Post-Halloween Potpourri Love

Welcome to The Enthusiast, a newsletter thats all yum, no yuck! Every weekend, I'm sharing five things I love right now. The challenge for me is keeping it to just five...

Has everyone recovered from their Halloween hangover(s)? Spooky is a state of mind, of course, so I've still been enjoying extreme Celeb Costume Extravaganzas and trying to get myself in order now that we're no longer saving daylight and it's all downhill from here until December 21.

The Klum Must Flow

I'm not sure when I realize that most teen girls and women want/are expected to dress sexy for Halloween–probably in high school in the early Aughts (before Mean Girls came out, thanks), which was the worst cultural era to experience puberty until smart phones became a thing. I dabbled in it, but even as a little kid, I only wanted pretty costumes every so often. I wanted to be transformed, unrecognizable, and yeah, scary. So I can only slow clap in a joyful ovation for Heidi Klum wearing the absolute best costume she's ever worn for her Halloween party this year: a giant worm.

It's terrifying, it's hilarious, it's body horror, it's absurd and an absolute delight for anyone who wants to wear more than lingerie and high heels on a chilly fall night. She worked with an award-winning SFX team to create the look, and it's honestly the pinnacle of what any spooky soul can hope to achieve on the Eve of All Hallows. My only note would be that she could have gone even deeper and added a million-toothed sucker mouth to really up the overall intense vibes of abjection and transmogrification, but there's always next year.

Dry Brushing

If you're anything like me, your skin is already starting to feel the effects of cooler weather and shorter days. I know it's not possible for white people to get truly ashy (although according to Earn on Atlanta, it is!), but I have gotten scaly in the past, and spoiler alert: I'm not a fan. I love all sorts of different body scrubs and exfoliants to get rid of dead hide, but those feel more like a weekend treat than a daily solution. A more cost-effective and sustainable way to remove flaky skin is with dry brushing.

It's a traditional body treatment in many cultures that's many centuries old, and all you need is one a stiff-bristle brushe before you shower. Hold it lightly and gently brush your skin while it's still dry, starting with your limbs and working inward towards your heart. If you have sensitive skin, I recommend starting with a softer brush if you've never done it and lotioning up after you're done bathing. Dry brushing also aids lymphatic circulation, moving fluids up towards nodes in the armpits and groin so your body can flush them out more easily.

Even if it's first thing in the morning, a quick dry brush before showering really helps wake me up faster and mitigates scales and flakes before they start. I'm currently using this one from C&Co, my favorite skin & bodycare store in Asheville; the handle is helpful for my short arms to get all of my back and the bristles are firm but not painful.

Liminal Spaces

When my spouse was working long-distance in Florida several years ago (pre-COVID), I went to visit him around Halloween and I remember seeing these overgrown, empty parking lots swathed in faded golden streetlights of Tampa, tufts of grass sprouting up through cracks in concrete as we explored the city and surrounding areas. I don't know why, but they fascinated me; I found them incredibly beautiful in ways I couldn't describe.

I've learned that these are liminal spaces, which (of course) is now considered an "aesthetic," but the core feeling of liminal space is one of transition, something in between. They may feel surreal, sometimes they feel nostalgic, sometimes eerie or actively scary. The emptiness is the point, and the lack of humanity is a key aspect, even if the space is clearly man-made and designed to be filled with people. Dead malls or abandoned theme parks are absolutely liminal spaces, but so are waiting rooms, empty highways, and even hallways. Places just before dawn or right after sundown, places that closed years ago with no sign of reopening.

I wish I had taken pictures of those Tampa parking lots, some tucked away on side streets, hidden within groves of palm trees. I can't find any images that look similar and many on Twitter and Reddit seem to be indoor spaces, so if you come across a space that makes you feel something, no matter how odd or sad or lonesome or entranced, capture it so you can do a better job of describing it the future than just "overgrown abandoned parking lots in the Tampa metro area." 🫠

Bright Light Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder

If you are one of those blessed & highly favored folks who don't immediately start to feel bummed out the day after the Autumnal Equinox, I salute you. Seasonal affective disorder is very real, and it is absolutely insidious–particularly after Daylight Savings ends. I don't have the massive beef some folks have with DST, and I know some appreciate the extra hour Falling Back provides, but when it starts getting dark before 5:00 pm? That's when I know I need to get my SAD Lamp out: 30 minutes every morning, and ideally, another 15-20 in the late afternoon. I know their popularity has blown up in the last few years, and I've had mine–the Luxor from Northern Lights Technologies–for nearly a decade now and I have no intention of ever stopping.

I'm so serious; if you find your mood sagging, feel run down or low-energy as the days get shorter, take 30 minutes for yourself in the morning in front of a good bright light and you may start to feel at least a little bit better in a few days, if not  within a week. And if you don't have the scratch for a SAD lamp, don't underestimate the effectiveness of turning on Night Shift on your phone and/or laptop earlier or all day long. Every little bit helps!

The Xtina Renaissance

Christina Aguilera, my favorite Y2K-era pop diva, is having a fashion resurgence as Zoomers rediscover low-rise jeans and body glitter, and now I kind of know how it feels to see your tender adolescent years reflected back (poorly) by subsequent generations and realize just how hideous/hilarious it all was. But my real point is that Stripped is now 20 years old, and I will defend it to the death as the best and most fully-realized evolution of a pop star beyond the confines of their younger selves into a true artist and iconoclast.

“Dirrty” still slaps, “Fighter” still hits where it matters, “Loving Me 4 Me” still feels deeply romantic and empowering, "Beautiful" walked so Adele could run–there are literally no skips on the whole album. None of Xtina's subsequent albums had that same rawness and vulnerability; I personally blame the overculture (then and now). It wasn't enough that she had more inherent vocal talent than all of her contemporaries combined, she was also expected to stay small and petite and consumable and only be as sexual as was deemed “appropriate” in the eyes of males 18-24. She had to make hits, she had to do videos, even though she clearly wanted to do much more creatively. To me, she always felt pushed aside by Britney’s rise and fall and rise again, Mandy’s skill as an actress, and Jessica’s ability to sell shoes.

I hope this recent newfound appreciation means our dear Xtina is not only finally getting the recognition she deserves, but maybe coming out with some new music soon, too? 🤞🏻

But Wait!

👴🏻 The Reluctant Auteur: I've already waxed rhapsodic about John Carpenter's The Thing and other iconic creations, but if you weren't already a fan, I promise you will be after reading his interview in LA Review of Books. Yes, he is indeed a grumpy old white man, but his levity, honesty, and sense of humor are what makes him more accessible and relatable than ever.

🧬 Deformed Human Spam: It's not what it sounds like, I promise. It is, however, your regular reminder to always check the sources on stuff that already seems exceptionally stupid and/or suspect. Besides, the cortical homunculus model is way more fun interesting.

🔎 True Crime That Doesn't Feel Exploitative: I'm in the minority among women my age in that I am not into a lot of true crime content. I don't like serial killer shit, I don't like stories of spousal murder, or anything that feeds into the mass fascination with Missing and Dead White Girls. I do, however, remember the Piketon Masscre in the local and national news in 2016, and now that trials are finally underway more than six years later, I found this interesting, sensitive and thorough podcast created by actual documentarians and featuring real journalists that covers the many twists and turns, the two families and community involved, the investigations and more. The episodes are about 30 minutes long too, which is always a bonus for me. Now I just need someone to do the 2011 Zanesville Animal Escape, and my rural Ohio true crime content quota will be fulfilled for quite a while.

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Until next weekend, please resist the urge to put up all your Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, and make a plan to vote this Tuesday, November 8th if you haven't already!

Love and light therapy,
LKH