Brows high and low

First, shortly after waking up, I killed an especially agressive mosquito. Then I defended my prospectus. Somehow I figured the luck with the mosquito was a good omen for being ABD by the afternoon, and I was correct. If only I hadn't just put hair goop on my hands when the moment came to reach for the New Yorker and slam it against the mirror where the plump insect rested in the moments between attacks, then the process would have gone forward smoothly. As it stands, I've got smooth hair, a magazine unlikely to frizz even in high humidity, and a dissertation to complete.

Tangentially related: I need to expand on the portion of my thesis that deals with the belle Juive.  As good a place as any to start is this Daily Mail "article" which juxtaposes photos of Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, and Winona Ryder. I have no idea if Weisz is even Jewish, but she is exactly the woman I picture whenever I find references to belles Juives. Portman, though plenty belle, is not, because the belle Juive always has strong features and raven hair. Regardless, I appreciate the British tabloid assembling these images of vaguely Semitic beauties, because (and I realize this is ultra-tangential - we've left the ivory tower and headed down Broadway to Sephora) I recently purchased my first eyeshadow since middle school (this time going for a silver-gray-black palette, rather than sparkly blue), and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Images of the professionally-made-up faces of women with my coloring and idealized versions of my own features are all kinds of useful.