don't miss what's on the internet's table this season
+ gifting ideas, AI convos, hats, and smelling good.
Apologies for the delay, readers - Ashe just couldn’t wake up 😭 [exam season is nigh]. Let’s wait no longer, for Ilze is on the intro:
Friends, congrats, we survived November! And Jacob Elordi & co can shave off whatever that was.
My feed—and probably yours too—is packed with Gift Guides. The shopping content overflow this season feels extra intense, no? Regardless of the target—whether it's a distant relative, someone who already has everything or a long-distance friend – they all seem to feature kitchenware.
Does that hold up in reality? Let’s take YOU as an example: how many kitchen items have you bought this year, or even in the past few months?
One of my friends recently justified her Le Creuset splurge with, “Girl gotta treat herself.” While another friend who joined a White Elephant game (a gift-swapping tradition played around Xmas time in the NL), said the kitchen knife he brought ended up being the most stolen gift. Same here: the sleek, sexy chef's knife I snagged in Tokyo is hands-down my best souvenir.
So, if you need a failsafe gift idea, swing by the Kitchen & Dining aisle.
📰newsy stuff📰
“Brainrot” is Oxford’s word of the year. Someone tell Henry David Thoreau.
Reeling from the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, many are talking about Netflix’s doc ‘Buy Now!’. It explores the exploitation connected to current consumption practices. rewrite!!!
Dr. Ally Louks posted a selfie with her English Literature PhD thesis (Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose) on X. The misogynists and ‘anti-woke’ crowd decided to harass her. A mix of anti-intellectualism and misogyny - how cliché.
Australia passed landmark rules to ban under-16s from social media
Alex Consani is the 1st transgender woman winning the Model of the Year title at the annual Fashion Awards in London. She also got into the Forbes 30 under 30 list, released on Tuesday.
But honestly, none of this compares to what’s going down in Georgia, South Korea, and around the world.
🧂here’s a pinch🧂
Proffee
The internet has found a way to ease the anxiety of hitting the daily protein intake while crushing that first wave of hunger: coffee with a scoop of protein powder, aka proffee. Women’s Health Mag seems overly enthusiastic about the trend because, as we know, a high-protein breakfast can stabilize blood sugar and prevent glucose spikes. It also claims proffee is extra creamy if that’s what you look in a coffee. Plus, it’s a solid pre-workout pick-me-up, adding energy and protein to help maintain muscle mass. Many gymbros swear by tossing creatine into their coffee for an energy boost, while some mix in collagen.
Trading Marshmallows for Bonemarrow
Bone broth hot chocolate is brewing buzz—protein-packed, allegedly gut-healing, and allegedly stem-cell-regenerating (if you believe the hype). All you need: milk of choice, bone broth (apparently there are ‘unflavored versions), and cacao powder (or chocolate flavored bone broth powder?), and any desired accoutrements.
Skeptics online side-eye it as a wellness gimmick, while fans insist, "don't knock it 'til you try it."
The audio on many of the viral videos speaks of an [uncited] ‘clinical study’. The study we assume is being referred to doesn’t seem to mention bone broth, just flavonoids (cocoa flavanols specifically). We haven’t read the entire paper, anyone well versed in academic medicine wanna shed some light on it?
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Auramaxxing perfumes
If the rise of functional fragrances weren’t sus enough, there are two new ones with hoax written all over them. Spirituality fragrances are touted as the next big thing, promising to amplify your ‘energy’ or ‘aura.’ Bella Hadid enters the chat with her Orebella in May, offering “aura-elevating scents,” and Kate Moss with ‘Sacred Mist’ to “uplift your aura.” Then there’s pheromone perfume, supposedly able to enhance and boost the natural scent of your skin, making you more magnetic. Don’t buy it? Can’t blame you. But sales are going up for both spirituality and pheromone perfumes.
Chatting ChatGPT
The internet is up in arms about increasing AI reliance. We’ve had a few years of intense AI-related conversations, but with the environmental impacts being more highlighted, and increasing users of AI chatbots for various reasons - an aggressive pushback was inevitable.
Now, people in education (teachers AND students) are sharing their fears regarding a skill erosion crisis - where individuals are less and less capable of tasks considered basic such as writing, reading comprehension, note-taking, active learning, and even using search engines. Why use ChatGPT* when you could use your brain and/or a Google search?
Some insist it's elitist to dismiss “ChatGPT’s”* practicality, praising it as a game-changing tool for everyone - claiming they “can’t live without it,”
Many uni students are swearing off ‘ChatGPT’*, aiming to prioritize authentic skill building and retention. However, some students deny using AI for things that require actual skill - like writing essays - and use it as a tool to help in revision (pssst, Google NotebookLM is a growing fav).
*While the general overall conversation is about AI, most users quoted here focus on ChatGPT or use ChatGPT interchangeably to mean AI - we did not want to assume their intended meaning so used the same words as them.
Cossack hat
ICYMI, last week we covered the booming microbeanie trend, which seems to be more of a guy thing. Meanwhile, ladies are channeling their inner Slavic queens this season with Cossack hats, aka kubankas—leather numbers lined with fur. Time to give your old beanie a break. Not feeling it? Faux fur bucket hats and balaclavas are trending too.
We Listen, We Don’t Judge’
A fun lil’ TikTok trend going on is where two people, usually partners or friends, roommates sit next to each other, say ‘We Listen, We Don’t Judge’ in unison, and take turns sharing deep secrets or confessions.
‘Turkish Pasta’
Influencer Anna Paul shared her mama’s quick ‘Turkish pasta’ with meat, veggies, and a yoghurt sauce - and TikTok is obsessed.
Some Turkish people are confused why it’s associated to them at all, others are saying it’s a manti inspired pasta (or just a deconstructed version).
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Candied Cranberries
‘Tis the season for a bag of sweet and tart cranberries. These sugar coated cranberries are all over Insta and TikTok, with various recipes using prosecco, orange juice, or even Sprite.
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