May 1, 2024

"And is it wrong to say that I may not belong to one sect or the other but am, instead, whatever the nail equivalent of bi(coastal) is?"

"I love each expression precisely because of how different it can make me feel, taking me from a beacon of old-school femininity (with a twist) to something more practical but equally delicate. If the short nail is Audrey Hepburn, the long one is Sophia Loren. In modern terms, let’s say my Natalie Portman sun is facing off against my powerful Cardi B rising. And don’t we all contain multitudes?"

Writes Lena Dunham in Vogue in "The Long and the Short of It: Lena Dunham on Her Nail Journey."

Found because I was wondering what Lena Dunham was doing these days.

56 comments:

Goldenpause said...

Dunham is always doing the same thing: trying to get people to notice her.

R C Belaire said...

"Found because I was wondering what Lena Dunham was doing these days."

That's one question I'd never ask of myself.

Ann Althouse said...

"That's one question I'd never ask of myself."

Yeah, you might need to wonder: Why was Althouse wondering about Lena Dunham?

Nancy said...

Easy choice. Piano teacher--> short nails.

Terry di Tufo said...

I am wondering if there will be a single post that says anything other than the writer doesn’t like Lena Dunham. I Doubt it.

wendybar said...

She was just featured on Finding your Roots with Louis Gates...Husseins black friend who was pissed at the Cambridge police for mistaking him for somebody breaking into HIS house, when called by Gates neighbors because he and his cabbie were breaking into his house.

stlcdr said...

She identifies as a famous actress.

rehajm said...

It’s an election year and Dunham has something important to say, or so we’ll be told…

Early morning Althouse theme- incredibly famous people you’ve barely head of…

Captain BillieBob said...

Why was Althouse wondering about Lena Dunham?

Jake said...

I find everything about her vile.

Jay said...

Bad sleep. Weird dreams. Feeling dizzy and light headed, and I find myself trying to interpret Lena Dunham at 630 in the morning. Life is too short, I'm going back to bed.

Dave Begley said...

Today, some women (especially Black women) have these super long fingernail extensions. They are so long, I don’t know how they can type. I saw them on a woman working at the post office in CA.

Kevin said...

And don’t we all contain multitudes?

Hey, no fat shaming!

Kevin said...

I am wondering if there will be a single post that says anything other than the writer doesn’t like Lena Dunham.

Nancy wins. But it was a close contest.

Quaestor said...

Nails are like beards. Chemically, yes, obviously, but I'm aiming elsewhere. Nails are like beards in that they are not accomplishments.

Goldenpause said...

Someone in the post office was working?

typingtalker said...

All show, no go.

Howard said...

Very triggering, Althouse. How dare you. Oh, I don't know. Maybe because, like it or not, she is an open window on millennial women. She is factually an industrious hard working entrepreneur who has been wildly successful in a very relevant cultural demographic who has significant influence on popular culture.

Also, she has accomplished this as a homely woman of girth in a profession that requires girls have a perfect body to go with an angelical face. A profession that frequently requires women to provide sexual services and perform soft core porn to advance their careers.

A formidable, accomplished woman. Very triggering, indeed.

Christopher B said...

My college roommate kept one long nail to twirl a Frisbee so they aren't always useless.

wildswan said...

She looks at her fingernails and thinks she's grown-up, beautiful and hip. It's no different from me buying summer clothes, based on a fashion I see promoted by slender young models in catalogs. Or is it? Your fingernails are the only part of yourself you can see all the time. If I looked at myself in a mirror to see my clothes as often as she must look at her fingernails ... I hardly know what I'd be - raging narcissist? And how would I get past my white hair and other signs of age which I don't see and forget most of the time? spending my time being my timeless self. She evidently has short, ugly fingers (which match her dumpy body) and gets past it all by looking at an everchanging fingernail display. She never really forgets her non-looks but she's made money off of her obsession with her imperfections. She's an anti-model model. Successful at unsuccess. An American comic tragedy.

Anonymous said...

Good Lord, she's had her 15 minutes of fame and then some. Will no one rid us of this meddlesome attention seeker?

Kate said...

I didn't cheat and scan ahead. At the headline -- nails -- I anticipated a construction post. Then women's femininity is compared, so I'm confused. Finally I get to Dunham and Vogue. Oh, it's a fingernail article.

But I'm still wondering if a preference for galvanized is somehow a coastal issue.

MadTownGuy said...

When I read "I contain multitudes," I think not so much of Whitman as I do this:

And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

tim maguire said...

Lena Dunham's nail journey!?

I hope this is a goof and not really what she's up to.

gilbar said...

speaking off an has-been/never-was, What ever happened to Smuckie Schumer's niece (or whatever)?
That fat girl that pretended to be a comic? She must be in her mid-forties by now..

wild chicken said...

"Husseins black friend who was pissed at the Cambridge police"

He wrote a great memoir, Colored People. Highly recommend it. One of those books that couldn't get published today.

Anyway, I liked Lena Dunham in Trainwreck. She'd have been the perfect Cathy if a movie had been made of the comic strip.

PETE. said...

Is there a man anywhere in this country that has ever said he's attracted to a woman's long painted nails?

Rusty said...

Ah. More self absorbtion. No thanks.

dbp said...

I had come across Lena Dunham, on the internet, in the last day or two. I don't remember the story but the accompanying picture showed she'd become enormously fat.

This post jostled my memory: She was one of the multitudes of celebrities who promised to move to Canada if Trump was elected in 2016, but didn't move.

planetgeo said...

I don't often contain multitudes, but when I do it's usually at Krispy Kreme. Stay glazed, and warm, my friend.

Temujin said...

I can honestly say that is one thought that will never cross my mind. "What is Lena Dunham doing these days?"

I admire your candor.

Bob Boyd said...

Reminds me of my own nail journey. I may be the nail equivalent of bi-coastal myself, now I think of it. I love each fastener precisely because of how different it can make me feel, taking me from a fundamental of old-school craftsmanship to something more production oriented but still satisfying to drive.
If pounding is Audrey Hepburn, shooting is Sophia Loren.

Lilly, a dog said...

That's weird. I was eating bland, cold mashed potatoes last night and thought of Dunham. Would you like to hear about my Nail Journey?

Fred Drinkwater said...

I knew a young woman who kept one pinky finger nail long.

For cleaning her ears.

Practical gal.

Iman said...

“Found because I was wondering what Lena Dunham was doing these days.”

Wonder no longer: Dunham has been getting progressively fatter and more unappealing.

Iman said...

“Yeah, you might need to wonder: Why was Althouse wondering about Lena Dunham?”

Were you in a “Mexican Standoff” with a dozen donuts?

Iman said...

I see many have speculated on the linkage between Girl and donuts.

Aggie said...

I just came here to say 'Nope'

Bob Boyd said...

I knew a young woman who kept one pinky finger nail long.

For cleaning her ears.


Then she cleaned the pinky nail with her toothbrush.

Ampersand said...

Having lived long enough to see the ways lives unfold, function for a while, and then disintegrate, I take an interest in former phenoms, wunderkinds, and others blessed with outsized early success.
Lena seems to be trying to adjust to the transition to formerness, but in an environment that prevents her from recognizing that her former self was an overpraised mess.

Howard said...

She's an exceptionally accomplished industrious entrepreneur and boss who is an icon of her genderation. In addition, she is a successful plain and plump actress in a business thast nearly uniformly requires beauty and perfect fitness.

Because she is more successful, harder working and has employed hundreds of people you people have to take a giant shit on her because your lives and status are so pathetic.

Trump's obesity army of victims are easily triggered by a libtard living the American dream succeeding in the free marketplace based on her next-level gumption and intelligence.

Aggie said...

Trump is an exceptionally accomplished industrious entrepreneur and an actual indisputable boss who is an icon of his generation.

Because he is more successful, harder working and has employed thousands of people you have to take a giant shit on him because your life and status is so pathetic.

Show us a picture of Lena's plane, Howard, and tell us why my version makes better sense.

HistoryDoc said...

There was a similar puff piece in NY Times about Ann Hathaway a few days ago. I guess publicists at talent agencies need to earn their keep, but they seem to be scraping the desperation off the bottom of the barrel.

Joe Smith said...

She can mention Cardi B because they are both pigs.

But the other 3?

Lena is not even the same species...

Mary Beth said...

Then she cleaned the pinky nail with her toothbrush.

Bet it made her gums numb.

Rabel said...

What is Lena Dunham doing these days:

1. Throwing darts at a picture of Melissa McCarthy, who's actually funny, for taking all of her acting roles.

2. Making the rockin' world go round.

Howard said...

Donald inherited everything from Fred who hired Roy Cohn to run the show for his baby boy. Lena bootstrapped her success.

Kate said...

"an icon of her genderation"

@Howard has the best Freudian slips!

gilbar said...

Bob Boyd said...
Reminds me of my own nail journey.. I love each fastener precisely because of how different it can make me feel, taking me from a fundamental of old-school craftsmanship to something more production oriented but still satisfying to drive.
If pounding is Audrey Hepburn, shooting is Sophia Loren.

Now do bolts.. Or better yet; lock washers!

Iman said...

Wet Ass Howard!

William said...

She'll probably take Ozempic and claim the weight loss is due to a hunger strike that she's on in support of the starving people in Gaza.

Louise B said...

How come the writer never asked about the rape charge Dunham never filed when the statute was still active? It amazes me that a liberal woman would let a conservative man get away with that! Unless of course, she was lying.

iowan2 said...

Thank you for validating my prejudices. I don't have to second guess myself.

Iman said...

Wet Ass Howard…

WAH !


Sounds accurate, yes?

Bunkypotatohead said...

Her claim to fame was the show GIRLS, which was just a ripoff of Sex in the City, for 20 something Jewish girls.
Even her supposed career as a self absorbed writer was the same as Carrie Bradshaw's.
The only actor in it to move on to greater things was a guy, Adam Driver.

Now she writes about her nails. Maybe next month it will be her shoes.

Blair said...

I'm old enough to remember when chicks got naked on screen because they were attractive, and people wanted to see them naked. Lena Dunham almost single handedly ruined nude scenes in popular entertainment.