Carousel: Fancy Tiny House Regret, Celebrity Divorces, And Nicki Vs. Taylor

Yue Ning by Shao Jia for Numero China January 2013

And just like that, July is over. Boom! I hope you had a wonderful month, with plenty of adventures and romance (either with another person, or all by yourself!). There was so much great content published in July. Here are my favourites…

Conscious optimism vs. lazy, pseudo-spiritual optimism. Please make a choice.

Oh my goodness. This made me laugh. Dear people who live in fancy tiny houses, do you ever wake up wondering, “I’ve made a huge mistake?”

Here are 6 steps you can take to start healing from trauma right now.

The Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, is not pretty.

The art of self-promotion: here are tips for getting your work discovered.

On trolls, vulnerability, and speaking your truth anyway. Sing it, Leonie!

Have you seen anyone with a semicolon tattoo? Here’s what they’re all about.

There’s an empty town in Sicily that is giving away free houses.

27 Funny, Random, And Bizarre Things People Have Bought Online While Drunk. Such obvious clickbait but it’s pretty funny.

Orange Is the New Black Is the Only TV Show That Understands Rape.

Lena Dunham on marriage, feminism, and equal rights.

Here’s how marketers are capitalising on pot’s new lady demographic.

Where’s the female stripper movie of my dreams? (Also: I saw Magic Mike XXL in Nebraska with my friend Angela. It was… amazing.)

John Waters gave a great speech and this is the video as well as some highlights if you don’t have time to watch it.

“Contemporary art’s job is to wreck what came before — is there a better job description than that to aspire to? … Go out in the world and fuck it up beautifully… Horrify us with new ideas. Outrage outdated critics. Use technology for transgression, not lazy social living… It’s your turn to cause trouble — but this time in the real world, and this time from the inside.”

Obama is going to visit a federal prison and VICE is going to make a documentary about it. It will make Obama the first US sitting president to visit a federal prison. Isn’t that messed up? Criminal justice reform is going to be a priority for his remaining time in office.

Big Biba was the shit.

Detroit is the new Brooklyn, according to some.

How come Twitter hasn’t changed in almost a decade? Maybe because no one who works there can really define what Twitter is.

Here’s how to maximise vacation happiness, and some stuff about how buying experiences makes us happier than possessions. Plus, planning your vacation in more detail (and further out) gives you more reason for happiness, too.

“When one buys an experience, they seem to be buying themselves a story as well,” said Dr. Amit Kumar, a social psychologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business who studies the relationship between money and happiness. “So one way vacations continue to provide hedonic benefits even after they’ve long since passed is because they live on in the stories we tell.”

People who are socially anxious might avoid more prestigious brands, because of sensitivity to social cues. Interesting stuff.

I turned off all notifications on my phone a few months ago, and it has helped me be so much more productive. New research has shown that just hearing your phone buzz hurts your productivity! Turn off your notifications! Save yourselves!

How do publicists handle celebrity divorce? This is amazing!

If you have a reality star who enjoys attention, you handle it very differently. You’ll stage photo ops. You’ll stage the paparazzi when they’re walking down the street looking very sad, wearing black. Even Princess Diana was not above this. She went to the most romantic building in the world, the Taj Mahal, and cried on a bench by herself in front of the press.

I went on a bit of a Maureen O’Connor binge after that celebrity divorce article. Here are some other goodies: how tarot became the trendiest party game, de-cluttering is the new juice cleanse (and equally annoying), and clique-stalking: Instagram’s greatest social pleasure.

Money, sex, and Las Vegas pool parties. On shaving, employment, discrimination, and wearing a bikini every single day.

Similarly: can you be a waitress and a feminist?

11 things I quit to get financially healthy.

If you talk to yourself, you’re not nuts. Actually, you’re a genius.

Amy Poehler fucking rules. The end. There is so much good stuff in this article about feminism, female friendship, and not apologising for where you’re at. HELL YES.

Female anger isn’t praised much in our culture, but it can be kind of exciting, I say. “It is exciting, isn’t it?” she says, her eyes lighting up. “It’s super-exciting to not care if you’re liked, and to watch someone’s face as they realise that. It’s fun defying expectations about me. It’s a nice secret weapon.”

What’s something wealthy people buy that poor people know nothing about? Fascinating.

Millionaires don’t use to do lists.

If you have Libra rising, this is how you should dress. Love!

There’s a difference between “putting food on the table” and nourishing your life – it’s about attitude, not money.

Oh, fashion blogging.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve masturbated? Here are 24 people’s stories.

The Future Looks Bright: a Q&A with Caitlyn Jenner.

Yoko Ono’s mended cups are awesome and yes, you can buy them and drink your coffee out of them!

Sarah Jessica Parker sold her townhouse in the West Village and it is preeeeeeetty amazing, as you might imagine.

Places to take a date in NYC! Or just go for a romantic dinner. Or a #radicalselflovedate!

Science explains why we love assholes. Gosh.

What do we really need to know about the female orgasm? Here are some ideas. In other words, ladies, GET YOURS!

Eve Ensler on Bill Cosby: let the mythical daddy die. On that topic: I didn’t want to let black America down. Here are the stories of the 35 women who have come forward.

Blame the Princess: Chasing the Fairy-Tale Wedding. How depressing.

This doctor literally feels what you feel, because he has mirror touch synesthesia.

I love these tips. LOVE THEM. 28 stealworthy tips from the most productive people on the planet. And they’re not the usual tips, either.

Theory: Mutable Moons are when information comes to us easily. Fixed Moons are for grounding and firming a stance. Cardinal Moons are when you initiate. Yes!

If you have sparse eyebrows, you should definitely try this!

Here are some productivity tips Alex learned from her sexy chef boyfriend.

Trainwreck (which is SO funny and good) is a romantic comedy, but it’s actually a love letter to Amy’s sister.

Everything changes now… If you say so.

Bad days vs good days is not the same as hard vs easy.

When you get through the pain, this is what happens: Near-blinding radiance. OMG, yes.

Six months in: What Louise has learned from moving from London to Los Angeles. I adore Louise!

Yes, Nicki! Twitter defends Nicki Minaj after Taylor Swift feud. And then Kim Kardashian got involved. And Meek Mill tweeted that Drake doesn’t write his own raps! Aahaha! Dyingggggg.

God, yes. How hard are you trying, really?

Awww! 50 Happy Little Things Bob Ross Taught Me About The Joy Of Being Alive.

Here’s why Amy Schumer is an amazing feminist.

On Sandra Bland and the terrifying truth of being a Black American.

The strange phenomenon of skin orgasms. I have these ALL THE TIME. Now I know I’m not alone!

If a song follows the conventions too closely, it is bland and fails to capture our attention; if it breaks the patterns too much, it sounds like noise. But when composers straddle the boundary between the familiar and unfamiliar, playing with your expectations using unpredictable flourishes (like appoggiaturas or sweeping harmonic changes), they hit a sweet spot that pleasantly teases the brain, and this may produce a frisson.

Hmmm. Here are the penis beauty standards.

Here are three real life vampires talking about bloodlust and hunger… Wow.

Orange Is The New Black explored how faith and religion fails women in Season 3. And it was awesome.

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Love always,

Photo of Yue Ning by Shao Jia for Numero China January 2013.