Hasta La Gadget!

For Glamour, by Suzannah Weiss.

Both literally and figuratively, I am a mildly obsessive cat lady.

In the literal sense, I’m one of those people with a love for cats that borders on obsession. A middle school bully once gossiped about me for wearing clothes with cats on them. In my Facebook profile picture, there are whiskers painted on my face, and in the picture that I set as my profile before that, I’m posing with my family cat. I don’t have my own cats, but the ones I grew up with greet me every time I visit home and — real talk? — I can’t think of anything I’m more grateful for in life.

Figuratively, I pretty much fit the cat-lady bill. I feel awkward in social situations, I spend a lot of time alone, and I routinely wear socks that don’t match and reindeer underwear my grandma got me for Christmas. While I happen to be in a relationship (more on that later), I’m still all about being single until someone truly worth it comes along. Plus, something about the spinster ideal is very appealing to me regardless.

Now, stereotype might have it that these qualities set me back in the dating market. An Internet troll once even sent me a Facebook message just to tell me, “No man will ever love you. It’ll just be you and your cat forever.” (To be honest, that actually sounds pretty great!) But while comments like these never made me disavow my love for felines while dating, let’s just say that particular Facebook photo wasn’t on my OkCupid profile. On first dates I rarely brought up anything that might get me pigeonholed as a so-called difficult woman, like my identification with feminism.

But any attempts I made to tone down my overall cat-lady vibe were short-lived and futile. So what was there left to do but totally own it? And once I did, I found that cat ladies attract people who (a) love cats themselves and (b) want someone a little off-beat — which happens to be the exact kind of person I’m attracted to.

Besides, the whole idea of the “crazy cat lady” is pretty sexist, no? As though we’re saying, “How dare a woman choose her interests over a relationship when it’s her duty to get married and reproduce!” It’s rare to hear people talking about crazy dog guys, or taking jabs at men who are single and not presenting themselves as conventionally desirable dates. The moment I realized that I didn’t have to change some part of myself to be attracted to people who clearly didn’t like me for me anyway, I became a better partner because I’d figured out how to get my needs met.

So instead of wondering whether my dates approve of me, I ask myself whether  I approve of them — and OK, I’ll admit it, whether my cats approve of them too. I definitely should’ve taken it as a red flag when an ex-boyfriend picked up my unwilling pet and got scratched. They know!

My current boyfriend is not a crazy cat person, but you’d better believe he’s crazy about my cats. Because he has to be. Part of being in a relationship is empathizing with the other person. If someone doesn’t get my love for my cats, they don’t get me. And if they don’t embrace all my cat-lady traits, they don’t embrace me, either.

If someone doesn’t get my love for my cats, they don’t get me. And if they don’t embrace all my cat-lady traits, they don’t embrace me, either.

When my partner sends me cat pictures or makes jokes about my family cats, he might as well be writing me love poems. And his appearance in my Facebook photo right beside me, with whiskers on his own face (there was an occasion for the costumes, I swear!), is the ultimate sign that he’s making an effort to fit into my life and really see me. It’s also a comforting reminder that, despite what the haters say, there’s a lot to appreciate about being a cat lady.

So whatever your thing is — dogs, crocheting, kickboxing — remember that if it’s something you truly love, you shouldn’t settle for anyone but a partner who likes you for exactly who you are, whiskers and all.

More from Glamour:

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Ryan Reynolds Reveals He Fell in Love With Blake Lively While on a Double Date With Someone Else

34 Times Kate Middleton and Prince William Gave Us Major Relationship Goals

13 Celebrities Who Have Hot Siblings

12 Photos of the Friends Cast Before They Were Famous That Will Make You Ridiculously Happy

A Look at the Emmy It Girls of the Past 20 Years: Taraji P. Henson, Tina Fey, and More

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Ranked atop Forbes’ 2016 list of “the world’s most powerful people” are Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Angela Merkel, all of whom embody the dominant understanding of power as an invisible yet coveted allocation of authority and influence, possessed by few and exerted upon many. 

As kids, we learn about power not in relation to nations or leaders, but in terms of fairy godmothers, troublesome genies, sorcerers, warlocks and, of course, witches. When viewed through an occult or supernatural lens, power is often discussed in the plural ― powers ― denoting its abundance and accessibility. 

It is perhaps this view of power ― as something wild, plentiful and essential ― that continues to draw people, especially young women, to 21st century witchcraft. “Magic, and witchcraft in particular, is a way to exercise and recognize your agency in the world,” Amanda Yates Garcia, an artist and witch based in Los Angeles, told The Huffington Post. “The reason I’m doing this work is so people can feel that agency. So they don’t feel they are at the mercy of the world and the choices that other people are making for them.” 

Although witchcraft has been gaining popularity among millennials for years, the 2016 presidential election has led to an increased interest in the occult as an alternative means of harnessing power for those disenfranchised and disenchanted with the established pathways toward empowerment. “It’s a way to be spiritual and feel connected to things that are larger without being bogged down in the dogma of a specific religion,” said Ana Matronic, a member of the band Scissor Sisters and a founder of Witches Against Fascist Totalitarianism, or WAFT, for short. 

Matronic came up with the idea for WAFT during a trip home from the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., with a van full of women. Elated by the energy of the day’s events, the women brainstormed how best to channel the vitality of the march into a sustainable community effort. Raised in proudly spooky Portland, Oregon, Matronic was no stranger to the supernatural forces that lurk beneath the surface of everyday life. “My mother showed us the magic and wonder of our normal world,” Matronic said. “We used it as an escape, but it was also always there.” 

As a kid, Matronic was drawn toward the darker characters that pop culture had to offer. Her favorite puppet on “Sesame Street,” for example, was The Count, and while watching “Sleeping Beauty,” she was most concerned about the well-being of Maleficent. In part because her mother was a horror buff herself, Matronic always felt more comfortable around images and stories that elicited goose bumps rather than butterflies. “I was born a witch,” she said. “Things that were normally sort of scary or dark reminded me of home.”

Pre-election, Matronic’s occult practices centered around Tarot cards, meditation and what she dubbed “wizard parties” ― costume parties with a mystical bent. Under President Trump, however, the itinerary has changed a bit. 

By far the most publicized spell designed to thwart Trump’s agenda is called a binding spell ― meant to prevent an individual or an energy from causing harm. Witches around the nation organized, with help from the mystical powers of Facebook, to conduct a mass binding spell on Feb. 24 and every subsequent waning crescent moon. Fox News even cheekily speculated the spell was responsible for the failure of Trump’s Health Care Act. There’s a somewhat cheesy recipe for the binding spell floating around the internet, involving a shriveled Cheeto (or baby carrot) and an unflattering photo of Trump.

Garcia leads monthly Magical Praxis workshops, in which witches conduct binding spells, in her Los Angeles home. The symbolism is less literal ― no Cheetos ― in part, because Trump himself isn’t the intended target of the spell. “We didn’t want to just direct our energy at Trump alone,” she explained, “but the spirit of greed, the lack of caring, the feeling of needing to dominate that has seized the imaginations and hearts of so many people.”

To counter the dark powers listed above, Garcia guided her fellow witches in building poppets and effigies, which were then bound with cord. “It’s like binding the deeds of the person in question,” Garcia said. “You clarify what you want to occur, and it must be for the greatest good of all concerned.”

As part of the magical procedure, each participant also establishes a specific, non-magical action she plans to take following the ritual, that will in some way contribute to the spell’s larger goals of empowerment and compassion. One witch committed to canvassing in conservative districts in anticipation of the 2018 election, another promised to educate herself more rigorously on the procedures of local government. “Part of the process of witchcraft is finding our power,” Garcia said, “seeing where we can apply our energy and agency in order to make change.”

For Garcia, magic is not a substitute for activism. Rather, the two coexist, nourishing one another, as viable modes of resistance. “I genuinely do think binding spells are helpful for people,” she said. “They help people feel that they are not just being operated on, they can respond. Women in particular have been really trained to go with the flow. They don’t feel like they have the right to change that or to impose their will on other people. In the situation we’re in now, if we don’t respond then the people in power will. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, it’s really important to connect with your power.”

This, Garcia explained, is where meditation comes in handy. She recommended “grounding meditation,” or visualizing a cord of energy leading from your belly deep into the earth. “Then you breathe in your power and vitality,” she said. “It’s so important to feel grounded, energized and powerful. If we have to fight the long fight, we have to really practice self-care, by creating psychic and personal boundaries.” 

Matronic, in lieu of binding spells, opts for protection spells, best enacted on a new moon. “There is an emboldened sense of uncaring and hate right now,” she said. “I think the equal and opposite reaction to that would be spells of love and protection” One method Matronic recommended is a Witch Bottle, made by placing nails, screws or any small shards inside a bottle. The tiny, sharp objects deflect negative energy away from the bottle and its maker. 

Both Matronic and Garcia also recommended rituals that included taking aromatic baths and attending town halls, exercises that aren’t traditionally associated with the supernatural. But witchcraft, they both emphasize, is as much about healing, caring and resistance as it is about magic. “I think it activates the spiritual along with the very earthly practice of political progress and change,” Matronic put it. “I think there is something really powerful about caring right now. It’s important to fight the good fight, but we need to care for one another, for ourselves.”

Whether you make note of the next waning crescent moon on your calendar, pick a neighborhood to canvas, or even draw yourself a decadently spooky bath, tapping into your own power can only help with the work ahead.

“I don’t think anyone is thinking there is going to be some kind of ‘Harry Potter’ thing taking place, where we whip out our wands and everything is transformed,” Garcia said. “But we’re contributing our energies and focus to change the trajectory of the current political situation to the degree that we can.”

Matronic expressed a similar sentiment: “If we want things to change it’s time to do the work. That’s the good thing about witches is, they work.” 

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The 28th annual GLAAD Media Awards occurred over the weekend and there was no shortage of celebrity star power on the red carpet. For the uninitiated, “the GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives.” At the ceremony, held at the Beverly Hilton, shows like Blackish, Modern Family, and Transparent were among the many that were nominated for the work in outstanding visibility among marginalized groups.

Talent wore blue “&” pins for GLAAD’s Together campaign – representing GLAAD’s work on intersectional issues including immigration, racial justice, women’s rights, and LGBTQ acceptance. Rebecca Sugar passionately expressed, “I am excited that audiences are demanding compelling stories.” Those stories are not in short supply.

Our Lady J, writer of the Amazon Original series Transparent, stated that, “The only way to move past hatred is to move forward through the heart.” Heading into its fourth season, Transparent was the recipient of the GLAAD Outstanding Comedy Series award this weekend and promises to deliver powerful stories and performances.

Joining the cause, Moonlight continued making waves in Hollywood. Winning the award for Outstanding Film — Wide Release, Moonlight racked up another great honor. On visibility, Tarell Alvin McCraney, writer of Moonlight, stated “There are nuances to conversations that we need to have…there are young people who are having that conversation and want to create and see works that represent them in that way.”

Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in Los Angeles. Additional awards will be presented in New York at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 6.

• Vanguard Award: Patricia Arquette  (presented by Luke Perry and Jeffrey Tambor)
• Stephen F. Kolzak Award: Troye Sivan (presented by Carly Rae Jepsen and Justin Tranter)
• Outstanding Film – Wide Release: Moonlight (A24) [accepted by: Tarell Alvin McCraney and Trevante Rhodes
• Outstanding Drama Series: Shadowhunters (Freeform) [accepted by: Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum Jr.]
• Outstanding Comedy Series: Transparent (Amazon) [accepted by: creator Jill Soloway with stars Alexandra Billings, Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, and Trace Lysette, and producers Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst]
• Outstanding Film –Limited Release: Other People (Vertical Entertainment
• Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series: Eyewitness (USA Network)
• Outstanding Individual Episode: “San Junipero” Black Mirror (Netflix)
• Outstanding Daily Drama: The Bold and The Beautiful (CBS)
• Outstanding Comic Book: The Woods, written by James Tynion IV (BOOM! Studios)

The 2017 GLAAD Media Awards will air on Logo on April 6 at 10 PM ET/PT, after the world broadcast premiere of Strike A Pose. Additional awards will be presented at the GLAAD Media Awards event at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on Saturday, May 6.

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Bob Harper might be one of the fittest men on the planet, but that didn’t save him from suffering a massive “widow-maker” heart attack while working out at his gym in February.

The 51-year-old “Biggest Loser” star opened up about his harrowing experience on The Today Show on Tuesday and explained exactly what happened and how it has changed his life.

“I was in full cardiac arrest,” Harper, who came out as gay in 2013, told “Today’s” Savannah Guthrie. “My heart stopped. Not to be dramatic, but I was dead. I was on that ground dead.”

The fitness expert said he was revived by two doctors who also happened to be at the gym and was then transported to the hospital where he lay unconscious for two days.

“I was so confused,” he said. “I was like Dory from ‘Finding Nemo’ because I had this short-term memory, so I was reliving the heart attack over and over again [in the hospital]…I was like, wait, why am I here? What happened to me? And 10 minutes later I was asking the same thing and getting super emotional.”

The terrifying experience has had a huge effect on Harper, who had some practical advice for “Today” viewers.

“Genetics does play a part in this,” Harper noted. “It’s so important to know your health… There were things going on inside of my body that I needed to be aware of. I strongly encourage anyone that’s listening right now to go to the doctor, get your cholesterol checked, see what’s going on on the inside so it doesn’t happen to you.”

But it may be his emotional and philosophical reactions that are the most poignant.

“You really face your mortality,” he admitted. “And I’m really understanding what’s important, and what’s really important in life. And let me tell you… I am not sweating the small things anymore. And I am not sweating the big things anymore. I care about my friends. I care about my family. I care about my dog. I am going to appreciate every single day that I’m here.”

Wise words we can all learn from ― whether we’ve had a near-death experience or not.

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Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Tuesday denied that the Obama administration had ever used the process of “unmasking” American citizens mentioned in intelligence reports for any political purpose.

“The allegation is that somehow Obama administration officials utilized intelligence for political purposes ― that’s absolutely false,” Rice told NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell in an interview. 

President Donald Trump claimed last month in a series of tweets that his predecessor Barack Obama ordered the “”wire tapping” of Trump Tower during the presidential election. Intelligence officials have found no evidence has been produced to back up the president’s claims, which Rice called “completely false.” 

Rice also emphasized that in order to “unmask” Americans ― whose names are typically redacted when they appear in foreign intelligence reports ― she had to get approval from the intelligence community through multiple channels.

She never revealed the identities of any of the Trump associates whose names appeared in the unmasked reports, Rice said. “I leaked nothing to nobody, and I never have and never will,” she added. 

The Rice interview follows a series of reports by Bloomberg View’s Eli Lake, and Mike Cernovich, a fringy author who promotes conspiracies like the debunked PizzaGate story. Lake and Cernovich both accused Rice of asking the intelligence community to reveal the names of U.S. citizens who were subject to incidental surveillance targeting suspected foreign spies. When Americans are caught up in surveillance ― either because they are communicating with the targets or are mentioned by the targets ― their names are “masked” in internal reports. Several high-level government officials can request that their names be “unmasked” if they believe it is necessary to provide additional context to the broader report.

The controversy around Rice is the latest chapter in a bizarre saga in which Trump and his allies have sought to make the case that the president and his allies were the victims of illegitimate spying by intelligence officials loyal to Obama. There is no evidence to support Trump’s claim and it has been refuted by the FBI and even allies of the president. But two weeks after the president’s tweets, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, a former member of Trump’s transition team, said a source had provided him classified documents showing that the commander in chief and his associates were named in internal surveillance reports. Nunes, who is overseeing a congressional investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential collusion with the Trump campaign, quickly walked back his claims, clarifying that it was “possible” those individuals were unmasked by the intelligence community.

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