this weekend, i’m celebrating more birthdays (stop being born, y’all) but also going to the Lacoste fashion show in the morning. i’m going to take the “doesn’t give a tiny rat’s behind” approach to dressing for Lincoln Center this time around because i’m tired of looking a fool when absolutely zero street photographers are interested in my headdress/envelope purse/absurdly uncomfortable shoes. if this rationale works in getting me on a fashion blog (my true dream in life), i’m going back in time and kicking last season me. anyway, enjoy the reads! i caught some good ones for you

TO READ:

1. winning what i read on the internet this week, Sasha Frere-Jones agrees with me: MIA shouldn’t have apologized
2. fashion week is in full swing and The Observer sheds light on Bryan Boy, one of #NYFW’s more ubiquitous photogs
3. you know the satisfaction you feel when you catch someone talking about you? here’s that on a very international level where the smack-talker is Syria and they aren’t very nice about us (U.S.)
4. the big news in social media may have been Facebook’s photo interface, but for journalists, regulations for how they use Twitter at work are getting even more strict, The Guardian
5. these maps of fictional places you loved as a kid are all absolutely delightful, The Awl
6. in defense of desserts: slut shaming was bad, but sweet shaming is even worse, Thought Catalog
7. wondering what Thought Catalog would write if it targeted retirees?
8. a personal essay on the eternal NYC vs. LA debate, Cord Jefferson
9. speaking of lala land, Vanity Fair introduces us to the most hated man in LA. in a city so filled with assholes, that’s pretty hard to believe
10. on sending out generic cover letters from Media Bistro (bonus: a pretty decent cover letter example)
11. more Instagram marketing, this time from Warby Parker
12. “A Serious Thing Happened on the Way to the Podcast,” The Observer
13. and she was like, stop saying “like” kids. it’s waaay damaging. or something
14. this schooling in writing from famed professor Lynda Barry was a recommendation from pretty stellar writer Maura Johnston. i trust it, Hogan Here
15. what it’s like to be a homeless family in our fair city today, nytimes
16. how to hate “The Descendants.” for the record, i still do, Grantland
17. this graphic from French artist Boulet was a Ned Hepburn recommendation. i trust it 
18. clearly, i love making lists. here’s why it’s a good thing, Brain Pickings
19. advice from Vice is always solid, right? how to deal the first time you have sex with someone
20. “why are we all narcissists?” Diablo Cody answers in the Daily Beast. she would know
21. with Mama O off the air, her magazine ain’t doin’ so hot, says media authority NYPost
22. “An open letter to the fastest jogger in the park,” McSweeney’s
23. is “Downton Abbey” just “escapist kitch?” i’d say, yeah, probably. but i still love it! National Journal
24. how cool couples stay cool and in (cool) love, Refinery29 (barf?)
25. internet shocked ladies can use the (p)internet, The Mary Sue

TO WATCH/LISTEN:

1. NPR really took the cake with this story on a lady boxer who’s going to the olympics. anyone who’s ever wanted to do anything ever and gave more than one shit about it should listen to this truly beautiful story
2. then NPR made another cake and gobbled it up because Meryl Streep did a Fresh Air interview (swoon times three) (hundred)
3. the latest Of Montreal album isn’t terrible, Spinner
4. a video Hairpin tells us to watch, and i trust them implicitly
5. “Ni**as In Paris” has a video, complete with epilepsy warning
6. everything Cubicle Radio recommended this week. do please go give us a follow, like, what have you. Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. take your pick!

TO BUY ME:

1. a ticket to see Slow Club at Bell House next week, or three so i can bring friends
2. i haven’t set foot in a Gap in ages. but these booties are pretty cute. i say they bring back SJP to model them and get sales up
3. this Holstee Manifesto Poster, because my life could use a little inspiration
4. absolutely every single one of these food books, especially the illustrated ones
5. and also, absolutely every single thing in Madewell’s Spring Lookbook. i have pretty much memorized it at this point so i’ll know if something’s missing
6. absolutely anything from this lovely Pour Porter site, which ellegiansante introduced me to

(photo via)