The Dalai Lama, Clogs, and Millennial Pink

Spring break is nearly here, and that means more free time to check out all of the many things Blog staffers are feeling this week! To start off, you must watch John Oliver’s interview with the Dalai Lama on Last Week Tonight. It’s part usual LWT commentary, followed by a one-on-one talk with perhaps the most composed man on this planet.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLY45o6rHm0[/embed]A recent New York Times op-ed titled “How Liberal Colleges Breed Conservative Firebrands” addresses the Brown-relevant topic of conservative students and their treatment on primarily left-leaning campuses.  At schools where it’s essentially expected that students are liberal, right-wing members of the community can feel both alienated and further motivated to vocalize their less popular beliefs.New York Magazine’s most recent cover story is a profile of Kellyanne Conway called “Kellyanne Conway is the Real First Lady of Trump’s America.” The essay is a nuanced portrait of the oft-memed member of Trump’s cabinet. There are more than a few quirky and often bizarre details of Conway’s life that reporter Olivia Nuzzi captures in her 8,000 word piece (example: her Secret Service code name is Blueberry).Feist (of “1234” fame) just released “Pleasure,” her first new single since 2011. According to an interview with Billboard, the song is a “roadmap” to the rest of her upcoming album. Take a listen here:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h66Lvzlj1Uk[/embed]The new season of Planet Earth II came out last year, and so, naturally, The New Yorker decided to imagine what the next season’s animals will look like. Unfortunately, all the “good animals” have been used up and all that’s left are such ugly creatures as “Sentient Sea Garbage” and “Multi-Humped Camel.”If you haven’t noticed, pink is the new black. Every “cool” new brand or item marketed toward young people is a particular shade of soft, light-ish pink; this is Millennial Pink. From cult beauty brand Glossier to Drake’s “Hotline Bling” cover art, pink is being reclaimed as the hottest color in town. Find a full timeline of Millennial Pink on NY Mag’s The Cut. Lauren Schwartzberg writes, “Millennial Pink’s desaturated shade is a subtle wink back to those lesser aesthetic times, paired with a sincere confidence that we’re doing it better now. It’s cheeky, sincere, and nostalgic all at once — which is perhaps why the earnest ironist Wes Anderson bathed the entirety of The Grand Budapest Hotel in the color — filling us with a bright, wide-eyed wonder and even, for at least a moment, keeping us calm.”If you are at all familiar with the hilariously ridiculous process that is applying to kindergarten at New York City private schools, you need to read McSweeney’s take on the parent application essay. Centered on a 4-year-old named Toile. Toile celebrates diversity and loves to give back to the community. Toile is an inquisitive young girl, always asking questions like: “What’s the difference between Parma ham and prosciutto?” “Can I have a Hamilton birthday party?” “Mom, why did you go to PureBarre and Physique 57 today?”The clog: perhaps one of the most controversial pieces of footwear in history. Whether you’re a clog-lover or would never be caught dead sliding your foot into one, read the Times’ Style Magazine’s “In Praise of an Aggressively Unfashionable Shoe.” That shoe being, of course, the Dansko clog. I can’t explain what this is or how it works, but all I can say is try it out for yourself. It’s called “Eschersketch” and you’ll spend way more time on it than is acceptable.Images via and via