The TueDo List: '80s Music Pics + Oprah's Faves + VOTE!
And yet another reason to love Cyndi Lauper
THIS WEEK
📖 READ: Monica Lewinsky on why this midterm election matters so much. Related: Type in your address to find out which candidates on your ballot are pro-choice. Salt-N-Pepa finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Join us in resisting and rejecting all the ways thin is “in” again. MLK Jr. and Coretta Scott King paid for Julia Roberts to be born. As a trained Court Watcher, Fiona Apple was helping jailed people file civil rights lawsuits — until government officials retaliated. When she turned 50, Kenya Moore thought she’d have fewer opportunities. Instead: “I've never been so busy in my life.”
👀 LOOK: Next year we’re getting Toni Morrison on a U.S. stamp. A $330,000 Barbie Maserati (for a good cause). Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2022.
🎧 LISTEN: New music from SZA and John Oates (as in Hall). A cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” — played entirely on recorders. Meghan Markle, Issa Rae, and Ziwe discuss the “angry Black woman” trope on the Archetypes podcast.
🤣 LOL: FinalDraft_2.pdf. How to protect yourself against the revival of ballet flats. Deluxe reissue of The Cure’s “Disintegration” comes pre-covered in cat hair.
🛒 ADD TO CART: Music in the '80s, a 352-page book of some of photographer Lynn Goldsmith’s best shots, including an amazing one of Apollonia flipping off the camera.
📺 WATCH
Thursday: Blockbuster, a comedy series about the last Blockbuster store in the U.S. (Netflix).
Friday: Millie Bobby Brown and Helena Bonham Carter star in Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix), and Daniel Radcliffe shows his range in WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story (Roku).
Saturday: Amy Schumer hosts SNL (NBC, Peacock).
STORY: I Can’t Vote, But You Can
By Rachel Sklar
There is a very specific type of agony for a person living in the United States in 2022 who is civically engaged, passionate about social issues and cannot vote. Hi, that’s me. I’m Canadian. I’ve been in New York City for 24 years and one month. I have given birth to an American. But I do not have a green card and I am not eligible to vote.
Because I am Canadian, I am now going to engage in a time-honored expat-living-in-the-States tradition: debriefing on the vagaries of my visa status. The real ones know. And by “real ones” I mean “people who have been stressed out a whole heck of a lot at job changes and border crossings over the years, and probably pretty expensively.” This is a TL;DR for anyone who wants to get to the ranting part — I promise, it’s coming! — but every immigration story is a window into how hard it is to get into this country, contrary to what Fox News may suggest….
TUENIGHT 10: Alexis Howard, Making Bigger Shoes Chic
Age: 50.
Basic bio: Alexis is the owner and creative director of Etta Grove, a D.C.-based startup brand that designs and manufactures luxe, fashionable footwear in women’s size 7 to 14, and unique handbags too. Alexis launched Etta Grove with her two daughters, Kayla and Haley, and the brand is named after her grandmother, Etta.
Beyond the bio: Getting older is nothing like what I expected. It seems like just yesterday I was 16, then 21, then 30. Today, I still have hopes and dreams and much left to do in my life. I have had great friends in life who are no longer here and I count it a blessing to wake up every morning. It can be challenging to figure out your purpose, but sometimes you just have to wake up and say my purpose today is to keep moving, growing, being. I’ve learned, at 50, I am still growing and learning and hope to continue to do so.
What makes you a grown-ass lady? Youth has its perks, but I feel I am the best I have ever been. I am working on retaining and improving strength, flexibility, and balance. When I walk in a room, as a total package, I count myself as one of the “bad bitches” there.
Here’s her TueNight 10:
On the nightstand: CPAP machine, reading glasses, lamp . . . and probably dust.
Can’t stop/won’t stop: Thinking about all that I want to do in this next chapter of my life.
Jam of the minute: Anything Afrobeats. Great for chair dancing and head bopping. Helps while trying to get work done.
Thing I miss: I miss when my daughters were babies/toddlers. It was a lot of work, but I loved those sloppy kisses, tight hugs, and adorable giggles.
‘80s crush: Todd Bridges, Erik Estrada, Ralph Tresvant, Michael Jackson.
Current crush: All women who are working to make their dreams happen.
Latest fave find: Cute faux leather pieces at Banana Republic Factory. Very on-trend and sexy.
Last thing you lost: A $200 pair of Warby Parker sunglasses; I’m holding on to hope they are in my house somewhere.
Best thing that happened recently: I was named one of 10 finalists in the Summer 2022 Famous Amos/National Black Chamber of Commerce Ingredients for Success Grant. I did not win one of the three $50,000 grants but being named a finalist was a surprise and renewed my hope for finding funding for my business.
Looking forward to: The holiday season. I love holiday Hallmark movies, family gatherings, great food, giving to those I love and those less fortunate. I love the season of giving and the feeling the season gives.
We love your true colors, TueNighters!
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