Lifehacker Guru

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Australian Firefighters Pose With Cats For 2020 Charity Calendar, And It’s Every Cat Lady’s Dream

Cat ladies know it’s that time of the year, again. Since 1993, firefighters from Australia’s Urban, Rural, Aviation, Armed Forces and Corporate fire-fighting services came together to create one of the world’s most iconic calendar, and  three years ago they added a cat calendar to their collection.

For 2020 they went even bigger and produced 6 unique calendars, featuring firefighters with cats, dogs, horses, wild animals, Australia native animals, in addition to the classic Firefighter Calendar.

In a sort of anticipation of the 2021 edition, when the first International Firefighters Calendar will be released, this year the calendars feature firefighters from Germany and France.

The good part of the story, apart from the ‘firefighters + kittens’ combo, is that these calendars support charities with a focus on native Australian, rescue, and therapy animals.

“We felt that it was important to help some of the smaller charities that the public never hears about. These grass roots organizations work tirelessly in their local community making a huge difference to people’s lives” says David Rogers, Director of the Australian Firefighters Calendar.

Below you can see a sneak peek of 2020 Australian Firefighters Cat Calendar, that is available now on their official website.

If you’re interested in knowing more about their work and charity, feel free take a look at their Facebook and Instagram pages.

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This year there are also a Horse, a Farm Animals and an Australian Native Animals edition.

Here are some photos from the other calendars

And it’s all for charity.

The Firefighters and Horses Calendar is pure perfection.

Not to mention the Australian Native Animals version.

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/a-guide-to-national-park-etiquette-tips-tricks/

A Guide to National Park Etiquette TIPS & TRICKS

bounty of wildlife, a network of forested hiking trails and access to sweeping panoramas of majestic peaks — America’s national parks are a natural playground for outdoor enthusiasts. And whether you’re conquering summits, enjoying a picnic in an alpine meadow or pitching a tent and sleeping under the stars, each visitor shares the responsibility of keeping America’s 61 national parks pristine. Learn how to promote land stewardship and safely experience the nation’s stunning wilderness by following both the written and unwritten rules of the Great Outdoors.

Share the Trails

Credit: Roman Khomlyak/Shutterstock

Hikers aren’t the only ones traversing the trails. Mountain bikers, trail runners, even horses and mules frequent many of the thoroughfares in national parks. No matter your method of travel, know your right of way and be mindful of signs directing each group. In general, hikers coming uphill have the right of way, so if you’re heading down, step to the side to let people up. Bicyclists are asked to yield to hikers and horses, and to be mindful of going too far off the trail where they might trample local plants. Finally, hikers should yield to horses and mules by stepping off the side of the trail. 

If you can’t remember these rules, just be polite and announce yourself as you come upon other people. A friendly “hello!” or “on your right” will alert others to your presence and help you avoid any collisions. 

Keep it Down

Credit: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock

While conquering a tough hike with your favorite tunes blaring from your phone may make the experience more enjoyable for yourself, relish in the sounds of nature instead. By keeping the noise from electronic gadgets to a minimum, other hikers as well as wildlife are given the opportunity to embrace the serenity of the Great Outdoors. Because many animals communicate through sounds to care for their young or defend their territory, the intense beats of the latest Top 40s hit can be disrupting. Similarly, video calling on your phone as you reach the summit of the peak takes away the peace from other outdoor enthusiasts, and is an open invitation for everyone else to bask in your achievement too. Pack a pair of headphones if you must and let nature do it’s thing.

Stay on Track

Credit: Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock

Signs encouraging hikers to remain on trails are posted throughout America’s national parks, but we’ve all veered off path at some point to yield to horses and hikers making their way uphill or to dodge a puddle. If you must step off the path, be mindful of nearby plants or animals, as doing so poses the risk of killing or damaging these delicate species. And please, don’t leave the path for the perfect picture. Not only is it harmful to the local ecosystem, but it can be downright dangerous if you venture too close to an unstable area. 

Forget Face Time with the Animals

Credit: Lorcel/Shutterstock

The popularity of social media platforms has sparked a phenomenon of wildlife selfies, saturating Facebook and Instagram feeds with photos of visitors posing next to and feeding them. But animals are generally territorial and have fierce instincts, prompting them to react when visitors get too close. Many wildlife are stressed by the presence of humans and routine interaction between the two can cause the animals to permanently alter their behavior patterns. 

While wildlife at the national parks are fascinating, it’s important for visitors to respect their territories by viewing from a safe distance. Turning your back on the bison at Yellowstone National Park and taking these selfies for social media for a purpose other than conservation can send the message that these animals are safe and approachable, prompting others to do the same. 

Choose Local Firewood

Credit: davidmarxphoto/Shutterstock

S’mores and steaming mugs of hot cocoa around a cozy campfire after a day on the trails are part of the classic camping experience. But upon entering a national park campsite, many rangers ask whether or not you’ve transported firewood from elsewhere, and issue a friendly reminder to only use what’s provided on site. As trees are often logged due to disease or damage, sometimes this ends up as firewood that people take camping, potentially transporting invasive species. Any active insects can manifest themselves at the campsite and target areas of particularly weak forest growth. By buying local and certified heat treated firewood, you help control and limit the transport of foreign pests.

Also be sure to check fire restrictions when entering the park. Most parks will have signs posted clearly when fires are banned, but it always helps to check on the website ahead of time to prevent starting an open flame in the middle of the dry season.

Pups on the Trail

Credit: Spring_summer/Shutterstock

While some trails at national parks are dog friendly, some enforce a strict no dogs policy. And even if your pet is allowed on the journey, it needs to be leashed up to six feet. As our furry friends are natural predators, they can impose stress on wildlife by running loose and chasing after deer and bunnies, leaving the prey with little energy to escape other wild predators. Off-leash dogs on the trail can also trample over or dig up vegetation native to the region, disrupting the delicate balance in the ecosystem by dispersing plant seeds that are potentially invasive. 

While national park experiences can be made more enjoyable by watching your pup bound up the wooded trails, double check the regulations at each national park to keep both your dog and wildlife safe. This applies to cats and other pets you might bring along. 

Practice Zero Waste and Safe Food Storage

Credit: Amy K. Mitchell/Shutterstock

Savvy campers know to store their food inside their hard walled RV, trunk of the car or on-site storage locker in the event that wildlife comes searching for food. Because many animals consider food as anything that emits a scent, leaving your toiletries and cooler out on the picnic table or in your tent puts yourself and animals in danger as they come rummaging through your belongings. 

It’s estimated that black bears can detect food from up to 20 miles away as they rely on their heightened sense of smell for survival. Consuming human food will encourage bears to return to the same area where it was found, conditioning them to lose their fear of humans overtime. 

Practice leaving a clean picnic area and campsite at the national parks by bringing out what you pack in and securing any food or strong-smelling items in safe spots.

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/10-easy-updos-you-can-do-with-second-day-hair/

10 Easy Updos You Can Do With Second-Day Hair

Whether you look forward to second-day hair or loathe the idea of styling oily strands, there’s always tons of hair inspo to go around (thank you, Pinterest). To keep your mornings panic-free, we’ve rounded up 10 easy updo tutorials to replicate when you’re in a hair rut.

From braids and buns to decorative hair accessories, keep scrolling to see our must-try second-day hairstyles for every hair type.

French Twist and Bun

A French twist, often referred to as the rope braid, is super easy no matter what your skill level.

Triple Knotted Updo

This updo consists of three knots down the center of the head that can be dressed up or down, and second-day hair will give you slightly more grip than freshly-washed strands.

Patterned Scarves

If your second-day hair is looking more like the fourth or fifth day, try accessorizing with a patterned hair scarf to cover any frizz or oil-slicked areas.

Twisted Double Buns

Best on textured hair, this look is all about practically perfect twists. Create four jumbo twists, bring them into two buns, and voila! You’re ready to head out the door.

Braid-Wrapped Bun

For most of us, a top-knot is a mainstay in our second-day hair routine. This version is totally office-appropriate with perfectly pinned curls and a pretty plait.

Pull-Through Braid

If you haven’t tried a pull-through braid, we highly suggest recreating this look. It resembles the look of a Pinterest-perfect braid, but it’s way easier.

Slicked Back Ponytail

We all have days with only two minutes to make our strands presentable before rushing out the door. In that case, this low, slick pony is a must-try.

Double Braid Space Buns

Space buns are still in style and for good reason. They’re fun, playful, and add youthfulness to any look. Simply flip your head and create two Dutch braids, then wrap them into messy buns.

Rope Braid

This Elsa-inspired rope braid looks great on any hair type and only takes three minutes or less to replicate.

Tousled Ringlets

Calling all curly-haired girls! Second-day hair means defined ringlets with a small amount of frizz. Place and pin curls in whatever direction you please to create a low bun.

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Go-To Guide: Mops

Is your home really clean if your floors aren’t? Behold, our favorite mopping systems.

BYANNE VENTURA

Was it Plato or my college roommate who said, “You can recognize a well-dressed person by their shoes”? Those same wise words apply to the home—it isn’t really at its best unless the floors are polished and cared for. In dressing, as in cleaning, we tend to take a top-down approach; we match the shoes to the outfit rather than the outfit to the shoes. When we clean, we start with whatever is at eye level, which makes perfect sense, since all the schmutz that we don’t manage to pick up with a sponge or duster ends up at our feet. The problem with this is that floors can end up getting short shrift—we run out of time or we’re just too tired to get to them.

When You Have Only a Few Minutes

Whoever invented the Swiffer system should get a Nobel Prize. When I just don’t have it in me to pull out a bucket and mop after changing beds, cleaning sinks, and dusting tables, I know I can count on the magnetic pull of Swiffer dry cloths to zilch those bummer dust bunnies. The Swiffer head pivots in all directions so you can slide it right under the bed or dresser without having to get into any complicated gymnastics. For the small or odd-shaped corner, my go-to is the 360 Degree Dusters Extender™, which works like an extension of your hand, allowing you get that gray stuff (what is that, anyway?) that’s been accumulating on the baseboards without bending. For deeper cleaning, try the wet cloths, which fit the same handle as the dry ones and are safe on any type of floor.

$4.99Swiffer® Sweeper Wet Mopping Refill (Set of 12)109109 reviews

$4.99Swiffer® Sweeper Dry Mopping Refill (Set of 16)447447 reviews

$11.99Swiffer® Sweeper Dry + Wet Cleaner Starter Kit12761276 reviews

If You Want to Cut Down on Waste

Casabella® makes dry mops with reusable cloths that go in the laundry, while the Swivel-It™ Duster Mop rotates in every direction, just like the Swiffer. The Everywhere Duster reaches all the spots a square head can’t.

$14.99Casabella® Everywhere Duster2626 reviews

Casabella® Swivel-It™ Duster Mop2424 reviews

Casabella® Swivel-It™ Microfiber Floor Cleaner in Ruby1616 reviews

If You Want to Go a Little Deeper

With so many delicious scented cleaners to choose from, taking the time to clean the floors the old-fashioned way can almost be a pleasure . . . almost. Another word that has probably never been used in the same sentence as “mopping the floor” is “glamorous.” But the rose gold Microfiber Magnet Mop from Casabella® could change that. This one might even tempt Lisa Vanderpump!

$5.99Method® 25 oz. Squirt and Mop Hard Floor Cleaner in Spearmint Sage

$7.99Mrs. Meyer’s® Clean Day Therapeutic Lemon Verbena 32-Ounce …2222 reviews

$24.99Casabella® Microfiber Magnet Mop in Rose Gold33 reviews

Now that you’re done mopping, where do you put the mop?. Leave it to the form and function wizards at OXO to solve that problem once and for all. “I haven’t owned a mop in years because they gross me out,” writes Melissa, a reviewer from Dana Point, Calif. “I love the stand-up design of this mop. When I’m done cleaning, I can prop it up to allow it to dry.”

$24.99OXO Good Grips® Butterfly Mop2424 reviews

If You’re Already a Pro

If you have children or pets, then a steam mop—the Rolls-Royce of mops—is a worthwhile investment. If you have children and pets you definitely need one, stat! These machines clean and sterilize using just water. Steam mops cost a little more, but judging from the enthusiastic reviews, owners dub them worth the price for their effectiveness and ease of use. Cami of Voorhies, N.J., likes the Shark® Genius™ and calls it “an awesome mop,” while 2tarzanacooks of Los Angeles writes, “I love my Shark Genius, so I sent one to my sister-in-law who had shoulder pain using her old mop. She loves her Shark Genius, and ‘Mrs. Clean’ says her floors look amazing! Easy to use. Your floors will sparkle!”

$119.99Shark® Genius™ Steam Pocket® Mop System318318 reviews

Let’s just hope Mrs. Clean doesn’t look at our shoes. With all the housework, we just haven’t managed to get to them.

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/5-ways-stress-can-affect-your-health/

5 Ways Stress Can Affect Your Health

While a little stress in your life is common, at the end of the day, too much stress is a bad thing. Not only can stress cause breakouts, weight gain or weight loss, and issues in the bedroom, but it can also severely affect your mental health.

If you’ve been feeling extra stressed lately from work, personal matters, or relationships, it’s important to take a step back from the issue and put yourself first. Below, we’re sharing five stress-related symptoms that can affect your daily life.

Breakouts Breakouts are caused by a combination of things – diet, exercise, oils of the skin, and hormones – but they’re also caused by stress. Stress can send your internal signals haywire, causing unwanted breakouts. And what do we do when we break out? Stress even more about it. So try to do something daily that clears your mind and helps you relax.

Weight gain and weight loss Stress can do some pretty weird stuff to the body, like raising your cortisol levels and causing your hormones to fluctuate. This can make you reach for that salty and not-so-healthy bag of chips. For some, it has the opposite effect and causes unexpected weight loss. Neither are good for the body when caused by stress, so make sure to stick to a regulated and healthy eating plan even in times of stress.

Tension in the body Have you had neck aches and headaches that only seem to pop up during difficult times? Those are likely tension headaches caused by stress, as your muscles are contracting due to emotional pressure. Therefore, it’s important to balance stressors in your life and not let them get the best of you.

Issues in the bedroom Stress can affect both women and men when it comes to getting intimate. Stress can cause a low sex drive and a dip in the libido, which might create issues between partners. So try taking measures to create a stress-free and safe environment for both yourself and for your partner.

Mood swings Mood swings and irritability are common symptoms of stress. If you feel snappy or quick to get angry at something or someone, it’s important to make time for self-care, whether it be taking a walk, soaking in a bubble bath, or hanging out with friends.

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Side Dish Recipes That Are Good Enough to Be the Main Course

Why not let the side dish be the main event? Sides like pasta salad, stuffing, and dip can easily transform into a delicious and hearty main course, especially when you serve them up in chic dishware like these ceramic side bowls from Our Place.

Here are our 10 favorite side dish recipes that are tasty enough to serve alone.

Make-Ahead Broccoli and Quinoa Salad

Unlike other raw veggies, broccoli absorbs dressing without wilting. Make a big batch of this side dish the night before (because it tastes even better the next day)!

Pasta Salad With Tomatoes and Corn

School may be back in session, but summer produce season isn’t over yet. Serve this pasta salad while tomatoes and corn are still at their peak.

Apple Sage and Sausage Stuffing

Stuffing is a must-have at Thanksgiving dinner, and the apples add a sweet twist to the classic side dish.

Panzanella With Mozzarella and Herbs

This Tuscan bread salad is the perfect end of summer meal to enjoy with a cold glass of rosé.

Asparagus and Potato Gratin

A gratin is usually served as a cheesy side to a roast. But if you add in other vegetables like asparagus, it transforms into a tasty vegetarian main course.

Couscous With Mushrooms and Herbs

Crimini mushrooms, peas, and cheese make this herbed couscous filling enough to enjoy on its own.

Mediterranean Style Zucchini Fritters

This mouth-watering recipe turns a child-friendly side dish into a sophisticated weeknight meal.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Cheesy artichoke dip topped with a delicious scallion relish? Yum! Serve this recipe with a side of bread and a glass of red wine.

Apple, Pecan, Farro Salad

Ready to initiate the beginning of fall? Make this heart-healthy salad with apples, pecans, and farro. It’s full of fiber and good fats!

Baked Quinoa Casserole

Turn quinoa into a protein-packed main course with this tasty, skillet-baked casserole.

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/4-endangered-natural-landmarks-that-must-be-preserved/

4 Endangered Natural Landmarks That Must Be Preserved

Natural landmarks often serve as hotbeds of biodiversity, sources of human sustenance, and critical equalizers of global ecological stability. Unfortunately, many such ecosystems are under severe threat from human activities. Here are four natural landmarks that must be preserved.

1. Amazon Rainforest, South America

Credit: FG Trade/ iStock

The Amazon is home to 10% of the world’s known species. It is also the world’s most important carbon sink. It is also one of the most endangered biospheres on the planet. We could go on.

The tropical forest was left untouched until the 1960s, at which point farmers adopted slash and burn agriculture. Since then, forests have been cut down and burned to fertilize the soil. (This is something many have been made aware of by recent news.) Rainfall makes the top layer of soil highly viable for crops, but turns the land barren over the years, forcing further and further decimation of the forest. However, slash and burn agriculture accounts for only a small portion of deforestation. It is estimated that 80% of deforestation is driven by cattle farming in the Amazon.

2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Credit: mevans/ iStock

“The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia,” according to UNESCO. “It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle.” 

It is also ever-closer to being wiped out. Farm pollution, port construction, and fishing all contribute to the decline in the reef, but global warming is the greatest threat to the biome. Rising water temperatures cause symbiotic polyps that live inside coral to migrate outward, leaving the coral bleached and unable to survive. When the coral dies, it removes primary producers from the food chain, leading to collapse. Bleaching events continue to occur in waves as a response to rising temperatures. In 2016 alone, 30% of remaining shallow-water corals were bleached.

3. Yangtze, China

Credit: Oleksandr Melnyk/ iStock

The Yangtze River in China is the world’s third longest river. The River supports half of China’s wildlife, including numerous endangered and endemic species. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most polluted rivers on the planet, holding 2.75 million tons of plastic, 55% of all marine plastic pollution. In addition to serving as home to rare and endangered wildlife, the Yangtze is an important source of water for people in nearby regions, but the region continues to face threats from continued rapid development and pollution.

4. Everglades, Florida

Credit: stellalevi/ iStock

The tropical wetlands of South Florida are a complex and unique ecosystem. It is one of the largest of its kind because it derives water from rainfall rather than from river flooding. Endemic species include the American alligator and the American crocodile as well as the critically endangered Florida panther. Within the Everglades, nine different ecosystems work together through feedback cycles to sustain life. While the state government aims to take action, development, nutrient pollution, invasive species, and sea level rise continue to threaten the Everglades.

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/meet-suki-the-cutest-bunny-with-big-wing-like-ears/

Meet Suki: The Cutest Bunny With Big, Wing-Like Ears

There are many adorable animals out there that just absolutely capture our hearts. Thanks to Instagram and other social media sites, we’re able to catch every moment of cuteness from many special animals.

Suki is an English Angora rabbit, and she’s one of those super adorable animals on Instagram you’re going to want to follow next.

This is sweet Suki.

Instagram | @wally_and_molly

Look at this model pose. She sure knows how to work the camera!

New Post has been published on http://lifehacker.guru/the-55-best-romantic-comedies-of-all-time/

The 55 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time

There is no “best” romantic comedy. Something is funny when someone laughs, or romantic when their heart swells, for better or for worse, and we have no right to say why one of these should top another. Your uncle, or cube-mate might say, “That’s stupid. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is obviously the best rom-com of all time.” And they may not be wrong. But maybe you have some reservations about the horrifyingly racist overtones in some of that movie’s scenes, even though you can’t help loving Audrey Hepburn. Maybe it’s the best for a certain time period. It’s tough. Comedy is subjective. So is romance.

It’s for this reason that we had such a good time making this list, at least initially. And lots of help. People keep a special place in their heart for romantic comedies. They talk about them differently than other movies, and they like to talk about them a lot. When the call went out, we heard from writers, editors, friends, moms, therapists, bartenders, people we hadn’t talked to since high school; the list goes on. The initial gathering of candidates was great fun; the subsequent reaping less so.

First, we had to limit the category. We love Dazed and Confused and it contains plenty of romance, and comedy, but we can’t be sure it’s a romantic comedy per se. Same with Secretary, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, My Girl, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and about 500 other films. We don’t have enough space here to get into exactly what makes a romantic comedy, but let’s agree that the fact it is not a tragedy or a history is not enough. Somewhere we have to draw the line between the actual rom-coms and the coming of age movies, or mysteries, or adventures.

It’s for this reason we need to apologize in advance: A number of your favorite romantic comedies will not be on this list. Some of them didn’t fit the mold. Others—and this part got a little heated—we just couldn’t get on board with. Decisions had to be made. Hopefully, as a benefit to any disappointment of missing favorites, you’ll find some new ones you didn’t yet know you liked. After all, that’s the message from Pretty Woman, right? It’s important to keep an open mind. Otherwise, you could be making a big mistake, big, huge.

These are the best 55 rom-coms for every situation. We hope you love them.

The Best Rom-Com . . .

. . . to put your one-night stand in perspective:

Obvious Child (2014)

Photo: Everett Collection

The hardest you’ll ever laugh about abortion. That’s right, abortion. Talk about playing with fire, but this tender, deeply human comedy from director Gillian Robespierre finds entirely new ways into the story of losing Mr. Wrong, then Finding Mr. Right (by having our hero, a struggling comedian—played by the irrepressibly honest and infinitely endearing Jenny Slate—get drunk with Mr. Right, sleep with Mr. Right, get pregnant by Mr. Right, and then deal with the consequences). While riotously funny, Obvious Child set a new standard for intimacy, and Robespierre’s ribbed, tone-perfect writing and Slate’s raw but intelligent performance managed to shape a millennial mirror more reflective than anything Girls could put forward in six seasons. And give us the abortion comedy we didn’t know we needed.

. . . to deal with your workplace crush(es):

Broadcast News (1987)

Photo: Everett Collection

In the mid to late ’80s, there was nothing bigger than TV news and James L. Brooks, and Broadcast News was their meeting ground. After the slaphappy, very silly, and very male comedies of the late ’70s and early ’80s (think Animal House, Porky’s, and Revenge of the Nerds), and alongside the epic big-budget projects like Ghostbusters and the original Indiana Jones, James L. Brooks continued to redefine what rom-coms could be with this sprawling, occasionally dramatic but never self-serious, workplace comedy. We root for Albert Brooks’s Aaron Altman, the brainy, nervous, serious journalist who competes for the affections of neurotic producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) against the impossibly polished (and intellectually inferior) Tom Grunick (William Hurt). Brooks is the producer behind films like Bottle Rocket, Say Anything . . ., and Big, and TV series like Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi, and The Simpsons. No one knows how to get at our hearts—thoughtfully, gracefully, and with humor—like James L. Brooks. And this is him at his peak.

. . . to see past a gruff exterior:

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

“Tale as old as time . . .” It really is. Lonely, powerful dudes have been making off with damsels and then hiding them away since at least Greek mythology and probably before. Where Disney scored with its animated musical was in—pardon the pun—reanimating that classic story line in a way that was appealing to our eyes and ears, and that of our kids’, while maintaining some real danger in the narrative. It’s a triumph they repeated with Aladdin and The Lion King, but is especially notable with a romance—making the stakes high enough—and real, even when accompanied by singing teapot—that we root for these characters to end up together.

..for when you’re in the mood for first love, Wes Anderson-style.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

“I will meet you in the meadow,” writes bespectacled Sam (Jared Gilman) to serious Suzy (Kara Heyward) as they prepare to run away together. Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, a whimsical tale of a romance betwixt a pair of wise-beyond-their-years 12-year-olds (beautifully art-directed and accessorized as always), is a tonic to the jaded palate. The children, with their barely sexual, pure-hearted affection for each other, could teach the misbehaving adults around them a thing or two about love. Who wouldn’t want to dance on the beach in their underwear to Françoise Hardy?

. . . to get you over getting over your ex:

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Courtesy Everett Collection

The credits of The Philadelphia Story read like something out of a dream: Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart vying for the love of Katharine Hepburn. It’s produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (writer of All About Eve and Cleopatra), and directed by George Cukor (who made 1954’s A Star Is Born, Justine, and My Fair Lady, and once told Marilyn Monroe, “That will be just fine, darling” when, about to film a skinny-dipping scene for Something’s Got To Give, she expressed her concern that she only knew how to dog-paddle). The Philadelphia Story relies on some dependable tropes—lovers who’ve fallen out; will-they-or-won’t-they-get-back-together—that have provided romantic tension from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Crazy, Stupid, Love. But it’s Hepburn, aiming for a comeback following some serious bombs, and her witty repartee with her two love interests, Grant (her yacht-designing reformed bad boy of an ex-husband) and Stewart (a tabloid reporter), that is the movie’s bread and butter. The Main Line has never been so well represented.

. . . to take on a trip:

Lost in Translation (2003)

©Focus Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

There was never any doubt that Scarlett Johansson was going to be a mega star, but Sofia Coppola’s movie—about the lonely wife of a photographer who befriends an over-the-hill movie star (Bill Murray) while visiting Tokyo—is what made the world stand up and realize we were dealing with a serious actor. Like many of the films on this list, Lost in Translation takes place in a bourgeois universe, where the greatest thing at risk is someone’s heart, or future emotional happiness, but few films have so effectively crystalized the alienation of both travel and marriage, as well as the difficulties of postcollegiate, and then midlife, malaise. The older man and the younger woman don’t so much meet-cute as crash into each other, picking up each other’s pieces, redeeming each other’s lives as they navigate their surreal setting. It’s a match made in heaven—and without spoiling anything, their goodbye scene is among the best in Hollywood history.

. . . to reevaluate your checklist:

Clueless (1995)

©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

The motherless daughter, caring for her father and looking for her prince, is a trope that goes back to the fairy tales, but how Alicia Silverstone (who plays our hero, Cher) and writer-director Amy Heckerling contemporized that narrative is what made what could have been a silly teen flick into an instant classic. They imported a Jane Austen story line of a meddling would-be matchmaker (Emma) into a bright pink, plastic, kids-are-adults world of Beverly Hills privilege populated by overly dramatic in-talk (“Whatever!”; “As if!”), lunatic high fashion, and decidedly un-relatable problems. At the same time, they maintained a storybook sensibility, and somehow kept our sympathies with the lovelorn Cher, whose insipidness is overshadowed by her charity, loyalty, and genuine goodwill. We believe she deserves love, and if she gets smart enough to stop looking for it in the “right” places, we want her to find it.

. . . to help you sort out what to do with the rest of your life:

The Graduate (1967)

Courtesy Everett Collection

This is the film on this list that is least certainly a rom-com; it caused a bit of a row, in fact. Some of us believe that this movie is ultimately too sad to give the viewer the warm fuzzies they depend on this genre for. Others argue that this line of thinking may confuse what’s depressing with what’s complicated. The story of the listless Benjamin Braddock, recent graduate of Williams College, who begins an affair with his father’s partner’s wife, and ends up falling for her daughter, did more to advance the critical value of comedy than perhaps any other film. (Not to mention the sexual viability of Williams grads.) There may be no more iconic line than Dustin Hoffman’s “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce” but this movie is so much more than dialogue. (Note: Hoffman might have been playing 21 when he said this line, but the actor was 29; Anne Bancroft, the supposedly senior Mrs. Robinson, was all of 35.) Oft-quoted, ripped off, referenced, and discussed, Mike Nichols’s 1967 romp through Braddock’s postcollegiate uncertainties was released a few months after the Summer of Love, as the counterculture had peaked and what Hunter S. Thompson called the “high and beautiful wave” was getting ready to roll back. Young America was, and to some extent still is, Benjamin Braddock, which reveals the power of this film.

. . . to ask for assistance in the ol’ love department:

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

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Tom Hanks had been responsible for some ’80s hits—Splash and Big—but with Nora Ephron’s 1993 film about a widower whose son calls in to a radio show in an attempt to find him a new wife, he cemented himself as America’s favorite, well, person. Meg Ryan, his competition for that title (at least in the ’90s), plays an unhappily engaged Baltimore Sun reporter who writes Hanks’s character on a whim, asking him to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building (cue: An Affair to Remember) on Valentine’s Day. Utterly contrived, but utterly charming, this quick, silly, funny film is pabulum superfood for anyone who believes in second chances and true love.

. . . to leave the past behind you:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

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No one has stolen more hearts than Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn). Based on Truman Capote’s 1958 (harsher) novella of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany’s—the story of a friendship struck between a rarely employed writer, Paul Varjak, and his neighbor, the naïvely beautiful Golightly, a freewheeling party girl whose lifestyle is paid for by the rich suitors who surround her—is a building block of our Hollywood romantic fantasies. It has the unclassifiable, magnetic object of affection, the reliable underdog who pursues her, expectations dashed, new friendships formed, true selves discovered, and an undeniably racist portrayal of an Asian landlord (by Mickey Rooney). Yes, it was a different era, but this detail can be difficult to ignore. That said, there are generations of viewers who consider this the greatest rom-com of all time.

. . . to get past that one little (or gigantic) flaw:

Moonstruck (1987)

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Cher plays a widowed bookkeeper in Brooklyn Heights confronting her parents’ infidelity (and fallibility) who—whoops!—falls for her fiancé’s younger brother (Nicolas Cage), who sports a prosthetic wooden hand after an accident with a bread slicer. Their first night together produces one of the great moments in the annals of rom-coms: When Cage tells Cher he loves her, she slaps him, saying “Snap out of it!” The film portrays a New York that doesn’t really exist anymore—for one thing, Brooklyn Heights is full of bankers now. It’s a window to another time, when marriage meant something different in male-dominated second-generation immigrant families and the challenges Cher’s character places against the social order are both important and revelatory (she won an Oscar for her efforts). You end up cheering not just for her romance, but also for an entire insurgency.

. . . to put the fuckboys behind you:

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

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Hollywood does this silly, shitty thing when they want to make it clear that a woman is “funny”: They make her clumsy. “Did you see that? She fell down in front of the boss she has a crush on while carrying many things! What a wit!” Thankfully, this film is actually funny, and so is Renée Zellweger, the titular Bridget Jones, who is 32 and a bit clumsy, and believes herself to be both a tad overweight and running short of romantic options. She confesses to her diary her feelings about the men in her life: her caddish colleague, Daniel (Hugh Grant), and her pill of a childhood friend, Mark Darcy (if that surname sounds familiar from one of your favorite literary comedies, that’s not by coincidence), who begin vying for her hesitant affections in their respectively charmless ways. Who will win—the nice guy or the jerk? The clumsy, funny, openhearted girl, of course! The story has a classic but important lesson to share: First impressions aren’t everything (and a fashion-related takeaway—never judge a man by his Christmas sweater).

. . . to make you even more neurotic about your love life:

Annie Hall (1977)

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Like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, this is one of those movies that any list of top rom-coms would be remiss without. Yes, Alvy Singer’s (Woody Allen) story about how he met, and then lost, and then maybe regained, the love of his life, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), is a wonderfully funny underdog-meets-girl story. But Allen’s uniquely observational humor also introduced some pioneering tropes and storytelling devices to the annals of rom-coms. The moment his grade school classmates stand up and give short peaks into their future (“I used to be a heroin addict; now I’m a methadone addict”). Or when Alvy interrupts a pedantic professor in a movie line—lecturing his date on Marshall McLuhan—by bringing the actual Marshall McLuhan out from behind a sign to set the man straight. These established entirely new directions for comedy. Moreover, Allen’s confessional style and the monologue with which he begins telling his warts-and-all fictional tale established a new paradigm for romantic storytelling, one that continues to influence rom-coms today (same for Diane Keaton’s outfits, but that’s a topic for another list).

. . . to get you pumped up:

Bring It On (2000)

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This is the pregame of romantic comedies. It’s a love story—between millennial hotties Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Bradford—packed into 98 minutes of jokes, rivalries, teen romance, and ridiculous cheers. (“Hate us ’cause we’re beautiful—well, we don’t like you either. We’re cheerleaders. We. Are. Cheerleaders!”) Some of us have defended this movie since it bowed (and then cartwheeled into an aerial walkover) in 2000 as a sharp appreciation of teen culture and teen cinema, both devoid of cynicism and long on wordplay. If you agree, welcome to the squad. If not, please keep in mind, “This is not a democracy; it’s a cheer-ocracy.”

. . . to take an break from yourself:

Roman Holiday (1953)

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There’s a wonderful moment in Roman Holiday—the story of a European princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, who tires of her duties and runs away from her handlers while visiting Rome—when Joe (Gregory Peck), a reporter showing her the city, puts his arm in the Mouth of Truth (a statue that supposedly bites off the hand of liars) and removes it with his hand missing. The princess screams—Hepburn was apparently not acting here—and then recovers. It’s a metaphoric yawp for all that a romantic comedy should be. It’s being taken by surprise, taken by a stranger, the discovery a new side of oneself while falling for someone else. And that’s just one moment!

. . . to get him into rom-coms:

The Princess Bride (1987)

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“Is this a kissing book?” Fred Savage’s little boy asks his grandfather, at his bedside to read him The Princess Bride when he’s home sick from school. Sure is, but it’s also a tale of swashbuckling, cruel kings, giants, swordsmen, poison, monsters, rebels, and knights—without a dull or unfunny moment. The kid, and the viewer, is quickly on board. More than anything, it’s a tale of true love, and fantastic as it might be, the adventure that leads the stable boy, Westley, back to his mistress, Buttercup (played by an impossibly beautiful Robin Wright), has left few hearts unmoved, and few faces without with smiles.

. . . to consider what you could have done differently:

Groundhog Day (1993)

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One of the few rom-coms that comes with both a stamp of approval from your philosophy professor and the Tony reaches of Broadway. A cynical Pittsburgh weatherman (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) on a dead-end assignment: to cover Groundhog Day. And boy, is it a dead end. Murray gets stuck there, not just in a snowstorm, mind you, but in a continuous loop where no matter what he does—including suicide—he wakes up in the same hotel, on the same day. At first, the weatherman is predictably bummed, but eventually he uses all the information he’s picked up living the same day over and over to better himself and the lives of those around him, eventually impressing Rita with his change of personality. Watching Bill Murray is fun, watching Bill Murray struggle is really fun, and watching Bill Murray caught in a space-time logjam, wrestling with moral philosophy while pursuing Andie MacDowell is the most fun.

. . . to find “our song”:

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)

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There’s something almost quaint about Norah’s search for her orgasm. The high schooler, played by Kat Dennings, is demeaned by her fellow classmates for having yet to experience the big O. It may sound tawdry, yet this plot point harkens back to a sweeter, John Hughes–era teen comedy (with a few switches flipped) wherein the search for a simple sex act was enough motivation for a number of scenes, if not an entire film. Norah’s lack of fulfillment isn’t what moves the action here; instead we’re on a search for her best friend and an oh-so-cool band’s secret show, with Nick’s (Michael Cera) hapless band, in his hapless car (a Yugo), through downtown New York City’s music scene. It’s a good-time flick, with cheerful performances and the kind of supporting cast (Ari Graynor as the beyond-drunk best friend) that make 90 minutes seem like a brisk 30. One of these is Alexis Dziena, who plays Nick’s very recent ex-girlfriend: She toyed with him and never appreciated the music mixes he made for her (spoiler: Norah loves them). Her “sexy” dance, in the glaring light of Nick’s high beams, to Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing” is one of the great falls from grace, and worth the price of admission.

. . . to inspire some big changes:

Pretty Woman (1990)

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Is there a rom-com list that doesn’t include this movie? What’s left to say about the 1990 tale of the beautiful, charming prostitute and the Wall Street corporate raider who meet and fall in love? Here’s director Garry Marshall’s (and Julia Roberts and Richard Gere’s) genius with this film: They make us forget about the various horrors of sex work and instead convince us the whole thing is kind of a lark. This film takes place in the late 1980s; a high-water mark in terms of the HIV crisis. Those things aren’t on our minds when we watch this movie (barring an early scene discussing methods of birth control); we think about stomping divots and Richard Gere conquering his fear of heights. So what? The Great Escape doesn’t exactly feature the horrors of World War II. That’s not the story they’re telling. Exactly our point. That’s how delightful this movie is.

. . . to make your arguments a little sweeter:

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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Here’s how cute rom-coms were in the 1930s: The entire plot rests on a dog burying a bone of a brontosaurus. Katharine Hepburn, whom the movie was written for, plays a whimsical, adorable socialite who has become besotted with an otherwise engaged (literally and figuratively) paleontologist, played by Cary Grant, and is trying to keep him around so he won’t go marry some pill. Her strategy for doing this is to invite him to her house so that he can help her bring a baby leopard to the city. (Later, the dog and the leopard wrestle.) This is what we call a screwball comedy. It’s also priceless, with Hepburn peppering Grant in her sweet, Gatling gun style, and Grant, playing stiff, as if any man, never mind a mild-mannered paleontologist, could ever resist such wiles.

. . . to make it a girls night:

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

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Why is there no actual Shakespeare on this list? Because often a three-hour production: (1) is rarely funny, and (2) doesn’t really fit into a modern romantic comedy structure. Instead, we have movies that are actually fun to watch, like Shakespeare in Love, and this one, a teen-ready take on The Taming of the Shrew. There are some cute turns from youngsters Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, and Larisa Oleynik, but ask most women and the performance that sticks out is Heath Ledger’s, whose thuggish Patrick Verona made many of us weak in the knees. Like Bring It On, and unlike most films, especially teen films, this one is female focused. They’re the moral centers. The heroes we cheer for. And they are active in as much as the narrative as they are subject to it (rare!).

. . . to better understand your parents:

Beginners (2011)

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“The History of Sadness” is a sketchbook drawn by Ewan McGregor’s Oliver, a graphic designer who is dealing with the recent coming out of his septuagenarian father, Hal (Christopher Plummer—who won an Oscar for his performance). Hal’s new openness about his own life inspires Oliver to reevaluate his own sadness and pursue a lovely French actress, Anna. It’s an incredibly touching, difficult story, told mostly in flashback, that involves Oliver coming to grips with his father’s past, his parents’ relationship, his own choices, and his art. But it’s ultimately a love story. A story about how our parents love us, and each other—despite the difficulties imposed society, time, and work—and how in turn, we learn to love, or not. We’re all beginners, in all our loves, and to think otherwise is foolhardy.

. . . to freeze some already cold feet:

The Wedding Singer (1998)

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Millennials might not realize from Adam Sandler’s recent descent into perennial schlock (some of it racist and sexist)—like The Ridiculous 6, Blended, Jack and Jill, and Grown Ups—that his movies were, at one point, very funny. Billy Madisonand Happy Gilmore are ’90s classics, and The Wedding Singer, his only rom-com from that era (there’s some debate over whether P. T. Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, released in 2002, qualifies as such), is a hilarious, touching ode to traditional values. Set in the ’80s, Sandler’s Robbie Hart is a wedding singer (and hopeless romantic) recently left at the altar who helps Drew Barrymore’s Julia plan her wedding to the wrong man. Sandler and Barrymore’s chemistry is off the charts, and this film—not Mad Love, sorry—established the actress as rom-com gold (see Never Been Kissed, 50 First Dates, and Fever Pitch). The romance is great, the jokes are great, the costumes are great, and not to ruin anything, but Billy Idol is pretty great too.

. . . to get you singing and dancing (and maybe moving to L.A.):

La La Land (2016)

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The highway scene. Ryan Gosling hunkered over the piano. Emma Stone embodying “irrepressible.” His dance on the boardwalk. Her spins. The way she pulls at her dress. The way he grins while he smolders. Their love. It’s a panacea for the reasons we go to the movies. At no point do we believe they won’t end up together, but we stay transfixed, in fact we tap along. For younger viewers—those of us who might not have drank down the moving magic of Singin’ in the Rain, West Side Story, or Gigi—Damien Chazelle’s La La Land forgives those lapses. It embraces their greatness as it embraces us in its giant, vibrant arms. We lean closer to the screen, not to learn but to feel for the whole experience of youth and performance: all that hope, drive, sweat, and love. Can’t forget love.

. . . to kick-start your career goals:

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

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Here’s the thing: You’re not really allowed to like La La Land if you don’t like Singin’ in the Rain. Or, you at least have to watch it; it’s the original musical about making it in Hollywood. The story of a sellout leading man (Gene Kelly) who falls for the chorus girl (Debbie Reynolds) who might just change his life (and he hers), this 1950s romp through 1920s Hollywood really has it all: singing, dancing, and bedrock songs like “Make ’Em Laugh,” “Good Morning,” and of course, “Singin’ in the Rain.” It’s cute as hell and tap-happy to the extreme.

. . . to unplug from the office (and get your due):

How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)

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The movie that inspired 90 percent of vacation hookup jokes since 1998 (but seriously, we need to talk about Taye Diggs in a puka shell necklace; the man can make anything look good). Workaholic executive and single mom Stella (Angela Bassett) finds more than she bargains for when her best friend, played by Whoopi Goldberg, convinces her to take a much-deserved Caribbean vacation. Cheeky, subversive, and sexy as hell, this movie turned the tables on so many male-dominated rom-coms (courtesy of one very hot and heavy matchup between Bassett and Diggs, playing some 20 years her junior)—and passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. One of the very few rom-coms to do so.

. . . to get dressed up for:

Tootsie (1982)

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Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a New York actor who is such a perfectionist, no one wants to work with him. So he does what any rational man would do: He dresses as an entirely different person—an older woman who goes by then name of Tootsie—and lands a role on a soap opera where he becomes a sensation. Problems arise when he falls in love with his costar (Jessica Lange) and a fellow castmate, an older man, falls in love with him. It’s madcap and zany but also profoundly funny, with insights aplenty—it sends up television, sexism, and New York society—and performances that were Oscar-worthy (Lange’s in particular—of Tootsie’s 10 Oscar nominations, she’s the only one who walked away with a statue).

. . . to reevaluate the nice guy (and the bad boy):

Something Wild (1986)

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Before Johnathan Demme decided to win an Oscar and scare the pants off an entire generation with The Silence of the Lambs, he was an ’80s funnyman. And this is his best work. It’s the story of a mild-mannered exec (played by Jeff Daniels), whose sedentary life is turned upside down by the wildly adventurous, somewhat grifting Lulu (Melanie Griffith)—whose checkered past includes a roustabout, criminal ex-boyfriend played by Ray Liotta. The idea of a “crazy” girl coming in and turning a straight man’s existence topsy-turvy is repeated countless times in this genre, from Bringing Up Baby to The Girl Next Door. Demme’s alchemy here is to infuse the trope with unpredictability. The comedy keeps us on the edge of our seats by compounding the will-they-won’t-they question with sudden breaks into violence, threats, or chase. Rom-coms don’t get more exciting than this.

. . . to escape it all:

Midnight in Paris (2011)

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The love story here is as much between writer-flaneur Gil Pender and Paris as it is between Gil and any of the women in this film. While visiting the French capital with his uptight fiancée, Inez (a sublime Rachel McAdams), and her parents, each night Gil goes walking and finds himself in the City of Light of the 1920s, complete with Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, the Fitzgeralds, Man Ray, Josephine Baker, Cole Porter . . . and a beautiful woman named Adriana (Marion Cotillard). It’s a writer’s fantasy made real (Stein volunteers to read his novel), but it’s also Woody Allen at his most effective: taking the vicissitudes of relationships and turning them into a mirthful, if neurotic, journey. This one just happens to also navigate through another time and place as well. And a beautiful one, at that. There’s a reason this is Allen’s highest-grossing film of all time.

. . . to escape the friend zone:

When Harry Met Sally. . . (1989)

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If this list were a top 20 instead, this film would still be on it. Same with top 10—and five. It’s in the running for the best rom-com of all time because it is sassy, sultry, snappy, cinematic perfection, thanks to words from Nora Ephron and direction from Rob Reiner. It’s something of an epic of the genre, spanning over 10 years of the kind of friendship (between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s characters) where no one can help but ask, “Why aren’t those two together?” Should friends ever sleep together? If they do, what happens next? This movie should be watched by every college student on the planet. Bonus: Watch this movie with a boyfriend, and pay attention to what happens to his face during Meg Ryan’s most famous scene, in which she illustrates just how easy it is for a woman to fake an orgasm.

. . . to unite with your crew:

Bridesmaids (2011)

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Who ever thought getting food poisoning in a wedding dress could be so funny? Bridesmaids is as much a buddy comedy (think Old School or Twins) as it is a rom-com, proving that female actors can be just as bawdy and into gross-out humor as their male counterparts in The Hangover. This is about the love between friends, yes, and the agony that comes with maturing at different paces, but what ultimately drives the film is the desire of Annie (Kristen Wiig, who also wrote the script, with Annie Mumolo) to catch up. This movie isn’t as much about what we have as about what we’re missing, and how a wedding can bring that to the fore. Along with nonstop laughs, we get a powerhouse performance from Wiig—even as Melissa McCarthy steals the show.

. . . to remind you that guys will try anything:

There’s Something About Mary (1998)

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Before we had a president who bragged openly about grabbing women “by the pussy”, this is what qualified as a gross-out film. Amid scenes of semen being used as hair gel and testicles jammed in zippers, the Farrelly Brothers managed to concoct an amiable story about a nerdy Ted (Ben Stiller) hiring a private detective to find Mary (Cameron Diaz), the object of his unrequited love in high school. Despite the over-the-top locker-room gags, the movie has virtually no sex, and manages to emerge as hilarious, sweet, and satisfying.

. . . to make up your mind, dammit:

Manhattan (1979)

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Elephant in the room: Yes, this is Woody Allen pursuing a high school student (a luminous Mariel Hemingway). It was also made in 1979, and that didn’t carry quite the same connotations as it does now. The year is important, because as the film’s title suggests, this movie is as much about New York as it is about the lovers who collide inside of it (Allen’s character, Isaac, begins the film dating the high schooler, but leaves her for his friend’s mistress, played by Diane Keaton). In the mid-to-late 1970s, New York was a bit of a cesspool: Crime was out of control, repeated requests for federal aid were denied, and the city was on the edge of bankruptcy. It’s in the wake of this tumult that Allen pens his black-and-white love note to his fair city. The film opens with a montage of New York’s skyline and street scenes, revealed to “Rhapsody in Blue,” and Allen’s voice-over as Isaac, writing about his romantic love for the city. That’s where he gets us with this film; Allen crystalizes the outsize feelings that can swell with romance, despite any and all evidence that should temper them. It’s a movie about indecision, bad choices, and falling for the wrong people, but it celebrates the impetus for all of these. We love the things we shouldn’t. That’s life. That’s Manhattan.

. . . to know if he’s worth the trouble:

Say Anything. . . (1989)

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If for no other reason, you need to see this movie so you’ll understand what it means when someone holds a ghetto blaster over his head outside the window of the woman he loves. Like most of the teen romance flicks on this list, Say Anything. . . doesn’t end at the Big Dance. This movie, from director Cameron Crowe (and produced by James L. Brooks) is far too sophisticated for such a middling finale. It’s too busy diving into the angsty, all-consuming, awkward challenge that is young love, as embodied by consummate underdog Lloyd Dobler and his attempts to woo the beautiful valedictorian Diane Court.

. . . to get him back:

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

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If The 40-Year-Old Virgin was evidence that Steve Carell could be a romantic lead, this was the proof. Alongside Julianne Moore, as the cheating wife he wants to win back, and with Ryan Gosling, who plays his cad coach, as well with a terrific performance from a teenage son who loves his babysitter, who in turn loves his nice-guy dad, Carell is well matched. Throw in Kevin Bacon as a romantic rival and Emma Stone as a law student just out of Gosling’s reach, and we’re ready to go. It’s a comedy that’s as much about accepting the facts of life—be they middle age, the people we can’t have, or the people we don’t want others involved with—as much as it is about a pursuit, or any one relationship. It’s about how love really is, sometimes, which can be romantic in its own right.

. . . to fall in love with literature:

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

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People forget about the competition Shakespeare faced, and we don’t mean the other plays. In the late 1500s, one could go to the theater, or one could go watch some people be executed or a bear be torn apart by dogs. That’s how entertaining Shakespeare’s work had to be! In 1998, this film competed with Saving Private Ryan, Elizabeth, and Life Is Beautiful for Best Picture and managed to come out with the Oscar. What drew the academy to the fast-paced mash-up of Romeo and Juliet with a very loosely interpreted history of William Shakespeare’s life was the film’s ability to capture exactly what Shakespeare did back in his day: the urgency of love and the power of its expression—its ability to consume us and change lives.

. . . to tell your real friends from the sham ones:

Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

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Muriel (Toni Collette), a daydreamer and the target of the bitchy girls she considers her friends, wants nothing more than to get out of her small town and away from her awful father, move to Sydney, and get married. When she makes off with her parents’ savings, reunites with a fellow outcast from her town, and is offered the chance to marry a gorgeous South African swimmer who needs a visa, she can make her dreams come true. As much of a coming-of-age story as a rom-com (Muriel may be in her 20s, but she has much growing up to do), this film does a brilliant job of cutting the legs out from underneath our expectations by giving us exactly what we’ve always wanted, and tying us up in the strings attached.

. . . to relive high school (or what you wish high school was like):

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Netflix’s most popular entry into the rom-com genre (based on the novel by Jenny Han) was for many an instant classic—not least for blessing the world with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), the Jake Ryan of the Internet era. Lana Condor stars as Lara Jean, a quiet high school kid who relieves her romantic pressures by writing never-to-be-mailed love letters to the objects of her affection—including her older sister’s ex-boyfriend. Until, of course, one night they get sent out. Hijinks—and a fake turned not-so-fake relationship—ensue.

. . . to remind you how much better it gets after high school:

American Pie (1999)

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A teen sex comedy with a heart of gold, this story of four high school friends determined to have sex before they graduate was the surprise hit of 1999. But underneath all the masturbating with pastry and accidentally ingested semen cocktails, there’s real sentiment to the adolescent boys trying to find their way with women, and vice versa. The reason we can safely call this a rom-com is that, while it doesn’t exactly pass the Bechdel test with flying colors, the objects of the guys’ affections are far from just objects. They have goals of their own we’re brought on board with. The girls aren’t just out for the boys, they’re out for themselves—as disappointingly rare in a rom-com as it is in a teen comedy, and the reason we love this one.

. . . to learn how far to take it:

Rushmore (1927)

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This is Wes Anderson’s most completely stylish movie, and perhaps his best, made before stylized fuckery got in the way of things like writing (like all his best work, this was cowritten with Owen Wilson). Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a scholarship student at a private school. His academics are dismal, but he’s game for any and all extracurriculars, especially the over-the-top plays he produces and directs. He gets into a contest for the affections of a widowed first grade teacher with local industrialist, and his newfound mentor, Herman Blume (Bill Murray). Several phenomenal executions come together in this film, including the ensemble cast, the just-on-this-side of believable production design, and an absolutely killer classic rock soundtrack. But what pushes it above the rest is the utter drive of both Max and Herman, as love and competition gains primacy over every aspect of their lives. They’re both willing to burn the village to save it, which is simultaneously hilarious to watch and cathartic to anyone who’s ever had a crush.

. . . to locate your other half:

Jerry Maguire (1996)

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Cameron Crowe has a couple of films on this list (Almost Famous was close, but ultimately more coming-of-age than comedy) with good reason: He understands people and how they tick. Despite its memorably demonstrative, over-the-top lines, like “You complete me,” and “Show me the money,” this is ultimately a movie about how people really fall in love. Sure, Renée Zellweger loves Tom Cruise from the beginning—it’s a movie after all, and he is Tom Cruise—but what Jerry Maguire gets to is what happens after that first kiss, after the honeymoon period, when we have to learn about the other person as a person, and not just see them and their adorable puppy (or in this case, an adorable son, played by Jonathan Lipnicki) as an escape or alternative from our own lives.

. . . for a dose of realism (and Paris!)

Two Days in Paris (2007)

For sheer hilarious, messy, complicated realism, Two Days in Paris takes the prize. The brilliant and surprising Julie Delpy writes, directs, and stars as Marion, a young Frenchwoman who has brought her American boyfriend Jack (Adam Goldberg) to her hometown en route from a trip to Venice. They struggle through misunderstandings, language barriers, cultural clashes, encounters with Marion’s many ex-boyfriends, and her unruly parents (played by Delpy’s real-life mother and father, actors Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy,) and barely come out the other side. The moral, as Marion paraphrases Jack: “It’s not easy being in a relationship, much less to truly know the other one and accept them as they are with all their flaws and baggage.” It may not be easy, but it’s highly entertaining to watch them try.

. . . to get you through the holidays:

Love Actually (2003)

©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Is this? Not really. But that’s not why we go to the movies. Love Actually is, actually, a rather clichéd Christmas rom-com, but jeez, we love it anyway. How can we not, with this ensemble cast of British romance all-stars (Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and Keira Knightley, among others)? The prime minister (Grant) falling for a junior staff member? A quiet suitor in love with the new bride (Knightley) of his best bud (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is apparently one of three people of color in London? A cuckolded boyfriend (Firth) rebuilding his shattered life with the help of his shy housekeeper? Balderdash. All of it. But it’s irresistible. Come on, what are you, made of stone?

. . . to fall for his funny bone:

Top Five (2014)

©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Think of it as Before Sunset meets Funny People, with New York taking the place of Paris. If that notion produces a little eye roll, get those peepers back down, and then on to the screen before you miss some laughs. Rosario Dawson plays a New York Times journalist tasked with interviewing a hugely famous comedian, played by Chris Rock, who is attempting to take his career in a new direction (courtesy of an ill-advised serious film about a Haitian revolutionary). Like Roman Holidaybefore it, this is a film rooted in our society’s placement of, and expectations for, certain figures (a celebrity and a princess, respectively). In both cases, the journalist finds the human being inside of their famous subject, falling for them while trying not to fall for their shtick, or what they represent. As the pair make their way through Manhattan—with visits from Jerry Seinfeld, radio hosts Opie and Anthony, Whoopi Goldberg, and a fantastic supporting job from the ageless Gabrielle Union, playing a reality TV starlet—we can’t help but get on board with their journey.

. . . to look past his neurotic, potentially mentally ill exterior:

As Good as It Gets (1997)

©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

There are few actors who can go toe-to-toe with Jack Nicholson. Director James L. Brooks found a suitable sparring partner with Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment and struck gold again nearly 15 years later with Helen Hunt. Hunt plays a waitress with a sick child for whom Nicholson—a mean, racist, homophobic, obsessive-compulsive writer and her regular customer in the restaurant where she waits tables—has some affection. Bring in Nicholson’s neighbor, a gay artist (played by Greg Kinnear) who has to lean on the Nicholson’s character for help (beginning with care for his adorable dog), add a road trip, and you’ve got yourself one of the most delightful, well-thought-out comedies of the ’90s. The movie takes it time, but it’s to our benefit—Brooks allows us to get to know each of these people, and them each other, intimately, which means when the jokes, and the romance, land, they land hard, and then stay around. (Plus, who among us could resist Nicholson growling, “You make me wanna be a better man”?)

. . . to confirm that, yeah, he’s probably cheating:

Shampoo (1975)

Courtesy Everett Collection

There’s a lot going on in Shampoo—the story of an L.A. hairdresser (Warren Beatty) who is sleeping with, well, everyone (including Julie Christie, who plays a prime target of his affections)—which, at first glance, could just be another ’70s sex comedy. Keep in mind, it’s directed by Hal Ashby, the king of thoughtful, offbeat romances, and was both written by and featured, Warren Beatty, a major voice of the Hollywood Left in the 1970s. The film, released a year after Nixon’s downfall, takes place during on the eve of Nixon’s election in 1968, so there’s a good deal of interplay between the politics and the sexual politics that were in the air as the counterculture died, the pill became mainstream, and the country saw itself in a whole new, darker light. That said, Beatty’s portrayal of the harried, discursive, libidinous George is irresistible even without context, as is the performance given by a young Goldie Hawn, who illuminates every frame—and perfectly counteracts Beatty—with blonde California light, and a heart-melting, downy innocence.

. . . to get you on board with AI:

WALL-E (2008)

©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

There are more epic Disney romances (one of them is on this list), but none more thoughtful. What we love about this futuristic tale of a little trash compactor, WALL-E, who falls in love with his technological better, EVE, is the considered environmental, anti-consumerist message that suffuses the dystopian love story. With barely a word, only whirrs, between them, EVE and WALL-E convincingly fall in love. His efforts to save her, once the megacorporation Buy-n-Large (their maker) comes for her, is as authentic as Hawkeye’s return for Cora, or Jack’s sacrifice for Rose. Forget Finding Nemo, this is writer-director Andrew Stanton’s Pixar masterpiece.

. . . to justify your May-December romance:

Harold and Maude (1971)

Courtesy Everett Collection

There’s a question that lingers throughout most of Harold and Maude—the story of a death-obsessed young man (he enjoys driving a hearse, attending funerals, and faking his suicide) who falls for a much, much older woman—are these two going to get it on? It sounds sophomoric, but it’s actually essential. Harold and Maude are separated by approximately 60 years; for the movie to hit home, for us to believe that love is truly about what we share, not what we look like or other aesthetic values, we have to believe a genuine attraction has formed. No one prodded existentialism (especially in films deemed “romantic”) like director Hal Ashby, and Harold and Maude is no exception. The darkly funny tale will leave you questioning just what is important to you in your own conception of love—and, moreover, in your life.

. . . to give comic books their due:

Chasing Amy (1997)

©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

A comic book artist (Ben Affleck) with an inseparable best friend (Jason Lee) falls for a beautiful gay girl (Joey Lauren Adams)—who then falls for him—only to discover he can’t handle it. Comic books? Lesbian conversion? Best buds? Sounds like a romantic comedy made by men, for men. And it is! But Kevin Smith also managed a somewhat nuanced exploration of friendship and art, as well as of contemporary romantic standards in his rejiggering of the love triangle. Simultaneously, at a time when every other joke on Friends involved gay panic, he was portraying three-dimensional concepts of lesbian identity. What could be identified as a typical male-driven fantasy could also be seen as a ’90s Torrents of Spring.

. . . to make you fall in love with your friends:

Reality Bites (1994)

©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

In what was then a cult hit and is now a piece of ’90s nostalgia catnip, a post–Edward Scissorhands (and post–Johnny Depp) Winona Ryder plays Lelaina, an aspiring documentarian assisting an obnoxious TV host in Houston. She and grungy, Generation X friends—played by Steve Zahn, Janeane Garofolo, and a simmering Ethan Hawke (who may be more than just a friend)—are just trying to figure out who they are, and what they want in life. In Ben Stiller’s feature directorial debut, he also plays a TV executive whose budding romance with Lelaina and interest in her work brings the real world crashing into their postcollegiate hipster existence. Aside from a nonstop ’90s fashion buffet that is Winona’s wardrobe (mom jeans, crop tops, baby doll dresses, cardigans, men’s shirts, blazers), there’s also love and heartbreak, sex, betrayal, Lisa Loeb, Dickies, pizza, and lines like “He’s so cheesy, I can’t watch him without crackers.” What else do we want, really?

. . . to dance your troubles away:

Grease (1978)

©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

The ’50s nostalgia of the 1970s culminated with this unreal musical about the return to high school for summer lovers Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John). It’s hard for current viewers to understand just how big John Travolta was at the time; the year this film bowed, 1978, the two top-selling albums were the soundtracks to Saturday Night Fever (another Travolta film) and this one. And that was in a year when the Rolling Stones released Some Girls and Bruce Springsteen dropped Darkness on the Edge of Town. In this irresistibly playful film, Travolta embodies the bursting sexuality of the newly emerged teen culture, but at the same time, he’s a tampered-down throwback—we buy him drag racing cars and singing with his gang, the T-Birds, whose rivals are the Scorpions, and making clumsy moves at the drive-in. Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony. These skirts know what’s up, and that’s what makes us interested, and invested, in their outcomes. We’re locked in from the first frame: There may be better musicals, but none more fun.

. . . to get you through wedding season:

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

©GramercyPictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

For anyone who’s ever been encumbered by the beautiful, annoying, expensive ordeal that is a wedding, how can we not love a wedding movie whose first pages of dialogue are just the word Fuck? As much as we commiserate, this is ultimately Hugh Grant’s movie. And a little Andie MacDowell’s movie. But mostly Hugh Grant’s. It’s the film that introduced us to his stumbling, bumbling, yet confident Etonian charms and wit, which we’d witness again and again in Nine Months, Notting Hill, Music and Lyrics, About a Boy, and more). The story of Grant and his friends attending their friends’ weddings—and one funeral—perfectly captured the romance of nuptials as well as all the stress, commitment, and emotional . . . what do the British call it? . . . oh yes, bother that comes with that period in your life where your friends are tying the knot. The question this rom-com dares ask is this: In all this wedding madness, can you be the odd man out and still be happy?

. . . to find your prince:

Coming to America (1988)

©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s unfair that Eddie Murphy only has one entry on this list. The guy ruled the ’80s and made some of the era’s great comedies—Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hrs.—but this is really the only one where the romance narrative rules supreme. In short: Murphy plays the prince of a fictional African nation who is unsure about his arranged marriage, and so heads to what he suspects will be greener pastures in search of his queen. So where better to start that Queens, New York? Essentially slumming it with his best friend (a terrific Arsenio Hall), Murphy’s character finds work at a McDonald’s-type restaurant where he falls in love with the owner’s daughter, a woman who just might fit the bill. It’s a super simple story that elicits big laughs in every scene, but it’s also a clever send-up of class and race that simultaneously owns itself as perhaps the ultimate Reaganite comedy: If you are rich and follow your heart, you can be even richer!

…remind you that life doesn’t always go as planned, but sometimes that’s okay.

Juno (2007)

Life’s not perfect, but it can be most endearing— that’s the takeaway, anyway, from Jason Reitman’s nuanced teen comedy, Juno. Ellen Page gives her breakout performance as the titular pregnant-by-accident teen who soldiers on through high school while preparing to give her baby up for adoption to a painfully needy rich couple (or “baby-starved wingnuts,” as her father calls them.) Juno’s honesty and her backward love story with the adorably nerdy Paulie (Micheal Cera) reminds us of the true meaning of being cool, and that heartache can resolve itself into a tender, resilient future.

. . . to get your boss’s job:

Working Girl (1988)

©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

First, consider the cast: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford—who owned the ’80s in Hollywood and made this his only rom-com—Sigourney Weaver, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin (at his douchiest), and Kevin Spacey. Next, look at the director: Mike Nichols—if there is a pantheon for romantic films, he probably has Zeus’s seat. Finally, the shoulder pads; my god, the shoulder pads. Were doorways made wider in the 1980s? Adventures in Babysitting aside, this movie is really as feminist as mainstream movies got in the ’80s. Melanie Griffith plays Tess McGill, a wily business school graduate working as a secretary at an investment bank with such memorable one-liners as “I have a head for business and a bod for sin.” When her boss (Weaver) steals her idea for a merger and then ends up out of commission (temporarily bedridden after a ski accident), Tess rises to the occasion: scheming with the support of her friends and maybe-lover (Ford), conniving, flirting, and using some good old-fashioned elbow grease to outwit her superiors, beat the boys, and claim the position she’s rightfully earned. Griffith is miraculous (one critic compared her to Marilyn Monroe; younger viewers might see a mold for Alicia Silverstone’s Cher), taking a role that could have just been “cute” and elevating it to nuanced and beguiling. That’s what this film is—so much so, we’ll forgive you if, after watching it, you suddenly have a soft spot for shoulder pads.

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Giant Hand-Face Sculpture Looming Over New Zealand Freaks Out Its People

@Wellington_NZ

A giant hand which has been described as a “Lovecraftian nightmare come to life” has been lifted into place atop Wellington’s City Gallery in New Zealand.

h/t: bbc

@Wellington_NZ

Ronnie van Hout’s “Quasi” installation was carried by helicopter to its new home on Monday overlooking the city’s civic centre.

@WgtnCC

The artwork, which was created in 2016, originally stood on top of the Christchurch Art Gallery. It is on loan to Wellington, where it will stand for the next three to four years.

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wysiwyg3d

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With Quasi, Ronnie van Hout elevates the hand of the artist to monumental status in the regenerating city. Based on scans of his own body parts, van Hout describes Quasi as ‘the artist’s hand made giant’. A surreal piece of visual fun, it plays with the idea of the artist’s hand as the source of his or her genius. Quasi is full of pop-culture references, like the crawling, disembodied hand of old comedy-horror films, or Victor Hugo’s lonely outcast Quasimodo on the roof of Notre Dame.

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Game of Thrones Exclusive: The Surprising, Hidden Influences on Sansa’s Final Costume

Courtesy of HBO

Five new excerpts from Michele Clapton’s costuming book reveal the inspiration behind the fierce and fashionable women of Westeros.

In the closing moments of the final season of Game of Thrones, Emmy-winning costume designer Michele Clapton had her most triumphant moment. I don’t mean the brief on-camera cameo where her hands can be seen busily getting the Queen in the North ready for her coronation—I mean the final Sansa look itself. Sophie Turner’s stunning gown, crown, and cape tell the full sartorial story of Sansa’s journey from frightened girl to formidable monarch. Eagle-eyed fans have sussed out some of that—but in an exclusive new excerpt from Insight Editions’ upcoming book Game of Thrones: The Costumes, Clapton outlines more of the little influences viewers had missed. Including, oh yes, a nod to Sansa’s most controversial mentor: Littlefinger.

But Sansa isn’t the only woman of Westeros who put a good deal of thought into her fashion. Vanity Fair has a first look at Clapton’s insights into Cersei, Brienne, and Arya as well. You can preorder the book here; it will be out on November 11. Read on to find out how Robb Stark, the direwolf Lady, and many more made their fashion mark on Sansa’s big day.

As a nimble seamstress and fashion sponge, Sansa long gave Clapton an excuse to have fun mixing and matching Northern and Southern styles. It’s easy, too, to see how Sansa, who uses style as one of her most powerful weapons, could be a stand-in for Clapton herself. (The costumer has been known to wear a piece of jewelry that looks awfully similar to Sansa’s signature necklace.) So it’s no wonder Clapton went all out for Sansa’s final and most dramatic entrance.

It’s easy to spot the Catelyn Tully influence on the dress, with the fish scale sleeves and a silhouette that matches the Stark matriarch’s preferred shape. Clapton herself also revealed back in May that the fabric on the dress is the same used in Margaery Tyrell’s wedding gown—only dyed a more somber gray. But fans may have missed the feathers trailing down one side, which are meant to call back to the Queen in the North’s other big fashion moment: Dark Sansa. They also might have missed the beaded direwolf head among the feathers—which, according to Clapton, is meant to “represent Lady, Sansa’s direwolf.”

Courtesy of Insight Editions

There’s no missing the cascade of red weirwood leaves down one panel of Sansa’s gown—but the breastplate itself is fashioned to look like the branches of the tree “growing upward to show hope for the future of the North.” The cape, too, was padded at the neck and shoulders to give Sansa an imposing silhouette, “similar to her late father’s”—but lined with softer rabbit fur in homage to the simpler capes her brothers (and Theon) all wore when they were young boys at Winterfell.

COURTESY OF HBO

The most surprising influence in that coronation cape may come from Sansa’s sister, Arya. The adventurous Stark girl was never deeply interested in fashion; if she was sponging anything up, it was fighting styles. But in the final season of the show, Clapton gave Arya a very dashing Winterfell look, including an intricate, asymmetrical cloak.

Courtesy of Insight Editions

For her coronation day, Sansa has created her own asymmetrical cape, “out of respect for her sister.”

But not every fashion influence on Sansa is a benign one. Clapton says Sansa’s bodice is made of metal because it represents protection. Even now, Clapton says, “Sansa continues to armor herself.” That surely is a lesson she picked up, in part, from Cersei, who traded softer gowns for her own armor-influenced look toward the end of Game of Thrones. (“I should wear the armor,” Cersei told her husband, Robert Baratheon, in Season 1, “and you the gown.”) Like Sansa, Cersei picked up style influences from her male family members. Her own coronation gown was an homage to her father, Tywin Lannister, while this Season 7 gown has rounded shoulders that are meant to echo the armor of her brother, Jaime Lannister, and fabric that’s intended to give off the impression of chain mail, reinforcing “the idea of Cersei girding for war.”

Courtesy of Insight Editions

Cersei wasn’t the only person on Game of Thrones who taught Sansa to arm herself. Believe it or not, Clapton even found room on Sansa’s coronation gown to give a stylistic nod to Littlefinger. “She still wears her needle necklace, which I attached to the metal corset the same way that Littlefinger would hook his dagger onto the fine chain belt he wore. Although Sansa despised Littlefinger, she learned a great deal from him,” the designer says.

COURTESY OF HBO

Clapton previously told Vanity Fair she’s perhaps proudest of Littlefinger’s very subtle fashion evolution, and the character remains a very popular one among Game of Thrones cosplayers.

Courtesy of Insight Editions

Perhaps the most touching and overlooked reference in Sansa’s Queen in the North look can be found in her crown. The two direwolves, of course, scream House Stark, but their position is intended as an homage to Sansa’s brother Robb Stark, the young King in the North. “The design of the crown,” Clapton writes, “resembles a clasp that he wore when he was killed at the Red Wedding.” In effect, Sansa’s crown says, “the North remembers.”

COURTESY OF HBO

There’s at least one more woman of Westeros whom Clapton gave a very meaningful final look: Brienne of Tarth. The costume designer rightly observes that unlike, say, King Joffrey, who redecorated the throne room himself, King Bran was unlikely to exert any stylistic influence on the newly made captain of his Kingsguard. And so this shiny new armor was something Clapton believed Brienne would have designed for herself. It’s based on her old armor, and includes a brilliant deep blue color, which is the signature shade of this lady knight from the Sapphire Isles. Clapton added a three-eyed raven sigil to the breastplate, and brass discs on the skirt meant to invoke a single raven’s eye.

But it’s worth remembering that the original inspiration for Brienne’s former armor was Jaime Lannister, who gave her a gift back in Season 4.

COURTESY OF HBO

“Jaime gives Brienne her equivalent of an amazing dress and a pair of shoes,” Gwendoline Christie said in a behind-the-scenes interview from Season 4. “He gives her a sensational suit of armor and a sword, he’s given her couture.” You can’t blame Brienne for wanting to hold on to that piece of Jaime Lannister, at least.

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The Ultimate Back-to-School Shopping Lists (From Kindergarten to College)

Make things even easier by placing these picks straight in your Amazon cart.

Before you send your kids back to school (or off to college!), make a school supplies list and check it twice. Whether you’re starting from scratch or sorting through supplies of year’s past, use these checklists, which are broken down by grade for quick reference, as a guide. If you really want a stress-free summer print out the list that fits your needs and bring it with you to the store. Or better yet, order everything — pens, backpacks, mini fridges, and more — online and enjoy your final days of the season. Even if you want to get your shopping done early, check with your kid’s teachers for any last-minute adds. 

Just getting started? Find more back-to-school tips, tricks, and ideas here.

Kindergarten

Pencil box ($4,  amazon.com)

Crayons ($4, amazon.com)

Colored pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Washable markers ($5, amazon.com)

No. 2 pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Pencil sharpener ($7, amazon.com)

Erasers ($6, amazon.com)

Glue sticks ($6, amazon.com)

Blunt-tipped scissors ($3, amazon.com)

Plastic folders ($15 for six, amazon.com)

Assorted construction paper ($5, amazon.com)

Wide-ruled notebook or pad ($4, amazon.com)

Tissues ($2, amazon.com)

Backpack ($20 and up, amazon.com)

Lunchbox or bag ($17, amazon.com)

Elementary School: Grades 1-3 

Pencil box ($4, amazon.com)

Crayons ($4, amazon.com)

Colored pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Washable markers ($5, amazon.com)

No. 2 pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Pencil sharpener ($7, amazon.com) 

Ballpoint pens ($6, amazon.com)

Erasers ($6, amazon.com)

Glue sticks ($6, amazon.com) 

Ruler ($4, amazon.com)

Blunt-tipped scissors ($3, amazon.com)

Plastic folders ($15 for six, amazon.com)

Assorted construction paper ($5, amazon.com)

Wide-ruled notebook or pad ($4, amazon.com) 

Index cards ($3, amazon.com)

Tissues ($2, amazon.com)

Backpack ($20 and up, amazon.com)

Lunchbox or bag ($17, amazon.com)

Elementary School: Grades 4-5 

Pencil pouch ($10 for 4, amazon.com)

Blue or black ballpoint pens ($9, amazon.com)

No. 2 pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Pencil sharpener ($7, amazon.com) 

Highlighters ($6, amazon.com)

Washable markers ($5, amazon.com)

Erasers ($6, amazon.com)

Three-ring binder ($7, amazon.com)

Three-hole-punch ($8, amazon.com)

Loose-leaf paper or spiral notebooks ($11 for 6, amazon.com)

Graph paper ($7, amazon.com)

Subject dividers ($8, amazon.com)

Index cards ($3, amazon.com)

Plastic folders ($15 for 6, amazon.com)

Glue ($4, amazon.com)

Ruler ($4 for 4, amazon.com)

Scissors ($4, amazon.com)

Calculator ($6, amazon.com)

Personal organizer/ planner ($13, amazon.com)

Book covers ($14 for 4, amazon.com)

Backpack ($25 and up, amazon.com)

Lunchbox or bag ($17, amazon.com)

Middle School & High School 

Pencil pouch ($10 for 4, amazon.com)

Blue or black ballpoint pens ($9, amazon.com)

No. 2 pencils ($6, amazon.com)

Pencil sharpener ($7, amazon.com) 

Highlighters ($6, amazon.com)

Permanent markers ($13, amazon.com)

Erasers ($6, amazon.com)

Three-ring binder ($7, amazon.com)

Three-hole-punch ($8, amazon.com)

Loose-leaf paper or spiral notebooks ($11 for 6, amazon.com)

Graph paper ($7, amazon.com)

Subject dividers ($8, amazon.com)

Index cards ($3, amazon.com)

Plastic folders ($15 for 6, amazon.com)

Glue ($4, amazon.com) 

Post-it Notes ($6, amazon.com)

White-Out ($4, amazon.com)

Protractor ($4, amazon.com)

Ruler ($4, amazon.com)

Scissors ($4, amazon.com)

Graphing calculator ($110, amazon.com)

Combination lock ($9, amazon.com)

Personal organizer/ planner ($13, amazon.com)

Book covers ($14 for 4, amazon.com)

Backpack ($25 and up, amazon.com)

Lunchbox or bag ($17, amazon.com)

College

Academic Supplies

Three-ring binder ($7, amazon.com)

Three-hole-punch ($8, amazon.com)

Loose-leaf paper or spiral notebooks ($11 for 6, amazon.com)

Graph paper ($7, amazon.com)

Subject dividers ($8, amazon.com) 

Index cards ($3, amazon.com)

Plastic folders ($15 for 6, amazon.com) 

Blue or black ballpoint pens ($9, amazon.com)

Mechanical pencils ($5, amazon.com)

Permanent markers ($13, amazon.com)

Highlighters ($6, amazon.com)

Erasers ($6, amazon.com)

Pencil pouch ($10 for 4, amazon.com)

Scissors ($4, amazon.com)

Stapler and staples ($10, amazon.com)

Tape ($5, amazon.com)

Post-it Notes ($6, amazon.com)

White-Out ($4, amazon.com)

Personal organizer/ planner ($13, amazon.com)

Graphing calculator ($110, amazon.com)

Backpack ($25 and up, amazon.com)

Laptop ($1,300, apple.com)

Printer ($50, amazon.com)

Computer paper ($10, amazon.com)

Ink cartridges ($37, amazon.com)

Swiffer ($12, amazon.com)

Trash bags ($11, amazon.com)

Air freshener ($11, amazon.com)

Disinfectant wipes ($11 for 3, amazon.com)

Laundry bag ($16, amazon.com)

Detergent ($10, amazon.com)

Fabric softener ($8, amazon.com)

Stain remover ($4, amazon.com)

Quarters for laundry 

Dorm Furnishings

Mattress cover ($16, amazon.com)

Mattress pad ($36 and up, amazon.com)

Pillow ($33 for 2, amazon.com)

Twin XL sheet set ($31, amazon.com)

Twin XL comforter set ($34, amazon.com)

Bed risers ($14, amazon.com)

Full-length mirror ($42, amazon.com)

Plastic storage bins ($24, amazon.com)

Buildable racks and shelving ($86, amazon.com)

Closet organizer/shoe rack ($18, amazon.com)

Trash can ($13, amazon.com)

Desk and floor lamp ($16, amazon.com)

Fan ($11, amazon.com)

Extension cords ($6, amazon.com)

Alarm clock ($11, amazon.com)

Dorm Supplies

Towels ($35, amazon.com)

Shower caddy ($8, amazon.com)

Flip-flops or shower shoes ($3, oldnavy.com)

Toiletries

Hangers ($11, amazon.com)

Duct tape ($10 for 2, amazon.com)

Adhesive hooks ($6, amazon.com)

Batteries ($13, amazon.com)

Mini fridge ($112, amazon.com)

Microwave ($89, amazon.com)

Coffeemaker ($25, amazon.com)

Utensils ($9, amazon.com)

Reusable water bottle ($7, amazon.com)

Travel mug ($13, amazon.com)

Resealable plastic bags ($8, amazon.com)

Headphones ($128, amazon.com)

Earplugs ($8, amazon.com)

Eye mask ($10, amazon.com)

Good Luck!

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If You Only Read a Few Books in 2019, Read These

A reading list for becoming a better citizen and person

If you’d like to be jerked around less, provoked less, and more productiveand inwardly focused, where should you start in 2019?

To me, the answer is obvious: by turning to wisdom. That means turning away from the news, turning away from whatever trend or controversy is boiling nearby, and looking instead to books—really great books that have stood, or will stand, the test of time.

Books are medicine for the soul, and investments in yourself: novels, nonfiction, how-to, poetry, classics, biographies. Below is a list of 15 books that will help lead you to a better, stronger, happier 2019.

‘Digital Minimalism’ by Cal Newport

The unassuming Georgetown computer science professor has become one of this generation’s leading voices on how we can all work more wisely and more deeply. With media consumption continuing to go way up (which, for most of us, means happiness and productivity continue to go way down) and the world becoming noisier every day, this book is an urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in command of their own life. The minimalism movement successfully led millions to opt out of the many possessions we’re told we’re supposed to crave and focus instead on the small number of things that bring the most meaning and value to our lives. The same ideology applies to our online lives. Digital clutter is stressful. We don’t need the constant connectivity, the pages and pages of apps, the incessant scrolling and clicking. New technologies can improve our lives if we know how to best leverage them. This book already helped me break my Facebook addiction—and the first month of the year has been a big improvement for me because of that.

‘Montaigne’ by Stefan Zweig and ‘How to Live’ by Sarah Bakewell

If you’ve been struggling with the onslaught of negative news and political turmoil, start with Montaigne. It’s the biography of a man who retreated from the chaos of 16th century France to study himself, written by a man fleeing the chaos of 20th century Europe. It’s hard to be a thinking person and not see alarming warning signs about today’s world while reading this book. Yet it also gives us a solution: Turn inward. Master yourself. Montaigne is one of humanity’s greatest treasures—a wise and insightful thinker who never takes himself too seriously. If you’ve not read any of his essays, start with Sarah Bakewell’s magnificent book, How To Live. It’s a readable introduction to all things Montaigne.

‘The Moviegoer’ by Walker Percy

The Moviegoer is almost truer now for the millennial (or generational) experience than it was in the 1960s when it was published. Any reader will relate to the rather ageless angst of the next generation trying to find its meaning and purpose in the world. It is exactly the novel that every young kid stuck in their own head needs to read. The main character, on what he calls “the search,” is so in love with the artificiality of movies that he has trouble living his actual life in the real world.

‘The Laws of Human Nature’ by Robert Greene

For decades, Robert Greene has been observing, studying, and writing about people and power. He has produced a canon of bestselling books that explain why people do what they do, how these patterns affect and shape the world, and of course, how we can develop strategies to protect ourselves and thrive in this often irrational world. All of that work has culminated in The Laws of Human Nature, the masterwork from the master of human behavior. “If I had to say what the primary law of human nature is,” Greene has said, “the primary law of human nature is to deny that we have human nature, to deny that we are subject to these forces.” The reality is, humans do have aggressive, violent, contradictory, emotional, irrational impulses. And we have to understand them if we want to rise about them. Greene’s recent pieces on internet trolls, on passive aggressive arguers, and on identity politics are good previews of lessons that we’d all be better for understanding this year.

‘Leisure: The Basis of Culture’ by Josef Pieper

Pieper wrote this book in Germany right after WWII—arguably the most important and deadly event of the 20th century, if not all of history—and it is even more crucial today than when it first appeared more than 70 years ago. In our purpose-oriented, productivity-obsessed culture full of noise and distraction, we’ve become terrified of leisure: emptiness, stillness, nothing. We constantly feel like we are supposed to be doing and doing and doing, but sometimes, you’re supposed to just be. We think that action is the end-all be-all, so we often end up doing action just for the sake of doing action. But leisure and stillness is where great insights come from. This is where happiness comes from. It’s hard to be happy and appreciative and feel gratitude when you’re moving all the time. Pieper shows that “Leisure has been, and always will be, the first foundation of any culture.” Try to be instead of do. Try doing nothing at all. See what happens. You might be surprised.

‘So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed’ by Jon Ronson

This book has only become more important and more true in the few years since it came out. Ronson’s interviews with and focus on people who have screwed up and found themselves in the midst of massive online controversies—“shame storms,” a recent article calls them—are equally provocative and insightful. He writes with such sensitivity, empathy, humor, and insight about all that’s wrong with the rage and glee of tearing down other people—often people who were never public figures to begin with. It reveals what human nature and digital tools can do to a crowd. It creates a mob. And it makes a select handful of media and technology entrepreneurs wealthy while their goons feel important and at liberty to pretend they don’t have their own flaws. This is not how we solve things. It’s not how the world is improved. The world requires more forgiveness and empathy from all of us—and this book is a good place to start.

‘The Greatest Empire: A Life of Seneca’ by Emily Wilson

Perhaps there is no historical figure more appropriate for today’s times than Seneca. In the ancient world, as is true today, navigating political chaos was a pressing dilemma. Philosophers were forced to decide whether to participate in, resist, or simply endure the political rulers of their time. Seneca’s political life mirrors much of the chaos of the Trump administration. He was a philosopher drawn into politics; he wanted to make a difference in the real world and then found himself in the court of Nero, trying to contain a wildly insecure, inexperienced leader who some thought was deranged and others thought was brilliant (sound familiar?). Seneca loved nothing more than quiet, reflective time alone… yet he also needed and wanted fame, fortune, and impact. And it was these competing desires—the wrenching conflict between power and principle—that created an incredible life and an incredible set of lessons captured in Emily Wilson’s biography. Her translations of Seneca are excellent and her insights are provocative. It’s a must-read for any student of history or philosophy.

‘Lincoln’s Virtues’ by William Lee Miller

Our generation needs to remember that over 100 years before us, people stood right where we were and felt similar things, struggling with the same issues. Abraham Lincoln’s life was defined by enduring and transcending great difficulty. This book is a heart-wrenching and amazing story of Lincoln’s uniquely moral rise to power. We bend over backward to deny or pretend that Lincoln wasn’t a politician (as though that profession somehow corrupts him), which is really counterproductive. Lincoln was a career politician—and when he wasn’t a politician, he was a lawyer. Those were his jobs. He just also happened to be an ethical human being who believed in what he believed in. If you want some reassurance amid today’s tumultuous political climate, this book is it. Politics doesn’t have to be dirty and disgusting and awful. In fact, pragmatism and purpose can coalesce with each other and it’s exceptions like Lincoln that should urge all of us to a higher standard.

‘Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics’ by Stephen Greenblatt

It’s hard to do much better than John Lithgow’s blurb from this book’s back cover: “Tyrant is a striking literary feat. At the outset, the book notes how Shakespeare craftily commented on his own times by telling tales of tyrants from centuries before. In an act of scholarly daring, Greenblatt then proceeds to do exactly the same thing.” Tyrant, like all of Greenblatt’s books, is an excellent introduction to the classics and indisputable proof that the best way to understand what’s happening in the world is not reading or watching the news, but studying great writing from the past. (You might also enjoy this interview I did with Greenblatt, which dives into how he works and what inspires him).

‘Tiger Woods’ by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian

According to this book, Tiger Woods’ parents trained him to be an assassin. To feel nothing. To regret nothing. To stop at nothing. That winning was all that mattered. Combine that upbringing with his personal habits and you have one of the most complicated, misunderstood figures, certainly of our time, maybe even in all of sports. This is not to excuse the cheating (on his wife or allegedly in the game of golf), but it does explain it and humanize it. It explains what happens to people who are skilled but are or become spiritually and ethically bankrupt. Lot of good cautionary lessons here.

‘Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill’ by Sonia Purnell

For all the productivity and success advice out there, I’ve never really seen someone come out and say: “Find yourself a spouse who complements and supports you and makes you better.” The myth today is of the lone creative entrepreneur battling the world without an ally in sight. A defiant combination of Atlas and Sisyphus and David, wrestling a Goliath-sized mass of doubters and demons. Churchill is often portrayed in that way. But Churchill said the best decision he ever made in his life was marrying Clementine, and Sonia Purnell’s examination of Winston’s better half was truly revelatory of just how many times she saved his ass.

‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ and ‘Blue Ocean Shift’ by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

Too many people gravitate toward competition, pointlessly entering contests where the outcome is dependent on forces beyond their control. They want to be better than other people, richer than somebody else, sell more copies than some record-breaking predecessor. Even if they are incredibly talented or brilliant, this is a loseable contest. The question we must ask ourselves when we are setting out on some new endeavor—building a business, producing a creative project—is whether we’re pursuing something that delivers value in a way no one else can. Instead of battling numerous competitors in a contested “red ocean,” it’s far better to to seek fresh, uncontested “blue” water. If Blue Ocean Strategy is the what behind the theory of creating new markets rather than competing in crowded ones, then Blue Ocean Shift is the how and the mindset required to do so. Lots of good examples in this book, including a bunch that are not from business (“blue ocean” thinking also applies to government, NGOs, leadership, etc.).

‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank and ‘Anne Frank: The Biography’ by Melissa Müller

In Anne Frank’s diary, we hear of the timeless plight of the refugee, we are reminded of the humanity of every individual (and how societies lose sight of this), and we are inspired—even shamed—to see the cheerful perseverance of a child amidst circumstances far worse than any of us could ever know. Paired with Melissa Müller’s biography and our chaotic international world, the wisdom, the tragedy, and the profound inspiration of Anne Frank will penetrate fully and deeply. The concluding note from Miep Gies in Müller’s biography reminds us that Anne Frank is not the representative of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust; she is one of the millions of people—all of whom had their own hopes, dreams, and lives snuffed out by the cruelty of man, surviving to us only on paper, and in some cases, not even there. “Paper is more patient than people,” Anne Frank wrote. It is also far less cruel than our world, which unlike the diary, snuffed out the life of this young prodigy. (You might also like this short essay about Anne Frank and the obligation we have to stand up to evil.)

‘Memoirs of Hadrian’ by Marguerite Yourcenar

There’s the great line from Bismarck: “Any fool can learn from experience. It’s better to learn from the experience of others.” This book may be the closest thing to a literal representation of that. Written from the (fictional) perspective of Hadrian—one of the great rulers of the ancient world—the book takes the form of a long letter of advice to a young Marcus Aurelius, who would eventually succeed him as emperor. It’s somber, but practical, filled with beautiful and moving passages from a man nearing death and looking back to share everything he’s learned to prepare someone for one of the most difficult jobs in the world.

‘How to Be Free’ by Epictetus

Epictetus was born a slave. Quite literally, his name means, in Greek, “acquired.” Ultimately, he came to be the property of a man named Epaphroditus, who kept Epictetus chained up long enough that he became disabled from it and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. But Epictetus retained freedom in one important sense: People could do whatever they wanted to his body, but his mind always remained his to control. It was this, A.A. Long writes in his short new edition of How to Be Free, that is really the core of what Epictetus’s teachings would later revolve around: “You can be externally free and internally a slave… conversely you could be externally obstructed or even in literal bondage but internally free from frustration and disharmony.” It’s really a remarkable insight and one we must think of always. Yes, every person is entitled to physical freedom. And yet plenty of us are not truly free, not nearly as free as Epictetus was when he was still in chains.

‘Essentialism’ by Greg McKeown

To me, practical philosophy has always been about knowing what to—and what not to—expend your time and energy on. Happiness and success come from cultivating indifference to things that don’t matter. Be careful, as Marcus Aurelius warned, not to give the little things more time and thought than they deserve. This book focuses you and makes you question many of the projects and commitments and assumptions you’ve said yes to over the years, to finally cut out the crap, focus on the truly important thing (or couple things). Though the book is about applying design-style thinking to your life, it is really just a solid book of philosophy, stories, and anecdotes that make you reconsider your priorities. If looking back reveals how much effort you’ve frittered away worrying about the trivial, let yourself begin to only devote energy to things that truly matter—get the important things right by ignoring the insignificant.

‘Up From Slavery’ by Booker T. Washington

Not every conversation about race has to be terrible. Booker T. Washington, like all great people, sought common ground, solutions, and love over distrust and anger. “Great men cultivate love,” he wrote, “only little men cherish a spirit of hatred.” And this from a man who had been born in the final days of slavery, who faced incredible racism and adversity. A man who walked nearly 500 miles to apply for college, and when he wasn’t accepted, quietly cleaned the waiting room of the admissions office until they let him in. A man who instead of talking about the needs for better schools and opportunities went out and created the Tuskegee Institute, helping change the lives of generations of African Americans (and, by extension, millions of others). In other words, a man who proved two principles: character is fate and deeds not words. He also happens to be a font of wisdom — on personal responsibility, on hard work, on race, on fairness, on advancing an agenda, on building an institution, and on working with other people.

‘Them: Why We Hate Each Other—and How to Heal’ by Ben Sasse

It wouldn’t surprise Robert Greene that tribalism still tempts us. In Them, Sen. Ben Sasse talks about how the massive technological and sociological changes we are going through on this planet encourage toxic impulses. We feel threatened, we feel insecure, so we retreat into (or descend into) tribalism. We want to blame other people for our problems, we want to create enemies, we want to focus on what they are doing wrong and not the urgent (and resolvable) issues in our own lives. And, of course, what this blame-shifting tribalism keeps us ignorant of is how much we all have in common, how 99 percent of us are just doing the best we can, and how, in the end, most everyone wants the same things. To the Stoics, the idea of “sympatheia” was a bulwark against this temptation to make someone an other. Forget tribes, Marcus Aurelius said, “We are citizens of the world. We were made for each other and to serve a common good.” The idea of “they” or “them” is driven by fear. Not reason. It’s not rational. It’s emotional, and it’s destructive. Each of us needs to work on rising above it. For the sake of ourselves, our countries, and our world.

All these books will serve you well. But if I had one final recommendation for reading this year, it would be this: Pick three or four books you’ve already read, that had a big impact on you, and read them again. We all spend too much time chasing what’s new and not enough time really digesting those heady, important, mind-blowing books we’ve already read. Reread To Kill A Mockingbird. Give The Odyssey another chance. Sit with a few chapters from Good to Great. See how these books have stood the test of time and see how you’ve changed since you’ve read them last.

It can be some of the best time you spend with a book this year. Happy reading!

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Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas Are Married Again at a Chateau in Provence

It’s definitely official now! Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas said “I do” for a second time in France today. (They also wed in a civil ceremony at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas back in May. An Elvis impersonator officiated; the bride wore a jumpsuit by Ukranian label Bevza; the couple exchanged Ring Pops; and Diplo recorded the whole thing.) This weekend’s epic celebration was a bit more elegant, yet still a very fun-filled family affair. The weekend began on Thursday when the couple arrived at Le Chateau de Tourreau in Provence. The bride channeled Carolyn Bessette when she appeared later that evening in a simple white sheath dress and metallic sandals for the welcome dinner, while the groom-to-be was dapper in pinstripes.

The next night, Sophie was the embodiment of the Jonas Brothers’ song “Burnin’ Up” when she and Joe arrived to their rehearsal dinner at Hotel de la Mirande in Avignon wearing matching red ensembles. Her crimson sleeveless sheath and stilettos seemed to be pulled straight from the lyrics. The rest of the guests, including Priyanka Chopra, who just married Nick Jonas in December in their own double-ceremony, Kevin and Danielle Jonas, and Ashley Graham and husband Justin Ervin, were all in white.

For their Saturday nuptials, Turner wore a Louis Vuitton dress, while Jonas wore an all-black suit. Turner’s co-star Maisie Williams was her maid of honor, while Jonas’s brothers and DNCE bandmates served as his groomsmen. The couple’s dog even made an appearance, wearing his own mini tux, Today reports.

The Game of Thrones star met Jonas when the superstar singer slid into her DMs—making for a thoroughly modern meet-cute. “We had a lot of mutual friends, and they’d been trying to introduce us for a long time,” Sophie told Harper’s Bazaar. “We were following each other on Instagram and he direct-messaged me one fine day, out of the blue.” His move worked, and news broke about the couple’s relationship in December of 2016. By October of 2017, they were engaged. Turner was 21 years old. She told Rolling Stone: “I think once you’ve found the right person, you just know. I feel like I’m much older a soul than I am in age.”

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6 Need-to-Know Moments From the Spice Girls’s First Reunion Show

Photo: Getty Images

Spice up your life! This weekend, the Spice Girls kicked off their European tour in Dublin. The iconic ’90s pop group—who broke up in 2000 but reunited in 2007for a global tour, and again in 2012 for the London Olympics—are back once again, albeit sans Posh Spice, a.k.a. Victoria Beckham, who is focusing on her ready-to-wear label. (A few days before the tour, however, Beckham did wish her bandmates—Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, and Melanie Chisholm—good luck on Instagram.)

The short tour, which has already broken records, will extend for the next few weeks. Below, see all the highlights from the kick-off show.

Sound Issues

Fans were left disappointed after the stadium at Croke Park in Dublin experienced sound issues during the concert. (Many claimed songs were nearly indistinguishable from one another, while others claimed at times they couldn’t hear anything at all.) Brown addressed the audio issues on Instagram, writing, “Thank you for attending our show tonight in Dublin. We will see you in Cardiff and hopefully the vocals and sound will be much, much better . . . Pfft.”

The Set List

So what did the group perform for those who could hear? Of course, all their biggest hits were churned out throughout the set: their smash hit “Spice Up Your Life” opened the show, while “Wannabe,” a fan favorite, closed it. Other hits performed included “Stop,” “Holler,” “Do It,” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” A deep cut, “Lady Is a Vamp,” even made the list. They also did a cover of “We Are Family.”

A Focus on Inclusivity

The group opened the show with an inclusive statement for fans, saying, “We welcome all ages, all races, all gender identifies, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all religions and beliefs, all abilities.” Halliwell also added: “Like a king or a queen, we celebrate you. But I’ve got to say, there are a lot of queens here tonight.”

Cheeky Costumes

The outfits were an integral part of the show. Most noteworthy was Halliwell’s ensemble: She wore an evolved design of her famed Union Jack dress, originally worn at the ’97 BRIT Awards. This new take, designed by Gabriella Slade, was a gown silhouette that mimicked the colors and lines of the British flag. It was also embroidered with symbolic imagery that nodded to her fellow Spice-mates: a lion “for the courage of Ginger,” a lily “for the elegance of Posh,” and a panther “for the strength of Sporty,” among others. Scary Spice wore iterations of leopard print, her signature, while Sporty wore a sequin-covered version of her famed tracksuits.

Filling the Posh Gap

How did the Spice Girls fill the Posh void? Unfortunately for fans, there were no video cameos from Beckham herself or something of the like. However, Halliwell did seem to take on her duties. The Daily Mail reports she picked up the slack by singing most of Beckham’s parts in their songs.

Very Different After-Parties

Finally, how did the group celebrate postshow? Halliwell and Bunton kept quiet—but the two Melanies had two very different after-parties. Brown reportedly took to partying after the performance, demanding “shots right now” in a video posted by one of her dancers, while Chisholm recovered with an at-home ice bath to ease her joints. “Being Sporty Spice is a lot of maintenance,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m quite stiff after our first show last night in Dublin.”

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10 Things You Didn’t Know About the U.S. National Parks

With the recent government shutdown dragging into another week, several of our favorite U.S. national parks have been closed due to staffing and funding shortages. So while we wait for them to reopen, we’re looking at a few, little-known-facts about these incredible protected areas. 

With national parks in all 50 states and several U.S. territories, the U.S. National Park Service is expansive. And while everyone knows about Old Faithful in Yellowstone or El Capitan in Yosemite, there is still a lot to discover about the U.S. national parks. From haunted caves to spa-like hot springs, here are 10 things you didn’t know about America’s national parks.

Redwoods National Park is Home to the World’s Tallest Tree

Credit: Peter Burnett/iStock

You may already know that the redwood is a very tall tree, but did you know that it’s the tallest tree in the world? Redwoods National Park in Northern California is home to a forest of veritable giants, the tallest of which measures 379 feet tall, according to the National Park Service. Standing beneath a gigantic 500-year-old redwood, which is still relatively young in the tree’s 2,000-year lifespan, is an awe-inspiring experience for nature lovers and city dwellers alike.

Gateway Arch is America’s Newest National Park

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As recently as February 2018, the National Park System welcomed a new park into the fold — Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Gateway Arch has long been a national monument, paying tribute to both Thomas Jefferson’s role in opening the West, the pioneers who helped expand the nation and to Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in the adjacent Old Courthouse. The world’s tallest arch and the tallest manmade structure in the Western Hemisphere, this impressive arch certainly earned its national park designation. 

Delaware Was the Last State to Have a National Park

Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

It took nearly 150 years for the first state to be recognized by the National Park System. Delaware, whose claim to fame is being the first state ratified by the U.S. Constitution, didn’t have a national park until six years ago. In 2013, Delaware was finally awarded its first park, the First State National Historic Park, a feat which had been 10 years in the making, according to National Geographic. Better late than never, we suppose.

Crater Lake National Park Has the Deepest Lake in the World

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If you have a fear of deep water, you may want to steer clear of Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the ninth deepest lake in the world, according to Geology.com. The lake was formed after Mount Mazama erupted in 5700 B.C., and a large volcanic crater was left in its wake. Thousands of years of rain and snowmelt collected in the caldera to create the bright blue, crystal clear water that the lake is known for. According to LiveScience, the average depth of Crater Lake is an astounding 1,148 feet. Swimming is allowed at the end of Cleetwood Cove Trail, but you may not want to think about what lurks in the depths below.

You Can Watch the Sunrise First at Acadia National Park

Credit: Winston Tan/Shutterstock

Early morning go-getters are sure to love Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park. At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on Mount Desert Island and along the Northern Atlantic coast, according to New England Today.  From this mountaintop vantage point, viewers can be the first to see the sunrise over the Atlantic, a site that is quite stunning to behold. As Cadillac Mountain can be reached by foot or by car, this is a popular Acadia activity, so don’t be surprised if you have company. 

Mammoth Cave National Park is Haunted

Credit: Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock

If traversing through underground caverns isn’t thrilling enough, Mammoth Cave National Park in Lexington, Kentucky has got you covered. The national park, touted as the most “haunted natural wonder in the world” by National Parks Traveler, has a reputation for paranormal activity. Ghost sightings and strange occurrences have been reported throughout years, by visitors and park rangers alike. The ghosts are rumored to be Stephen Bishop, a slave who also served as a cave guide, and Floyd Collins, a man who became stuck in one of the cave tunnels and perished. Scary stuff, indeed.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Is Where The President Healed His Broken Heart

Credit: ericfoltz/iStock

Before he was elected president, Theodore Roosevelt suffered a tragic loss that shaped his career and his life. In February 1884, Roosevelt’s wife and mother died on the exact same day, according to History.com. Inconsolable, Roosevelt abandoned his political career and retreated west to the Dakotas.  Theodore Roosevelt National Park was later established in North Dakota to commemorate this beautiful and rugged area that Roosevelt loved and to demonstrate the role this land played in his work as a conservationist.

Mackinac Island Is the Forgotten National Park

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Mackinac Island, Michigan was named a national park in 1875, a mere three years after Yellowstone National Park was established. As America’s second national park, its federal status only lasted 20 years, at which point Mackinac was turned over to the state. Lucky for us, the four-square-mile island is still a state park today. Its locale on Lake Michigan makes it a popular destination for sailors, while it’s picturesque views draw tourists every year. So don’t let its national park demotion fool you — Mackinac Island is worth a visit.

The First Park Rangers Were the Cavalry

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The park ranger uniform is inspired by the cavalry, a historic branch of the U.S. Army. In fact, the cavalry were the original stewards of the U.S. national parks. When Yellowstone National Park was first created, the cavalry protected the park from illegal poachers and loggers and brought a sense of order to the mismanaged operations, according to Smithsonian.com. Just think — without these horseriding heroes, the National Park System might have never made it into the 20th century. We’re sure glad it did.

National Parks are Better (and Cheaper) than the Spa

Credit: Colton Stiffler/Shutterstock

If you have been dreaming of a spa vacation, look no further than the U.S. National Park System. Geothermal hot springs are the perfect alternative to a luxurious spa — and they come with a much lower price tag. Winter in Yellowstone National Park is the perfect time to visit the Boiling River, a natural hot spring that occurs when the Mammoth Hot Springs runoff flows into the Gardiner River. If soaking in nature isn’t your thing, head to Hot Springs National Park, where you can soak in geothermal springs fashioned after European baths. Either way, a nice long soak sounds pretty good.

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The Best Countries For Learning a New Language

It’s one thing to learn a new language through online courses or even classes in your hometown, but there is no substitute for taking the immersive route. Learning a new language while you’re in the country itself affords the possibility of informal conversations that can take you from stuttering beginner to passably fluent in a matter of weeks. If you’re keen to improve your linguistic capabilities or just want to order a beer without making a fool of yourself, here are the best countries to visit to learn a new language.

Peru

Credit: NelzTabcharani316/Shutterstock

Travelers hoping to learn Spanish are spoilt for choice, with numerous countries in Central and South America offering affordable alternatives to an extended stay in Spain. One of the best options for beginners is Peru. The accent’s easy to understand and people generally speak slowly, making it relatively simple to pick up at least the basics. Language schools abound, with Lima and Cusco your best bets, closely followed by Arequipa. You won’t have trouble conversing with people in your newly-acquired Spanish, but when you do need to fall back on your English safety net, there are enough English speakers too. Out of the classroom, there are bustling markets and historic ruins to keep you busy and world class landscapes that will remind you why Peru enjoys an enduring popularity with international visitors.

Italy

Credit: Alex Yuzhakov/Shutterstock

Grab yourself a piece of La Dolce Vita and head to Italy for the ultimate immersive language experience. Italians are warm-hearted and plenty of encouragement as you stumble over recently taught verb conjugations is a slam dunk. Alongside your studies, you’ll be able to indulge your passion, whether it be food, history or the arts. Imagine how fulfilled you’ll feel if you learn how to make pasta while nonna explains the recipe in her native tongue or your guide at the Roman Colosseum embellishes his tourist patter for those who speak his language. But above all, you’ll be in Italy, with all the romance, atmosphere and charm that brings.

Japan

Credit: Zania Studio/Shutterstock

Making sense of Japan’s unique culture becomes a little easier when you speak the language, but it can be hard to find really good classes outside the country itself. The people are kind and thoughtful – they’ll go out of their way to help a struggling student – and though English is increasingly widespread, they’ll respect your wish to at least try your newly-learnt phrases in Japanese first. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll find you can interpret some Chinese too as the two languages share a similar alphabet. Living in Japan while you learn Japanese will certainly be different, but also safe and fun. And you’ll rock at karaoke!

Austria

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Newsflash: you don’t need to limit yourself to Germany if you want to learn German. Hop over the border to Austria and you can experience the delights of living in one of Europe’s most elegant cities, such as Salzburg or Vienna. If you’d like to know your strudel from your streusel and have the confidence to attempt tongue twisters like “Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut” (“a wedding dress will be a wedding dress and red cabbage will be red cabbage”), then get booking those flights today!

Guadeloupe

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Francophiles, why not try something a little different? Instead of the boulevards of Paris, you could be learning French on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Yep, it’s a bona fide region of France and despite its far-flung location from the mother country, it’s actually part of the EU which simplifies the whole visa thing. Spend your mornings in classes at one of the island’s language schools. When school’s out, head one of its beautiful beaches such as the Plage de Pompierre, shaded by coconut palms. Inland, hike above the montane forests to the summit of La Soufriere volcano, perfect for clearing your head of vocabulary lists. Can you picture a more perfect place to do your homework?