I binge-watched 'Cruel Summer' and got nostalgic for '90s stuff

Last week, having walked home from the market—a nice, effortless stroll but for the danger of contracting coronavirus—I cleaned the house, fed the dogs, showered, and played with my kids to watch four episodes of Cruel Summer. Set in a small town in Texas in the early nineties, Freeform's new series tells the story of two teen girls: the dorky Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) and the popular Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt). It reminds me of Pretty Little Liars, but when I first heard the title I thought it was a biopic of Bananarama in their prime years.

Cruel Summer is just so-so, but it has enough charm to keep me interested. The secret is to make things that appeal to my inner teen without equating youth with stupidity. It's also loaded with iconic throwback hits, including songs by The Cranberries, INXS, Mazzy Star, and 4 Non Blondes. If you were a kid in the '90s, the soundtrack will likely take you right back.

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The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

Gilbert Legrand turns mundane stuff into delightful characters

Gilbert Legrand doesn't see the world like the rest of us. You see a scrubbing brush, he sees an Apache chief. You see a a pair of scissors, he sees smooching lovers. The French artist's imagination is so wild and unrestricted that he can turn the most ordinary objects into unexpected sources of delight. I just spent half an hour lurking on his website, and you should, too.

This cafe in Tokyo looks like it's from a cartoon

The interior of this newly-opened tea house in Tokyo's Shin Okubo district is designed to look like a two-dimensional cartoon. From doors and walls, to tables and chairs, each item inside the 2D Cafe is painted in plain white with soft, black edges. The restaurant offers milk tea, tapioca, coffee, fruit juices, and shaved ice desserts. The only thing that I don't like about the cafe is the space. The tables are so close together that you can hear the most private details of strangers' lives whether you care to or not. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 馬渡綾 (@adesso_mawatariryo) on Aug 31, 2019 at 8:16pm PDT View this post on Instagram A post shared by _____takahiro (@takahirooooop) on Aug 14, 2019 at 6:34am PDT

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