Month / April 2025

by Lexine

Now Playing (4.30.25)

What else would I play on International Jazz Day? 

Listen to the lyrics of this song. More relevant than ever. (The song also reminds me of the movie Casino, oddly enough.) 

TIL that the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (which he is a part of, naturally) is the lead partner for IJD. 

There are a few versions of the last song, with its only constant being Gillespie playing on every version. I’ve always preferred this collab with Miles, and the beat also got sampled in this early 90s rap song, which I first heard before “Tunisia”.

It is not IJD without some actual international flair via bossa nova jazz! While I also enjoy the vocalized version, the instrumental version above will always be next-level aural paradise. 

by Lexine

Scenes From Kylie’s Tension Tour!

Yesterday, I got to break some tension in San Francisco by attending the Tension Tour featuring pop icon Kylie Minogue! While I got to see her for the first time a year ago, it’s not every year she tours the States. Let’s get to it with the pics!

(Note: there are no pics of her opening act Rita Ora, but only because I was in a long-ass line for Kylie merch while she was performing. Sorry!) 

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by Lexine

Going Green

Some sugar-free sweets I made in honor of the last 420 Easter I’ll see in my life, unless if I live to 120.

I made these Easter-themed chocolates with just a few ingredients: Lily’s chocolate chips, coconut oil, and green food coloring. (And I used my own Easter-themed silicone mold that I got at Home Goods to get into that Easter spirit!) Save for the food coloring, this is also the base for making keto nut clusters (one of my favorite desserts), and you can add some nuts to your sweets, if you like. You can also add your own sweeteners or extracts to the melted mix. (With today also being 420, if you want to make your own edibles, simply add as much THC or CBD tincture you want to the mix. I am not responsible for getting you stoned, in this case.)

As it has been in my experience with sweets with coconut oil, it’s best to consume them while chilled. They do get melty.

by Lexine

Hollywood Dreams

Vanity Fair, April 1995 issue, with *takes a deep breath in* Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, and Sandra Bullock

Thirty years ago this month, Vanity Fair did that and gave ten of the top actresses of the time the cover. All at once! Their multi-star covers and star-studded portfolio would become a spring tradition for the publication, albeit a tradition that’s gone awry recently. Never forget the first, however, where it was just straight-up star power that sold the issue–no weird setups or questionable photoshop. (Placing queen Angela in the back of the fold-out cover will forever remain a choice to me, though.)