Which Celebrity Are You Reacting To Moonlight's Best Picture Win? by Katie Conway Friday, March 03, 2017 - 0

This past Sunday was 89th Annual Academy Award ceremony, a.k.a “The Oscars”. After a pretty tame evening of performances, speeches, and awkward Jimmy Kimmel jokes, the night took a dramatic turn when La La Land was incorrectly awarded for Best Picture. After a tremendous envelope mix up, La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz immediately cleared up the mess and announced Moonlight as the actual Best Picture winner, proudly holding up the correct card for the whole world to see. The Dolby Theater went crazy! Never-mind the Internet - which wasted no time in satirizing and creating memes based on the biggest flub in Oscar history.

While La La Land was fun, colorful, and nostalgic, it felt all too done before. It was mainly reminiscent of Old White Hollywood and didn’t push any boundaries, or bring anything new or revolutionary to the table. Moonlight was the underdog to beat - a new American classic about metamorphism, sexuality, race, and identity. Though it was unfortunate La La Land was given a victory only to have it taken away from them moments after, it felt so right to see the cast and crew of Moonlight respectfully given the Oscar they deserved.  

With that being said, here’s the real question: Out of the variety of celebrity reactions to come from the most shocking of live television twists, which one are you? Take the quiz below to find out! 

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Four Hilarious, Heartfelt and Woman-Led Podcasts by Unknown Tuesday, January 24, 2017 - 0

There are so many great podcasts in the world that it can be hard to know where to start. Below, I picked my four favorite podcasts, in no particular order. They all feature women and diverse voices and are a great use of your time. Trust me.

Bad With Money with Gabby Dunn

In Bad with Money with Gabby Dunn, Dunn personally examines something that makes many of us very anxious: money. This discomfort is exemplified in her first episode, where people are more willing to tell her their favorite sex position than how much money they have in their checking account.

Dunn grew up worried about money, and now that she is experiencing a level of success, she is analyzing her struggles with money through a feminist perspective. On her show, she talks about content creators on YouTube being undervalued for what they produce, the psychological drawbacks of the idea of success, and how to manage money if you are in a creative field. She interviews people like comedians and partners Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito, Youtuber Hank Green, comic Sara Schaefer, and Oscar short film nominee Lexi Alexander. The episodes clock in at about a half an hour, so it's a great podcast to listen to on a walk, running errands, or on your commute to work[. As a 20-something who wants to work in a creative field and worries about money, this podcast is relatable and a stress relieving.

2 Dope Queens

This podcast is a live recording of a weekly stand up show hosted by Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson featuring a diverse slate of comics, clocking in around about an hour per episode. One of the best parts of the podcast is Williams and Robinson’s friendship. Their hilarious banter in the beginning of the podcast is always a treat, with Phoebe and Jessica discussing what their role in the civil rights movement would be, being in love with Dwayne the Rock Johnson, or celebrating their birthdays on the show. Their obvious joy and affection for one another is one of my favorite parts of this podcast, and the fact that it features comics like Aparna Nancherla, Emily Heller and Jo Firestone is an added bonus.

The Jackie and Laurie Show

Frequently, women in comedy are asked, " What's it like to be a woman in comedy?" The Jackie and Laurie Show is an in-depth answer to that question. Two standup comedians, Jackie Kashian and Laurie Kilmartin, conduct an honest and informative podcast for people who are interested in seeing how successful standups work. Jackie and Laurie are occasionally curmudgeonly, extremely engaging and constantly hilarious. Over the course of one show, they talk about their weeks, go over the strength and weaknesses of their sets, and dish on their industry. Their camaraderie and experience in their field make it a great podcast to listen to.

Reality Bytes

Hosted by Stephanie Beatriz and Courtney Kocack, another pair of best friends, this podcast is about sex, love and dating in the digital age. The podcast premiered at the end of September and has featured guests like former family therapist and writer Emily V. Gordon, comic Beth Stelling, and the aforementioned Gabby Dunn of Bad With Money . Because Beatriz is a star of Brooklyn 99, they sometimes have substitute hosts for her. This makes for an exciting podcast, as some of the substitute hosts in the past have been Sofiya Alexander, a standup comedian and Shadi Petosky, a trans-rights activist and the creator of the Amazon cartoon "Danger and Eggs".

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Which Joe Biden Meme Are You? by Katie Conway Monday, January 23, 2017 - 0

As our next President has been (unfortunately) sworn into office, almost all of us are feeling some form of anger, anxiety, or sadness. Take your mind off things with this fun and wholesome quiz about your favorite meme-loving former Vice President! Are you Ice-Cream Joe, Knuckle Sandwich Joe, or maybe even Prankster Joe? Take the quiz below and find out! 

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What Now?: Your Post-Election Survival Guide by Katie Conway Wednesday, November 09, 2016 - 0

So the worst possible thing just happened - a sexist, racist, bigoted, orange peanut just became the President of the United States, over a more-than-qualified possible first female POTUS. It sucks. 

Though this may be a time of great anxiety, fear, and sadness, we must support each other and remain strong. Love and laughter are the best medicine, so here is a comprehensive list of activities you can do to get through this day, this month, this year. 

1. Watch Female-centric Stand Up on Netflix
Feel empowered and laugh your ass off! Check out Iliza Schlesinger, Chelsea Peretti, Ali Wong, and Chelsea Handler! 

 

2. Read Harry Potter
A whole series dedicated to the power of love and friendship overcoming prejudice, discrimination, and an evil Dark Lord. But that’s just fiction, right? Or watch A Very Potter Musical. Just like regular Harry Potter, only funnier!

3. Drink Wine and Watch Cute Puppy Videos 
Escape Reality. This day never happened. Your only concern is finding a puppy to hold. 

 

4. Scroll through Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Twitter 
A voice of a generation, the ambitious optimist, a musical genius. His words will comfort you like your mother’s chicken-noodle soup. #Bitofaday

5.  Go See Boston Comedy Chicks 
WICF is hosting the Boston Comedy Chicks Showcase this Saturday, 8:00pm at Doyle’s Cafe. Come laugh off your worries with us! Link to Facebook event page below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1124230000965781/

6. Watch Parks and Recreation or The West Wing 
Restore your faith in democracy by watching the two most idealistic shows about government! Knope 2016!!

7. Color!
Find one of those ultra-trendy pop-culture coloring books and draw your stress away over a picture of Jon Snow!

8. Listen to Music
Listen to songs that will give you hope, empower you, and ease your troubles away - such as the Les Miserables soundtrack. Better yet, make a Spotify Playlist called “Help Me I’m Dying”, “Garbage Can on Fire”, or even “Oh God No Not 4 Years of This Please”. 

9. Shatter Your Own Glass Ceiling
So we didn’t smash that oh-so-high glass ceiling. Instead, If you see a piece of glass, smash it yourself. Maybe it’ll give you satisfaction, but most likely you’ll just end up with a bloody hand. 

10. Get Involved

Still upset about the state of our country? Get out there, and get involved. Make change, make art, make someone laugh, spread peace and love. This isn’t the end, only the beginning. Check out the link below:

http://jezebel.com/a-list-of-pro-women-pro-immigrant-pro-earth-anti-big-1788752078

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Which Famous Female from History should you be this Halloween? by Katie Conway Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - 0

Ever wonder what historic lady you could be for Halloween? Look no further than this quiz! You could be Lucille Ball, Amelia Earhart, or even Rosa Parks.

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Which Female Comedian Are You? by Katie Conway Monday, September 26, 2016 - 0

Take the Quiz below to find out! 

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5 Places You Should Go in 2016, You Son of a Bitch by Unknown Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 1

By You Know Whom You've Wronged

1.) Take a Long Walk Off a Short Pier

Look at this serene, sparkling water. So inviting! You deserve to relax. Get yourself on that short pier and do not stop walking. Fun fact: Lake Waukesha celebrates 50 years as a notorious dumping ground for both corpses and toxic waste. The lake actually caught on fire once in 2007. Get your marshmallows ready!

A Short Pier, Waukesha County, Wisconsin

2.) Play in Traffic

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Traffic

3.) Eat a Shit Sandwich

Sandwiches. Classic, simple, yet with an almost endless variety of toppings, fillings and breads. Easy to take along on any of your other travels and outings, and so much fun to share. Just make sure yours is filled with shit.

A sandwich with shit filling. Looks like chocolate, doesn't it?

4.) Fall Down a Well

Wells aren't just for kids anymore! And think of the satisfaction of finding a hole even bigger than you.

A deep, deep well. Seven days…

5.) Straight to Hell

I know, you're going to go there eventually, but why wait? So much to look at and experience, you'll never be bored, unless that's part of the eternal punishment Lucifer intends to mete out to you. But hey, what's worthwhile travel without some risk? From the giant birds eating humans whole to the vomit waterfalls, the sights, sounds, smells, and colors of hell will not underwhelm even the most seasoned traveller. While you're there, be sure to go fuck yourself.

Hell

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Let Me Tell You About The Tiny House Movement by Unknown Friday, March 06, 2015 - 0

The End of Materialism as 'We' Know It

By Libby Bakalar, WICF Guest Blog Contributor

[Libby is a lawyer-mommy-hobby-blogger based in Juneau, Alaska. When she's not working or blogging, she enjoys spending time with her two children and her husband, writer Geoff Kirsch. Follow her blog at onehotmessalaska.blogspot.com.]

So, I want to tell you about this new movement and this thing we're doing? It’s called "The Tiny House Movement." Have you heard of it? It’s where you get rid of all your shit and replace it with self-righteousness and a few well-appointed, high-end amenities like a composting stainless steel toilet and a designer loft bed made from hemp for your tiny, fit body to sleep on. You know, the body that runs exclusively on Bikram yoga and tiny, hand-thrown ceramic mugs of unpasteurized unicorn milk?

See, and I don't know if you were aware of this, but self-righteousness actually has no adverse environmental impact and takes up no room at all! It's one of the most sustainable lifestyles you can have. That’s one of the many very awesome things about The Tiny House Movement. Also, it's called a "movement," so you know it's progressive and something you want to get into before everyone else does and makes it lame. That's the very definition of a movement.

Yeah, I know I join a movement every single morning with my composting toilet, but this is a different kind of movement. A really special movement. A movement that somehow managed to keep all the insufferable parts of being a hippie and ditch all the fun parts like smoking shit tons of weed, dropping acid, listening to good music, boning in the back of a Winnebago, and being poor.

The other cool thing about The Tiny House Movement is how proud and superior I feel about living in a 500 square foot sustainable cedar-bark yurt with solar panels and a Peruvian guinea pig farm. Because, like, superiority and pride take up even less room than self-righteousness and are also very sustainable! See, like, the Peruvian guinea pigs run around in these little Carbonite wheels? And they harness the energy that fuels our two LED light bulbs? We feed them chard that we grow in our garden and then we use their dung to fertilize our marigold border.

I used to be JUST like you. Sad, bedraggled, unenlightened, tired-looking, and burdened by possessions. Like 89 bath towels from Bed, Bath, N’ Beyond; a Cuisinart ice cream maker you use once a year; sixteen candle sticks your great-grandma gave you; and a PlaySkool jumperoo for my baby. Now my baby is attached to my body at all times in a 500-thread-count ultra-soft organic cotton wrap, so we don’t need any of those unsustainable swings and bouncers and other crap The Establishment wants you to buy for your baby and that will never fit in our Tiny House.

Goodbye to all that!

Photo by Country Living

We left all that behind long ago when we joined The Tiny House Movement. Now we have one cast iron pan; one hammered-copper skillet; a single fork, spoon, and knife; all of the amenities I mentioned above; plus the guinea pigs; the marigolds; and oh wait--I almost forgt--this chair from Pier One Imports that you see in the picture below. Haha. We weren't ready to give that up! Also, a brand-new kayak and some other stuff from REI that we store in a rack on the side of our Tiny House. Oh, and please excuse the state of our tiny front entryway: we've ordered a Tibetan prayer flag from Amazon Prime and it hasn't arrived yet. Something about not shipping to a P.O. Box.

Just one more tiny second. Here's the best part: it only cost us twice as much to get rid of all our shit as it did to accumulate it in the first place! Isn't that cool?

Bottom line, I feel really sorry for you that you're still living in the material world. So give me a call, or just feel free to stop by anytime with a nice, robust pinot noir if you want to chat about how you too can join this growing movement.

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What Has Cheese Ever Done For Me? by Unknown Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - 0

Besides bringing me unbridled joy and something to wrap my mouth around on a Friday night

By Brittany Meyer, WICF Guest Blog Contributor

Brittany Meyer

[Brittany Meyer is an FSU graduate, Chicago resident, arm wrestler and comic. Just so we're clear, everything she knows, Yeezy taught her. Follow Brittany on https://twitter.com/BallroomBritz and https://www.facebook.com/StoneColdJane]

I'm not gunna sugar coat this because cheese is not best served that way; I love cheese. If you're a reasonable human, you love cheese. If you're a dog, you love cheese. If you're a mouse, you're stereotyped to love cheese. If you're lactose intolerant, your life is sad and I bet you love cheese anyway.

Cheese is the partner you've always wanted but never thought existed; you put in a little time remembering it at the grocery store and you can have it damn near any time you want. Cheese is never busy doing anything except aging and subsequently becoming more delicious. Cheese is dynamic--it can be sweet, savory, spicy, tangy, salty, creamy and revitalizing, it's the Leonardo DiCaprio AND Daniel Day Lewis of food. It always has time to be there for you (in the cheese drawer) and is readily available at most places. Cheese is unlike any friend you've ever had.

Cheese was always a big deal to me at various house warming parties, work socials, and holiday cocktail parties. Did you ever go to a party and know no one? I bet there's someone you do know....Mr. Bellavitano. Sometimes he's sweet, sometimes he's draped in balsamic, which ever way you meet him, he's got a good story for you and you're going to have a good time. And what's that? He's got friends on that cheese plate he wants to introduce you to? Sounds to me like you just got in with the IN crowd.

For as long as I can remember, cheese has been important to me. My mom is a terrible cook and I was often forced me to scrounge up my own dinner; this usually lead to a buttery, gooey, crisp, grilled cheese sandwich fried with TLC and a sense of accomplishment. I never lost that "baby weight" because of these bad boys but it was still better than my mother's grilled cheese sandwiches since she never fried them, she always toasted the bread then melted the cheese between them in the microwave, like it was f*cking amateur hour or something.

Since moving to Chicago and becoming an “adult," I realized quickly there are few joys in life and you really have to savor the small things. You know what brings me joy? Cheese sales and cheese samples. Go to the largest Whole Foods near you and just take that shit in. $3.99 double cream brie at Trader Joe's? How can it be THAT good and THAT cheap? Beats me, but it does pair nicely with a $1.99 baguette and three-buck chuck.

Now, I feel like I'm painting a pretty wide-eyed portrait of cheese…but this isn't to say we didn't have problems; like all healthy relationships, we had our ups and downs. When I first moved after college, I went on so many terrible job interviews and was so poor there were many times I thought I was going to have to move back home because I was completely under-qualified for everything I applied to and my temp job barely paid me enough to cover rent. Once, I came back from a really horrible job interview and the only thing that made me stop crying was remembering goat cheese existed—not that I even had that cheese in my fridge, just that it's a thing. Suddenly, things didn't seem that bad. If goat cheese with cranberry preserves existed, I wanted to exist too. I wiped my tears and got back into the job hunt. I had all the support I needed.

Through our hard times and all the great times, I am grateful for all the things cheese has done for me; and while doctors may disagree, cheese has been the healthiest relationship I've had. If nothing else, I'm glad I have found something that brings me so much joy, something that makes life just a little more savory and the world a little better. Cheese, if you're reading this, I hope you know how much I care about you and I'm planning something special for us on Valentine's Day.

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Post-Olympic Boston an Anarchic Wasteland of Despair by Unknown Friday, January 09, 2015 - 1

Kenmore Square, Boston, 2027

By Marcia Baker, WICF

January 9th, 2027

Boston, MA — As predicted by a large number of Bostonians, hosting the 2024 summer Olympics has led to a complete collapse of the metropolitan Boston area. Once a center for education, medical research and biotech development, Boston is now a barren desert of roving gangs and feral children. Though a rousing success, the Olympics caused Boston to immediately go bankrupt, taxed the inadequite infrastructure to the point of no return, and caused mass hysteria and psychosis due to lack of parking spaces for locals. 

Says former Professor Joshua "Slit" Garrison, "Before the Olympics, I was teaching linguistics at MIT and training for triathlons in my spare time, now I'm firing missiles from a makeshift helicopter on a daily basis to fend off attacks by rival gangs looking for gasoline."

Garrison firing from his helicopter

Garrison (left) in 2015 and (right) in 2027

Joanna "SlaughterFrau" Duggan of South Boston comments "My biggest worry before the Olympics was digging my car out in the winter and putting a chair out to save my parking spot. Now I have to put a head on a stake to get anyone to respect the boundaries of my property." She pauses to scare away a wild dog with a baby's arm in its mouth by hitting a bat against a trash can."So what if they set several new world records at the games. Where does that leave us? Literally up shit creek", she continues, pointing at a creek full of human shit.

The Olympic Stadium, built expressly for the games, has been converted to a colosseum-like steel-cage jousting arena dubbed "Thunderdome" where residents fight to the death for food.

Leslie "Dagger" Sorrento, a former public school principal, holds out little hope. "A few years ago, I was worried about our children and their complicated relationship with technology and social media. Now I'm just worried about them decapitating me with a boomerang.

A post-Olympic child

"The opening ceremonies were wicked cool though", remarked an unidentified couple while roasting a baby on a spit.

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