TueDo List: Holiday Cover Songs + The Color Purple + Gen-X Gifts

Paying tribute to our dear friend, Benish Shah

Dec 20, 2023

*(l-r) H.E.R., Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, and Taraji P. Henson in* The Color Purple *(Photo: IMDb)*

THIS WEEK

📖 READ: “The most controversial thing I’ve ever done is to stick around.”—Madonna. The comforting power of pop culture. What’s old is new again (and again). Why holiday nostalgia hurts so good; what will people feel nostalgic about in 20 years? “I feel fine in my body. It’s just no one else does.” —Tara Reid. Today’s Hoda Kotb feels no shame as an older mom.

👀 LOOK: Pics that would make awesome album covers. What it’s like to live in a Canadian town where hundreds of Hallmark movies are filmed. ‘90s geek chic and return of Bayonetta glasses. Where’s Waldo except filled with pop culture characters. LEGO’s nod to a ‘70s classic. Movie and TV adaptations of “A Christmas Carol” ranked and where to stream them.

🎧 LISTEN: Holiday party guide for introverts (podcast). Alanis Morissette’s cover of “Last Christmas” (Whamageddon be damned). A totally rad rebel Navidad. U2 singing “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home” live.

🤣 LOL: When Tracee Ellis Ross tried to remove her ponytail extension. New banger alert: “Tampon Farm,” featuring BFFs Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig.

📺 WATCH:

This week: ICYMI, Barbie is now streaming (Max).
Wed: Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (Netflix).
Thurs: The highly anticipated sci-fi epic Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire (Netflix).
Fri: Jason Momoa, Michael Keaton, and Nicole Kidman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Theaters). Anthony Hopkins plays Sigmund Freud in Freud’s Last Session (Theaters). The acclaimed film Saltburn will be available for streaming (Prime Video).
Christmas Day: A new take on the beloved classic, The Color Purple (Theaters).

In Memory of Benish Shah

*Benish Shah, one of our storytellers at TueNight’s 2019 Live Event, helped to raise funds for Hello Neighbor, an organization supporting new refugees in the U.S. through mentorship programs.*

We were deeply saddened by the untimely passing of our dear friend, Benish Shah, a talented writer, marketer, lawyer, social justice advocate, and genuinely hilarious and kind soul. Benish wrote several heartfelt, family-oriented stories for TueNight and told a story live at our #DayofAction event in 2019. Today, we pay tribute to Benish's life by revisiting some of the stories she shared with us. Join us in honoring her memory through the witty words, insight, and warmth she brought to our community and her storytelling. The world has lost one gem of a human.

Holiday Gift Guide: 18 Gifts Gen-Xers Will Thank You For

Need some Gen-X gift ideas? We got you. From retro nods to fresh finds, we’ve pulled together a list of our absolute favorites. Here’s a list of things we wouldn’t mind opening.

Let's play Santa!

STORY: My Father’s Final Chapter Wasn’t What He Planned—and Created a Family Rift That Won’t Heal

*Snapshots of Penny with her Dad. (Photo courtesy of the author)*

By Penny Wrenn

My father died around midnight on September 9, 2021, and since that day, the hardest part of mourning his life has been accepting that he didn’t get the death he wanted.

In June of that year, I received a worrying call from Connie, my father’s wife. She told me that my 91-year-old father had lost his ability to walk and could no longer be cared for at home. By the tone of her voice, I knew at that moment that she wanted to place him in a facility. Likewise, I knew that her intention to do so would cause a rift in our relationship…

Read Penny's story!

Stay awesome, be safe, and cheers to you, TueNighters!

Ed. Note: We’ll be on a holiday break for the next few weeks. While we’re on pause, we highly recommend you check out awesome Substacks from TueNighters

Alisa Kennedy Jones

and

Liz Gumbinner

. Don’t forget to drop your favorites in the comments; we’d love to hear your recommendations. Catch you in 2024!