needs inspiration

I feel so ashamed...

2010-07-16T15:59:00.003-05:00

...but Bravo's Work of Art makes me want to blog about reality TV again. But! It's hard, because as ready to "take sides" as I feel (the fact that one "side", as I see it, includes Ryan, Mark and Erik - the macho, egotistical, often vaguely homophobic, transphobic and misogynist dudes who hate on the hot girl everyone's desperately trying to treat like a dummy despite her current climb and the one non-normative-ish male who gets called a "pussy" for having insomnia and, I don't know, wearing sweaters and mumbling? is making it so easy.), I know this is a show and they edit this shit to death in order to create drama, and beyond that, this is probably not how this people would actually treat each other if left to their own devices (i.e. not in a contest, not on television, not on edge all the time).

Jaclyn made this point with a great blog post about how unnecessary Erik's exit was, if it weren't for producers messing with him.

They also edited out scenes of Jaclyn doing math, but left in the scene of Erik claiming she brought everyone snacks. A real mystery, what they're trying to do there...

Ok. Forget the drama this past episode (and the way it carried into twitter, which is why I included Mark on that list of people I'm jumping to side against). I want to talk about my problem with this show in general.

WHERE. ARE. THE. QUEERS?

WHERE ARE THE QUEERS, BRAVO? Do you forget why I and an enormous portion of your audience started watching you in the first place? Of course you have. You're a soulless reality machine now. After Queer Eye ran out of juice and Project Runway ran out on you, it's all housewives and fashionistas and straight, straight, straight people who want to do violence to each other. You're so far from home. Kathy Griffin is all you have left, and you can only absorb the residual queer off of her. Bravo, if Work of Art gets another season: QUEERS. And don't you DARE Zulema them out this time. I'm still pissed about that.

Seriously. The most shocking thing about the "shock art" episode was how shockingly fucking heteronormative Ryan has to be to think dressing up like a "tranny hooker in bondage" is innovative and outrageous, instead of casting him as an immature bigot totally devoid of an original thought.

I am OVERWHELMED but how straight this show is. I can't think of an artist I know who isn't queer! Art and queerness go hand in hand. But if any of Work of Art's artists are queer, the subject has been avoided. Forget this evil editing bullshit, next time, just. hire. queers. We make good television.

Valuing Fat

2009-11-05T00:50:00.004-05:00

I really loved this post over at FWD/Forward (if you haven't checked them out: do! They put out a steady stream of awesome). I thought of it today in my biology class. We weren't about disability or mental health, but about fat.

My professor was listing things that are good about fat. Which is great! Fat is not intrinsically bad! In fact, we need it!

But during the talk about what is good about fat, she used the phrase "Unfortunately, women have more body fat than men". Women have more of this thing I'm trying to tell you that your body needs: unfortunately.

She directly followed that sentence with: "That's why if you go to Sea World, for example, the pearl divers you see are female." Which, is, cool! This is a thing women can do better than men because they're fat! This is a situation in which we must reframe what we value! This is a context in which something that we usually see as a burden, is a gift! SO COOL.

If only you hadn't completely defeated that point in your previous sentence.

Christopher Street Boys Are Badass

2009-10-28T13:18:00.006-05:00

I'm all about the idea that if we "accept" differences without valuing them, it's not really progress. (i.e. I'm for women's rights - they just have to act like men because girly feminine stuff is sissy and weak and frivolous. I'm for gay rights - I want gay people to get married because a marriage is the only kind of relationship that should have protections and rights. And so on.)

Naturally, I totally loved this video by Jay Smooth about the idea that anything gay = weak. When, really? Christopher Street Boys (and Girls and Otherly Gendered Folk) are badass.

Transcript below the cut (which hopefully works now!):

"Christopher Street Boy." Larry Johnson, the running back for the Chiefs, got into an argument with a fan on twitter this weekend - which is always a smart thing to do - and in the midst of this argument, Larry Johnson called this fan a fag, and then he said "Christopher Street Boy. Is what us East Coast cats call u." Christopher Street Boy. Now, Larry Johnson, I gotta ask, what is it you think Christopher Street Boy means, exactly? Because I don't think it means what you think it means. I'm guessing have a vague idea Christopher Street is associated with gay people, and in your mind gay means weak, so you thought that was a good way to insult somebody. But that's not exactly what Christopher Street Boy means. So since I am also an East Coast cat, I'm gonna try to help you out, and break down some history for you.

Christopher Street is associated with gay people, mostly because of something called the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots happened in 1969 in a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, which like most gay bars back then used to get raided by cops all the time, because cops thought it was their job to harass gay people. But on this particular night, at this particular gay bar, these particular gay people decided that they were not having it. And they went outside the bar and fought back for the first time against these cops. And they fought back so hard against these cops outside the bar? That ten cops had to run back in the bar and lock themselves inside to hide from the crowd. This gang of ten cops was hiding from the people who you call Christopher Street Boys. And then, when those cops called a whole bunch of back up, that crowd of Christopher Street Boys, and Girls, had a showdown in the street with all of that backup, that went down in history as the Stonewall Riots and gave birth to the gay rights movement. Which means, Larry Johnson, that when you call that guy a Christopher Street Boy and you think it's a clever way to call him soft and wimpy, you're actually talking about people who are famous for winning a bar fight against a GANG OF COPS. You're talking about people who started a movement by showing the world gay DOESN'T mean weak. You're talking about people, Larry Johnson, that were way tougher and more courageous than you will ever be in your life. That is who Christopher Street Boys are.

And I'm not saying you don't have a right to speak! I'm actually rooting for you to keep on tweeting. I want you to jump in that social media hole and keep digging, so that the Chiefs will finally be forced to put your crappy two-yards-per-carry ass on the bench. And then I can start using your backup on my fantasy team. That would be great for me.

But I still felt like I should pass this message on to you, because as a representative of the East Coast Cat coalition, it's my duty to let a fellow member know you were slipping on this one, and you need to tighten up.

Loving Because, Not Despite

2009-10-21T21:20:00.005-05:00

Today is Love Your Body Day.

I've been thinking the past few days, about bodies. Bodies is a big old topic. When we talk about "loving our bodies", we're usually silently adding "...despite our weight/size". And for good reason - one source indicates that more than 50% of young women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat. It makes me wonder, of course, how many of the women included in this study were fat? How many of those fat young women indicated that they would rather be hit by a truck than be themselves?

The thing about loving our bodies is, we shouldn't be loving our bodies DESPITE of anything. We should be loving our bodies BECAUSE of everything, fat included. Nomy Lamm has written an excellent piece on this topic. Me? I don't identify as fat, because I don't think fat oppression has affected me, at least not any more so than it affects any thin person. I don't want this to seem like I think being fat is a bad thing, something I was to disassociate from, or that I think there is some magical specific weight/shape where fat ends and thin begins. I just don't think it would be right for me to call myself fat when it's not something that actually impacts my life on a day to day basis. That said, I have fat, and I do not see my fat as an inherently negative trait. I'm squishy, and I love that about myself. Kittens sleep comfortably on my belly. People of all kinds find me quite cuddly.

Fat hatred isn't the only thing that keeps us from loving our bodies, though. In my case, I spent a lot of time and energy hating on my hair. My body hair, I mean, and not just on my legs and under my arms - hair springs profusely from my neck, chest and stomach. Growing up, a lot of people told me that hair on women was unattractive. I didn't meet or even see hairy women until I was a legal adult, and by then, it was too late. I was thoroughly dependent on my (fairly ineffective) hair-ridding rituals. Even after I got the message that hairy women were real and could be successful and beautiful and awesome, a lifetime of self-hating left me a lot of insecurities. I'd say it's only in the past six months, as I've increasingly identified as gender variant, have I been able to fully embrace and display my body hair with real love and pride. While the relief and self-love have been super amazing (seriously - you may not understand the impact of this statement unless you've been paralyzed with fear at the mere thought of it, but I actually like to wear shorts in public), it strikes me, of course, that only in recognizing my gender as non-binary could I recognize my body hair as beautiful. To be a truly empowered hairy woman may elude me forever.

In my mind I see this woman, this normal woman. We know she's normal, because we see her everywhere, but she doesn't actually exist.

It's almost easier to describe what this normal woman is not than what she is, because almost everything she is becomes invisible in its ubiquity.
This normal woman is thin. We know fat women are not normal, because we don't see them, and when we do see them, they are a cautionary tale.
This normal woman is able-bodied. We know disabled women are not normal, because we don't see them, and when we do see them, they are to be pitied.
This normal woman is white. We know women of color are not normal, because we don't see them, and when we do see them, they are exotic.
This normal woman is cis and gender-conforming. We know trans and gender non-conforming women are not normal, because we don't see them, and when we do see them, they are the butt of jokes.

I'm simplifying a lot of issues here. The point is, loving your body is discouraged on many different fronts. Loving your body can not be about loving your body despite. Loving your body despite means accepting a non-reality: that this normal woman exists and everyone should/can aspire to be her. There are too many bodies whose realities can never, ever line up with kyriarchal standards of beautiful, or even of normal.

Love Your Body Day may be over by the time you read this, depending on what time zone you're in, but I encourage you to spend a little time anyway thinking about the things you have been taught to love your body despite of - the things about you that you have been told are ugly, abnormal, or just the things you have never been told are beautiful. Loving these things is a radical act.

Love everything about your body - and, I think this is crucial, also love everything about someone else's. The more we realize the vast variety of things we can love in others, the more we feel worthy of love ourselves.

On Humankind (The Word, Not the Kind)

2009-09-06T14:24:00.007-05:00

So, if you haven't read The Terrible Bargain We Have Regretfully Struck, read it. Then seek out the follow up posts. Then you should maybe just subscribe to Shakesville, it being one of my favorite places on the internet.

Anyway. The piece got published by The Guardian, and surprise, the comments were not as supportive. I want to talk about one thing in particular that kept coming up: "humankind".

Melissa McEwan uses gender-neutral language as an example at the end of a long list of little things that complicate her (and many women's) relationship with men, even and especially men they respect and love:

"My mistrust is not, as one might expect, primarily a result of the violent acts done on my body, nor the vicious humiliations done to my dignity. It is, instead, born of the multitude of mundane betrayals that mark my every relationship with a man—the casual rape joke, the use of a female slur, the careless demonization of the feminine in everyday conversation, the accusations of overreaction, the eyerolling and exasperated sighs in response to polite requests to please not use misogynist epithets in my presence or to please use non-gendered language ('humankind')."
In the comments at The Guardian, that very last bit is brought up over. And over. And over. In order to prove Melissa is somehow overreacting, and this is the proof - she cares about this little tiny linguistic semantic nonsense. Some even say that, she makes good points, but that one? Ridiculous. Just a few examples, so you don't have to wade into the shitstorm that is, really, most comments threads:

"Has it never occured to her that she hears all this 'sexist abuse' as comments like 'use non-gendered language ('humankind')' are a red rag to a bull to pisstakers? Does she really not realise how ridiculous she actually comes across as? is there any self awareness at all?"

"Whilst I'm generally a supporter of women's movements for social and political equality, some things in this article seem a bit much. For example: please use non-gendered language ('humankind'). Why the hell does it matter if they say mankind? We're all adults here, and no-one apart from Foucault's spawn genuinely believe that slight alterations of language mean anything for women's rights."
Listen up: I'm going to start using the word "womankind", since it doesn't matter, and, come on, you know what I meant. I'm going to do this not just in friendly conversation, but in all of my classes, whenever I'm writing an article for publication, whenever I give a speech or presentation on any topic, and especially whenever I'm reading in church.
Most of my professors use "womankind", too, you know, because it's easier and, who cares? Changing it to the neutral "humankind" doesn't affect anyone and it's not going to solve anything. Politicians have picked it up, too. And clergy - priests, rabbis, imams, what have you - they have to use "womankind" a lot, and why bother changing it? It's been around forever, and it's not a big inconvenience to anyone.

Oh, and when I walk into a room to greet people of mixed genders, I'm going to say "What's up, you gals?" Then we're all going to hang out, maybe watch the NBA, or if no games are on, the MNBA. When they leave, I guess I'll hang out alone and listen to my walkwoman, or play on my gamegirl.

This exercise might have struck you as a little silly. Good. It strikes me as a little silly that flipping it this way doesn't occur to most people. And it strikes me as a little silly that a person who has heard themselves acknowledged in the language everyone around them uses since the dawn of fucking time can tell someone else that language doesn't affect them, and furthermore, that it's worth mocking someone who does feel affected.

Maybe language is a symptom of a "real" problem of male experience being considered universal and female experience being considered specialized (and therefore less valuable). Personally, I think it's more than that; I think there is an attitude and assumption built into all that language (or, that all that language was built ON), and using it perpetuates that problem. I think changing it would make a difference, because it would hopefully cause one to think about why the assumption present in that language is not ok. (Not to mention the thousands of women who would feel less stressed out by being reminded that society neglects and excludes them, for example, in church, or in the literature that we consider classic, or in speeches by their elected officials, or in a chat with their friends.)

But maybe you don't agree. In which case you have two options, as I see it: argue until you're blue in the face that changing the language fixes nothing! You're wasting your time! No one cares about this shit! Linguistics! Semantics!

Or woman up and just attempt to say "humankind" because there's no real reason not to.

My Favorite Thing... Ever?

2009-08-25T16:34:00.006-05:00

Maybe that's a tad hyperbolic, as I'm also a fan of food and oxygen and the human capacity to love.

But somewhere near the top of that list? Free documentaries on the internet. Here's a few sites dedicated specifically to this:
Snag Films
Hulu Documentaries
Logo Real Momentum GLBTQI Documentaries

But what triggered this post was actually a documentary I watched on youtube yesterday, Boy I Am. It doesn't speak to my exact experience (no single piece of media really speaks to anyone's exact experience, does it?), but a lot of the topics it addresses are topics that have been bubbling in my head as a feminist (and beyond that, a person whose work and studies and support networks all involve feminists and feminism), and as an increasingly gender non-conforming person who has always been invested in transgender inclusion and rights.

Here's part 1:

And part 2:

The rest is on youtube (you can find it, I believe in you), and I recommend viewing the whole thing. If you want to know more about the film or buy it, the film's official site is here, and you can purchase it through Women Makes Movies.

This is also one of the reasons I really truly deeply love the internet: finding people who think like you (especially in the case that "you" are marginalized or non-normative) is easy in ways generations before could not imagine.

New (Reality) Love

2009-08-23T18:26:00.005-05:00

I don't want to say I'm over Project Runway. But after a few seasons of on-and-off watching? It's not vital to my being. I might still comment on it - because I do still watch it - but, you know what? I've found someone else.

None of the designers, or the styles, on Project Runway have really caught my eye the way Ashley of Top Chef already has.

Of course, I might be biased by the fact that the first challenge was completely dull. Red carpet? Seriously? The place where boring = classic, and actually expressing an ounce of individuality = worst dressed list. I know we're under new management here, but usually the first challenge of Project Runway is about throwing everyone out of their comfort zone and seeing who doesn't lose their shit. Not "make a pretty dress for pretty people - that's it, ok, go!"
So, time will tell if I'm actually interested enough to write anything on this. But don't wait patiently on it.

The Problem with Shaking My Ass

2009-08-06T14:42:00.006-05:00

I use Stumbleupon, and I once thumbs-upped a website about feminism. I don't remember what the site was, but I remember one of the comments on it, along the lines of: "Women have it better than men. They get a speeding ticket, they shake their ass. They need a drink, they shake their ass. They want a promotion, they shake their ass."

In response to that comment on Stumbleupon, I said "Yes, because I love having to get things with my ass instead of my voice." But there's more to it than that.

This morning, I thought about the fact that a State Fire Marshall is coming to my workplace, and that my boss told me that if we upset him, even if it had nothing to do with the fire code, our whole facility could be in danger. I was changing this morning, saw myself in the mirror and thought, What if he comes to talk to me while I'm working the front desk? What if he doesn't like the fact that I'm gender non-conforming? What if he says something about it?

I couldn't do anything if that happened, I told myself immediately. I couldn't complain or report it. I shouldn't even talk back to him. My workplace might have bad relations with the fire department for a long time if I did, and too many people need this place to thrive. Then my mind wandered.

What if I was looking particularly feminine that day instead, and what if he hit on me? I should take it, I told myself, to keep him in a good mood, to not endanger my job and the jobs of others.

What if I was pulled over, and the cop told me to shake my ass to get out of my ticket? More importantly - what would he do if I didn't? Would I get a bigger ticket? One that I couldn't afford? What if he touched me? What if I didn't let him? Would I be arrested? Would I be attacked?

Later today I was reading the deeply disturbing post about anti-feminist reactions to George Sodoni on Alas, A Blog. Some said that women should consider the murders a "tax" for women taking advantage of men. Some said that women deserved this for not sleeping with men.

The thing the anti-feminists ignore, or maybe just accept, when talking about how women take advantage of men, is that in their imagined situations, men have the actual power. Unfortunately, in reality, it usually remains true, that straight white able-bodied cis men have the most power - socially and economically, and they are more likely to be in positions of authority. Women, according to anti-feminists, gain access to (or "take advantage of") men's power by giving men a sense of ownership of their bodies (shaking their ass or "putting out").

Of course, the idea that this is what "power" is for women is so deeply problematic. But if we follow the logic, what happens when women deny men ownership of their bodies? They remain powerless. And those with power can (and often do) punish them.

No, anti-feminists, women don't have it better than men. Because it can come down to this. Because if I don't shake my ass, I'll get a ticket. Because if I don't flirt back, I don't know how this stranger at the bar will react. Because if I don't have sex with him, maybe my supervisor will fire me. Because if I don't put up with sexual harassment, I will be punished. Because if I report it, those in control of my life will resent me. Because if I acknowledge that my body is mine, and not yours, I am putting myself in danger.

The worst part of writing this? Is that I know there are some minds that wouldn't change from reading it.

edit: I'm not saying this is right, or that therefore women SHOULD put up with harassment or SHOULDN'T report it. I'm saying that anti-feminists who complain about women having it better don't realize that punishing women for expressing body autonomy is not a TAX or a PAYBACK for taking advantage of men - it's a system that ensures men can continue taking advantage of women.
I also think if anything DID happen, my workplace would support me in reporting it - but the people who I would be reporting on would have the power to make our lives more difficult, and whether they'd exert it or not, that's the crux of the issue.

Breaking News: White Privilege Exists

2009-07-30T14:10:00.005-05:00

Obama mishandled comments on race. Bold headline, eh?

According to the article: "Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of how President Barack Obama has dealt with the racially tinged dispute between a white Cambridge, Mass., police officer and a well-known black Harvard scholar — with white voters especially likely to take a negative view, according to a poll released Thursday."

Emphasis mine.
Gee. Really? White people are less likely to empathize with Obama's sentiments on this? I think this poll, and the wording of its reporting, is less telling of Obama's tact and more telling of those who took the poll. In other words, white privilege still exists. Of course, that headline might not go over as well.

Also, I'm continuously surprised (though I shouldn't be) that the public is surprised that police officers did something racist. This story - and I'm sure some bloggers have touched on this but I haven't read them - is only a big story because a Harvard professor was involved. If it were a middle class or poor black person that no one had heard of before, this would not be reported on. It would be the norm. And, Ian added when we were discussing it today, "he would probably still be in jail".

Invisible

2009-07-18T15:08:00.004-05:00

Q: Where in the news media can you find a discussion of race in which the host addresses the most basic ways white people are privileged, instead of mindless squawking about what is and is not racist, or, more often lately, "reverse-racist"?

A: Come on now.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Neutral Man's Burden

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

The Theme of the Day Is, Themes

2009-06-21T19:03:00.003-05:00

I am endlessly amused and impressed by collections of clips displaying themes in pop culture that we take for granted. And so today I have amassed for you a COLLECTION OF COLLECTIONS.

Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions (Lonely Island):

I'm Not Here to Make Friends (FourFour):

Finally Tonight, Jesus (Everything is Terrible):

Put the Camera Down/Turn It Off (FourFour):

Medicine (Target Women with Sarah Haskins):

I could actually use a lot of other Sarah Haskins videos, I'm sure. I'll leave just this one for now, since I was shocked that I never noticed this stupid black and white theme.
I'll add more as I find/they inspire... please leave any I've missed!

Overdue (aka No Longer Relevant)

2009-06-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

Alright. I have a few posts in the queue that are long overdue. And I refuse to go the usual route of letting them die alone. So, a solid month after the airing, here are my thoughts on the Dollhouse finale. I'll break it down into things I liked, and things that disappointed.

What I liked:
- I liked that Alpha's obsession with Echo was not actually based on his recognizing her brilliance, or her capacity to be like him, or anything that justified his treating her like an experiment and plaything. I liked the reveal, be it contradictory to all that was built up, that Alpha just became obsessed with an unhealthy crush.
- Amy Acker. Though I'm sold on Eliza Dushku as Echo, sometimes during assignments I find myself thinking about Faith (during her fight in the restaurant with Ballard, I actually said aloud "This is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Battlestar Galactica crossover episode." Though I've never actually watched BSG. This is my distaste for Watchmen [the comic, not the movie, which I haven't seen] make me a bad nerd. Among other things). But Amy Acker, not surprisingly, is amazing in every new role. I completely forget her character in the last scene and totally buy into whatever she's playing that minute. I wonder why few if any fans saw the Dr. Saunders being a doll thing coming - what a perfect way for Joss to utilize her versatility. I mean, to my understanding the last time they worked together, he killed off her character just to create a chance for her to play something else.
- Topher's facade cracking. Please, please, please, let this continue to develop in season two. Topher, the goofy asshat, taking a introspective and serious turn could have major positive implications for the direction of the show.
- Ballard feeling discomfort and conflict around November. His reactions to her in Briar Rose were infuriatingly simplified. The ending would indicate that she's being phased out, which is really frustrating. I feel unsatisfied. Speaking of...

What I Didn't Like:
- The playing up of Alpha's violent past and the playing down of the Dollhouse's recklessness with him. This was a huge problem for me. If this was the case, why was it even significant that Echo retained memories? I'm a little interested in Ballard's talk of souls, since the intersection of science and spirituality is always a rich and worthy topic, but, I feel like, they're undermining their own point. Society controls us - except you can't change people! I'm deeply disappointed by this 'evil people are just evil' mixed message.
- The instantaneous of Echo's enlightenment (conveyed so user-friendly-y via monologue) followed by the erasure of that enlightenment. No struggle in either direction.

Well, at this point the show has been picked up for a second season, and I'm glad. I still believe in the basic concept, and despite the missteps, I want to see where it goes. Oh, and if I get my hands on the unaired actual finale, maybe I'll write something up on that. The shots I've seen from it have been most titillating.

Today in Victim Blaming

2009-06-09T17:50:00.003-05:00

Alright. Am I the only one who saw this ad and legitimately thought the message was going to be "don't be a shithead when your friend might have alcohol poisoning"? No, unfortunately, actual medical information about the dangers of binge drinking is not the way anti-drug ads tend to roll. Shame is the way anti-drug ads tend to roll. Whatever people do to you when you're incapacitated is your fault, not theirs, apparently.

Hmm.

2009-06-07T16:39:00.003-05:00

Today I was asked: "So, what does a feminist do?"
To which I replied: "Anything they want to."

Oh my gosh I'm going to write about Dollhouse and share things from rallies in RI but just for the minute have Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech:

How It Works

2009-06-03T15:56:00.004-05:00

Um, I haven't been posting lately because I've been hopping around the East Coast and then over in France at Taize.

It was my third pilgrimage in the last three years. Maybe this isn't something you would assume about me from this blog (or maybe you would? I have little idea about how I'm perceived). After talking about being a bit of a church geek (though the friends I travel with to Taize constantly remind me that I'm not a real church geek, not at all) in a response to a Bishop poem that alluded to Peter, I've had a professor ask me, "So being a church geek is compatible with being politically left?"
To which I, bewildered, answered: "..Yes?"
"How does that work?"
I gave him a brief and insufficient answer about Jesus being a big liberal commie. I guess I could rant on it a while here but, I started writing this entry about how I wasn't going to write anything lengthy yet. And I always feel utterly scattered whenever I try to pull my shit together to talk about religion. But what it boils down to is that the base of my political views and the base of my Christian views are the very same: Egalitarianism. In other words, love. It's not some miracle that they work together. Truly, sometimes, it is the only way they work.

Anyway, that's why I've been out. Maybe I'll write something more expansive soon. I'll leave you right now with my two favorite English-language songs from Taize. Neither of these videos are mine.

A Few Words on Political Correctness

2009-05-12T14:53:00.008-05:00

So, today Shakesville pointed me over to the Daily Kos, which I know of but almost never read and, well, I guess this kind of thing is why.

The writer, after really sensibly explaining that dismissing marginalized groups as "oversensitive" and "too PC" is just a convenient way to acknowledge what you're saying is disrespectful, but belittle and emotionally attack your critics, and go on offending people. Good.

Then, of course, he goes right on to belittle and emotionally attack critics and go on offending people. But don't worry! It's ok because the people he's pulling fatphobic, transphobic and misogynist joke about are conservatives! He also throws in some racism and ableism in at the end for good measure.
"Look. I totally sympathize with the transgendered that they would not want to be associated with Coulter..."
You REALLY don't get it already.

"Coulter dresses for 'fan service' - that is, she knows a significant percentage of her fans find her attractive and she uses that to her advantage... The fact that she's not particularly feminine becomes an obvious point of ridicule. Does that mean the message is 'Ha ha, Ann Coulter is a transsexual and transgendered people suck'? No, the message is 'Ha ha, Ann Coulter is trying to flaunt her stuff with so very little to flaunt.' Juvenile? Yes. 'Transphobic?' No."
Ok, first, fuck putting quotes around transphobic. I know you know it's real. The problem with jokes aimed at conservatives, or anyone, that exploit marginalized groups (in this case, people that deviate from normal/ideal gender phenotype and presentation) is NOT that you're directly saying "such and such groups sucks!" It's almost never that clear. But the joke just isn't fucking funny unless it involves the prejudice. If gender was acknowledged to be fluid and gender binary was meaningless? Calling Ann Coulter a man, a drag queen, a tranny, masculine, or saying she dresses too femininely, or isn't feminine enough just wouldn't make any sense, never mind being funny. By making a joke about anyone's gender nonconformity, you are reinforcing the validity of gender conformity. One may say "but I support transgendered people!" I'm sure you have, politically. But you're also happily engaging in the system that dictates their difference; their difference which makes them the butt of jokes, their difference that causes people fear them, their difference which causes their lives to be valued less than NORMAL people, their difference which causes the brutal murders which create the need for a Transgender Day of Remembrance.
You didn't mean to. But you fucking did.

I see similar in arguments against hate crime laws - why is this joke worse because it's aimed at a certain kind of person? Why is this crime worse because it's aimed at a certain kind of person? Neither is because hating super-special marginalized people is the super-awfullest kind of hate and so we have to be super-sensitive to it. It is because when you joke about, or harass, or commit violence against, one marginalized person (or one person who is targeted because of their perceived association with a marginalized group, such as a cisgender person who is perceived as transgender), you are sending a message to ALL people of that marginalized group: it is not ok to be what you are. It is deviant. It is funny. It is bad. It will not be tolerated. It will be punished.

God, I could go on, but that part infuriated me the most for personal reasons, and of course because I've heard too many "progressives" repeating the ever-hilarious "Coulter is a man" sentiment recently.

Here are a few calmer words on being "politically correct" (i.e. respectful) from Jay Smooth:

Jay Smooth: "...we think we need to prove to everyone that being past racism means being freed from the unfair burden of ever having to care how we affect each other. Did I mention that this means you're crazy?"
And embedding is disabled, but yeah, I immediately thought of Beau Sia's response to Rosie O'Donnell a few years ago, when the writer at the Daily Kos finished with:

"Let's quit trying to find reasons to be offended by each other and instead deal with the real issues facing us."
And I thought, real easy to say when you have the privilege of not associating these "jokes" with "real issues" like, say, the violence they justify.

Beau Sia: "I speak... for those who know what ching-chong ching-chong feels like combined with a swinging bat. Learn from this... Tap into the humanity I know that you possess."

why I still love the internet

2009-05-07T09:14:00.004-05:00

lily allen + queers + webcams =

Seriously, I love you, internet. I was researching androgyny the other day, and, can you imagine trying to find a comprehensive and sympathetic perspective on that in books? I mean, I'm sure it exists somewhere, but in my local library? Nuh-uh. Thank you internet, for connecting queers!

I am using the word "queer" today in retaliation to the Plumber Who Must Not Be Named's recent admonishment that:
"People don’t understand the dictionary—it’s called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It’s not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that."
I'm not sure if he's trying to attack GLBTIQ folk's right to use it, or defending his right to use it. If it's the former, well gosh, I have no idea why we'd want to spin unusual and different into a positive. And if he's defending his right to use it, well gosh, I have no idea why a guy who says he has gay friends but won't let them near his children calling us unusual and different might be insulting.

Also, who the fuck says "honky"? Really? That's really the racial epitaph that... oh, why do I bother. This is what Lily Allen lyrics are for.

Briar Rose Thoughts and Theories

2009-05-04T17:24:00.003-05:00

Here be Dollhouse spoilers!

Predicting plot details of my favorite TV shows correctly inflates my head in a very special nerdy way, and Maia at Alas, A Blog independently put together the Alpha has an imprint of Topher theory I put forward a few weeks ago. Alan Tudyk has also stated that "the fact that Kepler's mannerisms are so similar to Topher's was not an accident". Whether or not this will be the catalyst for a character change in Topher that I was hoping it would be is perhaps less likely. Especially if the show doesn't get much farther.

So, after the last episode, new theory. Thinking about what the future would hold for Victor now that he's had his face sliced up, I realized that Dr. Claire Saunders is a doll. I've felt from the first few episodes that she's an inaccessible character intentionally, though at first I thought she was Alpha's person on the inside. One of my viewing buddies smartly pointed out back in that everyone-gets-high episode that Saunders is the only one kept out of the mix - I thought it was because it would reveal too much about her, and in a way that's true, because her reaction would have revealed she was a doll. (That episode was also useful in establishing that Topher was not a doll, which I had wondered about.)
Then, of course, two episodes ago came the revelation that Dr. Saunders never leaves the dollhouse. I am a bit ashamed I didn't put this together right then. Last night, I was first tipped off when Dominic said "Whiskey", which is part of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet which all the dolls are named after. I didn't know why everyone would act like he was talking about the drink, but it makes sense if the doll he was talking about was in the room. Then, of course, came Alpha's leading question, "Did you always want to be a doctor?"

I thought this was too obvious to write about, actually, but my viewing buddies seemed perplexed by my conclusion at first.

As far as the more philosophical content of this episode, I was feeling the "it's not your fault you can't leave" message, but then not so much the "the prince is the dream of the princess" message, though that might have been for lack of clarity. This is a much longer post, but a problem I have with Joss Whedon at times is that he always has these leading strong women whose power was forced upon them from men. The thing with Buffy was that the show lasted long enough for her to fully explore and eventually undermine the source of that power, not only making it her own but ultimately sharing it with other women. I don't expect Echo to undermine the Dollhouse(s) and welcome the other dolls to share in her power quite yet. But I am tickled with anticipation to see her to undermine her savior, Alpha.

Bah

2009-04-26T13:00:00.001-05:00

I am busy and will be busy for a while.

In the meantime, watch this:

Buddha, Eve, Victim Blaming

2009-04-21T15:28:00.013-05:00

The Boy has voiced his own comparison brought on by my shaved head, and I'm downright tickled by it. He thinks my state of hairlessness (or at least, near-hairlessness) resembles the Buddha! He added, "But the one you see... on the internet... do you know what I mean?"
Not really, but maybe he was talking about the body art forms logo:

Hmm. The labret, the plugs, the squinting grin, the thick brows... I can actually totally see this one.

So this post has some meat, let me mention a discussion I had about a different religious icon this past week. After reading excerpts from Paradise Lost, my literature class split up into two teams for a mock trial. It wasn't the devil being tried, it was Eve, and to my surprise, the vast majority of the class was on the team condemning her.

So, I hesitate to explain or label my religious inclinations, but I'd say I'm more Christian than your average liberal arts college bear. But this Eve being responsible for the fall thing? I think it's bullshit. We were going by Milton, not the Bible, of course, in which case, this Eve being responsible for the fall thing is even BIGGER bullshit.
She is so clearly deceived into biting the stupid fruit (the devil as a serpent tells her: you need to do this, I did it and I'm fine, I'm better than fine I'm great, it will really be OK with God, heck, he'll probably be proud of you, and so on), and then Milton makes it so clear that Adam is making his choice freely, with full knowledge of the consequences. Basically, Adam was capable of informed consent and Eve was not.

Can you already imagine how the "trial" went?

Instead of arguing that, say, Eve should have followed the commandment of God above the advice of a snake (a shaky argument, but the only valid one in my mind), these are legitimately the kind of questions I got on the stand:
-Why did you want to go out by yourself?
-Didn't Adam warn you not to go out by yourself?
-Didn't you know that there was an enemy in your midst?
-Weren't you suspicious of a talking snake?
-Didn't you know you would be tempted?
So, they sort of acknowledged Eve was deceived, but it was her fault for getting into the situation because she was reckless. Sound familiar?

Yes, this fake trial of Eve was a cornucopia of victim-blaming language. After a few minutes of this all going unquestioned, I asked to speak out of turn to say "If you knew theres a robber in the neighborhood, it's still not your fault you got robbed."

This is not misogyny in the Bible, or in Paradise Lost. This is misogyny straight out of the mouths of my college peers, who think these kinds of approaches are valid legal maneuvers. I'm sure they didn't make the connection to rape trials, but the logic is appallingly similar.
In seventh grade or so, we spent a whole day learning about and discussing consent. I still remember most of it - we were given a lot of scenarios, some sexual and some not, and asked if the victim or the perpetrator was to blame for the crime. The number of people who, totally or partially, blamed the victim steadily decreased throughout the day.

At the time I thought that, like learning about puberty or drugs, this was the standard.

Oh, About Habeas Corpus.

2009-04-16T10:53:00.000-05:00

Obama, you're off my trust list.

I Was Going to Post Something Curmudgeonly

2009-04-16T01:14:00.005-05:00

About the tea parties, and/or habeas corpus (fucking, fuck). But then I remembered buzz cut loves:

No one has drawn these comparisons yet, which is surprising, considering the musical tastes of my loved ones.

I should be bothered by people wanting to touch my head, but honestly, I feel slighted when people DON'T want to touch it. Guh. I love my head.

Almost Too Good to Be True

2009-04-11T13:00:00.007-05:00

Right-wingers love teabagging, and NOM (who I can only assume are I Can Has Cheezburger enthusiasts?) have created Two Million For Marriage (2M4M), a campaign against gay marriage (apparently, no one tried googling m4m before the launch).

All of this has me itching to create the Board for the Defense of the Sanctity of Marriage (BDSM), just to see how many join up.

Some Things I Needed

2009-04-09T16:25:00.008-05:00

So. It might be redundant to say gender issues are a theme of my life right now, but the past few days have just been... you know when you're reading a book, and you get to the chapter that uses the title in a bunch of sentences? It's been like that.

I had dinner with the wonderful Jennifer Miller on Tuesday. Here's the short youtube version of the documentary Juggling Politics about her political Circus Amok:

On the way to see her screen the film and perform that night, I got harassed for the first time about my buzz cut. Nothing traumatic - a gang of ten-year-olds shouting. I didn't hear most of it. A friend told me later that they asked if I was a boy or a girl.

The next day, we workshopped a short story in a fiction class that had a scene implying rape was justified/healed by pregnancy. I wish I was surprised that some other people didn't understand why it was upsetting.
Later that day I watched the single most disturbing film of my life. There were multiple graphic rape scenes. My professor apologized afterward for not warning us about them. I was trying not to break down for the rest of the three-hour class.

Today in another class were talking about Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. That's always a little bothersome because I'm practically a Bechdel fangirl, but also because the book deals with sexuality and gender a lot, and I'm constantly being reminded that my understanding and experience with these topics (and therefore the connections and reactions I have with the book) doesn't match the majority. There's a lot of examples I could pull out, but what affected me today was Bechdel's story about seeing a pornographic wall calendar and feeling inexplicably exposed and ashamed, and then telling her brothers to call her Albert instead of Alison. Other students assumed it was just another example of wanting to be butch and masculine, but I think the inclusion of the calendar points to something else - the inherent vulnerability of being female.

So my head is swelling with all of this and more. Shaving my head has spurred some thoughts on where I fall on the gender spectrum. The other day a friend online posted something I really needed to read: she, like me, was wondering about her gender identity, and she, like me, had the thought, "Who the fuck am I to be transgender? How dare I?" I have this feeling, like, if I wasn't strictly female, I would have figured it out by now. Which is, of course, bullshit.
I also found Alison Bechdel's coming out story online this week, and this scene was really significant:

Speaking of shaving my head, I posted some photos on my facebook account, and somehow the whole of my extended family knows about it now. I expect this entry itself will be read by at least one or two family members that google me with enough intensity. I don't know if I can express this without sounding like a hypocrite, or self-important, but, the thing is, if I write publicly about my personal life (which I have, more in song than here, but I hope this blog is headed for a more personal tone), I don't do it for people that I know. I'd prefer if people that I know let me choose how and when I share things with them. I write publicly in the hopes that someone else needs to hear something that I have to say; just as I needed to hear about Jennifer Miller and Circus Amok when I came to accept that my body would never match ideals about hair (without much unwanted suffering), just as I needed to read that Alison Bechdel was still struggling with her identity at age nineteen as I'm still struggling with mine at age twenty-one, just as, in that fiction workshop, I needed to hear that one other person was upset by that scene before I could say it myself.

Today on Feministing, this song was posted:

I've been listening to it kind of non-stop all day. After a week of feeling drained the casual nature of misogyny and the normativeness of ignorance about gender's complexities, I needed this.

(edit: CocoRosie's history of racism has been pointed out in the comments on Feministing. Ugh. Their song made me cry, but, ugh.)

Reflections on Head Shaving

2009-04-02T23:57:00.007-05:00

After saying for years that I would do this soon, I hunted down a pair of clippers and just did it. I have never been happier. I have urges to fix my hair throughout the day, and instead I touch my fuzz and just smile. I feel like I've escaped somehow.

All of the attention I've received has been positive so far, but I haven't strayed far from my college campus. Here are some things I have noticed, though:
1. Several people have asked if I did this for charity, or gave my hair away. It wasn't long enough, but I didn't really think about that option. I don't think that's a bad thing, or a good thing, just neutral: didn't think of donating my hair. Just wanted to chop it off. No reason required.
2. I have been compared to every Famous Bald Woman I can think of, save Britney Spears (whose head-shaving incident, I maintain, was awesome). Natalie Portman, twice. GI Jane. Sinead O'Connor. Deb from Empire Records. Though I liked all the comments, since I like all of these women, it baffles me that shaved heads are still abnormal enough on women that this sort of thing happens (and that people focused on Britney's baldness as a sign of insanity). Also, thinking of fictional shaved women, I couldn't help but notice a trend: Portman's character was forcefully shaved. Demi Moore's character shaved for the military (I haven't seen the movie, but I imagine it's either compulsory or, more likely, to prove herself). Robin Tunney's Deb freely chose to shave her own head (a scene which really stuck with me and I've posted it below), but throughout the film she's poorly adjusted and in a place of desperation. I looked for more on the web - Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3 apparently shaves to avoid lice. Where is a happy well-adjusted fictional woman who ditches her hair?

The idea to write this down came from the popular What I Learned By Shaving My Head.

Share in the shaved head heaven with me:

There's a longer version of the following scene on youtube, with embedding disabled.

Watch more Empire Records videos on AOL Video

My Ada Lovelace Day Conrtibution: Diana Eng!

2009-03-24T17:49:00.010-05:00

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, and I'm joining many bloggers by celebrating women excelling in technology. The first one to come to mind was one of the first people I wrote about in this blog. If you've been here before, you may remember it all started with a little show called Project Runway, just before their second season. My favorite contestant on that season, and I contend the most kick-ass person to ever be on the show, nay, reality television:

Diana Eng, self-proclaimed "Nerd and Fashion Deisgner". She was an automatic favorite of sorts because she graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, not twenty minutes away from where I grew up, but I was completely swept away when in her audition, she introduced a hoodie that contained a small camera and a heart monitor. When the wearer's heart rate increased, the camera snapped a photo of whatever they were viewing.
Eng didn't make it to the final rounds on Project Runway, unfortunately, because, among other things, Michael Kors doesn't understand how magnets work. (Me? Bitter?) There's also the fact that the time and material constraints of the show didn't make room for her skills with technology (though in 2006, she did design and create ablogging purse with two teammates in less than 24 hours).

Of course, Eng is too good for me to define her through the show. When she was only 22, an inflatable dress she designed had been featured on ID Magainze. Here's the cover, and her blog entry marking it:

"I've dreamt of making it into ID magazine since I was 13. As a child I made really awful pamphlets and brochures documenting my latest design ideas for things such as nesting tea cups and landscape inspired furniture. Then I would send the brochures off to ID mag editors positive that they would feature me the next month. I was never selected. And after going to art school I've often wondered what they thought of my subpar entries. But this month I made the cover with the inflatable dress I made with Emily Albinski. The gorgeous girl in the photo is my roommate JungIn You."

Her first book, Fashion Geek, came out March 17th, full of projects for tech-savvy. She also helped found the hacker group NYC Resistor, where members "meet regularly to share knowledge, hack on projects together, and build community". She's included in their own Ada Lovelace day post, wearing what I believe is the same fibonacci scarf pictured above - a fibonacci scarf!

You can follow what Diana Eng is up to at her blog, Fashion Nerd.
Thanks Diana, for being my technology heroine, and showing literally millions of girls and women how fashionable math and science can be!

Damn you, Joss Whedon

2009-03-23T08:54:00.004-05:00

For getting me so emotionally invested in this show.

So, not a full recap or analysis or anything, but yeah, the Episode That Changed Everything delivered. We abandoned the adventure-of-the-week set up, and I'd be happy to never go back- Echo is still central, but we got really involved in the other characters.

Sexual violence got serious treatment this time, and I thought these things were important: It was clearly treated as rape even though Sierra didn't say no or physically resist; and the rapist handler, whose name escapes me, tried to excuse his behavior because the Dollhouse is "in the business of using people". Obviously the excuse isn't acceptable, but I think Joss was wisely making a connection of sexual violence to the environment of objectification and exploitation.
Things that bothered me about Sierra's storyline: I can't recall if they actually used the word "rape" - I know Dr. Saunders said "Sierra's had sex" after the exam, but I don't know if they changed the language after it became obvious that she didn't (and really, couldn't) consent. Also, a little mad at Boyd for letting the other handler attempt again in order to "catch him in the act" instead of, oh I don't know, asking Sierra about him. Of course, it was hugely satisfying to have him punched through a glass wall with his fly down.

The big thing that changed with me is that I am now completely invested in the fate of Mellie/November:

I saw the reveal coming, but it was still a bit heartbreaking. Previews for future episodes indicate possible revolt against the Dollhouse. Can she just be the main character now, please?

Unrelated to this episode: another blog pointed out how wildly inaccurate the homebirth scene was... which I really should have noticed, since I've seen homebirths. Though Topher's probably not a mifwifery expert, and you probably couldn't get away with a completely accurate homebirth on TV (we need to throw a sheet over her- for medical reasons!), this is a still a case of ball-dropping. Oh well. I appreciate the attempt, if not the execution.

The Problem with Echo (which is not actually a problem)

2009-03-15T20:59:00.009-05:00

Alright, so. I've been putting off writing about Dollhouse because - besides the fact that I've only been casually engaged blogging lately - the series is young, and I felt analyzing the shit out of it was a little premature. It was episode two, and a lot of people seemed to be complaining that "this is not a feminist masterpiece yet!", and, you know, wait.

But, I want to get some writing on it in before the alleged mind-blower next Friday. I don't really want to talk about this past Friday's installment, True Believer - except for Victor's man reaction, which I'll get to in a minute. I want to talk about episode four, Gray Hour, because for me, it solved a fundamental problem a lot of people seem to have with the show, and it made me realize a direction the show could go in, which excites my obsession with the construction of identity to no end.

Particularly after the first two episodes (once again - dude, you have to wait) I read a lot of complaints along the lines of "there is no one to root for". Or relate to, or sympathize with, or what have you. Everyone who works in the dollhouse is evil (Dominic), borderline evil (Topher), or at least has big whomping moral gray area (Boyd). The dolls are either a completely fabricated person or a completely empty person. Well, people with moral gray areas seem to be a staple of the Whedonverse, so I think the answer for a lot of people was to root for Boyd, especially after episode two, The Target, in which we realize that he actually cares for Echo and prioritizes her over the dollhouse itself.

But, Echo is the main character. Though I hope, and think, we will see an episode with someone else in the A-Story (though I suppose it could be argued that The Target was really more about Boyd than Echo), this is clearly Echo's story. And the story we're following is about a person without an identity. And that's a problem. Right?

I think the pilot, Ghost, partially answered this concern for me: we can relate to Echo in an imprinted state, because even though we know it's all made up, it's incredibly real to whatever person she is that day. So we can relate to the main character for the length of the episode, which can be effective, as I think it was in Ghost - especially since we were reminded that, even if it wasn't Echo's real experience, these bad memories were real. But maybe this only works to an extent. Without something steady, it'll get harder and harder to buy into Echo's persona-of-the-week.

Episode three - I don't actually know what it was called because it was, admittedly, the weakest episode so far, the only time so far I've felt THE METAPHOR! was being shoved in my face. But the revelation that Echo was "adapting" to her assignments indicated something important - that Echo does not have a consistent identity on assignments, but she does possibly have a consistent underlying personality, that her self is shading her imprinted personalities. This doesn't really solve the relating-to-Echo problem either, though, I think, since it's not really clear what these glitches imply, except of course plot twists aplenty.

And that still leaves blank doll-state Echo to deal with. The tabula rasa state may be the closest thing to the dolls' "true" personality, and they're, you know, empty hats. Which is why Gray Hour is my favorite episode thus far, and why Victor's man reaction is important (I'll get to it in a minute!).

In Gray Hour, we're watching Echo - not Caroline and not an imprint, but wide-eyed empty-headed Echo, and we find out she's not an empty hat - she's a person. She doesn't just sit around gaping and asking where the massage table is. She gets scared, she thinks about art, she makes a connection to one person and abandons another - she's not a plaything. She's not a blank slate, not really. She's a person who just isn't given a chance to be one. And this, for me, solves the who-do-we-relate-to problem once and for all, but also asks a lot more questions.

Victor's man reaction, i.e. his crush on Sierra, is another example of this. We're being shown that not just Echo, but Dolls in general aren't robots, they're people. DeWitt's cold demand that Victor be "scrubbed" and the whole forced utopia is, you know, goddamn disturbing in this light.

I took a college course called "Science, Literature and Gender", in which we read The Cloning of Joanna May, which deals with identity in a different sci-fi scenario. Sparing the details, since this is already really long, the class talked about the idea of a whole identity versus fragmented identity. The former is usually what we think of as "identity", but the latter isn't necessarrily a bad thing. Joanna May had several outward "selves" whereas Echo has several inward "selves". Joanna May ultimately doesn't become "fragmented", but multiplied, her power increases by virtue of being split up. This possibility for Echo - which I thought of when she uttered the heart-stirring line, "I'm not broken" - really excites me.

Ok. Miscellaneous other things about Gray Hour:

I like the midwife intro, because the show finally winks at us about having too much sex, and because, yay midwives! Even though it seems only the super-duper rich can afford them - or maybe the super-duper rich don't trust ordinary midwives. Whatever. "Yay midwives" stands.

Alas, A Blog took issue with the portrayal (or lack thereof, I suppose) of sexual violence in this episode, which is totally understandable. For me, though, since the people in the show are programmed to consent, I feel much more disturbed by the "consensual" sex that's constantly happening and so far hasn't been dealt with at all. Here's hoping for improvements in this whole area.

(If I could make a subtitle for this post, it would be "And a Journey of Self-Discovery for... Topher?")

Topher knows from the get-go that Alpha would be able to achieve a remote wipe, only thinking it's impossible because he assumes Alpha is dead. If no one understands this technology but Topher and Alpha, and imprints are made from real people, could this imply that Alpha has an imprint of Topher, or at least part of Topher? It's not implausible - if something happens to Topher, how else could they keep the Dollhouse running? I've been toying with the idea that some of the faculty in the Dollhouse are dolls themselves, that this may even be the true meaning of putting someone in "the attic", and this reveal would put a new angle on the exploration of identity. We don't sympathize with Echo's constructed identities because we seem them come and go, sure, but if, say, Boyd or Saunders or Dominic were revealed to be a doll, then how does our relationship to the character change? How does the character's relationship to other characters change? Would they defend their long-term constructed personality or reject it? Of course, I'm thinking more and more that this isn't going to be the case.
BUT, if Alpha has an imprint of Topher, what implications could this have for Topher's sense of identity? Could this be the thing that takes him from witty loveable douchebag to - well, something more interesting?

Alright, that's all. My fangirl is showing.

Are you fucking kidding me?

2009-03-09T09:29:00.005-05:00

I'm constantly bewildered by facebook advertisements, trying to get me to shave all my body hair, or telling me to OBEY this new diet tip, but seeing this yesterday was a whole new low:

The media has had a series of fucked-up and dangerous reactions to this relationship and the violence against this woman. This takes the cake though: trying to make a quick buck with direct victim-blaming.

I marked this shit as offensive, but, really? Does a giant site like facebook really have NO standards for their advertisements outside of user preferences? I shouldn't have to mark this offensive. I shouldn't see it.

Big Breakdown of 300 at Racialicious

2009-02-27T12:51:00.003-05:00

Please read it. Because I'm sick of explaining why I hate this fucking movie. I am continuously flabbergasted by its popularity.

Dude.

2009-02-22T13:39:00.003-05:00

I enjoy the antics at Cracked.com. Daily, even. They've got this goofy internet culture thing down, but often manage to be a little more involved and intelligent in their content. They've made swipes at sexism, racism, and even implemented the f-word.

But the article I read this morning bothered me, and revealed something that often rubs me the wrong way on Cracked and about internet culture (though that's hard to define) in general: the assumption of maleness.

Of the Dream Jobs that Would Actually Suck, "video game tester" and "brewmaster" may seem stereotypically masculine, but believe me, I know enough women that have considered these options. The #3 job, however, is "stay-at-home dad". This item makes some seemingly progressive points: stay-at-home parents deserve a three-figure salary and end up with squat. Of course, it then goes on to say that wives break up with their househusbands because nurturing is not sexy, and traditional gender roles preserve relationships. Without pointing out that the deal inverted still fucking sucks for stay-at-home moms, even if it's better for the relationship because of "instincts" (bullshit).

But the real problem is that this article assumes an all-male audience. I have enough headaches about people assuming that there's only two genders, but more and more I'm noticing instances that people only assume one. It goes both ways, of course- I realize that I assumed the Hollywood's Attempts at Feminism article above was written by a guy. Why did I assume that? Because male is the default, and female is a specialty. This should be news. But it's still as annoying.

clearly the most important thing that happened today

2009-01-20T18:43:00.002-05:00

Michelle Obama chose clothing to wear to her husband's historic inauguration. And it was yellow.

Can Someone Explain To Me

2009-01-15T01:00:00.003-05:00

How do the little pictures next to stories on Google News get chosen? Because sometimes they are only vaguely related. For example:

My Blood and Sweat is in Kaniakapupu

2009-01-07T03:46:00.003-05:00

I suppose I've been writing here semi-regularly, so let me share just a little something from what I'm doing. I'm on an anthropology travel course right to Hawaii, learning about the islands' history and culture. There's a million things I could tell you about, but I'm exhausted so for now I'll just point you to a few resources:
Support the Friends of Iolani Palace
Defend Oahu Coalition
(I wish I had more... keep checking back!)

Some books to look for:
Music, Past, and Present at Kamehameha Schools
Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887
Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawaii
From a Native Daughter
Hawaii's Story By Hawaii's Queen

And this video is almost the exact tour I took of the ruins of the summer palace at Kaniakapupu with Dr. Baron Kaho'ola Ching, except, of course, we didn't have the guy with the cheesy-TV-host-sounding voice and after the tour my roommate and I chopped down a tree that was degrading a wall (something tells me cheesy-tv-host-sounding-voice-guy didn't jibe so much with the manual labor). I can't begin to describe the experience and this youtube video, despite its 27 minutes, pales in comparison.

It May Not Be Cold Enough to Freeze Your Winebago

2008-12-24T22:19:00.002-05:00

But I still hope all five of my readers are somewhere safe, warm and loving today.

This year I was quite excited to find out that A Muppet Family Christmas, the special that pretty much makes Christmas Christmas for me, is on youtube in five parts. If you've never seen it, you are missing out. Here's part the first:

Double Shot at Love: I Feel a Rant Coming On

2008-12-20T22:15:00.009-05:00

Ok, so I was really excited today, because I found out that a person I used to work with is on Double Shot at Love, which gives me a legitimate excuse to both watch the trash and blog about it! But as it turns out, I can't stomach blogging about this shit. I'll still root for the guy I know and all, but the first episode seriously made me physically ill. During the "big reveal" in which Rikki tells the contestants they've been meeting both her and her twin Vikki, Rikki leads with "I was born with another part." Cut to shocked contestants, guys saying things like "I can't believe I kissed her!" and "Please don't have a penis!" and girls saying things like "This happened to me before... twice in a lifetime is too much."

Most of the negative stereotypes this show plays with, I can take because I naively imagine that people, you know, KNOW better. They know that this is MTV and if a bisexual woman is slutty and petty and fake, well, that's not saying much because everyone is slutty and petty and fake on MTV. But using severe and apparent transphobia for drama and laughs is nothing short of appalling. Because one month ago, there was little known day called the Transgender Day of Rememberence. Because for some people, and I want to stress that world - we are talking about people, not a concept, people with families and friends and lovers and jobs and childhoods and hopes - for some people, "twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they found out someone they cared for was disgusted by their body. "Twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they were harassed for trying to use a restroom. "Twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they've had to face discrimination from teachers, employers, doctors and other officials that made life more difficult to navigate. "Twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they felt threatened just for existing. "Twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they were a victim of violence. "Twice in a lifetime" might represent too many times they read about a person like them being killed for being a person like them. But probably not, you know. It was probably a lot more than twice.

Don't tell me I'm overreacting when I say: according to MTV, transgender people don't deserve a shot at love.

You see, sometimes things are said or done, and I can hear the average person twenty years from now saying sternly, "I would have never let something like that happen." You know, how we say now, "If I was around when the Native Americans were being slaughtered, I wouldn't have contributed," or "If I was alive during segregation, I wouldn't have just sat back". But here's the thing: you most likely would, and that doesn't mean you're evil. Everything around you would encourage you to be oppressive or apathetic. This retroactive denouncement bothers me to no end. It accomplishes nothing except covering one's ass from being called prejudiced. Listen: it's much more impressive to own up to your prejudice and privilege, to acknowledge that the world around us still encourages us to treat some people as "normal" and others as deviations from that norm, and therefore less worthwhile. White does not mean normal, male does not mean normal, able-bodied does not mean normal, straight does not mean normal and cis-gendered (born with a biological sex that matches one's identity) does not mean normal. When a kid asks you twenty years from now if you tolerated prejudice, fear and violence, what are you going to be able to say to them?

Reason to Love Jeffrey Rowland #46

2008-12-12T01:47:00.005-05:00

So, I've expressed Overcompensating love here before, but my admiration reached new heights tonight. This just showed up on my friend list:

First glance, no big reaction. I knew he was mocking the internet's penchant for thinking rape jokes are the most edgy hilarity evar, not embracing the notion, but still. Then I read the accompanying blurb, and had one of those oh-so-satisfying "THANK YOU" moments:

"Let's talk about rape for a moment. Rape is not what George Lucas did to your childhood. Rape is not what happens when a sports team beats another sports team by a wide margin. Rape is not what happens when your electric bill is higher this month than it was last month. Rape is when a person violates another person in the most despicable, degrading way imaginable and among the myriad of terrible things humans can do to one another, rape is among the worst. I think the casual misappropriation of the concept of rape extending all the way to its widespread comical usage is disgusting even by Internet standards. Off my chest."

LOVE.

Shocker: Frank Miller Sexist

2008-12-08T15:56:00.003-05:00

I admittedly know little about Frank Miller's work. I cracked the graphic novel versions of Sin City and 300 in the bookstore, was not charmed, and moved on. I saw 300, and I saw the sped-up no-special-effects version of Sin City on the DVD (then decided that was all I wanted to see). That's all.

Yet, I'm entirely confident in saying: I don't like Frank Miller. I could tell you my full thoughts about 300, which I was coerced to attend, which I laughed through, which is in fact The Second Least Enjoyable Movie I Have Ever Seen (the first, for the curious, is Urban Legend, either because of or despite the fact that I ate up books about urban legends as a kid), but I'll spare you, because 300 sucking is old news. I don't know much about Alan Moore, either, but I do like him, mostly because he called 300 "racist, homophobic and sublimely stupid", which about sums it up. If you saw 300 and don't see how I could get political shudders out of a harmless action movie, maybe you should watch it again keeping in mind that the creator once said of those we're at war with (linking 9/11 to Iraq, of course, and treating other cultures as monolithic and savage):
"For some reason, nobody seems to be talking about who we’re up against, and the sixth century barbarism that they actually represent. These people saw people’s heads off. They enslave women, they genitally mutilate their daughters, they do not behave by any cultural norms that are sensible to us. I’m speaking into a microphone that never could have been a product of their culture, and I’m living in a city where three thousand of my neighbors were killed by thieves of airplanes they never could have built."
So, yes, I saw some symbolism in 300.

Anyway! I've written more than I intended.
I'm posting because, via io9, turns out the women in the new movie based on Miller's The Spirit are stupid stereotypes that completely revolve around the male character.

Not surprised. A woman with whom I work was telling me about how she saw Sin City, and how it's a feminist movie because there's Good Guy Heroes saving poor women for Bad Guy Rapists, and I gently explained that this idea wasn't quite empowering.
I'm thinking this one will fail the Bechdel test.

Clinton

2008-12-03T11:05:00.005-05:00

Which person do you think of when you read that name? Hillary, Bill or both? Apparently we can't think about Sen. Clinton without thinking about her husband, too, as evidenced by every political cartoon I've seen since Hillary Clinton was rumored to be the next Secretary of State. If that link stops working, here's just a few examples:

(Ok, I do kind of like that last one, but...)
I seriously sometimes forget that they're married. During the primaries, Sen. Clinton became such a huge public personality in her own right that when people brought up Bill without referencing his wife's campaign specifically, I took pause to remember how he might fit in. Not joking, an anchor would say "Bill Clinton is on the road" and my brain at least once reacted "I wonder why?"
Maybe I'm young or naive, but it can't just be me that is at least a little bothered like this. A very successful and famous woman is married to a very successful and famous man, so he must have some part to play in every professional happening of her life. Excuse the weak metaphor, but it's like... if Angelina was working on a new project, and all anyone could write about was what it's like having Brad on the set. That actually might be more apt than I give it credit for, as part of the problem is that we treat political news like gossip column material - Hillary's Hubby's Hijinks, and of course The Clinton-Obama Faux-Rivalry Drama.

I Understand Now

2008-11-04T15:31:00.003-05:00

Today, I feel constantly on the verge of tears.
Some people are telling me that this doesn't matter. That this won't change anything. That tomorrow we will wake up and the world will be no different. But I am personally in awe of how important this is to me.

My twenty-first birthday is on Saturday. I have never voted in a presidential election before. This is important, but not why I feel so frantic today. I've been following the race closely and have some firm opinions. This is important, but not why I feel so frantic right now.

I'm overcome today because I realize I have no recollection of any president other than George Bush. I was twelve when he was elected, and the idea that politics had something to do with my life had just barely wafted into my consciousness. I'm overcome today because I have no idea what it is like to have faith in my government. I'm overcome today because I think that tomorrow, my world will be different. It certainly won't be perfect. Obama was not my first choice in the primaries, as you know if you've been here before. But I'm overcome because tomorrow, I have hope for the first time that I will not be struggling against the person with power over my country, I will be struggling with him. I'm overcome because I think for the first time a person with respect for my intelligence and my rights will be in charge of many public aspects of my life.

I've been overcome with anger today. Not at those who oppose my candidate, really; but at those who show no preference, who don't want to vote, that they are forced to choose 'the lesser of two evils', who don't claim they can't see the goddamn difference. The difference for me is between continuing the uphill battle which I have been engaged in my entire politically aware life, or having the relief of knowing that at the very least two men who care about human rights are in the white house. Maybe someone else sees the difference differently. But there is a difference, and to claim you don't care or it doesn't matter strikes me as either ignorant or spoiled. I do have to accept that everyone doesn't care about politics as much as I do, but I don't accept that politics don't affect every single life. The personal is political, and all. I don't say "ignorant" as an insult; I sincerely hope these people realize how these issues and how which guy is sitting in the big chair affects them directly. Because it does.

I'm overcome today with gratitude, because nothing is closer to my heart than social justice, and so I'm acutely aware of how I got this right to vote. Who gave their life for me to have it. People complain about the electoral college (though they're entitled to do) without pausing to realize how corrupt this system was before. What this meant to those who had to fight for it. I don't think I understood before today, thinking about what it would be like to watch this process and have no power in it. When you think of that possibility, which was reality less than one hundred years ago, voting is not a pointless endeavor, even if no candidate is your ideal.

I don't use the word "empowered" often.
I usually don't understand it.
I understand now.

Needed Noting...

2008-08-26T09:31:00.002-05:00

I'm not 'back' yet, or maybe ever, but I have a story concerning the last episode of Project Runway (which Korto should have won, in my little opinion- I think she or Leanne would be my favorite, were I actually watching on a regular basis). Let me say first that I've been waiting for a drag queen challenge since season one. I predicted RuPaul as a judge way back when I started blogging about this show. I was incredibly excited about this. But it occurs to me that this challenge was a bit strange to some folks. My mom brought home this heart-warming story from work the other day:

A woman she works with always watches Project Runway with her five-year-old daughter. When the models entered out of drag, the young girl asked her mother,
"Mom- why are they putting boys in dresses??"
"Well, some boys just like to wear dresses."
"They do?" The girl said with shock, then asked: "Is that ok?"
"As long as they're open and honest about it," The mother, a psychiatrist, replied, "It's perfectly ok."
"Oh. Ok."

One small step for a man, one giant leap for a man in high heels, eh?

Youtube Favorite Friday: Cuteness (and apologies)

2008-06-20T09:47:00.005-05:00

Yep, can't get enough of going "aw" at this one:

I love Sesame Street, so much.

So, sorry I've been totally neglecting this thing. Taize was good, but also hard, I still don't know how to convey the spiritual experience in words, but some more concrete highlights:
- Chocolate and butter sandwiches, for breakfast, everyday.
- Being humbled by people who walked there... from Italy.
- Picking up a slew of dirty ASL signs (prooobably just our group).
- The catchy tune stuck in your head is sung by monks (well, and everyone else).
- Sobbing with people you just met, and some of whom do not share a language with you.

So. That's that. I start work at camp tomorrow, so yeah, blogging is not my priority right now. I may stop in occasionally to link somewhere else, but don't expect too much original content until September.

Speaking of linking other places, here's a few of my favorite stories. I'm limiting myself to ones I found this morning, or else I'd just go on and on:
-Feministe: Latina teacher fired for not regurgitating the same old crap. Oh social justice, how you need to be a requirement- for students, and apparently school administrators. It's fucking scary that challenging Eurocentrism is so dangerous.
-Queerty: "Can’t I Just Have Mayonnaise?" Whines O’Reilly Over "Gay" Commercial O'Reilly's homophobia and glaringly obvious straight privilege here is endlessly amusing/distressing to me. He totally can't grasp the concept that the loving housewife being replaced by a New York deli man is "gender play". Because he totally can't see past two guys kissing. Because if it was a man and woman, it would be normal. Because straight people are normal and gay people are a disturbing and political affront to all straight people. I just feel bad for him at this point. Could someone educate him, please?
-Bitch Magazine: Factory Girl: Dora the Explorer and the Dirty Secrets of the Global Industrial Economy I'm kind of envious of how many issues the writer managed to neatly packed in this one article. I tried to sum it up, but please, just go read it.
-Fourfour: She just doesn't get it Oh, how I hoped- or perhaps rationalized- that Tila Tequila was at least slightly positive for bisexual visibility. But, alas- she's gone and spouted another old bisexual stereotype, and to make matters worse, still thinks she's helping.

Ok, I found another video of the kid, so today you're lucky enough to get two youtube favorites:

I wonder where she is now?

Youtube Favorite Friday: New Crush!

2008-05-22T22:31:00.004-05:00

Yep, I'm totally fucking girl-crushing on Julia Nunes.

Besides being magic on the ukulele - an instrument that evokes awe in me because I usually see it as a toy instead of, well, an instrument (maybe because I bought my own at a toy store?) - she's also just so sweet and goofy and sincere and cute. She's got all of this confidence I never have when I'm performing. Maybe I should try putting music on the youtubes sometime.

Well, I'm going to Europe tomorrow, so I might post something about France of Switzerland when I get back. This'll be the last post 'til June, though. Sorry to deprive you again, you five readers, you.

In conclusion: Julia Nunes! Come to Rhode Island and play a show with me!

Facebook Ad Hilarity

2008-05-22T13:23:00.003-05:00

So I've posted here before about ads on facebook, and other bigger blogs have also picked up on the fucked-up ads targeted at women. Here's the latest on my sidebar:

That's right - the ipod of shaving. Facebook aims at the wrong target, again.

Back on Track, Reality TV Style

2008-05-15T00:15:00.006-05:00

Here be ANTM spoilers!

Phew! Finals are over, and I am free to blog regularly again. Until I go to France. And then to camp. So, enjoy the increase of posts while it lasts!

What moves me to write tonight is really a great source of shame for me. You see, I watch America's Next Top Model. I watch: 5% out of true interest, 20% because my housemate watches it, 35% to understand Rich's recaps (but I'd read them anyway, the reading predated the watching), and 40% to feel weekly as if I am in some trippy alternate reality in which Tyra Banks makes sense.

Anyway, tonight was the finale and plus-sized model Whitney took it. I was excited, though I liked all the girls in the final three, Whitney would be the best "spokes model", if you rule out the theory that Anya is so damn cute you'd buy anything she was holding. Whitney's also the first plus-sized model to ever win, which is something. It was feeling like they just always cast a token fat girl for no reason. She went into a speech at the end of the show about how hard growing up not super-thin has been, and the judges had a generally fat-positive (though cheesy, always cheesy) message, saying instead of "plus-sized" or "full-figured" all she should be called is "beautiful". Sweet.

But! An anonymous source told Rich, that Whitney may have been a plant (funny enough, a theory he put forth about the full-figured model last season), and photos on livejournal's ohnotheydidnt of a much slimmer Whitney support. I shouldn't be surprised. Reality TV and ethics don't mix.
However, I'm downright bothered, not because Whitney got the prize- plant or not, she's a good model, and like I said, the best spokes model, and putting to rest the idea that fat girls can't win on this show was a fine gesture. But, if it was truly fixed (in the always-planned-that-this-girl-is-going-to-win way, not the gain-some-weight-and you'll-be-a-good-plus-sized-girl way), I'm bothered that the other top two, specifically, didn't get the prize, and by extension that chance at being the "inspiration" that Whitney is (maybe?) for big girls. If you don't follow the show, both Fatima and Anya, the other finalists, were born outside of the United States. Anya was born in Russia and raised in Hawaii, and Fatima is a refugee from Somalia who currently resides in Massachusetts. So, if this was a fixed win, the message to me reads as kind of "Fat girls CAN make it! But not too fat! And with help! Help that immigrant/refugee women don't get!"
Buuuuut if it's not fixed at all, yay Whitney and everything!

I also post because that ONTD entry features a lot of other models, including my second favorite girl from Cycle 10, Lauren! My first favorite is Kimberly by default, because she's a local girl and because she went all "oh wait I have ethics" in the first episode (though they were more "buying expensive stuff is stupid" ethics than "this industry is wasteful and demeaning and capitalism is evil" ethics, I take what I can get), something I expected Lauren to do when I first saw her punk ass. Alas, no, she stuck with it, but was too delightfully awkward to make it all the way. This photo further captured my heart, of course.
Lauren rocks the pit hair:

Oh, the very vision of beauty.
My secret sources (message boards) tell me that Kimya Dawson has written a song about hairy armpits, avaliable very soon on her album for kids, Alphabutt, which I'm so stoked for. If you're down with hairy armpits, you're pretty much down with me.

Tyra Banks = not down with me.

Youtube Favorite... Saturday

2008-04-26T20:12:00.002-05:00

Hey. Sorry I'm late again. Finals are cracking down. (Aaaaaand Season 4 of Buffy arrived in the mail.)

So, some lighter fare today:

Worry

2008-04-19T14:12:00.008-05:00

Hey, all. I was going to blog about Toaster Strudel today. I even wrote "not paid to say this" in frosting on a toaster strudel and took a picture. They're delicious, was what the point was going to be. But I got an email from The Boy this morning, and now something else is totally occupying my brain.

The Boy, as I affectionately refer to my significant other of over three years on this blog, is studying in Buenos Aires right now. He mentioned to me last night that the city has been covered in smoke for a few days, but seemed to be clearing up last night. This morning, he emailed me to say the smoke wasn't over. So I looked into what the news had to say about it. And I saw this video:

And that's some mind-occupyingly-frightening stuff.
I keep reading that this is farmers burning residue from crops, and that they do it annually- so has this happened before? Or did something just go wrong this year? The Boy told me, with what seemed like a fair amount of certainty, that this was connected to the dispute Argentinian farmers have been having with the government. That could just be his perspective or what the people in Buenos Aires are saying, but no new sources I've seen have mentioned it. I clearly don't know what the truth is. It's just another question to occupy my brain today.

(pictures from here)

The Boy was told it's not dangerous. That certainly sounds familiar. Obviously there's a difference, but how can breathing in smoke this dense every moment not do any damage?

"They say that it's okay, but I say don't breathe that shit in."
Anthrax, Kimya Dawson. song, lyrics.

Youtube Favorite Friday: Buffy

2008-04-18T20:34:00.005-05:00

The Saint-Marie, not the slayer.
This video hasn't been working for me. If it doesn't work for you either, let me know and another song of hers up. If it does work for you, lucky, you get to enjoy the voice of Buffy Saint-Marie.

I first found her when Kimya Dawson posted the same video in her livejournal. She went on to talk about how inspiring and strong Buffy is, how brave, and gives Wal-Mart a great big fuck you. I really enjoyed the latter part at the time, but for whatever reason didn't pay the former so much mind.
Then I started writing an article for the Women's Center newsletter (I'll post it when it goes online) about progressive female artists, and I put Buffy on my list of people to check out, because I certainly trust Kimya's tastes. I ended up listening to Buffy Saint-Marie constantly for a solid week. She's amazing.

At the same time, a lot of things corresponded- my housemate went to a conference about women in politics, and the last speaker talked about how women often don't get politically involved because they don't think they understand every facet of the issue(s), but men don't have that same political inhibition. And in an essay class, we had to write about an experience with an animal, and I wrote about an injured pigeon that some kids were tormenting in kindergarten, and the essay ended up being about how baffling cruelty and a lack of sympathy has always been to me, and how powerless I feel every time I think about the fact that I'm in a country whose government condones torture. Then the Yoo memos were released. And none of my friends knew about it, and the TV didn't talk about it, and at this point everyone is watching Obama and Clinton and thanking their lucky stars that there's less than a year left of Bush, but there's still torture and we should still be talking about it. Fuck, we should be yelling in the streets about it! And I spent my days at work reading and writing about Buffy Saint-Marie and Billie Holiday and Patti Smith and Sweet Honey in the Rock and Ani DiFranco, and I one day I finished the piece on Buffy, and I went home, and I wrote my first protest song.

I ended up going back to that livejournal entry of Kimya's because, of course, I wrote about her, too, and wanted to work in some quotes displaying her feminist and anti-corporate sensibilities. So I read it again, I read this again: "All the strong women, who helped make me who I am, are on my mind. Maybe because of all the messages I have gotten from those of you who have said that I have changed or empowered you. Let's keep it going."
Kimya Dawson is the whole reason I picked up a guitar for the first time in eight years, and why I started teaching myself and writing songs. When I read those words, it just felt like magic, like the universe made sense for just a few minutes. It felt powerful.
Maybe that's all incomprehensible to you. It might be beyond words.
I guess, all I can say is, thank you, brave women. Thank you, Kimya. Thank you, Buffy.

More Buffy
More Kimya
More Me (including the protest song, "Inexcusable", uploaded for the occasion- it has some mistakes because it's new and quite fast, making it hard to play over and over. Be forgiving.)

Nice Try, Facebook

2008-04-17T00:58:00.003-05:00

There's a new ad being targeted at me on Facebook. They seem to be trying to make up for their recent offense.

Awfully suspicious, eh? Alas, I know that they never try to appeal to my feminist sensibilities, just playing to my gender. And often to the fact that I have a Buffy the Vampire Slayer application? They advertise Buffy DVDs a whole lot.

Youtube Favorite Fridays: Calpernia Addams Chaps Your Ass (or, Hitting the Brick Wall)

2008-04-11T10:58:00.010-05:00

For this week, I chose Calpernia Addams's long list of Bad Questions to Ask a Transsexual.

Her smiling rage is so lovely and righteous. There can only be so many polite, even-toned education moments (usually met with confusion, skepticism or flat-out offense) before a person either stops bothering or starts screaming. I live a relatively comfortable and privileged life, and still, I know I've run out of steam (or, less often, had steam build up to the point of explosion) when trying to engage others in real conversation about sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and so forth from time to time. Sometimes it just feels like there's no progress, not even that seed of enlightenment planted, and you just want to shout some sense into some eardrums. That, of course, gets you labeled as over-sensitive (or a feminazi, or a reverse racist, or selfish, or a plain old bitch) and others use it to undercut your credibility. Sometimes it's a brick wall that you no longer have the strength to dismantle.

That devastating discouragement has hit progressive bloggers hard in the past, and right now it seems to be particularly affecting women of color. Brownfemipower is down, and the permanence is unclear. Holly at Feministe covers that better than I could. Reappropriate also went on hiatus late last month, and Jenn, the blogger there, posted a comprehensive explanation. You should really go read it, and I'll end with an excerpt:

I’m tired of discussions of sexism being misconstrued as male-bashing, I’m tired of people who don’t know feminism thinking they can define it, and above all, I am tired of the suspicion of my racial solidarity and my pride in the Asian American community because of my identification as a feminist and the choices in my personal life. I’m tired of constantly talking and not being heard, and having to defend who I am to the men in my community. I’m saddened by the countless emails from feminists who write to me to tell me that the hoarde of anti-feminist commentors on this blog have chased them from commenting. I feel like I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall, and all I have to show for it is ostracization, derision, and occasionally ridicule from some Asian American men. I feel like the adage “working twice as hard to get half as far” is poignantly relevant to how hard I’ve struggled for the same acceptance in the APIA online community that some of my male colleagues enjoy almost innately.
...
It’s telling to me that this kind of hiatus occurs so frequently in the feminism of colour blogosphere. Something about having to fight the tides of racism in the feminist community and the sexism within our racialized communities makes us more susceptible to weariness. We are fighting a war on two fronts; perhaps this is why so few feminists of colour blog, and our blogosphere community remains so small. Perhaps this periodic need to rejuvenate is all the evidence needed to demonstrate how difficult it is to exist at the political intersection of race and gender.

Whoops! Late Youtube Favorite

2008-04-07T11:05:00.003-05:00

I was away this weekend, so I missed my one steady feature. Sorry about that.
I'll give you the Youtube Favorite, and a bonus: the March newsletter of the Women's Center at which I work. Our year's theme is Stereotypes, and that month's theme was stereotypes about mothers. Enjoy! (pdf)

To compliment that, here's one of my favorite lady Kimya's songs about motherhood:

Youtube Favorite Fridays

2008-03-27T22:45:00.003-05:00

This has been making the rounds on some of my favorite blogs. Enjoy, hopefully I'll get to something besides the regular feature this week... or perhaps I should just start making more regular features.

The original of this is down for whatever reason, but some smarty pants put it up on a different name. Check out the man's website, and enjoy!

EDIT: The original is up! Is youtube being weird for anyone else? A lot of videos have been mysteriously "unavailable" to me lately, and this has confirmed my suspicion that it might only be on my end.

Youtube Favorite Fridays

2008-03-21T02:38:00.003-05:00

I think the lists we compile on the internet say a lot about us- our amazon wishlists (I've got a lot of comic books, documentaries and GLBT-themed everything), our recent wikipedia searches (I've got a lot of superheroes, dinosaurs and different schools of feminism), and of course, our favorite youtube videos.

I favorite things on youtube mostly because I want more people to watch them, but I obviously realize that nobody real cares to check my favorites on youtube regularly. So, I thought I'd make them an installment here. Enjoy the first of many Friday Youtube Favorites:

This is a brief video about Jennifer Miller and Circus Amok. She comes to my institution of higher learning every so often, so I've met her in person, and let me tell you, she is one amazing woman with a beard. Yes, it grows there naturally; no, she's not transitioning; yes, she eats fire; yes, she if pretty friggin' hot. Look her up, and don't miss the show if it comes near you.

What the hell is this, facebook?

2008-03-20T11:14:00.007-05:00

Listen, I know facebook isn't exactly a great place for social responsibility, and this one may not even be their fault. It just irked me.

Facebook has specialized advertisements, which means I usually get to see an ad for Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs when I'm checking my friends' notes. Today, however, I was looking at some Harry Potter application, and I get this shit:

What the hell? Who measures themselves? Furthermore, does the kind of person who measures themselves really need to see a picture of measuring tape and the word "fat" when they're checking their facebook? I have a pretty good self-image and this still had me somewhat unsettled. I'm wondering, since a lot of ads are specifically targeted, is this? How would they target this? Women? Hufflepuffs? (Geek tangent: why in the first book are Hufflepuffs loyal, just and fair, but by the fifth book they're "the rest"? Hufflepuffs got fuckin' Mary-Anned.)

Anyway, Facebook isn't exactly proving itself to be a great place for women. Besides this, there's the breastfeeding photo ban, and, well:

Thank you, facebook, for reminding me of my slowly dying faith in humanity. It's great that so many said yes, and it's horrifying so many people said no, and it's downright despicable that this is a serious question.
If you want real horror, though, scroll down a nudge. After some people are having the right reaction, we get to the colorful message boards:

I won't expand on what these delightful threads contain. Let me just reiterate a point I've made before: social justice courses should be a college requirement.
Also, someone let me know if there's a better umbrella term for the wonderful word of gender studies, ethnic studies, queer studies, disability studies and so on. I'd like to know it.

Fuck You, Guinness.

2008-03-16T14:02:00.006-05:00

I haven't finished the candidate series. I haven't posted about the Project Runway finale. I'll probably do the former but not the latter. Let me just give you the words running through my head about Christian's collection: isosceles, fungal growth, top-heavy, dirty (dirty-dirty not sexy-dirty), and why-the-fuck-will-puffed-
sleeves-tight-pants-and-ruffles-never-cease-to-amaze-these-
people. The thought "he needs the money" almost soothed me except I remembered he's twenty-one, he's not SUPPOSED to have a nice apartment, especially in New York.

For now, though, I've got ventin' to do.
Fuck. You. Guinness.

Guinness is sponsoring the oh-so-cleverly titled Proposition 3-17, which would affectively turn a religious and cultural holiday into a nationally recognized day for Guinness to make a few extra bucks. Don't even try to tell me that Guinness is doing this for Irish pride- the write up of 3-17 includes some bullshitting about "allow[ing] people to express their Irishness" but ends, predictably, with the suggestion of enjoying "a pint of Guinness stout or two". I know appropriation happens all the time, but alcohol companies are particularly fond of perverting holidays founded by people who stereotypically drink into excuses for drinking, and nothing, nothing else. I'm sure Corona will be all over a petition to officially recognize Cinco De Mayo soon enough.
The text of Proposition 3-17 states that on St. Patrick's Day, "everyone reveals a little bit of their Irish side". Translation: On St. Patrick's day, everyone reveals a bit of their drunken side. There is absolutely no indication on their site of how we're supposed to commemorate St. Patty's Day except through drinking, and the occasional plastic shamrock, the meaning of which is surely a mystery to them. This is not about pride. This is about pushing beer.
Irking me further, Guinness posted people stating "why they signed the petition" on their website:

I think this is the only Saint's day that has ever been described this way. You know, St. Joseph's day, celebrated by and associated with Italians, is two days after St. Patrick's, and I never see anyone on the streets celebrating that one. Nobody drinks themselves stupid or throws big parties on Easter, either, and that seems like it should be a happy occasion. I wonder why?

Again, I'm reading this as being Irish as directly related to one's intake of alcohol, unless she cooks corned beef and cabbage and listens to Celtic music in inordinate amounts every March the seventeenth. Considering the video going along with this quote was filmed in a bar, I doubt it.

Saint Patrick's Day came up in one of my classes a few days ago, and half the people there didn't know who Saint Patrick was, or even if he was a real guy. But on March 17th, I wager, they'll have a headband adorned with glittering shamrocks on springs resting upon their heads and a cool, refreshing Guinness in hand. I'm not saying that we understand the other holidays we do officially recognize (we don't, none of them), I'm just saying, why continue the fucked-up trend? Especially when we understand this holiday through a stereotype.

Does this happen to big name bloggers?

2008-03-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

My mom read my love letter to Dennis Kucinich.
She loved it, so she forwarded it.
To Dennis Kucinich.

And the boy wonders why I don't like to tell my parents what I do.

In Which I Realize Deadlines Are The Reason I'm Not A Journalism Major

2008-03-10T10:55:00.008-05:00

I know, I know. I set a deadline on the presidential candidates series and didn't meet it. I'm sorry, you five loyal fans, I've been busy. You can check out some of my work over at my school's blog here, the wonderful MCLA webmaster Amy has put up a slide show I made for an event we were both involved in about language and stereotypes. She was also kind enough to let me have a mini-blurb on my feelings about the subject, as well as a plug for the WMST/social justice courses I love oh, so much.
I'm in a course on Stigma and Disability right now (I highly suggest our requied reading, My Body Politic by Simi Linton), and I'm starting to think that social justice courses need to be a requirement instead of elective, or we should at least learn what being transgender is during college orientation. I've heard plenty of people my age that just don't know. Sure, one could argue that an understanding of racism, sexism, ableism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and so on is not essential to creative writing (though I could/would certainly counter-argue that), but it's essential to understanding human experience (a.k.a. essential to existence).
Rep. Sally Kern, of course would disagree with me on that one. Speaking of language mattering:

via Feministing, that lists the Representative's contact information for the convenience of the outraged.

And here's a direct link to the slide show, in which I draw from Ellen, Dennis, and Mikhaela Reid, amongst others.

Presedential Pick-Me-Up: Part 1

2008-02-29T11:57:00.016-05:00

Happy Leap Day! Or is it Leap Year Day? Whatever.

In case you live in a cave or forest, and your hobby of choice is poking yourself in the eyes and ears with rocks, you know (as the existence of February 29th indicates) it's an election year. And if you know me, you know I am a Kucinich person, in a big way. Please see my livejournal icon to your right. I'm devoted, y'all.

So, I was understandably disheartened by- well- I was going to say "Dennis dropping out", but also Dennis being excluded before he dropped out, the array of Dennis-bashing before he dropped out, and so on. I am frankly disenchanted with both Hillary and Barack, and while I always considered McCain the least evil of the republicans, I realize more and more how fucking crazy he is and (considering the past few elections) how much more electable that makes him. I've said it during election years before, and I'll said it again: we're doomed!

So it's nice, during these dark times, to remember that while whoever is going to end up in the White House isn't going to be exactly ideal, at least there are some people who are totally never going to end up in the White House. People who, say, want to reinstate stoning for gays and loose women, or think their cosmic destiny as president of the universe is written in the stars- the same stars that they wish to bomb as president. Vote-smart dot org has a list of just such people, and it's called the "Other" party list of presidential candidates. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking all third-party candidates, and I did pull a few bizarre candidates from the Republican and Democrat lists, too, but that Other list lets you get straight to the crazy. That's because on the Other list, people make up their own parties. I don't want to spoil any of the surprises, so I present for you, the first installment of a list of people whose asses Dennis Kucinich could- and, really, has thoroughly kicked in a presidential election:

Da Vid
The Light Party
You are going to notice a theme of the religion category being a source of confusion with these candidates, as apparently strange people running for president are really into strange religions, or using way too many words to explain their religion. Vid- or should I call him Da? I'm really postulating that his name is David and he either thought his last name wasn't interesting enough or he was too paranoid to post it on Vote-Smart. Anyway, Vid lists his religion as Rosicrucian, Hermetic Qabalist. I looked these words up on Wikipedia, and as far as I can tell it's New Age for history majors. They're very into stars and mysticism and really dense concepts that I'm sure all have some ancient basis that I don't understand. Also, this thing:

And here we're think a Mormon would be hard to market.
Anyway, now that I've ripped on the poor guy's religion, let me say honestly, his organizations list is kind of astounding. Vid has been part no less than 36 nice-sounding groups, including Green Peace and Doctors Without Borders. I'm really interested in the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance. What kind of work exactly would that entail? Forgiving people, or pressuring people to forgive other people? Forgiveness conventions?
His three presidential priorities are what really seals the deal on never becoming president for him. The first is disarming all nukes, which is admirable enough. The second is "Project Health", which appears to be universal health care with some "eco-agriculture" thrown in, nothing really extreme there. His third priority, however, is "Project Light, the catchy tag line being "All The Power That Ever Was Or Will Be Is Here Now." Got a ring to it, eh? Project Light basically aims for "a sustainable global solar hydrogen/hemp based economy". How will we acheive this? Why, "The Gaia/Solaris Consortium", of course. If this vote-smart survey was graded, the professor would write a big red please explain your answer next to this one.

Gene Amondson
Prohibition Party
Seriously, guy? You're running on prohibition? You do know how that went over the last time, right? He's not totally out of touch with the youth, though: he has a myspace. And two whole friends. Maybe he'd attract more if he had any information on the page besides his name, age, marital status and astrological sign. Why those last two specifically? Possibly... for the ladies?

Terry Lee "Tee" Barkdull
The America Party
As a blogger, I have to say about this guy: JACKPOT. The first two were easy to find, but I took a chance on this guy, as he was only listed as "Unknown". However, if you follow the trail to his website, you will see quite clearly that Tee here belongs to THE AMERICA PARTY. You will also see clearly that he loves FREEDOM, CAPSLOCK, FORMATTING and "PICTURES OF EAGLES". Can you guess what the mascot of the America Party is? Hint: It's a motherfucking eagle!
I seriously don't know where to begin with this guy- I suppose the easiest jab is at the layout- eagles, soldiers and America flags fuckin' abound. He's also a big fan of weird, unnecessary formating choices and "QUOTATIONS", even in places where they make his "argument" seem "meaningless". For example, instead of promising what he'd do as your President, he tells you what he'll do AS YOUR "PRESIDENT". Don't be fooled by the seeming lack of intelligence he displays with constant misused commas ("We, can win together!"), his complete misunderstanding of how things like disability benefits, immigration and racism (holy shit is this guy swamped in privilege- did you know the very existence of BET is racist?) work, and his typos ("I am sick of Politically Correction") that result in saying something completely different ("No free bees for immigrants!"- I'm with him on this, I mean, we are short on bees). He considers himself to be a very "INTELLIGENT" individual.
Tee is very big on speaking English. Did you know over 2/3 of the world's native language is English? Tee does. He also thinks being given the option of pressing 1 for English or 2 for Spanish is discrimination. That's right- the fact that you are even offering a language besides English is impeding Tee's rights.
He wants sex, along with race, age, and eye color to be eliminated from job applications (goodness knows how sick I am of writing out my eye color every time I apply for a job). However, the Boy Scouts are for boys, the Girl Scouts are for girls- "The way it should be!". Also, he apparently feels that "homosexuality is WRONG! It's not a phobia, it's my OPINION!!! I have the right to 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, wired or they just PISS ME OFF!!" Sure, you have the right to be intolerant- unless, whoops, you're the fucking president. I'm pretty sure he meant weird instead of wired, but it wouldn't be a big stretch to see this guy going on a tirade against cyborgs.
Man, I could go on for days about this guy. He surely spent at least a few days on his website- besides the insane amount of formatting variations, he has at least a dozen rants that just go on and fucking on. The sheer volume of his angry babblings would be commendable, if only they weren't so ignorant, repetitious and completely lacking in self-awareness. The motto that sits atop his front page, "WE THE PEOPLE. THAT MEANS ALL AMERICANS", seems to be looking down at the rest of his ranting in scorn.
Let me just end with one more quote:
"TO MANY PEOPLE DIE ON OUR NATIONS HIGHWAYS AND FREEWAYS BECAUSE OF THE AGGRESSIVE DRIVER THAT THINK THEY OWN THE ROADS, AND THE LAW DOESN'T APPLY TO THEM.
AS A NATION, THIS MUST STOP NOW. I WANT THIS CHANGE ALSO, IT'S TOO BAD, CONGRESS IS TOO PRE-OCCUPIED WITH THESE 'DEADLY SAMURAI SWORDS'"
He makes no other reference to samurai swords anywhere on the page. Tee: What "THE FUCK" are you talking about?

If people like Tee- or heck, if people like Da Vid- get you riled up, just take a deep breath now, and remember that the chance of them fulfilling their dream of becoming President is about the same as the chance of Tee knowing what "sesquipedalian" means.
Hopefully this has restored your faith in our mainstream presidential candidates as much as it did mine. I'll have two more installments, on Sunday and Tuesday- and who knows, if more people announce their candidacy, this could go on until November.

Duh.

2008-02-25T01:01:00.010-05:00

The entertainment industry has double standards for men and women. Duh.
Everybody knows that, and if you don't, please start bringing it up in conversation as often as possible, so all the sane people around you can inform you otherwise face-to-face. The process would be simply exhausting over the internet. If everyone around you agrees with you, quietly and cautiously leave the area as soon as possible: you may, unknowingly, be part of a cult.
That's out of the way.

So, I watched the Oscars tonight, and- another duh- Juno won for Best Original Screenplay. I'm not sure how the internet is going to take this, because it seems as much as there's a critical orgy going on over the film, there's a good amount of venom being spewed at Diablo Cody. I wasn't sure how I felt about it all, since I've only heard second hand (or third hand, or perhaps even fourth hand- blogger gets opinion of Cody from blogger who got opinion of Cody through article about Cody somewhere) accounts of her personality. The consensus seems to be that she's full of herself, or she's trying too hard, or she does not deserve all the attention she's getting. So I watched her Oscar acceptance speech with this in mind, and I call bullshit on the Cody-hate. She was perfectly humbled by the experience, and spoke of herself as a writer in terms of a process, not an achievement. And, shock of all shocks, not one cute quotable included!

Also, I thought this was kind of rad, and indicative of substance. I think those that call Cody a phony/without substance don't understand what I talked about in my post on Juno and anti-folk: the ability to simultaneously be silly and sincere. The most interesting sentence: "He blames the stripper-turned-screenwriter's behind-the-scenes team for not fully communicating the value of the shoes to Cody."
One, why do they have to mention she was a stripper? Is there a subtle implication there that she's stupid or low-class? Maybe it was just an interesting tidbit they wanted to throw in. But why? It's irrelevant, isn't it? So that's a little suspicious. The amusing part, of course, is that the maker of the shoes assumes the Cody would be happy to wear them if only she knew they cost two million fucking dollars. It doesn't occur to some people that maybe some other people do not desire diamond-studded shoes that cost two million fucking dollars, and when you go ahead and assume they will peddle your hunk of rocks (obtained from an oppressive industry, the cost of which could feed a small nation) and tell media outlets they're doing so without their permission- duh!- they will not be happy with you.
So, maybe the "former stripper" label Cody is stuck with is indicative of a lower-class mindset, and maybe that's a good thing: maybe that means she has the ability to see through bullshit. Kimya Dawson, who I do not feel foolish describing as My Hero, has retained this ability during her rise to fame: you can read about her bewilderment with celebrity giftbags here, and her fuck-you to Walmart here.

Bitch Magazine's blog did a piece on Cody and the weird backlash against her, and the sexist motivation behind some of it, and (duh) the double standard women face in the industry. I remember reading an article in Bitch a while back, too, that was really enlightening at the time, about how much flak a woman would get if she acted as self-important as, oh, say, Sean Combs. I can't articulate the point quite as well as they did, but I think the problematic thing is while women are allowed to be successful more so now than ever, they are seen as bitchy attention whores if they celebrate their success.

Oh man, the Oscars are so long. I'm so fucking tired. But determined!
Here's another article about double-standards. Every news item about Britney Spears makes me feel sick. I gotta say, I'm with Chris Crocker. Can we leave her the fuck alone already? Also, have we stopped playing that clip of Chris Crocker yet? I haven't been paying much attention lately, but damn, that shit has been pervasive.
I was sick of the Britney bashing back when she shaved her head. Are we still at the point where a chick can't shave her head without it being a symptom?

Oh, my links are getting crazy. Time for bed.

P.S. Why does my text get squished after a quote? Help me, Professor Internets.

Surprisingly didn't think to post this for Valentine's

2008-02-20T01:19:00.003-05:00

I joined a writer's group on my campus, and our very first prompt (oh, how I do prefer writing groups that give prompts instead of writing groups where I sit there reading something I wrote six months ago and listen to people tell me they liked it) was to write a love letter to make the recipient swoon. You may remember that I've been swooning (for over three years now) over a wonderful boy, but I thought it would be awfully cheesey to write to him, and I didn't want to be too personal for the first prompt of our first meeting. He's off to Argentina until July very soon, and I might tear up if I tried to put words to how that feels. So I wrote it to my other main man, and thought you would enjoy the results.

My beautiful and dear Dennis Kucinich,
You have never met me, and I have never met you, yet I feel our connection. It is as if you are the wind, all around me, gently pushing my turbine to create a raw, hot, renewable energy source. I know you are a married man, but I can’t help myself. You get my blood pumping, like a life-saving transfusion made available to me by universal health care. Forget your wife- but value her equality and preserve her reproduction rights- spend just one night with me, let me take you to places you’ve never been- like vegan restaurants. You know as well as I that they’re hard to come by, but oh, so enticing- and so worth the danger.
You broke my heart when you dropped out of the race, Dennis, but I forgive you. Come away with me, let us escape this humdrum two-party system and do something really radical. We could protest for troop withdrawal... or if you’re feeling really naughty, impeachment. After we get a Department of Peace established, you and I can work on a special project- the Department of Love. Let me be your vegetable-eating vixen, your granola-crunching girl, your sexy leftist. Is that a copy of The Constitution in your pocket, or is this love?
My heart (and vote) will always be yours,
Raechel

Also in Dennis-related news: I had the brilliant thought today to seek out Dennis 08' merchandise, because, duh, the prices must be cute way back! Sure enough, everything at his official store is 50% off! As much as I hate to encourage unchecked consumerism, I'll say again what I said on V-Day- GET SHOPPING!

Dying of Fierceness

2008-02-16T00:43:00.007-05:00

Seriously?

This won the last challenge?

Again with the triangle thing. Here's hoping the judges realize the errors of their ways when, at fashion week, one of Christian's models fall over from a combination of top-heaviness and no circulation in their legs.

Disclosure: I DON'T GET PUFFY SLEEVES. Not at all. Not one bit. Not just when Christian does it, either- I never understand puffy sleeves. Even the tiny poof of the sleeve on Victorya and Kevin's dress in the Bitten challenge was enough to prevent me from buying it. How am I supposed to wear a jacket over that without feeling awkward? Won't the layers of material make me look like (as grieved as I am to quote Michael Kors as we usually disagree on everything) a Power Bitch? What normal person gets away with puffy sleeves off of a runway? Are giant, swollen arms suddenly attractive?
Enough about the sleeves. Sorry. They drive me crazy.

I'm glad Jillian's in, because, you know, I guess she's my favorite now, dammit. I never saw this coming. The twist I thought was- worthwhile, but not particularly suspenseful. It's really irrelevant to me if Rami or Chris are in, because Jillian is the one I want to win and Christian is the one I think is going to win. I am madly sick of Christian. I don't feel bad talking smack about him at this point because his self-confidence should really be donated to science for further study; if it can be harnessed it may be the solution to the energy crisis.
My number one peeve (though they're hard to rank, really):
HE TOTALLY KILLED THE WORD "FIERCE".

When you look at a word that much, it's just an amalgamation of letters, now isn't it? When I hear it now, alas, due to Christian's intense over-use, it is only a noise. What is Tyra gonna tell her girls to be now?

Anyway. On to the one I care about.
Sweet P. If I made a farewell video for that darling, I think I'd use Joni's "Big Yellow Taxi". See, I watched the whole season with the possibility that she could be aufed in the back of my mind- I didn't want to get too attached- so I never fully appreciated what a gentle, lovely little person she is, and how much I am really, really going to miss watching her.
Also, I loved her peacock dress.

I want one. I don't think I've ever wanted a dress on PR this much. What can I say? I'm a sucker for bright colors and big pockets.

I know someone had to go (they couldn't pull that "everyone wins!" gimmick two years in a row), but how unfortunate. Her style was so... the opposite of Christian's. Which I love! And how shitty that she was the only one who was officially out. Way to say "we have faith in everyone but you". Meanies.

I don't know that I'll have much to say next week, I'll probably keep my girlish squealing about Steven, Elisa, Kit, Kevin, Ricky and of course Sweet P's last appearances to myself. I have some other less TV-y posts planned, however. Though I could post about Lost, since it's back on- and of course, so fucking intriguing. But I wouldn't have much to say beyond "Fuck, eh?". And perhaps to mention that Daniel Faraday is my favorite TV character in- well- memory.

Happy Day Before Discount Candy Day!

2008-02-14T16:15:00.005-05:00

Otherwise known as V-Day, of course.
I have one story of love and passion for you, and one story of loss and heartache.

Love and passion:
Sex toys are legal in Texas! If you didn't know that selling sex toys was a felony in Texas, here's a hilarious run-down for you on the former law:

So a VERY happy V-Day to all of you Texans. Get shopping!

Loss and heartache:
A young transwoman of color from the Bronx is brutally murdered by a friend, and the media coverage is devastatingly ignorant. They claim she is a prostitute without any proof, call her a "man dressed as a woman", quote a seventeen-year-old neighbor describing her masculine attributes, and refer to her legal name as a "feminine nickname"- and all of this is AFTER glaad got them to re-write it. This sort of thing really blows my mind. Please go read the coverage at Feministe, all of it.

The Tackiest Thing I May Have Ever Done Out of Fandom

2008-02-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

I should have seen it coming, what with no immunity for the winner last challenge. I almost think it was planned that way- because Ricky's wrestling outfit, while not a traditional one, pleased his customer and was clearly not the worst on that runway. Of course, Rami has Golden Boy Syndrome and can't be voted out- mrah.

So in lieu of a big long entry, I prepared a little farewell for my boy Ricky. There's so much Ricky hate going around; I wanted to bring in some big-type love. While this is kind of a hate song, I thought it was, you know, appropriate, and expressed the heartache I feel.

I love a man who's not afraid to cry.
Though- as I'm sure many bloggers have already pointed out- no tears in his exit interview. He's clearly grown (or at least gotten more sleep). That's my boy.
Sorry for the jumpy or choppy bits of this video- apparently one of the features of Windows Movie Maker is shutting down every twenty seconds. Not exaggerating.
Edit: tweaked the video a bit, should be at least a little smoother now. Also, I forgot to mention that the cover of Cry Me A River is done by The Cliks.

So, who am I rooting for now? Well, Sweet P is still my underdog. However- and this surprising, since I've been so hard on her for so long- I think I want to see Jillian take the whole thing. Her wrestling outfit really charmed me.

I've Heard of Them but I Haven't Heard Them, aka an indie music post.

2008-01-29T16:43:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to write a long review of Juno, for a lot of reasons. Someone spoiled some key scenes for me, which really took a lot out of my first viewing (I've seen it twice, and will probably see it at least once more, thank you student discount). Please, if you see a good movie, don't try to tell other people what parts made it such a good movie. You are ruining a good movie. This shit should be right after "turn off your cellphones" and "visit our concession stand". "The exits are in the front to the left, and also, don't describe the best scenes to people who would rather watch them."

I'm also not writing a long review because it's been reviewed to death, with either crazy high praise or great irritation. I think most of the irritation comes from the unbelievable sharp-tonguedness and cheesey slang packed into the first thirty minutes, which was not my favorite part of the film by far, but I accept as important to the overall arch. I've come to learn that the more witty things a character has to say in the beginning, the more meaningful does their silence become. Juno's speechlessness would not be important if she wasn't such a vocal smartass.

I'm also not writing a long review because watching it get this famous- and of course, watching the soundtrack get this famous- has been a completely bizarre experience for me, and I think that's more interesting than anything I could say about anything that happened on the screen.

I've been a fan of Kimya Dawson for three years. That's an understatement: I've been totally stupid for Kimya for three years, one month and twenty three days(ish). Now she's on The View, and in Entertainment Weekly, and it's a little freaky. I knew if Juno got wide release then KD would get some more recognition, but it's a phenomenon. It's up for an Oscar (Jennifer Garner, however, totally snubbed for best supporting actress). Kimya Dawson is number one on the charts. I've read some articles questioning just what the heck is so appealing about her. I think a lot of people don't understand the possibility of being silly and sincere at the same time- "I Will Never Forget" starts with the line I sat in the swamp with the little pink piggy who loved roller skating and playing pretend, but the song is about death, suicide and bullying. Listen to it sometime, it is one of those songs that invariably makes me cry.

This got me upset- I read someone somewhere criticizing the lines if you want to kill yourself, remember that I love you, call me up before you're dead, we can make some plans instead, send me an IM I'll be your friend, and the writer said that this is mocking of suicide or something, that this is a display that Kimya doesn't really understand the youths as much as she pretends she does. (This is also a common criticism of Juno, and a stupid one, because- duh- just because you're a middle-aged journalist or critic that knows some teens does not mean you understand all teens or the experience of teendom, and young Kimya/Juno fans would likely beg to differ.) It's really upsetting because Kimya Dawson's music changed my life, and changed a lot of lives, and probably saved a lot of lives, too. That song, Loose Lips, was the first song I ever heard from her, and call me sentimental or tell me I'm "mocking depression" or whatever, but those words made me feel like I wasn't alone. They're not empty promises, either- she really will talk to you, hug you, play a show at your house- being a Kimya fan is being a friend of Kimya, which is why her sudden fame is, to me, so bizarre. She's got millions of friends now, but they don't know that, and the media doesn't really understand that.

Anyway, that needed to get off my chest, but this was really intended to be me suggesting music to the masses, since the nation seems so strangely in tune to my sensibilities at the moment. Sort of. While it's totally outside my scope that people don't like Kimya's lyrics, I can understand not liking the lo-fi folk-punk aesthetic. (I can also understand being in love with it, because I am.) Since KD is so darned famous, my suggestions are in "You like Kimya Dawson, but you don't get..." format. Or maybe it should be "You don't really get Kimya, but you do like..." Oh well, here goes.

If you like Kimya Dawson's folky-punky sound and rapid-fire lyrics but wish the sound was a little more polished and the lyrics a little less cryptic, you might like:

Jeffrey Lewis.
Check out the "I spooned Kiyma Dawson" hat around 57 seconds in. Jeff and Kimya have collaborated, which produced one of my favorite songs ever, "A Common Chorus". He's really brilliant, and not in an overused brilliant-is-the-new-awesome kind of way.

If you like Kimya Dawson's absurdness and the lo-fi vibe, but wish it was less cutesy and folksy (or, if you like The Moldy Peaches but not Kimya Dawson) you might like:

Adam Green.
He was the other major component of The Moldy Peaches, and now has a solo career also. I prefer Kimya by far far far, but if you're not the pink kitties and yellow doggies kind of person, Adam might be more your style.

If you like Kimya Dawson's delightful weirdness but would like the whole sound to be more elegant and professional (or, if you like Kimya Dawson but want to be able to find your CDs in mainstream stores), you might like:

Regina Spektor.
Ok, so everyone knows who Regina Spektor is by now. I think. I can't keep up with the kids these days. I hate the radio. However, I don't think people know she's classified as anti-folk, the genre of which Kimya Dawson is currently the poster child. Also, if you've only heard "Fidelty" and don't see the delightful weirdness I attribute to her, I advise you to delve into "Reading Time with Pickle".

If you like Kimya's quirky sweetness (or just like K Records) but want something a little more pop, you might like:

Mirah,
or:

The Blow.
I guess I automatically associate these two because I saw them play together. Oh well. I'm running out of steam, here. These are not the best recordings, obviously. They're surely worth looking into further.

If you like Kimya Dawson but wish she was like eleven or twelve people and sounded slightly more unhinged you might like (or, if you don't get Kimya, you seriously will not get):

Dufus.
I saw them play with Kimya once, and the experience was sort of amazing. It's like they create their own universe on stage. Of course, it was different people when I saw them. They morph a lot. I like to describe them as "orchestrated chaos".

If you like Kimya's... um... people she's played with, but uh... oh shit, I don't even know how to describe:

Daniel Johnston.
Just go rent The Devil and Daniel Johnston, for goodness' sake.

Episode 9: Nyah nyah!

2008-01-26T12:33:00.000-05:00

I love, love, love challenges in which all of the designers have to use the same materials. Their technical skill and their ability to innovate is much more apparent when they're all working from the same starting point. How perfect is it that my favorite won, and my least favorite got aufed? This episode was so validating for me.

I'll admit it- at first I thought Ricky's win was highly producer-influenced- that while his dress was great, it probably didn't hurt that there was pressure to justify his presence. But the more I look at the above image, the more I am certain that Ricky won this one on talent alone. It's stellar. The seams are beautiful, the fit is great, it looks like jeans (while I loved Sweet P's and wanted her to win, it did not look like a pair of jeans- which you would think would be good, but this is of course Project Illogicalway), it's polished, and very wearable. Sweet P and Ricky's pieces were the only instantly wearable ones on that runway, which was apparently important in this challenge because they secretly planned to sell the winner online, but didn't think to tell the designers that, at least on camera.

Christian's biker look, for example, was a good concept, but certainly couldn't be worn straight off the runway and would be incredibly difficult to reproduce. I admired his idea of making a pant out of a sleeve. However, I also thought it was kind of tacky and not helping to change his emo kid image, which he must change if I or anyone over the age of 19 is ever to take him seriously. Also: if he makes another puffy sleeve I am going to die of barfness. Also: what the fuck does dying of barfness entail? Also: if Lisa put her feet together, she would be a isosceles triangle.

The main thing Rami's dress had going for it was the zippers. And I know a million bloggers are going to say it, but come on: been there, Jeffrey done that.

I liked Chris' look more than the judges did, but I did not get the boob armor. It's my only remaining question about Ricky's dress, too. What is with the chest flaps? Did I miss a fad or something? They're bizarre.

I don't have anything specific to say about Jillian or Victorya's pieces, since they were the same idea taken to different extremes- Jillian did too much, Victoria didn't do enough. I'm glad Victorya went. She seemed to be sleepwalking through this episode. Maybe she was- that would explain why she confused Sweet P with Kit twice.

Victorya was also one of three people I felt were in danger this episode, based entirely on the fact that she shared some personal details about her life, as did Rami and Sweet P. It was smart of whoever made the call to include a slew of personal stories. In the candy episode, I knew right away that it was Elisa's time- she told a long and moving story about her past, and no one else got nearly that much interview time. They had milked her; she was doomed. Shame, however, on the person who made the call (probably the same call-making person, eh?) to keep stating how fabulous Ricky's outfit was and how he was doing this for himself and everything but never showing us the dress until the end. A little obvious on that one.

These call-making people also love filming the designers running:

Seriously, is this a subtle message that they need to lose weight, or just suffering for suffering's sake? Can't they stroll jovially to their materials sometime? Or skip merrily? Even a relaxed jog would be a nice break.

GIRRRRRRL

2008-01-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

BAM, RICKY HATERS

(more to come)

Sporadic Project Runway Coverage!

2008-01-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

I could not agree with Elisa's face more. Smirking disappointment all around!
Actually, I took a lot of screen caps of Elisa's face before her departure, and this one was my favorite. All of her expressions are stunning, however, and will be missed:

I call this one "How Elisa Stole Winter Solstice".

This one is of course "OH MY FUCK CANDY FUCKING CANDY!"

Of course, I want to honor Kevin and Kit too, especially considering they were the two people I considered most likely to make it to the final four- seriously, screwed my predictions right up. If Victorya and Jillian make it I will be pissed. I prefer to be awake during the finale, thank you.
That's a bit harsh, I suppose- their avant-garde look was pretty good, though the post-apocalyptic punk thing I think was a bit obvious, it was well-executed. And Jillian has been growing on me. Not as a designer, but a person.

Good thing she wore her rainbow suspenders that day, right? I love me some rainbow suspenders. I also loved how she was all, "We were in Times Square, so we thought we were costuming a musical". That was her first thought. Not clothes stores- theaters. She's adorable, if a bit pouty for my taste.

Anyway, yeah, I really had Kit and Kevin picked for the final four, and when I saw this:

I had Kevin picked to win. I'm not so sad, though- his prom dress was not ok. The taste level was just not there. Period. I was shocked to discover that people overwhelmingly voted for Ricky to be aufed over at BPR- sure it was a bit boring, but it was pretty, and made his model look pretty. Kevin's was not flattering, at all. I'm not exaggerating: there was nothing I liked about Kevin's dress that episode, which was staggering considering his consistent skill.
Unfortunately I don't have any screen caps from that episode, so my tribute to Kevin is from the candy episode, as all these screen caps are:

Alas, no more shirtless Kevin.
My only picture of Kit is also not very flattering:

I felt so bad for her. White tank tops are a bad scene- she had to do that stealthy nipple coverage the whole time.

The only underdogs I have left (I did consider K&K underdogs, though they were well-liked, they were always just under the radar. The front runners are obviously Rami and Christian, and to a lesser extent Jillian and Victorya. Chris is in a state of constant limbo) are Sweet P and Ricky, whom I love, but who have a much smaller chance of winning the whole thing than Kit or Kevin did. Sweet P did give me some hope on the prom dress challenge. I'm sorry, Victorya's dress was great, but not prom, not at all. They judging panel really should have had someone high school age on it, or at least someone who's been to a prom in the past ten years- a high school principal or a design teacher or something. Prom dresses are supposed look ludicrously fancy. They were afraid Sweet P's was too Hollywood glamor and not enough high school, but Victorya's short, funky dress was the one, to me, that looked more at home on a red carpet. Sweet P's dress for the avant-garde challenge was good, too. All the problems were on Rami's side, but I think his head is so big it's affecting his eyesight. That insult sort of makes sense, right?

Ricky is still my love, and I thought his prom dress was adorable, but he needs to step it up. Isn't that right, Elisa?

Oh Scarecrow, I will miss you most of all.

Sorry the coverage is not so comprehensive, but my semester is already crazy- I've had three days of classes and I've already written two papers. I have four readings, two papers and a presentation all before next Wednesday. I'm working ten hours at my office job, where I just got a promotion, and the RA job can be better described as a constant gnawing pain instead of broken down into hours. To top it all, I have to wake up at or before 9 every. single. morning. I'm praying my boss will eventually learn the true extent of my not-morning-personhood, most likely when she comes in to find I have passed out over my laptop, and my drool has rendered it completely unusable.

That said, I like my classes and I like my jobs, unfortunately for you five faithful readers, more than I like Project Runway. I get to talk about the portrayal of gender in Frankenstein, rip on how douchey the New Critics were, write newsletter articles about the ordination of women or Margaret Cho or breastfeeding, and watch documentaries about the portrayal of disability in art. I mean, I love pretty clothes and all those wacky designers and everything, but they don't give me the same sort of satisfaction. I'm pretty enthralled with my work right now, so expect more content with political themes than pop culture coverage. The best scenario is when pop and politics intersect, as they often do in advertising, and have before on Project Runway. I also enjoy when I get to flaunt my geekiness in my work, as I got to in my Women's Center article on female superheroes, I will for the LOST season premiere party I'm hosting for my residents, and I did on this poster advertising the RA position:

P.S. I didn't know where to squeeze this in, but it made me so mad: I think having four people in the bottom on the prom challenge was not only unnecessary, but a slap in the face for the "safe" designers: sure, one of you got a top three score, but you were not good enough to be considered for a win. My anger with the judges/producers (since they have a hand in judging, too), week after week, knows no fucking bounds. I would seriously suggest at least setting some new guidelines for judging for season 5, and following them. They don't have to be too constrictive- just things like, you know, always have a top 3 and bottom 3, and maybe, if you don't follow the rules of the challenge you shouldn't win the challenge. It's a bit ridiculous.

P.P.S. Also ridiculous: how Project Runway, before the season started, touted some of their designers (Simone and Elisa, to memory) as "green", but some of the most ridiculously wasteful challenges have been featured this season. Season 3's recycling center challenge was green- this:

Is the damn opposite of green. I guess on the color wheel that would be purple. 45 yards of fabric on one dress (while really cool looking) is damn purple.

P.P.P.S. I guess depending on the shade of green, it could be purple, but is really more likely red. Purple, however, is more fun to say. Go on, say it a few times.

Film Advertisers Seem to Be Unable to Grasp the Concept of Original Concepts

2008-01-03T17:35:00.002-05:00

Ever since a friend rented "The Last Kiss" which was touted on back cover to be a quirky romantic comedy and turned out to be one hundred and fifteen minutes of bleak, uh- bleakness, I've been wary to not view movies based on what they advertise themselves as.

So, I'm in a quandary with the movie Teeth. It was discussed on Feministing a while back, and a friend saw it at the Williamstown Film Festival (which she covered for the school paper, you can read here). She seemed to like it a lot, and certainly the subject is interesting, so I've been anticipating a chance to see it. However, the advertising has created some confusion as to what the tone of the film is- you see, the first poster looked like this:

It's very fluffy, and our hero strikes an almost Clueless-esque pose, but without pants, of course. The writer at Feministing took issue with this, and rightly so- there is rape and castration going on, and this poster looks like an American Pie sequel- but I was at the time at least hopeful that this indicated satiric humor. I thought some humor might not only bring people out to theaters to see a movie about, you know, a vagina with teeth, but also could be useful in discussing the sad state of sexuality in the country. Abstinence clubs and purity pledges are inherently funny to me.

This afternoon I was browsing movie trailers when I saw one for Teeth, and I was obviously excited. However, my excitement faded when I see the advertising spin switched from fluffy teen movie fare to straight-up horror. Not fluffy to dark comedy (as I had hoped), not fluffy to riveting drama- there is no mistaking, if I knew nothing about this movie, I would think it was a bizarre and even tacky (every rose has its thorns? really?) low-budget thriller instead of a feminist Sundance gem. You can watch the trailer out on the official website. Also observe the black-and-red horror motif of the website itself, which seems to clash with the blue tint of all the screen shots I've seen. There is also, less importantly, poor grammar- the tag line, Every Rose Has It's Thorn, implies Every Rose Has It Is Thorn. Tsk!
Here's the new poster:

From what friends and reviews tell me, the film is an interesting (though intense) way of confronting society's fear of sexuality, particularly female sexuality, and is generally empowering. However, these ads just seem to be exploiting this fear- the quote on the film states that is an "alarming cautionary tale for men". Herein lies the problem, or at least my problem.

Why is the film suddenly about/for men? I'm sure there's something to be learned for men here, but is it comparable to Fatal Attraction, in which the female antagonist tortures a family and eventually gets killed? I don't want to spoil the ending of Teeth (though I obviously don't know all the details yet, I do know the general arch), but the answer to the conflict here is not violence, and the woman is certainly not a threat to be eliminated. She is, you know, the heroine and everything. But you wouldn't know it from the trailer- the protagonist (or at least her vagina) is made out to be the monster and her touchy-feely gyno to be one of many hapless victims (by the way, the friend that covered it stated that in a Q&A following the film, one male viewer expressed he did see the gynecologist as an innocent victim- a statement to which anyone in the audience who had ever been to an actual OB/GYN appointment scoffed).

Revolutionary idea: pitch the film about female sexuality with a complex female protagonist to women for what it is, instead of a sexy teen comedy or a tacky rehashing of an old horror story.

Worth Blogging

2007-12-25T01:49:00.000-05:00

Lakota Freedom
map via Feministe

A very Merry Christmas, all!

Guess What I've Been Wasting Time On Over Break

2007-12-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

I'm sure some of you- whoever it is that still reads this while PR is in reruns- use Facebook. I'm also sure you've heard plenty of people complain about Facebook. Well, I started typing this up as a note on Facebook, until I realized how lame that was. So prepare yourself, I am going to complain about Facebook.

I'm not arguing Facebook's uses. Facebook is dreadfully convenient. I can imagine life without it (since life without it was not all that long ago), but inviting people to parties or sharing photos or asking everyone I know where I should go to get tattooed would be slightly more time-consuming without it. And I couldn't play Scrabble with my friends in Florida, New York and Virginia at the same time. I could play Scrabble with people near by, but then I need to buy a board and find a bunch of people nearby that care to play Scrabble- and gosh darn it, I'm poor and not that motivated. Facebook is really unfortunately useful.

Sure, social networking sites may change the way we socialize and how our brains function, but that's not my complaint today- that's one of those long term things that I'm sure will be sorted out after the revolution. Hmm, maybe I should make lists of things to be sorted out before, during and after the revolution... but I digress.

What I don't understand all these "lost cellphone" groups. There are a ton. I know facebook is dreadfully convenient, and if I lost my cellphone I'd certainly use facebook to contact people for their numbers- if they were people I had ever called in the past and/or if they were people I anticipated calling in the future. People tend to just make these groups and invite every person they have ever known since fifth grade to post their cellphone numbers. It's excessive, and gives a false sense of intimacy. Though, I think "giving a false sense of intimacy" is in Facebook's mission statement.

My bigger problem with these groups is that they tend to be "open", which not only means anyone can join it, but also that anyone can view it, completely undetected. I know Facebook has stalker potential written all over it regardless of how you use it, but these groups are just a goldmine of phone numbers. You don't even have to try to be sketchy. Visiting one of these groups makes me automatically feel dirty.

That's all the wit I have for this week. Happy holidays, I'll most likely see you in the New Year. Oh, and so this post isn't a total waste, I'll link to a campaign I found out about today to support the WG A strike (I am in solidarity with my fellow writers on this)- send a message to the moguls with pencils.

Episode 5: Finals > Blogging

2007-12-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Sorry I haven't blogged in a long time. The semester is ending and I'm struggling to get everything done. There won't be full Project Runway updates until my break starts and I have a little more time on my hands.

Let me make a few notes:

Tim Gunn Objectification continues. This week: sexualization of his advice. Sheesh, these people make it such a hard world for Tim Gunns to live in.

What is with the Ricky haters? Look at this poll on the PR livejournal community. At the time of this post, 81 people want to give Ricky the boot. And the person second to him is Elisa! I just don't get it. I know his last outfit was kind of gross, but everything else has been totally inoffensive to me, and heck, I thought he deserved to be in the top three this time.
But who is there instead? Jillian. Infuriating. It was boring, it was bad, and she used even less material from the original than Steven did. I really thought it was going to make the bottom.
But who is there instead? Elisa. The judges claimed that the outfit didn't fit her client. DEAR JUDGES: Would you shut your projectionist mouths for a second and bother to ask the client if she liked the outfit? She seemed to really enjoy herself in it, and it was really toned down for an Elisa piece while still retaining her point of view. The judges just baffle me.

I know, Ricky, I know! It's infuriating. Even the rays emanating from Sweet P's smile don't cheer you up.

To hell with the haters. I love Ricky.

You're so very, very special to me.

On Jack leaving: the circumstances are sad, but I won't miss him too terribly. Though, I suppose this means my Jack/Christian suspicions will never come to fruition, but I already knew that, considering he's dating Dale from Top Chef. That there's a happy ending, right?

On Chris returning: He called Tim Gunn a guardian angel in his note. It's just a better show with him on it. Good call, Bravo.

On Steven leaving: He just didn't pull it out this time. It was bound to happen sooner or later, I think. I'll certainly miss him a lot, but c'est la vie.

On Christian winning: Whatever. I'm hoping the judges will pull out the one-note comments on him soon enough.

In other news: my friend Melissa, whose artwork you may remember from this post, once again proved her overwhelming amazingness, and this time on TV. And it's totally Project Runway related- she walked the same runway as Heidi Klum!
She was one of thirty young women chosen to be stand-ins (or walk-ins, I guess?) for Victoria Secret models during rehearsals. You can see a video about it here, and I captured the best shot of her:

She's the one on the right. Isn't she angelic?
Go Melissa!

Episode 3: Don't Go Home Too Soon- Oops!

2007-12-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Sorry this is being posted basically the day before the new episode. Technology is failing me and time is sparse, I think the last entry being so thorough was a direct result of it being Thanksgiving break, and also, of the boy needing to take time out of cuddling to work on Nanowrimo- which he won, by the way! Yay!

Anyway, I have some things to say about this past episode, so I'll just jot them down as fast as I can.

On Carmen leaving: I think she's a perfectly capable designer, but not making the shirt before the jacket smacks of a lack of common sense. This is sooner than I thought she would go, but it's not big loss for me. I expected Ricky to be out around this time (a little awkward that they were in the bottom two after that little West Side Story style song and dance fight that was almost drama, eh?), but that would be tragic, because as it turns out, Ricky really is my favorite, just as I predicted. Personality-wise, anyway. I still don't know who's my favorite as far as design, considering this week was a whole lot of either disaster or boredom with not much in between, and last week was a team challenge, and, oh yeah, next week is a team challenge. Bah. Anyway, I love Ricky- he's so cute and sensitive, and also fierce and bitchy. "Fierce" in the biting-you way, not the, uh, way Christian intends it.
I really thought Christian was getting more tolerable until he pulled out that "Asians are fierce" crap- Christian. Think about what you're going to say. Then, think about it again. Then, think about it again. Then, if it's still a good idea and not racist, say it out loud. I know you're on a deadline and everything, and you were filmed in the past and can't heed this advice, but you're not doing yourself any favors by attempting to suck up to a race. However, I will tolerate his bragging a little more now that I've witnessed that he is, in fact, a fucking fast on a sewing machine.
On Jack winning: Bull. Shit. Kevin could have won, but, only if he had finished the jacket. It would have made the purple more subtle. Kit really came out on top of this one. She sewed all three pieces, she had an eye for what would work on camera, and she is an albino Pippi Longstocking.

But in seriousness: why was Jack even in the top three? I'm not a stickler for following the challenge to letter as long as it looks good, but Rami's or even Christian's looked better than this stripey-stripey non-suit. I think they picked Jack's because it wasn't too safe to be called boring (i.e. it was too ugly to be called safe), but it was also mind-numbingly safe (boring) from the waist up, which is what one actually sees of a news correspondent. Safe equals boring, "shows you have a perspective" equals ugly, mens wear challenge for a man in a career in which the outfits are nearly required by law to be safe and boring equals stupid, stupid, stupid idea. There will be a quiz.

Uh, do they not let the contestants buy their own food, or is this really sneaky product placement? Also, I read another blog stating that the P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude) message that appears on the chalkboard at the beginning of the episode is obviously from Elisa, but I think it's more likely Carmen, considering its similar catchphrasiness to "Don't Go Into the Fear Box". (If I'm right, I guess that's a bit sad, considering The Secret did not seem to work for her this time. Oh well. Follow your bliss, Carmen.) Also, I'd like to think that Elisa is above acronyms. It's more her style to leave toast around the kitchen with poems written out in condiments.

Speaking of that lovely lady, she gets more and more precious by the minute:

I love how they play mystic flute music behind her, as if shyness about undressing is part of her mystical river religion. And of course they paired her with an ethnobotanist- I refuse to believe that's a coincidence. Ethnobotany! Swoon.

I was going to do a chest count instead of a cry count for this episode, but I think the amount of skin on one page would just be blinding. Also, Kevin shirtless- another prediction was fulfilled!

Although I think Jack was the one they were aiming the camera at. Speaking of Jack's muscles, am I the only one sensing (or at least hoping for) some sexual tension between Jack and Christian? The piggie-back ride, the drawing of the cherries on the ass, the putting Christian into his man purse as if he were a tiny fashionable dog- that's flirting, right? My flirtation sensors aren't broked, right?

Steven, I love you. You're hilarious, coming further out of your shell every episode. But dear, this is not a pimp's hat.

This is a pimp's hat:

And Kevin needs to take it OFF.
By the way, Kevin, listen- we get it.

You're straight. It's fine by us. But, jeez-

Do you have to flaunt it?

Stereotypelicious!

2007-11-28T00:53:00.001-05:00

So, obviously advertisements are made to play on our insecurities and biases, but why do fast food commercials continue to be goddamn oppressive? You're selling food, for goodness' sakes, it's a basic human need, all you should need to do is make it look appetizing. Even "edible, cheap and not revolting" is a good marketing scheme. But, no- as I've discussed before on this blog, men are attacked if they don't act like men, and apparently eating meat is a masculine trait. Of course Burger King's "I am Man" commercial made that clear, and a new spot from Wendy's has made the point a little more subtly, by cutting up and pasting together male and female bodies so that they can have the series of events they want but without any pesky gender role variation.

The ad freaks me the fuck out. If you haven't seen it, go to their website and click the black and white cut-and-pasted head on the bottom right. They did not put regular male actors in this commercial, because, duh- being overexcited, fanatic and hysterical are totally femmey. Please, talk to some wrestling fans for ten seconds if you want to prove male fanaticism exists. You would also find a ton of female wrestling fans, and surprise! Women eat bacon, too! But you'd never know it from a fast food commercial. Women actors couldn't be cast in this commercial because, duh, meat is for men! So the obvious solution is to impose pictures of men on the bodies of women, so the womanly parts can act crazy and the manly parts can eat meat. What the fuck?

Another commercial currently on the air that bothers the fuck out of me with its subtle prejudice is KFC's heartwarming family's-favorite-moments commercial. After some searching I thankfully found that I wasn't the only one that has an issue with this one. It seems like a sweet moment over dinner at first, but after they panned around the tables a few times I realized it was a black family, enjoying a bucket of chicken, and they were fatherless. Oh, dear.

Anyway, if you're here it's probably due to Project Runway and not my analysis of advertising. Though I would love to draw an analyzing-advertising audience because, hell, it's just as entertaining as watching PR and feels way more productive. But, I'll end with my prediction for the next episode. From the previews it's pretty obviously a men's wear challenge, but that by itself is a little boring. Even if it wasn't, PR always needs a second twist (you're designing for SJP's line- with $15, ha ha ha!), so I'm hoping the real challenge is designing a look for Tim Gunn. Though it may be problematic were he walking around giving advice during the process, but think about it- Tim could finally be on the judge's panel! Also, Tim Gunn objectification ahoy!

Episode 2: Cheer Up!

2007-11-25T13:49:00.000-05:00

I think Rich at fourfour (probably the reason I started this blog, by the way) is totally missing out by not covering this season of Project Runway. I understand his reasons, but if the season continues like this, the cry count will rival ANTM’s.

1. Chris

He’s crying because Sarah Jessica Parker entered, and Sex and the City was the reason he moved to New York City. He’s precious. Not quite our little lamb, but perhaps our big teddy bear.

2. Ricky

He’s crying because in the last challenge, he, in his own words, sucked. How sadly self-defeating. However:

3. Ricky

Sarah Jessica Parker liked his design, so these tears are out of joy. I couldn't tell if he was also crying when his model from the last challenge got aufed, but I'll leave it as just verklempt.

4. Carmen

She got very upset because she had to say Christian should go home. She seemed surprised that they were asking- does she not watch the show, or was this just dramatics? When Steve was asked the same sort of question, he opted for mumbling instead of waterworks. His "I don’t like the idea of that, no", was so very Milton-esque. I, I believe you have my chiffon?

5. & 6. Sweet P and Marion

Heidi’s exact words: "Your look left us very sad". Maybe that’s why there’s so many tears in this episode- Marion’s depressing Xena Chic.

You know who I love? Elisa.

I love her. Whatever grass-staining yoga-practicing spit-marking happy planet she’s from, I want to visit (and by the looks of things, the other designers could use a vacation there, too). It's a shame Sweet P doesn’t know the name. Even though I find saliva really disgusting, when Elisa explained herself with this tone of, “Well, duh, to imbibe it with energy and essence, of course”, I got weak in the knees. She totally owns her crazy.

You know who I DON’T love? Carmen.

Leave the irritating self-promotion to the Bluefly Dot Com Wall, Carmen! Am I culture illiterate because I didn’t get her second reference? I would spend so much time trying to figure out who she was talking about that I would totally forget her design.

Something I found totally hilarious in the pitches to SJP- we totally would have guessed that Kevin was the straight man of this season without him telling us in the first episode. Because when others reacted something like this-

Kevin reacted like this.

Totally left her hanging. Tsk.

Tim Gunn Objectification Watch Alert: In this episode, an image of Tim Gunn was accompanied by...

an image of Tim Gunn. I understand promoting his show while he’s on the screen, but displaying him from two different angles? Demeaning.

It may be cliché, but these teams of two reminded me of high school cliques. The idea really started with this team:

Marion and Steven: Team Nerds

All they need is a pocket calculator and a 30 sided die. I think it’s fairly obvious what would belong to whom.

Christian and Carmen: Team Rich Scene Popular Kids

They’re elite, they’re full of themselves, and they’re really, really irritating.

Rami and Jillian: Team Valedictorian/Salutatorian

Which one is which, you ask? I imagine all valedictorians and salutatorians switch back and forth constantly, with a great deal of bitterness and scorn involved.

Victorya and Kevin: Team Cool Dark Drama Kids

They’re talented, they’re sexy, they appear often in 90s teen movies.

Kit and Chris: Team Other Drama Kids

They’re probably just as talented as the really serious dark drama kids, but they don’t quite have the same ambiance. Some may call them a little out there. But, of course, not as out there as:

Elisa and Sweet P: Team Stoners

Like, totally, you know, it’s all about, like, the materials, right? And like, energy, man. Sweet P kind of gets this one by association, but considering she’s been in a motorcycle gang, I don’t think it can be too far off the mark. Thank goodness Elisa got matched with Sweet P. Besides making a really nice product, I don’t think anyone else would have enough patience for her. Also, if there was indeed a challenge to design for Snow White, Sweet P would rock it.

Ricky and Jack: Team Jocks

This one was kind of a default thing. Check out those guns.

I really liked Ricky and Jack’s final product the most, but as Jack pointed out, it might be because Ricky’s model was gorgeous. I’m also confused as to what the second piece of this was, as it was supposed to be a two-piece challenge, unless it was the belt, and if so, did Ricky actually make it? Whatever, it was gorgeous, and could definitely be worn in an array of looks.

My own ranking and the judge’s coincided for the other top two spot- Elisa and Sweet P’s dress and cape. It’s beautiful and all, but I don’t know how many women would invest in a cape. Of course, if it’s featured on Project Runway, that point is pretty moot: people are going to buy it. Though I didn’t mind it on this piece, I am going to get sick of this shade of blue pretty soon. I know it’s not all exactly the same- Team Ego’s was a more fluorescent, for example, but this range of blues that hearken back to Chloe Dao are being done to death. I'm also wondering, do they teach this deer-in-headlights look in modeling school? I think Katie perfected it.

Victorya and Kevin’s dress, which actually won, didn’t do much for me, but I suspect it fit the line more than the other pieces. Rami/Jillian’s and Kit/Chris’s pieces were a little dull, except the strange choice of headwear in both cases.

My bottom two would be the same as the judge’s- Christian/Carmen’s dress was just not flattering at all. I pray that Elisa will go farther than Christian. Though he’s been pegged as a genius and she as a nutcase, she at least has the common sense to listen to Tim Gunn. If Tim calls your piece too retro and you tell him it’s perfect, I’m pretty sure it’s legal to burn you at the stake. Or at least tie you to a real giant spool of thread, or stuck in a giant pincushion or whatever.

Marion and Steven’s final product was indeed, as aforementioned, very sad. You know what I was happy about, though? Marion got to at least reference one comic book character before his departure.

Happy Tofurkey Day, Vegetarians!

2007-11-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Turkey Day, all, if you're celebrating. The update on PR is going to be late, but to keep you entertained through Buy Nothing Day, I wanted to share a few things.

This video via brownfemipower:

It's a die-in in front of Citibank in DC, and several of my friends were there as part of Powershift. They were protesting Citibank's investment in coal, and ended up shutting the place down for the day. Power to the people! I'll also share with you the chant my friend made up, but did not exactly catch on: "I don't want to wait, for our lives to be over! I want global warming to end right now- hey hey, ho ho!"

I am pretty much in love with this comic from Overcompensating:

Seriously, if you care about peace, or just want to vote for someone NOT evil instead of LESS evil, vote for Dennis Kucinich. Think he can't win? Uh, he kind of already is. Just in secret.

Episode 1: Fabric Incontinence

2007-11-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Project Runway sure knows how to keep things fresh- this season the designers had to do their first challenge with the surprise material of fabric. $50,000 worth of fabric. I went to a Hunger Banquet directly before this episode, and let me tell you, fifty grand sure could feed a lot of starving children. But instead, it was spent on a fuckton of fabric, and I'm willing bet that a grand 7% of all that fabric was actually used. Not to be mean, but I'd rather see them using tent material- which Christian initially thought was the challenge, and whined about. He needs to get over that, fast, or he's going to jinx it and they'll all be making clothes out of their own hair in a few weeks.
Seriously, fabric? I'd rather see tent material because then they're all working in the same context, so making it represent them has to come through in construction and skill. The first episode is wildly unfocused enough with so many designers, I thirst for some kind of theme.
Also, why no road-to-the-runway, auditioning type show?

Carrying on.

Bravo is obviously trying to capitalize on the popularity of Tim Gunn. He has his own show, he's in the theme song now, and he got his own category in the "your favorite thing about PR" poll- and won, of course. I don't know if I like it. I'm on a Tim Gunn Objectification Watch.

Speaking of watches, I'm also on a Carmen's Hair Watch. Will it become less majestic as the season progresses and the stress builds? Let's hope, because if not, she's got her priorities out of order for this competition.

Also in the theme song:

Did you hear? Marion is awkward! I think this is apparent enough without this embarrassing image displayed before every episode. Why is a shapely female shadow kissing Marion? Everyone else gets to strut or wiggle (watch for Simone next time) or at least talk about what great designers they are, and Marion gets make an aw-shucks face weekly. Bold prediction: Marion is not going to win Project Runway.

Jillian matches the sheets. Perfectly. SHE MATCHES THE SHEETS. I thought Marion was going to creep me out, but so far I just feel bad for the little guy. Jillian, however, is creeping me out, with italics and everything. This no-nonsense competitive thing she had going in her little quiet voice it is so secret-murderer-y.
Also: she matches the sheets!
However, her design was still totally boring, as I predicted. It reminded me of a Barbie outfit. Not a high-fashion-season-2 Barbie outfit, a this-came-with-the-beach-house Barbie outfit. Blah.

A few other people seemed to fit my predictions pretty well- Sweet P is definitely high on my favorites list, while Christian is near the very bottom. The judges loved Rami (and with good reason). Elisa made an art project. Ricky, bless his little stereotypical gay Latino heart, was choking back tears, before anything even happened! What a sweety. I liked his dress (though I knew it was doomed to be called "safe"), and his attitude, I hope he sticks around for a while.
A few, though, won my heart unexpectedly- namely, Chris and Steven.

I think Chris is going to last a while. He may be told to edit at some point, but he has plenty of experience with bizarre challenges. I loved his dress, I would have put it in the top three. The colors were a little furniture-esque, but the purple material was gorgeous and the construction was great. And his salad ingredients dress?

Fierce!
And it looks like Richard Simmons really really liked it.

As for Steven, he's just, well, adorable. His sense of humor is so genuine and endearing. How could you not love this face?

As for his design, I think it definitely represents him- as long as not every thing he puts out has a suit jacket on it, I'll root for him. I hope he and his model stick together, the aesthetic suits her well. I also hope that I can get a picture of his closed-mouth smile at some point- it's so bizarrely cute, as if he's delighting in sucking on a lemon.

I guess I should mention Elisa's craziness, since it was the main focus of the episode. I like Elisa, and her craziness. I kind of want to be her friend. However, I also know that as innovative as it is, Michael and Nina are not going to dig grass stains. As for her dress- I was taking some notes during the show and definitely wrote "oh no! pooping fabric" as soon as I caught a glimpse at the back. I thought it was cool, in theory, though it looked more like a peacock than a "cascading river" to me. But I dug the peacock. Unfortunately, the thing didn't function at all. I'm really glad she's still in, though. Based entirely on what walked down the runway, I'm really only interested in seeing what she and Rami (and maybe Jack and Chris) create next.
I'm also glad she's still in because Simone's dress earned the aufing. Sorry, Simone.

Now, let me talk about the top three- Rami's dress obviously deserved to be there, and to win. The selection of Victorya and Christian, however, was a surprise to me. I guess I just don't "get" Victorya's piece. It looks better in the website photo, but while watching the show I thought it was, well, not pretty. And Christian's outfit was, well, ugly. Well-made, for sure, but the colors were gross and it was not flattering.

I know they're probably editing Christian into the villain, but I can see myself not being able to stand him fairly soon. His disdain towards Rami's outfit irked me- it was unfounded and immature. I'm also trying to figure out who or what he reminds me of, in the home video when he says he's "kind of fierce, and kind of a celebrity", it strikes me as so familiar- I thought maybe it was Bobcat Goldthwait's character in Scrooged, but that's not it; and nor is it exactly Kelly. It may just be the way he adds an invisible question mark to his sentences that contains familiarity. If you have any ideas as to what character he's emulating here, let me know.

I could break down what I thought of every single design- Carmen's impeccably executed genie from the future look, Marion's- um- thing, and so on. But there's so many in episode one. Frankly, it's exhausting. I hope you enjoyed what I had the energy to muster up this week. Stop by next week- there may be commentary, or I may just be in a coma.

First Impressions, or Lack Thereof

2007-11-02T22:55:00.002-05:00

I have so much to do this semester that I am embarrassed to mention it all. Just know that right now, whenever I have time to do something unimportant, say, enjoy a magazine, play video games, or blog about reality television, it is because I am putting off something important. Blogging about Project Runway is pretty low on the "relevant to my future" list. So you best appreciate the fruits of my procrastination.

I know it's just days away, but I'm itching for the new season and all the joy and sorrow of fabulousness and inconsistent judging it will bring to me. So, after putting off more important things to watch the video interviews and read the Q&As, I thought I would gather a little list of my first impressions. I did the same thing for Season 2, though after the first episode, but who knows where my stamina will be at that point?

Carmen
What we know: She's an "established designer"
What I want to know: What kind of French phrases did the monkeys on her t-shirts from age thirteen actually say? "Je voudrais un banane"? Or maybe, "Pourquoi est-ce que je parle français"? Monkeys shouldn't be in France. They're not native.
What I expect: A whole lot of "impeccable execution".

Elise
What we know: She got on season one, but turned it down. That strikes me as a good sign.
What I expect: Considering she was raised by two artists, and she tells of being "discovered" or something because of a Halloween costume involving a golden spool of thread over the heart and treated eucalyptus leaves, I predict she is going to get "costumey" from the judges more than once, even if it's not justified.

Marion
What We Know: He sells clothes out of his flower shops, his style is "Oliver, with a twist!"
Reminds Me Of: Oliver Twist indeed, if Oliver Twist was a fucking pyro.
What I Expect: Michael Kors will call his clothes "something you see on the Sci-Fi channel", Marion will take this as a compliment.

Chris
What We Know: His favorite color is leopard.
Reminds Me Of: A gay Fred Flintstone. Just think about that shirt without sleeves. Separated at birth, right?
What I Expect: Gee- he's worked with Madonna, Cirque Du Soleil and Disney, and once again his favorite color is LEOPARD. But, he does have a lot of experience, so he might do alright, depending on the challenge.

Jillian
What we know: She gets snappy at someone at some point.
Reminds me of: A younger Wendy, on sedatives.
What I Expect: She seems pretty together, so I think she may go far, but totally bore me in the process. I hope her clothes are more exciting than she is. I'm not buying that she's going to be a big drama queen as the promos may lead us to believe.

Christian
What we know: He is both "raw talent" and "kind of a big deal".
Reminds me of: Love child of Daniel Franco and Santino.
What I Expect: A big ego, and not much else. Prove me wrong, Christian.

Jack
What we know: His aesthetic is both "girly" and "fabulous".
Reminds me of: Love child of Robert and Kayne.
What: Holds a national record in swimming, and lists Christian Siriano- the one directly above- one of his competitors- as a favorite designer. He's his fourth choice when they asked for three. All around: What.

Kit (Christina)
What we know: Her aesthetic is "coquettish"
What I expect: The judges won't "get it". Supposedly inspired by Florence, she will likely be called out on appearing to be inspired by the 80s. I can't think of a third category because so far Kit has left almost no impression at all with me. That's a bad sign.

Kevin
What we know: He's the token straight guy.
Reminds me of: Clive Owen, if Clive Owen was an Italian fashion designer, with tattoos and a beard and everything. Kevin is pretty, is what I'm saying.
What I expect: Will develop a strong fan following. Bravo will continually air footage of him brushing his teeth in boxers. But really, he seems authentic. I hope he delivers.

Rami
What we know: Also turned down a spot on PR in an earlier season. Good sign.
What I expect: The judges will probably like him. Also, if he makes it to the final three/four, we'll hear all about his childhood in West Bank.
What: When asked what would shock people, he answered "Nothing I can think of!!!". Three exclamation points. What.

Ricky
What we know: He's the token crier in the promos.
Reminds me of: Love child of Raymundo and Andre. Extravagant gestures, boyish looks, big heart, and of course, he sheds some tears.
What I expect: He may turn out to be my favorite, at least for a little while. He's shown in promos trying to talk people out of fighting. I'm a sucker for a peace keeper. You just know they don't belong on reality TV.

Simone
What We Know: She's honing her psychic abilities.
Reminds me of: The kind of person that overdresses and looks forlorn and says they belong in another decade, but really, there was no decade in which people did nothing but drink wine and stand in the corner at art shows and talk about how cultured they are.
What: You'd think the psychic thing would do it, but what really gets me is she considers "heirloom piece of jewelry" to be a must-have fashion item. What.

Victorya
What we know: She appears to think fighting is a necessity, but this could always be out of context editing.
What I want to know: What exactly is a bag that makes a statement? That seems fairly subjective. And what kind of statement would you try to make? To me it sounds an awful lot like a "say-something hat", and "say-something hats" usually say "tacky".

Steven
What we know: He worked for drag queens at some point, but hated it.
Reminds me of: Andre's other-dimensional twin: looks similar, but is as soft-spoken and conservative as Andre is loud and outrageous.
What I expect: Considering his must-have fashion items (which includes an ascot tie and a briefcase) are aimed at men and are, well, boring, he at some point may be aufed for "not understanding women" or being, well, boring.

Sweet P (Kathleen)
What we know: She was encouraged to try out by Jeffrey, who was in turn encouraged to try out by Santino, so, I guess that's interesting?
What I want to know: Why Bravo showed this picture of her tattoos, when a ton of the contestants this season have visible tattoos?
What I expect: She'll be my favorite. Authentic and edgy, and without Santino's ego or Jeffrey's penchant to call people feminazis. Also, she was in an all-female biker gang, which has inexplicable appeal to me.

FYI: Comments are set to registered users only, and if you go back two entries, you will surely understand why.

Relapse

2007-10-22T16:53:00.001-05:00

And we're back.

Episode 13: Smooth Segue!

2006-10-13T19:21:00.000-05:00

I want so badly to talk about the clothes, but this episode is not about the clothes. That's for next week. This is week is all about the reality. Last season, this episode was a big old sympathy fest, everyone revealing their traumatic past. I left this one feeling pretty much the exact same way about everyone and everything. It was dull, but not without its perks.

Michael is still adorable, if a bit naive. You know, with the bedazzling and such. Ah, but this is not about clothes! His family's adorable, too.

Laura is still as poised and pregnant as ever. We finally got to meet her five kids in their beautiful home in New York. In my viewing buddy's elegant words, "She's gotta be fucking loaded!" Then there's, well, this:

I know y'all were thinking it with me: "What?" Not to insult the guy, but, you're Mr. Laura Bennett. We were expecting something a little more fabulously glamorous.

Uli is still... on a beach?

But Tim removed his shoes and jacket! This is a noteworthy day.

Jeffrey is still a tough guy with a heart of gold. Or maybe platinum, or something.

I'm a sucker for babies in general, but seriously, that is one crazy cute baby. He looks so much like his daddy, I think I'm going to get cavities. From the sweetness, you understand.

Project Runway itself is still nuts about product placement!

I totally believe this is really Tim Gunn's car and filming it was purely to benefit the storytelling.

Drama is still stupid. Ok, listen. I think the accusations are bull, I think it's real fishy that there was no big twist except for this drama, I think I'm pissed that Jeffrey is being reprimanded for being overly prepared, I think I like Uli way more than I already did for trying to defend Jeffrey's collection, I think it was creepy that they were all poking at it while he was out of the room, I think Michael is way too impressionable, I think Laura's imitation of Jeffrey sounded Australian. There is one thing, however, that I know.
I know that this is the single funniest thing that's been featured on the show in a while.

My viewing buddy and I laughed way longer than necessary.
I've been sick of the drama for weeks, but I'll never get tired of the people involved. Good luck to the final four, I'll miss you guys.

Men Should Act Like Robots.

2006-10-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

Hello, my five loyal readers. I only caught the second half of Project Runway's reunion special, and that's never, ever the good part, so I'll hold off writing about reality TV for another week. Since I got to college, TV makes me feel dirty.

Speaking of. I was working in the women's center the other day, and after finishing up the newsletter and bringing our Love Your Body Day posters to the copy center, I browsed a couple of feminist blogs and sites. Feministing brought me to this site for some stupid beer. Before you can view their commercials, they will ask you if you're "old enough to play with the big boys". Listen, buddy, I go to college. Girls drink beer, too. This also implies that only people of legal drinking age can look at alcohol commercials, which is pretty hilarious. Any kid with access to a TV already knows that beer is for boys, hard drinks that taste like fruit are for girls and alcohol makes everyone more fun and sexy.

Does anyone remember the very first commercial for Bratz? Their very first tagline (which I'm left to assume was quicky pulled off the air- but how the did it get on in the first place?) was said by two pretty young ladies in unison: "Don't Theorize, Accesorize!" I know that I for one, after overcoming the sheer disbelief, began freaking. the. fuck. out. How did NOBODY in the room when that one was thrown out go "you know, that could be construed as sexist"? Maybe there were no women in the room. Maybe they should make a Bratz playset that comes with a glass ceiling. After all, I've been told Bratz are all about girl power. Girl power through fashion, girl power through diamonds, girl power through buying more shit. Girl power in that Barbie was getting a little too frumpy, what with changing her classic features so she almost looked kind of like a real human being, so Bratz kicked it UP and cornered the market for peddling gender roles and unrealistic standards to extremely young girls.

Anyway, my point being, these beer commercials are so blatantly destructive on their own, and yet, like Bratz's original tagline, they felt the need to point out their own idiocy. For the crimes of swatting a bee, enjoying a trampoline and wiping the grease off one's pizza, the offenders are put to death by a giant can of beer. There seems to be a backlash from the days of the metrosexual (which I've heard more often than ever since I got to school- people still use this word seriously? Why do we need to throw a ridiculous label on a hetero man with a couple of "feminine" qualities?). Ads have always been pretty sexist, but now more than ever I'm noticing attacks on men- you don't like red meat, alcohol and fast cars? You're not a man, prepare to be ostracized.

As if the kick in the balls wasn't enough, then comes the punch in the face, a deep voice making no allusions about the message: "Men Should Act Like Men." So, I had a couple of ideas to expand their already large library of things un-manly. (They are not family friendly, apologies to my main linker BPR.)
Enjoy.

MEN SHOULD ACT LIKE MEN.

MEN SHOULD ACT LIKE MEN.

MEN SHOULD ACT LIKE MEN.

MEN SHOULD ACT LIKE MEN.

MEN SHOULD ACT LIKE MEN. DRINK. OBEY.

Episode Eleven: Sexiness, Sensual AND Sultry? Wow, those aren't even all the same part of speech!

2006-09-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know I've been worthless in terms of updating lately. I have MSPaint images stored up from the last three episodes, but it's all pretty unfinished and chaotic, and the fact that I'm at college now makes for a hard time just watching the show, nevermind watching the show twice and having the time to make images and witty jokes about it.

I need to express my love for the last episode, though. Screw all y'all that may say it's a copout or that so-and-so should've been out. I would've cried, if not for the fact I was squished on a dorm bed with three other girls half-watching and half-talking about our suitemates.

Touching.

Literally, look, these two are touching! It's just that overwhelming.

From the start, I thought Uli was going to be out (and so did about 50% of the audience, apparently), but she made a smart move by picking Nazri (as bad as I felt for Lindsay). There are some outfits that would've been disasters if they were put on anyone else but her. Cough, Michael. I think if I do a recap of the finale, I'll just consistenly claim that Nazri wins. Come on. She always does. Anyway, Uli's dress turned out beautiful, bless her German little heart.

Oh, I'm so excited that all four collections are being judged. Why the heck not? They all went down the runway anyway.

Other highlights include my favorite once again proving himself to be my favorite:

Plus, he had a sweet little video chat with his baby boy. What a big softie.

Things that were not-so-happy this episode:
I wanted to sympathize with the fact that the designers had to cut their work time by six hours, but I was way more aghast that they made the models walk around New York in four-inch heels.

This was also nearly weep-worthy:

"Forget it. It was a stupid idea."

Come on, elevator door. DON'T YOU KNOW SHE'S PREGNANT?
I didn't even know there were elevator doors that weren't sensitive to human actions. Bizarre! Poor Laura.

Oh, you know what might've been the best thing about this episode?
NO VINCENT AND/OR ANGELA. I was so pissed about that.
Y'know, since I already made them, I'll go ahead and leave you with the MSPaint images of Vincent and Kayne upon their respective departures.

I gave him a little much-needed color, and I turned his creepy, bad material for that challenge into something it's more suited for.

I do miss Kayne, a.k.a. our sunshine, a.k.a. WHY are they always filming you shirtless?

Look for an update on the reunion! It may or may not actually be here. Suckers!

Episode Eight: Look, Tim Gunn, I Can Dress Myself!

2006-08-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

I'm working more images into this post. Guess what happens to the quality!

We said goodbye to Angela this week, shipping her right back to America before she'd even gotten settled. Yes, her tears are rosette-shaped.
I'm not particularly happy or sad, because we all knew this was going to happen at some point. We're down to six, and there just ain't room for Holly Hobby.
I took the liberty of looking up who Holly Hobby is, and Tim Gunn once again scores points for accuracy.

So, the episode kicked off with drama. Drama, drama, drama. More Jeff, more Angela, more overreacting, more Laura making spiky comments... lame. Even the models were talking behind each other's backs.
Just give me the clothes, please. At least the runway delivered. I love, LOVE the idea of the designers dressing themselves- it's a twist, but you still get a solid idea of their style.

Except for Vincent. He made a plain black top with plain black bottoms. They looked comfy, but Michael Kors once again urged "this is a DESIGN competition".
The judges were a little spicy this week, eh? I thought Uli's dress was beautiful, and appeared comfortable, even if it looked a bit like things she had done before. Have they met Laura?
I nor anyone should be surprised that the judges were inconsistent from one week to the next. Last week they honored a point of view, even if it was a disaster, and they did away with the most basic design. They had the same situation this week (there's even the fact that the basic design in both cases was out of the designer's comfort zone), and made the opposite decision. Heck, they didn't even put the boring design in the bottom two. As they say in France, le sigh.
Also on the Vincent front, he seemed a bit too anxious to take off his pants. Not helping the borderline-creepy image.

How cute was Michael teaching Kayne how to walk? I love Kayne, but he really does need someone around to help him tone down his outrageous fabulousness. Oh, how glad I am that he's still around. He's like ma sunshine.

Note to Michael Knight: get away from white! I'd love to see you at Fashion Week, but not if every single outfit is going to be white or gold. I was not down with Michael's pants. I believe they were touched by his noodley appendage.

Of course, there was a twist Part II. Cut to Angela being shocked, over and OVER again.
You're not being judged yet.

You're going on a trip.

On a plane.

In an HOUR!

The flight was to Paris, as many people had already predicted. Michael had no idea they had a Parons in Paris, but an internet full of fans certainly did. I pretty much squealed when Tim Gunn boarded the plane- of course he was going with them, but it's so cute when he gets all father-figure. Jeffrey expressed that rare sentimentality that makes him endearing to me- "I don't know what I'll do after this if I can't have Tim Gunn popping up in my life."

Oh, and bravo for Jeffrey finally winning something! He's been validated, and I'm now totally ok if he doesn't make the final three. I'm also OK if he does. There's a lot of talent in the room- I'd be interested in seeing most of their collections.
Eeeexcept Vincent. I hate to keep bringing him up, but you know how in season one, they all started looking at Robert and saying "how is he still here"? I predict this happening with Vincent very soon.

Note to Bravo: during the shots of Paris, I definitely heard at least one score from Amelie. I love Amelie, and I love Project Runway, but in very different ways- please don't mix them.

Episode Seven: The First One I've Recapped.

2006-08-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

The time of darkness has ended. Camp is over, and I have returned to provide yet another snarky recap to the masses. I didn't think there were enough, you know. Sorry if I skip around and leave out details- I'm not quite back in the rhythm yet.

You may or may not know that I used to gank all of my screencaps from the official site. This season, however, they're displayed in flash, and it's a pain to hit print screen, paste them into Microsoft Paint and cut out the rest of the page. So, my brilliant time-saving trick is meticulously recreating desired scenes with Microsoft Paint.

Just kidding, they're not meticulous at all!

We said goodbye to Robert this week. The show is now 10% less fabulous. I'm ok with this elimination, because while he can make a fine garment, he's yet to make a fine, interesting garment. Except of course when he was paired with Kayne, who is perhaps too interesting.

So, this challenge demanded the designers design for the moms and sisters of their competitors, which is a great idea in theory, but fell short for me in execution (I'm STILL waiting for the maternity wear challenge, Bravo). The body types were greatly varied, therefore the challenge obviously skewed. Did it bother anyone else that the designer for one of the tallest, slimmest mothers won; while the arguably shortest and stoutest sister's designer was aufed?
Laura and Vincent were shown talking about sucking it up and making it work with plus-sized models- but they were of the lucky few that didn't have plus-sized models and therefore didn't have to move out of their comfort zone. Lame.

(Important tidbit of this episode that I couldn't fit anywhere else: Laura is pregnant- for the sixth time- and accidently tells her mom about it over brunch. Hilarious, right?)

It did not sit well with me that Vincent, even with Uli's beautiful mother, turned out his signature strange simplicity. But for whatever reason, the judges went nuts for it. I'm pretty psyched that Tim Gunn agrees with my assessment, down to the damn back of the dress.

What is that! Mr. Gunn, whom I am exponentially growing more fond of, also agrees that this should have been Uli's victory. I can't MSPaint it properly, but believe me, it moved so nicely. She used an age-appropriate but still stylish print, and made the personality of her plus-sized model (Kayne's mother) stand out.

I'm not saying Uli's my favorite, but I'd be happy to see her go to the final three. I'm also not trying to hate on Vincent, he's not villianous or anything. I guess minimalism gets him off/turns him on, and Kimya Dawson is really fond of him. I just don't... prefer him. In honesty, I'd rather see what Allison would create for this challenge.
Strangely enough, I think my favorite at this point is Jeffrey, assholey-ness aside. It was Katherine (RISD girls have a special place in my heart), then Bonnie, then Bradley. The problem with loving the underdog is that they eventually lose, unless they're also good television. I was very fond of Michael's early creations, but I'm a fan of color and his palette is pretty bland. I definitely thought Jeffrey ought to be recognized over him in the recycling challenge. Plus, I'm a sucker for tough guys with a soft side- he shed a tear for Robert in the end.
I'm seeing serious Jeff-hate all over the internet and not really getting it. I get that he's a jerk and maybe a pig, but he's not "the most loathsome thing ever". I was irked when I saw a comment on another blog that said "he thinks he is the new santino... but the point is santino actually made clothes...not sewn-together masses of crap." Come on now, this is one hot mass of crap. The commenter is, however, totally right in the fact that it's not sewn together, it's glued.

The number one reason for Jeff-hate this week is the drama he got into with his model, Angela's mother. Who would've guessed that these two weren't compatible?

She didn't like the outfit, and he didn't have the time or expirience to design something different, so they argued about it and- I don't care. This fight, if you can call it that, was just a lot of overreaction on both sides.

His outfit was pretty awful- Angela's mama pulled out "matronly" against him on the runway. She's watched the show before. He wasn't out, though, because he's more likely than Robert to make something decent in the future. If only the judges took into account the designer's full body of work in every challenge, eh?

The Wonders of Summer Camp, Part Two

2006-07-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

1. Ticks. I mentioned bug bites, did I mention ticks? It's a "wet season" this year, which apparently means the ticks are on a mating rampage. I've had one on my arm, one on my stomach, one on my hip and one on my face. My face! All in one day. At least I only had to go to the camp nurse once, and I don't have any lyme disease symptoms. Raechel: 1, Ticks: 0.

2. Excrement. Urine, mostly, but a healthy bit of feces and everything else that comes out of humans. I imagine that the ignorant think being a camp counselor is a leisurely job that involves bug juice, playing soccer with kids and hanging out at the beach. The ignore the fact that bug juice turns into pee, playing in the sun leads to major sweat, and the waterfront is one big toilet. Especially with the younger kids, excrement is a major concern. If you don't nearly force them to shower, everything is rank from the sweat. If you don't get up to escort them to the bathroom at three a.m., they might pee the bed, and someone has to clean that up. Everyone pees in the lake, end of story. The bathrooms require constant vigilance- campers do not hesitate to poop on top of the poop on top of the poop clogging the toilet. Some friends of mine found that out the hard way this week. Puke has happened too. Intense puke. You do not even want to know.

3. Drama. Got worse. Hope it gets better.

4. Laser tag! This is an actrual good thing! The girls, with no campers this week, went out for laser tag on Wednesday, and I won! The red team camped the whole game. In a hallway. They were asking for it. I just kept running back and forth gunning down every single one of them. The adrenaline rush was nuts.

I still haven't had time to watch a full episode of Project Runway. I'm having withdrawal pains. I did catch the end of the second episode today, and I was a little sad to see Malan go, even if it was inevitable. He was growing on me.

How could you not love that face?

The Wonders of Summer Camp, Part One

2006-07-16T10:25:00.000-05:00

1. Bug bites. My dear sweet God, the bug bites. They don't stop. Every weekend I come home thinking; ah, relief, at least I won't find any new bug bites for a few days. Incorrect, I think the bites are independently multiplying. I've just now counted twenty-five bites, on my arms alone. My legs are a whole other mess.

2. Mysterious bruises. When did I mutilate the back of my leg? Was I carrying a sledgehammer improperly? Did I mention that in addition to being an Episcopalian camp, the older kids do work projects? It's not as bad as it sounds- in fact, it's not bad at all. It's satisfying. I've chopped down trees, painted cabins, built bridges, scrubbed toilets... which reminds me.

3. I plunged my first toilet. That one wasn't an official work project, I'm just that damn handy. I woke up at six, had to pee, found a clogged toilet and saw a plunger. The boy may be a chef, but I'm well-versed in dirty work. I have willingness, nay, enthusiasm to, say, crawl under a cabin in the mud and rake. It's character building. It's a life skill. It's marriage material.

4. Drama! I can't speak a word of it, because I have love for my co-workers and respect for their privacy, but know that it's some of the most intense I've ever seen. Well, that's not true at all, but it's early in the summer, and the precedent is being set pretty high. Oh, and there are four Camp America counselors this summer, so the drama is going international.

I'm catching Project Runway season 3 for the first time right now, so nothing on that yet. I won't pick favorites yet, but it's a very promising group. I have to be back at camp in two hours, so peace, love and mango juice.

In Which I Have A Romantic Getaway Before Summer Camp Deters My Will To Live

2006-06-15T20:57:00.000-05:00

Hey guys.
Sorry to neglect you- the boy whisked me away to Cape Cod this weekend. Romantic, eh? Ignoring the fact that our first two destinations fell through: Central Pennsylvania to make films with his best friend from Ithaca, or a weekend in Vermont doing puzzles with his aunts.

First, the boy took me on a tour of his childhood in Sandwich, where he spent his summers.
Dear people of Sandwich, I wish you the best on your insane caterpillar epidemic. I spent no more than five minutes on unpaved grounds in your town, and I found the fuzzy bastards crawling on my pants. Maybe if you change your name, they will go away. May I suggest "Hungrybird"? Love, Raechel.

Next we explored Hyannis, for two reasons: a giant candy store the boy remembered from his boyhood and the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory. Oh, it's love. If you're not familiar with the kettle-cooked snacks I'm talking about, please scour the earth until you find them, they are amazing. We didn't find the factoy, but hey, there's reason for another visit.

The jewel, of course, was Provincetown. People kept warning me I would "see strange sights"- they really shouldn't work my hopes up like that. I only saw two drag queens. Two! And I didn't get hit on by any girls, though I suppose walking hand in hand with a boy deters that. I did get advertised to by a lesbian club promoter. The food was delicious, the beaches were beautiful and the commonplaceness of rainbow flags made me feel like I'd reached some kind of homeland. I loved it, and I hope to get back there many times.

I know I should include some pictures, but I've been working on a new project today (inspired by one of my souvenirs, one of the many volumes of Dykes to Watch Out For) and I'm sick of resizing things. So, I'll leave you with two pictures I took in Provincetown. I call this game, Was That Intentional?

The Prince Albert Guest House. I heard other tourists giggling about it, so I think it might be intentional.

Seamen's Bank. According to the date on the building, they've been around for over a century, so this is probably not intentional. They are near the sea, after all. This one is just a lovely coincidence.

Oh, fine, one more picture. Because I love.

I love Provincetown, that is.

In Which I Have Time To Waste Talking About TV Again

2006-06-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's about time I offer up something on Last Comic Standing. But, damn! At this pace I'm going to be at church camp before they get into the house- and then I'll be catching LCS and PR reruns on weekends, and heck knows I won't have the energy to recap them both. Considering my schedule the next few weeks (road trip, college orientation, camp training) this could very well be my first and last LCS update. How sad. Well, maybe not that sad, but mildly unpleasant.

At this point, we know the first five in the house. Let's start with my favorite, who I was going to label my underdog last week, but after tonight, he's obviously the front-runner:

Josh Blue. He got a standing ovation tonight and was dramatically presented with the last spot in the house. Not because he has cerebral palsy. Because he's fucking funny.

I can see Chris Porter going pretty far- he's genuinely funny, in a universal sort of way. His material is delivered in a semi-rant format that will make you laugh even if you don't agree with him. Though it's hard to disagree with him, because he pulls off being just barely political. It's a good strategy.

Joey Gay intrigued me, and I couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was his risky, loud, abrasive delivery. Maybe it was his interview comments, which I found way funnier than his actual material. Or maybe, just maybe, it was his scary fucking mouth:

Gah! TEETH.

Roz was going to make it in the house. Duh. Besides the fact that she's really funny, she talked about her history with drug addiction and her gratitude towards God in the very first episode. Strong black women with a heart of gold = the stuff of which reality TV is made. Any coincidence that she's the first thing that comes up on the video player on the official website? I like you, Roz, but the producers are going to milk you. Speaking of the producers...

I couldn't get a picture of her on the website, so I plucked this from her myspace. She was pretty funny; in that predictable, safe way that NBC seems to love. And in a move to increase their shaky credibility, they've cast a former contestant's girlfriend. Brilliant.

I was sad to see a few of the contestants go- namely Wild Willy, Niki Glazer, the guy who talked about a naked pope, the guy who did a lot of material on racism ("Don't give me that crap- that stuff's for Jews! Pay me in fireworks."), and the guy who reminded me of Mitch Hedburg with a business haircut. You know what I'm saying, Hollywood. If that's even your real name.
Of course, the first two would probably wear quickly depending on the crowd, and the fact that I can't recall the latter three's names is a sign of their fate on the show.

Next week, I have high hopes for Nikki Payne, Kristen Key and Malik. Of course, the only one I'm sure as Roz is moving forward to the house is that guy with the big head. He's not my favorite, but the judges are eating him up.

Who else thinks that there will be at least one challenge sponsored by Capital One?

Raison D'être

2006-06-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

I'll start with a somewhat relevant story: On Monday morning, I freaked out and caused a scene at work for the first time.
Why? I gave one of the cooks, my acting manager, a big flyer from the Rhode Island Blood Center that a very nice volunteer had given to me to hang up, and after this manager and a younger cook scoffed at the thought of giving blood, insinuated it was some sort of conspiracy, and generally mocked the idea of doing a good deed for a person you don't know, he ripped up the flyer before my eyes.
There were customers. I screamed. I stole the pieces (with the panicky idea that I could fix it), ran to the bathroom and cried. I guess it was just a shock- maybe I've come to assume everyone has the compulsion towards kindness. I realize I'm just blessed to often be surronded by people who are so generous, loving and inspiring.

This is, of course, how I spent Sunday night.

Raison D'Etre (reason for being) was Sunday, and it was beautiful. The kids raised $500 for World Vision- and that's at the low admission price of three dollars.

(Psst, I'm pretty sure The Blue Rhoda is playing in this picture.)

I wish I got some shots of the art in progress- there were two big murals being painted outside, and ornate chalk arrows stretching down the nearby street to advertise. Oh well. Here's some of the art featured:

These two are by my friend Melissa. She's so talented, it might kill you.

These pieces are by Mike, who is possibly my current favorite person. What a kid. The top left one is by his girlfriend, Mindy.

This is the handiwork of Nick, who made an apperance, but was too manly or something to stick around all night. The furthest right is a self-portrait.

The portrait there is actually a self-portrait, by the leading lady of the evening, Katie! The trombone belongs to one of the boy's friends, but I don't know who painted it. Sure is swell, though.

These are mine! Huzzah. In case you are wondering, their titles from top to bottom are "Enlightenment", "Turn Your Pain Into Love" and "Yeah, We're Pretty Fucking Beautiful".

And now, a musical interlude:

This is an Izaiah, who possesses the very genes for musical genius. Not kidding. I'm pretty sure the members of his family were all born with a tiny guitar in their hands.

The painting behind him is also by Miss Katie. It's the Mona Lisa. The real one.

This is Kevin! He's one of the boy's nearest and dearests, and an all-around good kid. He was home for the weekend from Americorps*NCCC, and it's a bit depressing to tell that Ian was working at camp all weekend and didn't get to see him.

He was very good, and very modest about it. The word for his performance would be "endearing". I hope he keeps playing that thing.

This is Breathe Easy, who were quite good, and not as loud as they claimed they would be. I was in a band with the bassist, once. Guess he was too "committed to playing music" for a band that had two practices, one of which was dominated by playing video games. The lead guitar player, Tim, is pretty amazing. I don't know those other guys.

In this image, people are moving stuff around to accomodate the last band. I don't know who they were, actually, but they were crazy loud. It was pretty good, for a mosh band in an art gallery. The lady in yellow is top banana herself, Katie. I don't mean to discredit the other people who organized this, I just wasn't involved, so I don't know who did what. Not to mention that I don't have any pictures of them. Laura and Jen were the ladies who brought the whole idea forward, I believe, and worked with Katie as a team. There were plenty of others who helped out. From the outside, things seemed to go smoothly- so a pat on the back, an I love you, and a cup of freshly squeezed mango juice to everyone who made it happen.

Well. I'm happy I can say that this is the sort of thing I do with my life, and I'm practically in love with all of my friends. Did I mention Dave was there, after spending a week helping orphans in Haiti? That just struck me, when the cook ripped up that flyer. They were unrelated, really, but I just wanted to shout, "How can you be so heartless about such a thing, when people are out feeding Haitian orphans?"
Katie, Laura, Jen, Kevin, Dave; they're not crazed, or superhuman or anything. They're just nice people, seizing opportunities to do good.
I hope this hasn't been too shmaltzy for you. I'll talk about TV some other week. This week, I hope you're inspired by these friends of mine. I am, constantly.

I LIKE ATTENTION: THAT'S WHY I WROTE THE ATTENTION SONG.

2006-05-27T20:37:00.000-05:00

I thought I was free. I thought the show went down the crapper, and I wouldn't be spending another season calling my best friend at every commercial to bitch about how much we hated so-and-so or worshipping Todd Glass. I quit the livejournal community, I threw out my personal stand-up notepad, I stopped freaking out every time Gary Gulman or Rich Vos passed through Providence. How did I not know they shared a producer with Project Runway? The addiction tastes the same.

Roooooar! I am the cookie monster!
Ahem. I'm geeking out about this show being back on the air. I know the person who isn't supposed to win always wins, but it's the journey I love. I'm big on comedians. The boy and I had our first magic moment when we realized we could both quote Mitch Hedburg verbatim.

Check out the judges this season!

How stoked am I? More stoked than when I bumped into Cory Kahaney in New York City. She was buying a case of cigarettes. True story!
If I end up making this a weekly occurence, it will be less picture-heavy than Project Runway and more analytical. But not in a creepy Dat Phan chart-making kind of way.

Glee!

Oh yeah, and I don't like American Idol, either.

2006-05-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

I don't have any exciting news. I'm just writing so I'm not tempted to watch the season finale of LOST. The boy is obsessed. Not in the totally extreme, taping-every-episode and watching-with-a-notepad kind of way, but in the watches-every-episode, goes-over-theories-in-commercial-breaks kind of way. I've watched for the past two weeks with him. This week, I didn't invite him over on Wednesday. Because the damn show stresses me out. As tempting as the twists and turns may be, I can't stand two hours of build-up that never gets resolved.

Seriously! Why do I want to watch the adorable fat guy's struggling girlfriend get shot up with heroin, mutter her murderer's name and die? I understand, the intrigue, the mystery, ooooo. However, I was sincerely depressed about it the next day. Of course within the story it was sad that Libby died, but more personally, I was bummed that I couldn't get away with ogling Michelle Rodriguez instead of following the plot.

At least Ana Lucia was already dead on the inside.
What crap is it that Michael just-so-happened to shoot the two characters whose actresses recently had their drunken mugshots on the internet?
And Michael! I'm already sick of his melodramatic storyline.

Of course, they're all melodramatic bu-
...wait a minute. Get out of the way, Michael, who is that behind you?

Hello there Alex, also known as Tania Raymonde, also known as my new reason to watch the show. Can you believe it's that nerdy little girl from Malcolm in the Middle, all growed up? Maybe I'll go catch the second hour to see if she makes an appearance. Don't worry, the boy knows I'm an avid lady ogler.

If you're sick of me ogling girls and complaining about tv shows, you can go read about how awesome my state is.

"In the latest victory for advocates of comprehensive sex education, the Rhode Island Department of Education last week said state-funded schools should cease participation in a federally funded abstinence-only curriculum."
Great news, but it doesn't affect me much- I got comprehensive sex ed at church camp. I actually heard about this a little while ago, but Feministing made a note of it today, and I felt the urge to brag. Rhode Island is, in fact, cooler than you.

In Which My Friends Are AMAZING

2006-05-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

I love being surronded by such inspiring humans.
Some girls that I love are doing good deeds in a fabulous way: raising money for kids in Africa by hosting a big show for local artists and bands this weekend.

You can check out their beautiful website. If you're not of Rhode Island (as many people are not), don't fret, I'll be taking plenty of pictures.

Later, babies.

In Which I Question The White Hollywood Machine

2006-05-18T19:28:00.001-05:00

Ok. I wasn't sure if I ought to post this in "Congrats" or here. It's not really anyone being an asshole- it's more so a face-into-palm, you-can't-be-thinking-clearly situation.

Looking for creative ways to waste my time, I played this game a few days ago. I'm not promoting the game- it's a Nickelodeon game, who apparently think kids are too stupid to do more than play one level, so they made essentially the same level with ten different themes. The thing is, it's based on their new show, "Genie on the House", which I couldn't find much internet information about. Why was I looking up a kid's show no one (my age, at least) has yet heard of? Because I care.

If you clink that link, you'll be greeted with this image:

Now, you may be wondering why "Adil" looks like someone photoshopped his face to match his shirt. If you look at his hand, it's not hard to tell that his skin has been tampered with. This was not the image that appeared when I first played the game. You can see what the kid is supposed to look like in this tiny picture, the only one that comes up when you search for "Genie in the House":

It seems someone has painted the young white actor playing the genie a light brown. I guess this only struck them as insensitive a few days after they released an online game about it. I was hoping, in vain, that it was his natural skin tone, and only looked like brownface due to lighting or something. The touch-up just added to my worries. They can filter out their bad idea on the internet, but what are they going to do with the show? Digitally edit every scene? Claim it's a natural tan?

Look, if you're going to do a kid's show about genies- and first of all, why are you doing a kid's show about genies? As if genies haven't been done a million times, there's already a popular show on Nickelodeon about kids getting wishes.

Now let's pretend having a show with a genie is still an original idea. Why oh why would one put a teen actor into that puffy, creepy, old-timey, stereotypical genie outfit? Thankfully they omitted the typical pointy ears and bizarre ponytail, why not just totally westernize him and throw him in jeans and a t-shirt? You could give him wild green hair or something to identify him as "supernatural".

Of course, most importantly, if you're really committed to that classic Western image of the ornately dressed Arabian genie, why not get an actor of Middle Eastern descent? They do exist, and would probably be delighted to get a role on a widely viewed television station. If you've been watching TV lately (or, well, ever) you might noticed the dearth of Middle Eastern (and Indian, and Asian, and Native American, and etcetera) performers in major roles. Unless, of course, they did try that, and every single kid walked out in horror when introduced to the creepy outdated genie costume he would have to wear. So they hired a white teen actor, and by paint or by lamps, changed his skin. I guess the minds at Nickelodeon thought kids are also too stupid to tell the difference.

edit: Genius as I am, I neglected to click the "Nick" logo above the game and figure out that this is currently only airing in the UK. I'm no less worried- aren't they supposed to be smarter than us?

Lisa Loeb wants no scrubs.

2006-05-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

A friend with mutual swooning tendencies when it comes to the lovely Ms. Loeb pointed me in the direction of this late night talk show performance. Oh, wistful sigh, Lisa Loeb was my first celebrity girl-crush, and I love when the special place in my heart devoted to her (quite near the special place for Oscar Wilde, and alongside others for Alan Cumming and Sarah Silverman- the "long-standing nerdy crush" section of my heart) is warmed by little reminders- "Stay" comes on the radio at work, I catch an ad for her reality show, a friend sends me a video of her covering TLC (who, coincidentally, did their own part in causing young, queer swooniness)...
If you're not as enraptured by Lisa Loeb as my friend and I, you'll have to wait out the first song to get to the cover. But, come on! How can you not enjoy it? She's adorable.

Geek Gone Wilde

2006-05-15T19:10:00.000-05:00

Can I give quick props to Rich of FourFour for referring to Oscar Wilde during his ANTM piece this week? As if Rich needs props from li'l old me, but it really made my day. I know I only mentioned it in passing, but I have a special place in my heart for Oscar Wilde. Sure, I "like" Virginia Woolf and Samuel Beckett, in that I own a few works of theirs, but that's half for intellectual street cred. I haven't even gotten through a third of Orlando- too damn long! Oscar Wilde, however, graces my bulging shelves only once- with a hardcover collection of his complete works. I don't read Oscar Wilde to sound like a good little English major. I read Oscar Wilde with extreme affection. Excuse me while I geek out:

Could this mention in FourFour mark a new trend among blogs? Bitching about Tom Cruise out, quoting Oscar Wilde in! Just kidding, bitching about Tom Cruise will never be out. What would D. Wils do if her arch nemesis fell from the public eye? Besides perhaps hold a party. Actually, I hope this switch comes to pass, I could go for some cake. Keep an eye out for further Oscar Wildeisms in the blogosphere, my friends.

...did I just use the word "blogosphere"?

So, what have I been up to this week?

2006-05-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

Oh, the average bohemian this-is-a-new-stage-of-my-life rituals before the summer job grabs me by the throat and drains my will to live. Or at least, my will to wake up at three a.m. every morning and escort kids to the bathroom. I think the weekly updates over the summer will be a good means of venting about the childrens, and of course the summer camp drama. It's way more involved, frustrating, and ridiculous than high school drama, of which I largely chose not to partake. Unfortunately, camp counselor drama is above all impossible to avoid.

Speaking of camp, I put in my two weeks on the waitressing job. Being a camp counselor is stressful, but it makes one more responsible, compassionate and inclined to hugs/soulful group cries. I'm not exaggerating to say that waitressing has made me a worse person. On the job I get irritable, spiteful and judgemental. They had a thirty dollar check and left an eighty cent tip? Fuckin' cheap hicks! Drink less beer next time! I hate everyone, and the bitches on the night shift didn't thaw the strawberries!

So, sticking it to the man is step one of the bohemian transition from small-town existence to independence. Step two requires a public act or physical transformation. Some people I know get tattoos every time their life changes, some people chop off their hair, Kevin Smith makes another Clerks, and I got this:

This nose piercing represents the pain of my adjustment into adulthood!
Just kidding! It represents looking awesome.

Step three? Why, a futureless passion!

A zest for painting! I found out they sold canvas at the dollar store, and I was hooked. I'm submitting this and three others to a friend's art show. I've submitted to her shows before, but usually, you know, in a medium in which I was either talented or educated. I suck at painting, it just feels good. Listen: I know the breasts are messed up. I'm just going to tell everyone I intentionally left them imperfect as an additional statement on body image, and soak up the pretentious hippie street cred.