Good morning, and welcome to another installment of Rise and Grind, City Guide's solution to reading yet another lame e-book on your commute. I'm your host, @ShanteCosme, providing you with a handful of things that would make for A+ small talk should you run into your boss in the elevator. Start the day off like the charismatic, impossibly attractive human you are. (Yes, that's how I picture you, dear readers. Feel free to send selfies to cityguidetips@complex.com to confirm.)
Kurt Vonnegut Gives Love Advice to Young Grads
In a commencement address to Fredonia College in 1979, the iconic author said: "A man cannot be a whole society to a woman, and a woman cannot be a whole society to a man. We try, but it is scarcely surprising that so many of us go to pieces." In other words, disregard Drake's "No New Friends" mantra. You need new friends—just choose 'em wisely. [via Brain Pickings]
Don't You Dare Call Me Baby
In an effort to take a stand against the harassment women regularly incur while walking down the street, artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh creates portraits of victims and displays the art in public spaces, urging other victims to take a stand. The project, very fittingly, is called "Stop Telling Women to Smile." [via Atlantic Cities]
Philosophical Musings on the Jay Z and Solange Scuffle
First—can I just admit that this is my favorite celebrity scandal since Monica Lewinsky's stained Gap dress surfaced? If you think I'm superficial for caring, maybe the Atlantic's analysis of the scandal will have you convinced of the story's philosophical merits. Is it a Dante-esque divine tragedy or the fault of our Panoptical society? Maybe there are no cultural implications and it's just good 'ol fashioned drama. You decide. [viaAtlantic]
Meet the Woman Who Coined the Term "White Privilege"
Wellesley women studies scholar Peggy McIntosh first used the word when documenting 46 examples of white privilege in a research paper titled "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies.” She framed the argument in the context of her own experience of being a female academic. So, thank her for taking an intellectual stand against racism and for feminism, but don't blame her for that terrible Princeton student whining about how hard it is to be a white kid. [via New Yorker]
Adopted? Maybe Don't Try to Find Your Biological Parents
After a ten year search, a man discovered his biological father is the (still at large) Zodiac Killer. Sounds like the kind of true story that would make for a great read, right? Harper Collins thought so, too. The book will be published tomorrow, much to (we imagine) the father of the year's chagrin. [via NY Mag]
Vic Mensa dropped the video for his killer new single yesterday. It's on Vevo and Vevo is lame (mostly because its videos won't play in our posts), so listen below and watch here. I hope your Tuesday has zero association with the title of Mensa's single, and is instead filled with unexpected successes.
