m interested in. Their outer world may be glittery, but I’m really interested in the inner world and how people are living inside themselves. And that kind of gives me solace and I think like we’re different breeds. We’re like apples and oranges.”

And this is one time that being an orange, will set Taylor Schilling free.

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Je ssie

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A standout, extraordinary talent in a crowded field. She is a gifted actor with a tremendous range—from dramas, musicals & comedies to Tolstoy & Shakespeare—on stage, screen and television. She sings, she dances, she’s a songwriter, she plays piano, clarinet & harp. She’s an alumni of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. And on top of that she is funny, sexy and a genuine human being. Watch this space ‘cos we are hooked!

By Clara Bowles Photography: Courtesy of NEON I catch Jessie Buckley while she’s filming on the upstate New York set of Charlie Kaufman’s movie I’m Thinking of Ending Things opposite Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis. They were in the final week of production and the filming called for night sessions that ended at 7AM, but she’s a trooper. Poised to be one of 2019’s breakout stars, Buckley is set to embark on one busy year: the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, about the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster; the fall’s Judy Garland film Judy opposite Renee Zellwegger, about her legendary winter of 1968 London performances; and as the lead in June’s Wild Rose, about a Scottish musician that dreams of becoming a country singer in Nashville.

people like people and the world has gotten confused by wanting everybody and everything objectified. “The MeToo movement was a scream that needed to come out. I feel fortunate for it to happen and to be part of it and to witness it and to be emboldened by it and for it to provoke questions in me about what it is that I can offer to the mindset of young women and men about how we treat each other and respect each other,” says Buckley.

“It comes down to respect really. It’s not black and white, it’s about unity and respecting each other. I feel super privileged that I’ve been a witness to this and I’m also saddened that it’s something that had to happen.”

But to see that her star burns bright is to see how she was raised, her talent knowing no bounds. Buckley hails from Ireland and in 2008 placed second in the BBC talent show television series I’d Do Anything, a show based on finding the new lead to play Nancy in a London West End stage revival of Oliver. For the past decade she’s been a fixture on British television, turning in amazing performances in a wide range of work. She’s done musicals like playing Anne Egermann in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music; and is a BBC regular, appearing as Marya Bolkonskaya in BBC’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Lorna Bow in Taboo and as Honor Martin in The Last Post. Buckley broke out with 2017’s British crime drama Beast, about a woman living in the boundaries of an isolated community and is caught between her oppressive family and outsider who is suspected of committing multiple murders. Buckley was heralded for her performance, racking up solid review after review and received a British Independent Film Award and a Bafta Rising Star nomination.

Chernobyl debuts on May 6 and for anyone alive in the 80s, this catastrophic event was heartbreaking. The mini-series on HBO follows the April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the old USSR and is one of the world’s worst man-made disasters. Buckley plays Lyudmilla Ignatenko, wife of fireman Vasily Ignatenko who died at a hospital days after the blast. In 2005 Ignatenko told the Guardian, “I tell the nurse: ‘He’s dying.’ And she says to me: ‘What did you expect? He got 1,600 roentgen. Four hundred is a lethal dose. You’re sitting next to a nuclear reactor.’”

The film also stars Jared Harris and Emily Watson.

She’s a musical genius, achieving Grade eight in piano, clarinet and harp with the Royal Irish Academy of Music and is a member of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra. She also attended workshops at The Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS).

Although she’s concentrated on acting as her creative outlet since I’d Do Anything, she’s about to combine the two with major releases that are sure to garner her newfound stardom stateside.

And the girl with big dreams from Ireland is just shy of 30. Her upbringing is one of the biggest reasons for her success.

It’s Buckley’s Irish heritage that grounds her and helps shape and mold her career, life, life lessons. “I had a really hearty childhood,” insists Buckley, who hails fromKillarney, County Kerry, and is the eldest of five children. “I loved Ireland, I loved where I grew up, it’s incredibly beautiful. I was fortunate enough to have parents that were incredibly supportive of music and poetry and writing and being part of experiences. We were taught that life is not based on materialism, it’s about something more. I feel like I grew up in an environment which encouraged me to listen to my thoughts and be fearless and to have an opinion about whatever it was that I was going into. And when you want something and you tie yourself to something and you fall in love with something, that’s always going to come with failure but that is part of it and that is actually where you learn the most about yourself.”

Learning about herself has given her an opinion on #MeToo and she shares a general view about the state of the world and how we treat each other. Buckley believes we’ve forgotten to treat

For Buckley, right now, her character in Wild Rose, will be her crown jewel in what is sure to propel her to super-celebrity status. In theaters this June, Rose-Lynn Harlan was a complete and utter joy to play. “Just the sheer life force of this character, it was hard work as well. She requires a lot of energy and she’s relentless. There’s no world where Rose-Lynn Harlan sat down and had a cup of tea. She’d have a cup of whiskey and say, ‘Let’s go.’ To maintain that energy and emotionally be ready to go along with her. I loved it so much. I loved her.

“What I enjoy about what I do is these women teach you something about the world or you look at the world differently because of them. And in a way she’s encouraged more of a fight in me as I got to know her and as she stayed with me after the film was finished, and I suppose there is always a bit of you in that character.

The idea is to go away with a bit of them and they go away with a bit of you and you share something together.”

When approaching a role, Buckley is looking for that new experience. “It’s such a funny little thing that happens and you react to it. Sometimes you meet certain stories at certain points in your life and you relate to them in a certain way. I suppose I’m looking for something I haven’t experienced yet. I don’t want to go into something with a similar mindsight to someone I just played. I want to feel something when I read a script.

“There’s always roles where you put yourself up for something or something comes your way and it doesn’t quite work out and I think that’s fine. What’s meant for you doesn’t pass you by. That’s life. If I go in and audition and I really love something, even if it just existed for that moment, being a little in that for two weeks of your life. It’s like a book. All of a sudden you just think about things differently and you get lost and you feel in love with those characters for two weeks and that’s fine. And what’s great; sometimes when you get to live with them a little longer and you just fall with them harder.”

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“... What’s meant for you doesn’t pass you by.

That’s life ...”

“...I suppose I’m looking for something I haven’t experienced yet. I don’t want to go into something with a similar mindsight to someone I just played.

I want to feel something when I read a script...”

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“...I think the more women we see out there telling our stories and jokes, using our voice, not asking permission, will make it so ‘female comic’ is not a niche. We’re just comics, who happen to be female...” hair Amelie LeMoine @ yves durif salon makeup Denise Germosen @ yves durif salon location Gotham Comedy Club nyc

What was the motivation to become a comedian? Does it have a social or political motivation for you?

I didn’t set out to become a comedian exactly, but now that I am one I’m like yeah, this is where I belong.

Here’s a whole group of people who say things slightly off center and then obsess about it. I finally feel at home!

Who knew?! Haha! I have always loved stories though. My parents used to play records of comics and storytellers all the time when I was a kid so I think it was deep in my brain matter. All of my jokes, even my more middle-of-the-road relationship-type material, are coming from my point of view so it’s always political in that way. Even when the topic is not a “news” issue, I’m still slipping in a little social commentary. Sometimes when people laugh about a topic they are normally tight about they might be willing to see it a little differently. I don’t know if this is the most selfish thing I’ve ever said, but I love watching people have a good time. Like when someone is laughing hard, like full body hard, and it’s from one of your jokes, and you can see them and hear them, it’s the best feeling.

There’s nothing like live stand-up comedy. It’s an experience, each show will never be duplicated.

What topics are off limits?

I think each comic has to decide what is off limits for themselves.

What might be off limits for me might be totally fine for someone else and vice versa.

Maybe nothing is off limits. It’s a personal choice what someone wants to talk to about. I’ve done jokes that after I said them I felt like maybe they went too far. But you never know until you say it out loud, which is another interesting part of comedy: our practice is live and in front of other people. Also, I tend to talk about my experience of something so it’s not about things that have happened to other people.

That’s mostly my wheelhouse.

What positive effect can women’s stand up have on pushing forward equal opportunities and fairness?

I think the more women we see out there telling our stories and jokes, using our voice, not asking permission, will make it so “female comic”

is not a niche. We’re just comics, who happen to be female. Not that being a woman isn’t an important part of my experience, but that the job doesn’t need to be gendered because as soon as you add “female” in front of the word it makes the assumption that “comic” was male.

I’m excited to have more women out there, all kinds of women, from all different places, with all different types of opinions. I think it’s always been a part of feminism that the personal is political. For so long women weren’t “supposed” to say certain things or certain words, so having women out there telling their truth is pushing towards equality and that’s exciting to me!

Since the Midterms and all the newly elected, successful and progressive women, how has the current political environment effected your material?

I grew up in a very community active family. My mother brought me to political marches when I was still in diapers and we always did lots of volunteer work through the Church and Amnesty. I think my background very much informed my comedy, what is important to me and what I tend to focus on in my material.

When you first start comedy you’re still trying to learn to write a joke—I mean that’s a forever process—and get comfortable being onstage, but once I got to the point where I could delve into certain topics, I immediately gravitated towards politics and social commentary.

SOMETHING! But then you have to make it funny.

How do you use the current daily news cycle to address issues that affect everyone’s life, i.e. health insurance, immigration, education, etc?

Healthcare has always been a huge issue for me. I don’t know if it was from being raised in the Church (the importance of taking care of the sick and all that the current Evangelical “Christian” Right seems to have “forgotten’ about), or being in a family of self employed people or if it was from growing up in a small rural town, but the idea that people could go completely broke, in a country as rich as America, just trying to get basic healthcare needs met, really breaks my heart. So that is an evergreen topic for me.

In regards to HBO’s I Am Dying Up Here, does this happen and how have you overcome it?

A comic is always gonna bomb on stage—it’s a part of the deal.

Sometimes you’re off, sometimes the crowd is cranky, sometimes they aren’t your crowd, sometimes the venue is not conducive for comedy.

The environment plays a huge part

in the stand-up experience: the lighting, the mic, how the chairs are set up, are they eating, are there TVs on, or sometimes you’re working on something that isn’t ready, but you have to work on it anyway. The only way of “overcoming” this is to accept that it’s gonna happen sometimes.

What are some of your future projects? And that outfit. Any reason why you selected that track suit for the shoot? It doesn’t seem to match your style and personality.

Hahahahahaha! I love this question. Most times when I’m onstage I’m wearing a part of a track suit but never the whole thing at the same time. SO, yes! This little fun ensemble is from a series I wrote with my comedy buddy-in-crime Kendra Cunningham (Dry Bar Comedy and Blonde Logic). It’s called The Dawns, and it’s a dark comedy about two best friends, both named Dawn, who run a few blocks in South Boston doing low level work for the mob. We just shot a teaser and I thought it would be fun to take the outfit out for a stroll.

Corinne Fisher (Guys We F&*ked) directed and I’m hoping you’ll be seeing much more of it in 2019.

It was always important to me that a part of my career would be dedicated to being involved in organizations that were doing kickass work. I worked with Girls Fight Back, a group that teaches self defense to young women; Lady Parts Justice, an organization founded

by Lizz Winstead centered on reproductive rights for women; and now I’m a member of EMILY’s List Creative Council, dedicated to getting pro-choice democratic women elected to office. It’s so incredibly important to get more women seats at the proverbial table so people aren’t making decisions for us or against us. I think the current political environment effects my material the same way it effects my person—it’s that voice screaming WE GOTTA DO 000

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Sterling Capricio black ruched organza dress with pleated hem * “The Road To Hell” By Chris Rea 1989

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[left] Sterling Capricio black sheer ruffled pliseé blouse with puffed long sleeves worn over black wool bodice dress and pliseé sleeves [middle] Sterling Capricio black silk mesh evening gown with diamond cut out back [this page] Sterling Capricio black wool jacket with ruffled cuffs over a pleated chiffon slip dress with puckered embroided body and pliseé sleeves photography by Sinden Collier @ Iva represents stylist Rhett Collier hair and makeup Alexander Becker model Bara @img models/paris

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shea whigham

Man of Mystery

By Rachel Jones Photography: Daniel Prakopcyk

Private, well balanced, successful. So comfortable in his own skin that he can submerge himself into any character he plays. So much so you think of him as that character and not as an actor playing the part. Praise indeed.

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“I guess I enjoy the challenge of trying to slip into their skin.�

Shea Whigham answers the phone with a deep, sexy voice, fresh off working a brutal scene on the upstate New York set of the independent film he’s in the middle of shooting. Not brutal, say, in the violent sort of way but rather unrelenting, difficult material that has the production teams shooting into the late nights, wee early mornings.

“I tend to get characters who are in the fringe. I enjoy playing that and I enjoy trying to crack the human being in these characters. There’s a lot of heavy lifting involved in some, like this guy Packie I’m playing right now in Small Engine Repair. I guess I enjoy the challenge of trying to slip into their skin.

“Difficult, but beautiful. It’s heavy,” as Whigham puts it. It’s for a film called Small Engine Repair, based on a play by John Pollono and also stars Jon Bernthal (Shane on AMC’s The Walking Dead as well as The Punisher on Netflix), a film set in New Hampshire and inspires a true sense of revenge. The play was a hit in Los Angeles, sweeping all the city’s major Drama awards, and had a run in New York. Now for the big screen treatment.

“Going back to the fringe characters, I’m always looking for the humor in them, no matter how dark the character. The funnier the character, what are the darker elements that are in them? I always start very broad in my prep for a character and then work inward. For me, I want a living, breathing human being. I don’t want a caricature.

You’ve got to make sure it doesn’t become a caricature.”

You’ve seen Whigham before, he has that easily recognizable face where if you don’t know him by name, you know the role: “You know the guy, he played Steve Buscemi’s chief-of-police brother in Boardwalk Empire.” Bam, you know him, and you also know him from blockbuster films like Silver Linings Playbook, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, and Kong: Skull Island, roles that leave a lasting impression and you find yourself secretly wishing you can see Whigham in other films.

For TV, he shines. Whether it’s his role as Elias “Eli” Thompson on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, or his roles on the HBO series True Detective and the television series Homecoming alongside Julia Roberts (he was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series) Whigham seems to always be “that” guy.

His co-stars are a “Who’s Who” of Hollywood heavyweights that include Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon (a good friend having worked with him on six or so projects), Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling, the list goes on.

In addition to Small Engine Repair, you’ll next see Whigham in Modern Love on Amazon, an upcoming rom-com anthology web television series with a cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, and Catherine Keener, based on the weekly column published by The New York Times; To the Stars, a 1960s-set coming of age film that debuted at Sundance in January; and October of this year Whigham will be in Joker, the highly-anticipated, creepy-as-hell thriller with Joaquin Phoenix.

Although he dissects a character and really gets into its nuances, quirks and multiple layers, you’ll never find Whigham play a character on social media. He wants no part of it. “I’ve never though been on Facebook ever, I’ve never Twittered, I don’t have Instagram. For me, it’s just a personal thing. But I understand that actors coming up need to do it and enjoy it. But it would, I feel, take away a lot of my energy, whether it be from family or my work. But I’m not trying to be the old guy sitting in the corner.”

For Whigham, it’s the craft that he gets. The energy, the effort—that’s what he enjoys. “I remember Daniel Day Lewis saying just because a piece or a character is difficult doesn’t mean I’m not enjoyable. Don’t mistake that. I always have that in the back of my mind. I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy the 4AMs and trying to get the last shot. I like that.”

Those 4AMs are what bring him in front of the industry’s most famous and respected directors: Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford, Werner Herzog, David O’Russell, Oliver Stone and a host of others are just a few names Whigham has had the chance to work with over the years.

“It kind of all starts with the director, and it could be somebody from the older guard, whether it’s Marty or Oliver or Terry Malick or the younger generation, the Carey Fukinawa or Damien Chazelle. Usually the director is going to lead you to the best material so it goes hand in hand.”

He’s always playing characters that are kind of anti-establishment who sometimes reflect his personality.

If not for acting, Whigham isn’t sure what he’d do.

It’s acting that drives him, motivates him, keeps him going. “What a question. What would I have done? I guess I probably would have taught I think. I think I would have maybe taught history or something. I never thought about it. I never had a net when I got into this. I didn’t have a safety net. I wasn’t thinking that way.”

“I think it’s always more fun to go against the grain I guess,” said Whigham, who turned 50 in January.

That’s probably what makes you a good actor.

And that fact is not an act.

[previous spread] Hugo Boss [left] Christian Dior suit Boss shirt and tie

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book e c a on F have n e e n’t hb o g d u I nal o o , h s t d r e e r r e p nev r Twitte just a e v ’ I eve it’s “... , n e e v m I’ r ever, ram. Fo g Insta ...” g thin

maroon velvet jacket Saks Fifth Avenue Black button down by Theory photography by Daniel Prakopcyk stylist Annie Jagger groomer Andrea Pezzillo

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Swaths of the population may deny the validity of such ephemeral things as fossils or the developmental link between the skeletal structures of the larger primates, those who take stock in the scientific method will attest to this simple fact: the environs of this humble, amazing planet have been reborn many times. Our own genus, homo, likewise possesses a revered canon of possible reincarnations and reinventions. Earth’s cycles, far outdating man’s existence, have maintained a relatively self-regulatory mode of life-giving and purging. This will certainly continue into the next impending era, though such an age will mark a first for Earth: living things, as far as I know, have never been capable of directly effecting so dramatic a change in the Earth’s very essence as to usher in an ice age. Not that I mean to espouse theory as fact here, or anything of the sort, I’m just saying. . .

YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS As we go on blindly ushering in our own imminent demise it should be noted that as humans we possess an impressive ability to alter our collective and individual courses of existence through historic socio-political and technological development. The Italian, and subsequent European, Renaissance arose in the late 15th Century and is commonly accepted as the symbolic end of the Dark Ages.

Though its origins are up for debate, its benefit to the Western tradition is not. In general, the age was marked by the accrual of personal wealth (albeit distributed among a select few) owing to the expansion of commerce, a somewhat greater sense of personal agency, a marked interest in scientific enquiry, and most notably the rampant flourishing of the arts. This is the era that births the namesakes of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as Da Vinci, Botticelli, the Van Eycks to Europe’s north and Elizabethan England (i.e.

Shakespeare). Perhaps key in all of this is Guttenberg’s printing press which, in an early populist gesture, ultimately changed the dissemination of information and scholarship among the masses by informing said masses for the first time.

This is not to say that the Renaissance was a wholly modernizing age. Its spirit of innovation enacted a fundamental progressive momentum for human history, but it was also an obsessively backward-looking culture that valorized the Greek and Roman ideals of physical beauty and thought, so much so that the natural development of Latin was thought to be subverted by an insistence on speaking classical Latin (in churches, etc.). In this sense, the period was somewhat restrictive. It also must be admitted that royalty and aristocracy maintained a stranglehold upon social and economic functions in nearly every society and that any remotely democratic government of-the-people had yet to be established. Patronage was, indeed, the spirit of the time.

Whether the Renaissance was a Golden Age or not, it renewed the power of human intellect by incessantly gesturing back to the highlights of ages long since passed. This was a fairly collective motion and its modification of the classical imperative should be appreciated as a paradigm of human progress: looking in two directions simultaneously.

From the Renaissance to contemporary times we navigate the Age of Reason and Colonialism, the Enlightenment and Romanticism through the Industrial Revolution and Modernism (and the Post-Modern, if indeed such a thing exists). The revolutions throughout Europe and America engendered by the Enlightenment, in fact, set the stage for what was, at the time, the most rapid advancement of every facet of human existence to have ever occurred, period.

It is this very same hyper-momentum that ushers in the next great impediment to and spur of human progress: the World Wars.

Perhaps we can see their advent as the logical end of unchecked progress, or as the ultimate expression of an age that, as Baudelaire would certainly note, refused to look back for nearly a century. Yet out of the Wars’ unbridled human cruelty and terror and exploitation of technology, the world is given what may be the most fundamentally important artistic age that has taken place in Western history: Eliot, Kafka, Woolf, Joyce, Orwell—all of these stem from or are dramatically modified by the experience of one or both of the Wars.

Politically, the UN developed out of a near-planetary reaction to the horrors of the past (a past still very fresh in the collective consciousness). As a race, we finally started looking back. At the time, what looked like a brush with total destruction engendered something like a world-society wherein, theoretically at least, each nation was responsible to those around it. This noble, conciliatory and regulating act in a way more accurately mimicked the interdependent sovereignty of city-states of yore (though ideally without their warring tendencies) by foreclosing the possibility of political empire. Forward and backward, at the same time, the world is reborn with hope that such terrors as genocide and nuclear assault will never again be witnessed.

As human history underwent a renaissance of sorts, though this time through flesh and metal, more localized systems of rebirth became entrenched in individual societies. The American worker sought to better his life, and then her life, and moved to the suburbs.

Civil Rights were born and America was

taken to task on its own internal inequities. Then high school was no longer enough education and we needed Bachelor’s Degrees which then necessitated Master’s Degrees. And now there are many who have taken it this far only to be left with a fundamental question: What the hell do I do now? How do I find success in a world dominated by the feudal lords of big business and big box stores and big norms of taste and culture? Looking back at it like this, it’s no longer so refreshing, but the general importance of understanding progress by looking to history cannot be refuted. he society-specific rebirth thus becomes a very personal and internalized struggle with self-modification. New York recently ran a cover story about burnout and how it relates more to our self-contained imperatives than to the restrictions imposed by our professional lives. Meanwhile, the self-help topic of the moment is, naturally, the question happiness (Is it biological? Is it chemical? Is it environmental? How come I’m not living in a penthouse overlooking the Hudson?). And as New Yorkers there are constant reminders of the need to get ahead, to make our lives better: free street-corner catalogues stacked in yellow plastic dispensers doling out advice on making it rich in real estate like Donald Trump or a simpler question: Busca trabajo?

But under what pretenses are these personal renaissances undertaken? As a writer, I am constantly questioning my career-choice—its less-than-lucrative benefits, its odd hours, its complete reliance on self-promotion, the necessity to wait tables—and I consider reinventing myself as an office stiff, as a fundraiser, as a non-profit pioneer. But these options never prove enticing as I wonder which direction, forward or backward or nowhere, I would then be looking. If I’m stuck looking cross-eyed at the role of history in human progress, how can I expect those around me to be any better off? Given our pasts, should we be so caught up in this forwardonly momentum? We can keep it up, for sure, but all of you inland suckers are going to be real sorry when you don’t have New York to snapshot with your families for your mantles and walls. Why, you ask?

Our quaint city will soon be underwater, or frozen, or both. By Kyle A. Valenta 033

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Learn about the many ways you can serve in Army medicine by contacting Staff Sergeant Jamey Neher at 301-677-5489 or email jamey.f.neher.mil@mail.mil Find out more about career opportunities at healthcare.goarmy.com/op98

©2019. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.

can’t feature

buy

me

love

whatever they claim, eye contact beats them all

You can Google your soul-mate. No, really.

You can. Even kids can do it. Teenagers, an eager Montague or Capulet, can consult so many apps that cater for teens—Skout, Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel—where often a mere twenty questions will provide a grade for their young interpersonal relationships and also answer the nagging question of whether they and their friend indeed share souls. The criteria involve the rapidity with which the relationship developed, finishing one another’s sentences, and communication without words, or telepathy.

But this gives New Yorkers a large benefit of the doubt: Are these dreams we come here with really buttressed by a love of actual selfbetterment for its own sake or is it something more like greed, self-absorption, ego?

As a bit of rudimentary research, I took the quiz. I put myself back in some uncomfortable 16-year-old shoes, reflected upon the feelings I remember once having regarding a certain someone whom I, at the time, regarded as my “soul-mate,” and it turns out that “it’s too hard to determine whether or not this relationship is part of destiny’s grand design” though our connection was admittedly “uncanny” and, hey, we scored a 60. I don’t remember any ESP in this relationship, which apparently may have been its undoing, but the truth is that we don’t talk anymore; haven’t talked in almost ten years.

I mean this in a very classical sense; as our New York now is the cultural crossroads of the world, centuries back Athens played a similar role. And in that very alive metropolis, there were men who conveniently debated this topic for us, though of course to no final solution. Plato’s Symposium gives us several versions of love, often romantic love, that are attached to the soul mate.

Perhaps you’ve seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch where they illustrate Aristophanes’s bisected human-sphere theory, one that fully relies upon there being one match for one person. In a conversation with a priestess, however, Socrates rounds out the Symposium by giving us love that may very well involve another human, though does not necessarily spring from that person’s human-ness. This is to say that the soul, the soul who strives for wisdom and knowledge, will not search for the physical perchance stumbling upon the transcendental and beautiful, but vice versa.

Teens are locked together in schools across the country, mingling with nonclassmates on rare occasions like summer jobs and football games; they’re like captive audiences, or prey, for one another. In being forced upon one another this way it seems likely that bonds will form that are basically fundamental though not soul-ly fundamental. But are adults really any different? The majority have offices, and bars, instead of classrooms. And adults likewise suffer from the sad conflation of romance and soul-mating. If indeed the shadowy figure of the soul-mate exists, it is suffocating beneath snowdrifts of misguided romance and quite in danger of disappearing altogether.

If a soul is “lucky enough to find a mind that is beautiful, noble, and naturally gifted” it “is strongly drawn to that combination.”

The classical paradigm is of course idealized and does, to a degree, make the encountering of a soul-mate sound like a matter of frequent chance, as though all men are noble and naturally gifted. While this may not be the case, Socrates opens up the very likely possibility of a person having more than one soul-mate, something that should strike a chord in our modern-day metropolis. If, in fact, New York is home to so many persons struggling to use their natural gifts, these qualities should readily be on display, and thus we find here that there could very well be many.

The obvious advantage of living in New York is this city’s status as a destination.

People migrate here in droves with their very personal motivations in tow and it’s often under the heading of a “dream.” With so many people in one place with all of their ambitions, the chance of running into someone with a dream or a personality or a soul that complements one’s own seems statistically greater. Can New Yorkers actually Mind Find and Bind as soul-mates better than romantic partners? Perhaps.

But New York’s inhabitants are selfpossessed; so much that is done here is to advance one’s own social standing, obtain better benefits, get your own apartment, and then get your own apartment in Tribeca. In a sense there is some Randian level of fulfillment at work here, but even she would balk at the myriad ways in which we close ourselves off to the encounter of an intellectual equal.

And this is accomplished by always placing the matching of souls within the

romantic dynamic. Those billboards at every major intersection in the city, straddling our search-engines, plastered in the Times and New York—all of these forums advertised in our city promise to pair us with the one, our soul-mate, who will happen to be our romantic love as well. So it is that the search for the romantic soulmate becomes the goal of being; and while it’s possible and certainly desirable, does it not run the least bit counter to our nature as intelligent beings?

The question of the soul-mate really comes down to the actual benefit having such a person in one’s life would provide. It seems a bit frivolous and new-agey to contemplate all of the truisms that swirl around this relation; again, google away and you’ll find “yings” and “yangs” and “complementary beings” and all sorts of terminology that all boils down to what Socrates was trying to tell everyone: in striking out on our own into the world, armed with talents and acquiring knowledge, we should hopefully find other like-minded individuals around us to make this pursuit all the more enjoyable to be sure, but even more so to make the whole endeavor a bit more worthwhile, to drive it a bit deeper into the heart of things.

But how can the major New York discrepancy be reconciled; the one that places personal, individual success perhaps ahead of forming intelligent connections with kindred souls (and I most definitely don’t mean networking)? Furthermore, in a city where personal well-being is so coveted and where romance is very often a onenight, two-night, or three-night stand, is the soul-mate, or soul-tribe as it’s been called, really any great priority?

Certain internet dating sites may boast high success rates in the matches they create and claim to offer questionnaires and profiles that will truly reveal the person behind the screen-name, but these sites are about love, and romantic love at that (and really, believing these profiles as endeavors in total human honesty gives people a very, very large benefit of the doubt). If the soul-mate is something worth pursuing or discovering, it seems the most honest way to go about doing it is to continue on New York’s trajectory of dream-chasing and self-determination, collecting those of our ilk along the way, and taking some slight satisfaction in the meantime’s loneliness. By Kyle Valenta

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“ADVENTURE

IS WORTHWHILE IN ITSELF.” AMELIA EARHART

Ride in a biplane at The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, America’s first flying museum of antique aircraft.

Located in Rhinebeck, NY.

PLAN A 3-DAY GETAWAY INTO THE HEART OF THE HUDSON VALLEY. DUTCHESSTOURISM.COM ® I LOVE NEW YORK is a registered trademark and service mark of the New York State Department of Economic Development; used with permission.

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Yoga is meant to be relaxing, right?

I love yoga. When I first discovered it several years ago, I was in heaven—the breathing exercises and quiet nature of the classes helped my stress levels go down and I became stronger and more toned. Truly, a really great yoga class, where I can relax and get in a good workout, will positively affect me for several days.

But every now and then, I find my hopes dashed by those lovely free-spirited whacks that show up to class and ruin everything with their overly keen schoolboy approach (nb sexist reference intentional).

I used to find it laughable when people claimed that going to the gym was “relaxing.” I find it anything but. The only way it might be truly relaxing was if you already had a killer body and knew how to use all of the equipment, (i.e. a keeney already.

One of those truly obnoxious people who know how good they are, but no idea how badly they fit in the world!).

That was when I made the decision to try yoga, where I imagined free spirited people (with a variety of bodies) would gently stretch to Yanni, if not the sound of their own breathing. Members of society who recognised synergy and empathy and all the other New Age assets that purported to make living easier.

To leave behind that weekly hour that took me two days to overcome and leave the house again. Experts say that exercise conducted while under stress is actually pointless. And potentially injurious, as you tend to ignore the body’s danger signals telling you to stop because you are too busy holding in your stomach (men) or pushing out your breasts (women) for that person who has caught your eye. Why kill myself attempting to look “in shape” on a treadmill when I could just as easy attract a partner taking it easy in a dimly lit room?

I was mistaken—a yoga studio is not a 180 turn from the gym.

Yes, people are more accepting of their abilities and no one is trying to be perfect. But human nature is ever present (and unfortunately we won’t have it any other way) and the striving to be better than the next man (sexist emphasis again intentional).

Nine times out of ten whereas the gym is a runway show of massively bulging muscles, a yoga studio can be a contest to see who can make themselves the most comfortable in your personal space.

I realize that a draw of yoga is supposed to be your connection to a larger “community,” but at the end of the day, the thin line between sharing your good energy and intentions are wiped out by some very hairy parts of the human body (both male and female). The line universally drawn for sharing too much of oneself gets crossed entirely too often.

First of all, for the amount of skin exposed and number of studios that request that you not wear shoes after entering even the lobby, the place has to be crawling with germs. Women don’t wear shoes in the bathroom, then come walking through the studio and have the nerve to step on my mat, when in about 45 minutes I’m going to be asked to put my face directly on it. Really? Like most people (myself included) we ask guests to leave their shoes at the front door so we don’t get the outside germs in our personal space.

Shouldn’t the same care be taken in the case for a yoga studio?

And then there are the overly active participants in the class.

You know them, the ones who sound like they’re having a climax when they exhale, producing a loud crescendo-style “aaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.” I don’t mind when you’re loud when we’re chanting, because I have no clue what we’re chanting or what it even means, so please, go ahead. But when we’re all trying to relax? Is it really necessary? Last time I checked, they don’t hand out “Best Orgasm” awards at the end of the class.

Lack of clothing can also be distracting—there is nothing quite like looking up and seeing more than you bargained in front of you. I don’t think if you wear shorts that extend just two inches longer, your chi is going to be greatly affected nor will your body temperature rise dramatically and make your workout unbearable. So maybe I’m a little bit proper, but in really crowded classes I sometimes find myself in the kind of proximity that I only prefer with my husband.

So often, I find some middle-aged man wearing only a skimpy pair of shorts and no t-shirt over his hairy, flabby chest. I try to embrace my inner hippie—to each their own I guess. And his appearance is deceiving, because he was one of the most experienced members of the class. I hope that’s not a bonus of yoga—physical fitness that no one else but you knows about. Literally a bummer!

At least yoga is better in that respect; once you get into the groove with it, you stop caring what other people think. Maybe that’s why no one is ashamed to be really loud, to fart, or to ignore personal space. People always talk about keyboards as a hidden repository for germs (holding more than a public toilet), but I bet a yoga studio, if tested, would be akin to a nuclear waste facility.

And as far as the whole “community” idea, just like when you’re walking on the street, you have to respect other people’s space.

Yes, yoga changed your life, made you a better person, better at your job, happy all the time, etc. but really, let’s not get so carried away. Taking the same yoga class is not an invitation to spread your germs or disrupt the thoughts of others. But, even on the occasions where I get seriously annoyed at people showing off in what should be the most laid-back place on Earth, I have learned to block these things out to the point where I can enjoy myself.

Maybe I don’t sound like the most “plugged-in” yogi, but trust me, I am. But if other people are able to bring their behavior and preferences into the classroom, than so should I.

g o D ard

All sports require getting sweaty to some extent (apart from darts maybe where the protaganists all seem to be naturally sweaty anyway), but when it gets to the stage where a lessthan-perfect stranger’s bodily fluids come too close or even invade your personal space it is time to cry �WHOA.�

Especially in an activity which is supposed to be empathetic and full of peace and love and understanding and accommodation and tolerance and calm and serenity and...

* By Gwen johnson with apologies

029

dish

Backsliding

“... Of all the sexual aberrations, perhaps the most peculiar is chastity ...”

Remy de Gourmont, French novelist, April 4, 1858 - September 27, 1915 Self-sufficiency comes in many forms, the most important of which is emotional. But when you’re a serial monogamist, like I used to be, it can be difficult to achieve. If you have to constantly rely on someone else to make you happy, you’ll never be truly autonomous. Spending a significant period of time as a single woman is essential for female empowerment and independence—and is just an important life skill to tuck under your belt. Once you’ve reached emotional self-sufficiency, you can conquer the realm of sex with unnecessary complications.

Which brings me to the issue at hand: backsliding.

New Girl may have been the first show to coin the term, but its characters are certainly not the first people to demonstrate this disastrous behavior. We’ve all been there. You break up with a significant other, for relatively good and logical reasons, but find that you can’t replace the quality of sex from your old relationship fast enough to meet your ridiculously high instant gratification standards with new flings. What’s a horny girl with limited resources to do for maximum sexual satisfaction with minimal mental, emotional, and physical exertion? You rack your brain for possible solutions to your very urgent, and in your mind, probable life threatening dilemma. But no matter how hard you brainstorm, your imagination keeps taking you back to your most recent and decent sexual encounter: your ex.

So you take a step back onto memory lane and start fooling around with your old flame. You call them, get what you came for (literally). Wam. Bam. Thank you, ma’am. And peace out.

time of the bootycall, the initiate is completely over the romantic relationship and is only reaching out to the recipient for one reason: sex. Nothing more.

On the other hand, the recipient has not emotionally moved on from the relationship. But the initiate does not share her version of harsh reality with the recipient so as not to risk the possibility of guaranteed rejection. As a result, the recipient of the bootycall believes that he or she still has a chance to salvage the relationship with the initiate. The repercussions of this omission are immense and the consequences even worse.

If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m the initiate. My ex is the recipient.

So now he’s calling me, texting me. Asking me to have dinner, to watch a movie, to hang out with him. Not bootycall hours, mind you (which, in my opinion, fall between 11pm-2am), but actual normal people hours. And I only oblige him these meetings because I know how to manipulate my way from the dinner table into the bedroom.

What can I say? Girls are ninjas. But I can only fool him for so long. And let the countdown to verbal explosion commence.

One night, I went over, and right as the clothes start melting off, he says those magic words that instantly kill my buzz.

“We need to talk.”

Afterwards, on your glorious walk of shame back to your apartment, you think you’ve managed to accomplish the impossible: have sex with an ex, no strings attached. Right? Wrong!

I broke up with my boyfriend over six months ago for one very logical reason: he’s an asshole. But the sex was so mind-blowing, I couldn’t get him out of my head. He lives five minutes away from me and we have the same schedule. He’s a waiter, I’m a hostess. (I find that the restaurant industry conveniently provides the perfect window of opportunity for sexual deviance.) I weighed the pros and cons, but came to the conclusion that all this added up to the perfect bootycall. We’re comfortable around each other, already know how to hit the right spots, and have no emotions left to complicate things. Quick.

Dirty. Done.

So why did he stay overnight and attempt post-sex spooning instead of picking up his shit and leaving? Good fucking question. I thought we were on the same page, which reads, “I want you, I just don’t want to be with you.” Simple enough.

But nope, it never is.

The problem with backsliding is that the purely physical intentions of the initiate are often one-sided and unreciprocated by the person being used for their sexual prowess.

No, no, we don’t. Don’t ruin a good thing with words and feelings and emotions and the very reason why we’re only having sex and not in a relationship.

“I want to get back together.”

There it is, the six words that the Initiate never plans on hearing, never takes into consideration because we’re too fucking selfish to even contemplate that the person we’re using as our sexual plaything might actually want something else in return.

I had a choice to make. I could lie. I could tell him that I want to get back together, too. I could lay out all the cliches romantic comedies feed us as ammunition to repair broken relationships. But I wouldn’t just be lying to him, I’d be lying to myself.

And being the selfish princess that I am, self-deception would be positively unbearable.

So I tell him the truth. I tell him that I don’t want to get back together. That reviving our relationship never entered my mind.

I break his heart. Again. And what could have gradually turned into a decent friendship between two former lovers is now a minefield of sex, lies, and deceit.

Sort of like Las Vegas, with all the guilt and none of the glamour.

For all the backslider newbies, let me break this down into simple definitions. The initiate is the person making the bootycall.

The recipient, is the person being called to action. Now, at the

Backsliding. A good idea in theory. A novel idea on paper. But in reality, a complete and utterly dumb clusterfuck. By Fern Brittain

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cover story

DAYMOND JOHN NOT ONLY...

CORPORATE TYCOON ENTREPRENEUR, SHARK SUPREME SAVVY INVESTOR ... BUT ALSO STYLE ICON HUMANITARIAN MENTOR PHILANTHROPIST INFLUENCER CONSERVATIONALIST ...AND TV PERSONALITY MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER NYT BEST SELLING AUTHOR FASHION VISIONARY BRANDING EXPERT DESIGNER CONSULTANT DYSLEXIC CANCER SURVIVOR AWARD-WINNING MARKETER AMBASSADOR & NEW YORK CITY HUSTLER

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Shark Tanker Daymond John has always been hustling. From an early age growing up in Queens, John was always keeping busy trying to make money: raking leaves, shoveling snow, collecting discarded bicycle parts to build a bike to sell, or buying cars that have been in an accident, fixing them, selling them for profit—the man is always hustling.

“I lost all my money and realized I hated what I was doing and that was that, and then I had like five other journeys,” insists John. “I was a delivery van driver for many years with a van service and I was working 18 hours a day and I wasn’t grossing anything. I was netting but wasn’t grossing. I paid for insurance for the van, expenses, everything else that came with the maintenance. I always figured this was what I was going to do but all those false starts made me step back and then just go back and work at Red Lobster because I just wanted a break. I wanted a simple job, 9 to 5 or whatever, 5 to 10, and go home. I didn’t take the job home with me.” The irony being that it was that same home that later gave rise to FUBU, his multi billion dollar empire.

Shark Tank is in in tenth season and John reminisces on how it all began, his realization that he could inspire other people to live their dreams. “I was about 36, 35 and I’m watching TV and I’m watching too much stuff here where everybody is so cool and no one is really talking with transparency about the hardships of entrepreneurship. I’m young and a man of color, people who didn’t go to college or are dyslexic, I want them to know that it’s not that you’ve got to go to college or have to know somebody with money.” So John wrote a book called Display of Power, his story with FUBU and being an entrepreneur. He started going on TV shows CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch to promote the book and Mark Burnett, the famed producer of TV’s mega hits like Survivor and The Voice, was watching.

Burnett already had a format for Shark Tank in England, Canada and Japan called Dragon’s Den and wanted to bring it to the United States and wanted John to be on it. At first he said No, because the sharks have to spend

With FUBU came great success for John: a global lifestyle brand with over $6 billion in product sales, over 35 awards including the Brandweek Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, and Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award. A New York Times John is also an author of four best-selling books including his newest New York Times best-selling book Rise and Grind, John is celebrating his tenth season on ABC’s emmy-winning Shark Tank.

John was raised by his mother and was an only-child. His father left when he was 10 and he never saw that side of the family after that. His mother was an entrepreneur, selling and sewing. She would sell and sew clothes, or drive a pedi-cab even though she had a regular job.

She was always trying to find a way to make more income to feed him and John quickly became the man of the house at a very young age and because he didn’t have any siblings, he didn’t want to see his mom work that hard just for him. So working was always ingrained.

He started FUBU when he was 20 years old out of a love for hip hop and fashion. But as he grew the business in those beginning years, he got deeper and deeper in debt and got to the point where he couldn’t turn back. “I felt like everything was on the line and it felt like I was doing it out of fear, even though I was enjoying what I was doing, it was almost out of fear. And then I brought my three friends into the business and they became my family because every time I wanted to quit they wouldn’t allow me and every time they wanted to quit I wouldn’t allow them.”

the people believing that that person is going to make that thing work no matter what, and if that thing fails we’re still going to do something else together and make money.”

Success has translated to being an ambassador for entrepreneurship under President Obama when he was looking for a group of people to help spread the word about entrepreneurship.

“If you look at domestic violence and violence in general, it’s usually when people don’t have the funds or resources. So you’re a young man or parent, father, in Kenya and you need $50 a month and you can’t find that money and have no hope, then somebody may prey off of you. So our jobs as ambassadors for global entrepreneurship was to talk to people and tell them what entrepreneurship is if it’s a legal way to make money. Number two is show them the process of it meaning can you open up your phone and do social marketing or stand on the corner and sell fruit, and number three show them how to get access to capital. It was an honor and I had the pleasure of going with President Obama to Kenya and to Cuba and two other states traveling with him.”

Entrepreneurship is being sought by so many millennials these days and John sees and feels the rise. “The facts are also out there that 50% of kids these days said they’ll never work for anybody. I definitely see the wave, obviously it’s due to social media because they’re getting a peak into other people’s worlds and seeing that they are self-sufficient and not working someplace, and then of course a lot of these kids have seen the recession and their parents were depending on someone else’s dream or they got laid off or lost a lot. So yeah, I clearly see it.”

their own money. “But I was somewhat interested because at that time it was 2008 and nobody had money to pay their mortgage so they weren’t buying any t-shirts and I had 10 clothing lines and eight of them were not doing well because we were in a recession. So I wanted to go on the show because all I got pitched were clothing lines so let me go on the show because I’m going to get pitched hopefully some good ideas. And that’s when I decided to do the show.”

For right now, John has a lot in the “tank.” He is writing his fifth book and will continue to work with all the companies that have allowed him to invest; he has an obligation to them to continue to help them. Fubu is having a small resurgence and will always be his first love and will always support the brand. John will also work with charitable organizations and “things that I feel need to be addressed and I can use my platform or myself to bring attention to them.

So whether it’s stopping human trafficking or me being on the Petco Board or stopping the killing of sharks or cleaning up our oceans or taking illegal weapons off the street...I don’t have enough hours in the day,” he laughs. “I wish I could do it more because the real heroes are doing it 24/7 and helping people.”

When sitting in that chair and a dreamer comes into the tank with an idea he or she feels is a million dollar business, there is one factor he is looking for in a partnership or a relationship that allows you him to make a decision. “It’s always the person. It’s always

Having success wasn’t always easy for John, coping with dyslexia his entire life but not knowing what it was until he was in his 30s.

“It made sense once I realized it. I just felt there was some kind of challenge I had, but I didn’t know what the formal thing was. Of

course growing up dyslexic, sometimes you just feel stupid and you wonder why some other kids get it and you don’t. So what changed in that once I realized—and again it kind of goes back to me wanting to share with people all my challenges to say we all have them, here are some other ones that I had and if I could overcome them, you can.

As I look back at it, dyslexia helped me to become the person I am because I would read a book and did not understand it at all and I would go out and try to do it because I wanted to make sure I absorbed the information, so that would make me proactive and take

action. I would also read the book several times and I’d find various different angles on whatever I was learning.” In school at 15 and 16, John had a co-op program where he would go to school one week and work the next week—a high school student and getting college credit— and that helped him become an entrepreneur.

“All those things about trying to avoid reading made me the person I am. I often tell people out of the 12 sharks, if you look at the guest sharks, approximately eight of us are dyslexic.”

If there was one piece of advice that he could give one young person who is either

struggling to find their path or wishing they could become an entrepreneur overnight, John is extremely honest. “I can’t help them ease the pain. I can give them encouragement to keep getting as much information as you can, whether it’s a book or a mentor or doing your homework and researching, whether it’s like-minded people that you keep around you or going out and trying what you learn from your failure or even your small success, but no matter what it’s a super challenging path to go down. But you have to face the challenge for what it is and not think there is an easier way.”

“... It’s always the person. It’s always believing that that person is going to make that thing work no matter what, and if that thing fails we’re still going to do something else together and make money ...” (on investing on Shark Tank) Satem Sayki navy suit Robert T Talbot shirt Grand Voyage shoes Roberto Cavalli hadkerchief Ermengildo Zegna tie Mission belt

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“...As I look back at it, dyslexia helped me to become the person I am because I would read a book and did not understand it at all.. so that would make me proactive and take action...”

“...But you have to face the challenge for what it is and not think there is an easier way...”

[opposite page and opening spread] Hatem Sayki brown coat, pants Roberto Cavalli shirt Nicole Miller tie [this page] Hatem Sayki leather jacket G Star Raw jeans D Squared2 shoes John Varvatos black sweater photography by David Yellen stylist Ty-Ron Mayes groomer Stephanie Flor videographer Emiliano Sanchez location The Setai Penthouse fidi, nyc

019

backstage

I was in a panic realizing my appointment at the spa was in 30 minutes. I still had to get dressed, dry my hair and make myself presentable. Dashing out the door with wet hair, I hiked to the subway. Huddled in the harsh, fluorescent glow of the number 1 train with no make-up, I began to see the trade-off. Buying relaxation comes with a free sample of humility. Head down, confident I was about to run into an ex-boyfriend, I sprinted five blocks to the Broadway Day Spa for my facial.

I burst through the door, straggly-haired and red-faced, and collided with the soothing wall of hush when it occurred to me that spas in New York need decompression chambers. I’d just run past jackhammers, dodged strollers, and jumped over piles of dog crap. Entering such a cocoon of calm shocked my system.

As if to solidify my title as Ugly Duckling, the man behind the counter was tanner and more beautiful than I could ever hope to be. As I handed over my sad little Old Navy hoodie, I silently swore that next time I’d wear heels.

As I lay in the dentist-style chair and ready to let the leisure begin, I was informed that I’d put the sheet thing on wrong. It was enough embarrassment to kick off the next piece of information, “Every single pore on your face is clogged.” Exit self-esteem.

New Yorkers can choose from an endless variety of activities and services promising to restore our vitality. Spas, salons, studios, and soirees beckon from every corner. In their midst, we are obsessed with obtaining a physical receipt for our repentant relaxation.

We crave the red, greasy face, the extraction and exfoliation, the sore muscles and the depleted bank balance that assure us, yes, that we “treated” ourselves. At the end of this particular spa visit, I could shout to the world that I’d endured the soothing benefit of having someone smear acid on my face…Acid.

Why did I schedule this facial in the first place? I was hosting what I’d hoped would be a fun, laughter-filled, elegant dinner party and I wanted to look at least as good as the food. Of course, New York guests—even close friends—expect gourmet cuisine. So I spent an hour running to three different markets to get the spices I needed, barely leaving time to pick up all the mixers for the fully stocked bar—an absolute necessity at any respectable city dinner party.

TWOFACED After my decidedly uncomfortable facial and the fun-for-my-friends-but-mindblowinglystressful-for-me soiree, I needed to relieve some tension. Trolling Facebook, I found a deal on a $37 massage and made an appointment. The Madison Ave address was enough to replace a reputation at the time, but upon arrival I was singing a different tune. The salon’s name was scrawled in pen on the building directory, the elevator was rickety and the hallways were dingy. I peeked my head inside and saw another woman recovering from a massage, shiny and blissed out, which was enough of a sign to go through with it. The room was lined with signs on the wall forbidding “money deals” and instructing me to leave on my panties “for hygiene purposes.”

Oddly enough, it was the best massage of my life. Still, given my desire to quickly flee the scary dump, my shoulders didn’t truly relax until I was home in one piece.

Despite all the talk of plucking and rubbing, I’m not Paris Hilton. I didn’t grow up in a mansion with an army of staff. I do my own laundry, clean my own bathroom and I’ve worked my share of service industry jobs. The Puritanical values that founded this country are still alive and well. Work is good, relaxation is evil, lazy, and indulgent. Going to a spa or gym isn’t a necessity. So dashing past a man collecting soda cans to recycle to drop $100 on someone else washing my face or stretching my quads, has a jarring poignancy.

Perhaps we compensate by making sure our leisure activities hurt. Twenty sets of squatthrusts ought to cancel out last night’s nachos, and the shame of overindulgence.

We’ve bought into the myth that doing something for yourself actually has to involve doing something. In New York, it’s as if the maxim is “I do, therefore I am.” The idea of not doing something is unheard of.

An hour of yelling for tourists to stay left as you try to jog the Brooklyn Bridge, the scramble for a spa chair at the nail salon on a Saturday morning or throwing elbows for space in front of the mirror to get your “om” on just in time to fight the post-yoga brunch crowd us is all evidence of how our relaxation has become an extension of our daily stress from which we are desperate to escape. Getting out of the city seems like an option, until you factor in cab fare or an hour-long subway-to-bus ride to LaGuardia, security lines and major runway delays because of the massive air traffic into NYC. I’m tense just thinking about it. So instead of rushing to spas, fighting for a table at a restaurant or even dashing to the airport, perhaps the most relaxing activity is simply not doing anything at all.

011

bitch

“...

Screwed, Blued and Tattooed ...”

Screwed, Blued and Tattooed I am a liberal, but I am a very open-minded liberal. I hate the political prejudice in New York. The minute you start talking about anything slightly conservative people snub you. So I say . . . RELAX New Yorkers!

Shut up and listen for a second, you might actually learn something.

Believe it or not, I know plenty of conservatives who agree with us bleeding-heart liberals when we say that Trump is an asshole. Just because someone associates with the Republicans doesn’t automatically make them a pariah. Rather than just attacking one another down the party lines, let’s all of us, liberals and conservatives, band together to make some real changes in this country rather than just getting red in the face.

Michael, import & Export, SI

born with - our own personal hand of cards if you like - and can only play out all of our lives with that hand of cards. We can’t go back to the dealer and draw replacements. So tough shit if you are lousy poker player.

rision this attitude attracts from some sections of our society (driven maybe by a repressed but hopefully innate sense of fairness) we should continue to come from the right direction because there really is no other point of the compass available for a truly civilized society.

What are we so proud of? There is no individual, personal achievement there. So if you’re born with it or born without it, as the GOP saying goes, “it is what it is”.

Simon, Wall Street, Financial District

Grateful yes. Every day. But pride - “... a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired...” - seems to be an emperor with no clothes. The “I will if you will “ syndrome. We need to grow up and be grateful that we’ve got it, not viciously scornful of those who haven’t.

It is with this in mind that those like me who consistently point out the obvious, are just as consistently castigated. That idealization of the American Dream, where everyone has the ability (or so ‘they’ say) to ‘be a success”, has become our rationalization for avoiding the confrontation of institutionalized injustices that permeate our society. It is solely due to this delusion that some are able to sleep easy and enjoy the beauties of a life well-lived, neglecting those whose sense of hopelessness alone cripples them.

What has become the American way is a system that can capitalize (note the word base) on our neighbor’s misfortune, further deepening the divide between the fortunate and the unfortunate.

Not one of us should be content with this measurable difference.

You Got To Know When to Fold ‘em What is so clear to me is the inherent unfairness of many of our cherished American values. Based as they are on the accident of birth, we seem to make no attempt to redress the balance, or, more importantly at this stage, even recognize there is any imbalance, any injustice at all.

We even take inordinate adolescent glee in being fortunate. If you are born with it, the lesson goes—it being any of a select list: brains, wealth, ‘good looks’, star quality, and ability, etc.—you are successful by right. Without them, or the ability to ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’, you are not.

What is so stupid about this approach, this pride in who we are as individuals (and even more in the reverence we pay to our national character) is that we are all born the same way in that we have no imput whatsoever. None, for crying out loud. We are born with the attributes we are

Greed is like a Termite.

It Destroys you from Within I love it when you hear which charities the celebrities choose to support. Third world kids are dying from lack of clean drinking water.

Natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis wreak havoc overseas, hurricanes and tornadoes devastate people’s lives in the US. People are starving in our own country with kids growing up in squalor and poverty. Teachers hold yard sales to buy essential books for their students and communities band together in watch groups ‘cos police presence is limited.

And here’s the star of the newest reality series, donating her last show’s salary to buying wood for the underprivileged termites living in concrete buildings in the Bronx. False equivalency is our latest 21st century disease

Sara, writer, UWS

When families are evicted from their homes, an amazing personal tragedy, others hungry for a good deal are lionized when they are allowed to capitalize on this repossession market. Is this equitable for all?

How can we be proud of our education system when the future of our country graduates from school with honors but is tainted by a $50,000 debt (probably equivalent to the dollar value of the college shareholder’s yachts)?

Further evidence of our indifference to the fate of the have-nots is a penal system that punishes the children of offenders by demanding custodial sentences to satisfy our need for vengeance.

Rehabilitation is not an option despite the fact exposure to prison life promotes recidivism.

Most of our citizens choose to live in this world of deliberate ignorance. So be it. Some of us however, can’t live with ourselves if we don’t at least try to re-dress the balance. Despite the de-

The American Dream vs. The American Reality I happened to catch the film Blue Valentine and there’s a pivotal scene in the middle of when the weary, tired married couple (played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) are sitting in a hotel room discussing their relationship.

She questions his potential and his response is simple and something (I think) most men feel.

He wonders what defines potential; what are man’s limits in a relationship; when does he reach his highest plateau? He works, brings home money (maybe not the most money he can make, but he supports the family nonetheless), loves his wife, raises their daughter. That is

“... Greed is Like a Termite. It Destroys You from Within ...”

all he needs. She feels otherwise, bogged down and “beaten” by his mediocrity. Her respect for him has been stripped. She is ashamed at what he is now. When they met he was vibrant, fun, young and in love. Then, he looked like he was going to make a successful life and husband; now, he mires in a paying job, pays the bills, cares for his family, and just makes it by. She works, too. And she’s over their relationship. Is this situation common today?

The specific scene in question above stuck with me because I find so many men—so many city men—in this situation, working, striving, making it work, content. I also know men that are super-successful and some that are barely making ends meet. The situation in which Gosling and Williams’ characters find themselves raises a question on the societal pressures that men endure. It also put my life into perspective, being in a marriage where money and security are topics that seem to crash land on the dinner table. In a world that strives for a flat line of sameness across the board, we men are still subject to expectations to reach for the stars while being defined by money and careers and the support we provide. We’re the ones in the relationship that, no matter what, have to have the successes that make a relationship’s blood flow.

I’m not whining. I am just saying it still feels to me that men are set against a higher standard, and that they must meet or surpass a ceiling of potential that may or may not necessarily attainable. Why are men subject to such scrutiny nowadays? Where does the term “satisfied” fit in the relationship equation? I don’t think it does, and that’s a shame.

I think that we as human beings are slaves to Capitalism, to the “dream” branded red hot with monetary symbols, to goals predestined and set forth long before we were born. We live to work, then buy, obtain, collect, a status, in all forms. That status is seared into our collective minds and it creeps and manifests itself within every relationship. It is unavoidable. People’s lives get clogged with information, monthly utility bills, mouths to feed, car payments. A good percentage of the day is spent worrying about money, so much so that we don’t appreciate what we have, what we’ve been given, what’s in front of us. We need to get back to life with new values; recognizing what is important and celebrating one another instead of what we can offer one another.

The answer for me is simple, but I don’t think it will ever be universally settled upon. The way we live today will only change if the system changes, but that won’t be easy. At some point in the film, Gosling says “… But it seems like girls get to a place where they just kinda pick the best option... ‘Oh he’s got a good job.’ I mean they spend their whole life looking for Prince

Charming and then they marry the guy who’s got a good job and is gonna stick around.” I want to believe that this isn’t true, but I find in so many instances where it is. Please be the one that changes my mind.

George, bartender, East Village

‘“Nowt as quare as folks” (Yorkshire saying) When people are scraping feces off the sidewalk of New York City, don’t they ever stop and think ‘what the hell am I doing?’ Back in the days before door locks and dentists, people needed dogs for protection and hunting. Now, we keep pets in our homes for companionship, their dirty paws all over our furniture and their paraphernalia littering our floors. Perhaps we just enjoy the living, breathing lesson on responsibility? Or for the sheer joy that only controlling the fate and bathroom access of another living being can bring? There are even people who take their pets to pet spas and dress them in tiny pet-a-porter clothes and spend more time and money on them then could ever be deemed necessary or reasonable. If an alien saw a human picking poop up behind a dog in the park, he would probably assume that we humans are the dog’s bipedal footmen. To a certain extent, that’s what we are.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but one of the things I fear most about aging is that I might one day be unable to control, and thus maintain, my own bowels. Kill me first. Taking care of the digestive relief of children is something I will exempt from this discussion, as the investment in a child is an investment in the future of the human race, and biologically we are programmed to desire and need this. But with animals, where on earth is it getting us? Flea bathing them, collaring them, trimming their nails, and brushing their teeth with poultry-flavored toothpaste does nothing at all for humans.

Yes, engaging with a simple-minded and (depending on the creature) loving animal brings a welcome break and feeds the need and desire to be loved unconditionally. We all love to experience a few moments of willful disen-

gagement from our daily lives and coo lovingly at a dog or a cat or a snake or whatever animal we call soul mate. But why on earth is this the case? I don’t disagree with this general draw towards our less highly evolved fellow denizens of planet earth; I make it a habit to offer a salutation to most every pup I pass on the street. But where is this getting us?

Humans are the most highly evolved species the world has ever seen, and who knows how much farther we could go in the coming millennia? What separates us from the unclothed, uncouth herd? Our brains. So why are we wasting portions of our time, varying in length but sometimes without a doubt excessive, in which we could be bettering of our species but choose instead to regress so thoroughly? The idea of having a captive creature whose entire existence revolves around amusing and comforting you is strange and uncomfortable; it makes me feel like we are all wardens, and our wards are locked up so that we can take some time to regress a several thousand years.

The decidedly non-intellectual appropriation of our brains by love, resulting from a need to fawn over fluffier four-legged friends, is perhaps a form of therapy for us. But it is useless. While once they protected our young and our fortunes, pets now signify the detention of another living being purely for the purpose of taking some time to turn off one’s brain. They are an extension of a selfish and silly desire to be as simple-minded as possible, even if just for a while.

I guess having a starter child is a good idea for the welfare of future child, but it is also extremely strange; the devotion that people show and the hours that they spend primping, poopscooping, canoodling, and de-clawing their pets provides valuable training for doing the same with a human child (with the exception of flea baths and de-clawing, one hopes). But pets are weird as hell! They are like handcuffs to the past when we kept animals as property, and yet now they serve no purpose save companionship and comfort (which, don’t mistake my feeling, are lovely things to have). Shouldn’t we, as highly evolved creatures, be beyond keeping chattel as sentimental yet pointless companions? They are like any other tchotchke adorning our house or person, except that we pick up their feces and run after them like nurse maids! Having a pet is such an accepted, mainstream part of modern human existence that people take little time to step back and think about it. If they took more time, they might realize just how ridiculous it is.

Charlie, Driver, Scholes email: bitch@newyorkmoves.com snailmail: Moves: PO BOX 4097 Lex. Ave New York, NY 10163

009

contents

features 008 bitch shout it as loud as you like 010

backstage how we do it

014

cover story daymond john

022

rant backsliding

024

dish downward dog

028

can’t buy me love soulmates

032

you cannot be serious climate change

036

profile shea whigham

044

fashion indochine

050

profile leah bonnema

052

profile jessie buckley

Taylor Schilling photography by Robert Ascroft 006

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Climate Change

How much longer

noom i r ap a ce JUST BEL IEVE I T!

M OV E S MENTORS 2 019 Sa l ly Hawk i ns we l ove you

BUG FARMS

a m i t e t o o so on?

SHEA WHIGHAM His Method TAYLOR SCHILLING sooo coooool

Daymond John Best dressed Shark

leave on stands through 07 2019