Hipster Must-Read: Female Chauvinist Pigs

A male friend of mine had a copy of the book Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy in his room recently. Me being me, I picked it up and started to read and next thing I know, I was swiping this book from his place with promises to return it the next week. Less the two days later, I'm bypassing the returning of this book with hopes to share it with everyone I know, male and female.

Now, I am not a hard-core feminist. But every once and a while, a good, strong feminist piece of literature speaks to me. Levy's book focuses on the rise of raunch culture, meaning Playboy, Girls Gone Wild, and the like. She believes that due to the increase participation of women in these raunch culture arenas, we as women are no longer allowing just men to objectify us, but we are no objectifying each other and ourselves.

Well, I'm not going to go in detail about the entire book, it's far too short and a quick read for me to do that. But I am suggesting you read it. Now. Go.

It may not change your life, but it will definitely cause a greater sense of awareness at all the young, female stupidity around you. It's worth a shot, right?

Where to Eat: KIF

A couple weeks ago, I met a guy. Nothing particularly special, just a guy I met at work, and he asked me one of the best questions I've ever been asked: Good Sex or Good Food? Well, most people will initially react with the answer, good sex. However, I found myself pondering this question for a few minutes before answering, a good meal beats good sex any day of the week.

Shortly thereafter, I headed down to Fort Greene to have dinner with my best friend, Paige. She suggested we try a restaurant in her neighborhood that she had yet to try called Kif. Kif doesn't look too fancy, moderately priced, and dimly lit. It was also Moroccan food, which due to my sheltered small-town Western life, I had yet to try.

I decided on Tagine, a traditional Moroccan stew made with meat, veggies, and a side of couscous. I went with lamb, seeing as I never buy lamb myself, and had decided to spoil myself on this given night. The meat was tender, falling off the bone everytime I tried to take a bite. The veggies were hot and juicy and moist, and the couscous collected all the extra sauce at the end of my meal. Top it off with a Casa (the only Moroccan beer they had on the menu), and I was in heaven.

I don't know what it is. The fact that my taste buds have been completely satiated, the pleasant company of my best friend, or the cozy atmosphere, but I have not been able to stop thinking about that meal at Kif. It has only inspired me to try more exotic cuisines and be more brave with my restaurant choices, it's also made me make an entire batch of couscous to have in my fridge at my disposal.

Hipster Must-See: The Wackness

I have a tendency to joyfully watch horrible movies. If it has zombies, violence, young girls being bitchy, etc., I usually enjoy rather thoroughly. I find myself needing to be in a certain mood in order to sit through a serious movie. Last night, I happened to put myself in that mood and Netflix had sent me The Wackness, so I geared up to be depressed. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.

Set in New York City in 1994, The Wackness has a great plot, great acting, and a great soundtrack. Josh Peck, best known for his role in Nickolodeon's Drake and Josh pleasantly surprised me with his serious acting ability. Starring opposite Ben Kingsley, Famke Jansen, and Mary-Kate Olsen, Peck delivered a thoroughly impressive performance as a young, in-love, and genetically fucked up drug-dealer. It is safe to say that I now have a crush on him. His love interest, Olivia Thirlby, who is somewhat recognizable for her various other roles, did an amazing job as well. Rounding out the younger cast was Mary-Kate Olsen, who I seem to remember doing press across the country for this film. While she was great for the fifteen minutes she was in the film, I seemed to feel as though with all the hype of her being in the film, she really should have had a larger role, or just less publicity. Okay, I love Mary-Kate Olsen, so I really don't care either way, but it makes me hate society a little bit more.

Growing up in the late 1990s, I was too young to really take full advantage of everything a movie in 1994 could bring. I feel as though if I would've been in high-school at that time I could have appreciated the movie so much more then I did. Either way, I really enjoyed the film and would highly recommend it to any of my friends. I feel as though it is easily a film that can transcend various generations, being able to reach out to everyone.