Decorvote…

Decorate and Vote =  Decorvote?! Maybe not as easy a transition as I would hope.

Anyway – vote for my friend Elizabeth’s bag design at Apartment Therapy: Kitchen. Her blog is amazing, she is even amazing-er and her bag design is cutesies!!

equation.

I love PostSecret + I love Sia = I love this video

Charm School

This post has been a long time coming – as the finale of “The Flavor of Love” spin-off aired a few weeks ago. I was just prompted by this post, which was a response to Mo’Nique’s profile in the August 5 edition of the NY Times, to remember my feelings about “Charm School” – and specifically the finale.

At first, I was totally anti-Charm School. To me, the show was disgusting- putting the women from the series “Flavor of Love” back on national TV to degrade themselves and womanhood again. It wasn’t until almost the end of the series that I got it – Charm School was real. With Mo’Nique as the principal, she instilled the tools and confidence in these women, to not make complete asses of themselves on VH-1 and to represent their gender, class, race, age, size (etc…) in an appropriate and fulfilling manner – to not be exploited for entertainment. I think it’s a shame that this true perogative was only evident on the “Reunion Show” – when Mo’Nique spoke some words that made total sense – and made me see the series in different light.

Obviously, this was a show – for entertainment. VH-1 ran the show because they knew people would watch the fighting, the sex, the raunchiness. I just think it’s a little refreshing to see a different agenda – one that was giving these women a chance to change their image and impact the stereotypes of women, women in groups, black women, fat women, skinny women, poor women, rich women.

new looksies.

Since I can’t afford to change my personal style, I decided to change the style of my blog.

Oh, 2007.

Bang! Bang! BANGS!

Bangs (known in most other parts of the English speaking world as “fringe”) – I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that at one point or another – we’ve ALL had them. They keep coming and going as a desirable and acceptable hairstyle. My roommate recently got bangs cut across her forehead, which prompted me to review the history of bangs. Seeing as wikipedia had no concise history of their presence, I’m making my own.

The Ancient Egyptians, along with like, miraculously building the pyramids, created the hairstyle where the front part of the hair frames the forehead. I will venture the guess that they also created the headband.

Check the hair on Julius Caeser … I present the man bang:

And the incredible bang of the Romans:

Renassance period – the bang was way out:

The Elizabethan bang tuck:

The 18th century wig bang (can also be found on several of the US’s founding fathers). NOTE: the fully-exposed-forehead-curled-bang:

The awful Victorian parted bang:

1920-30s bangs. Most prefer the long bang or the grown-out-bang-bob:

The Betty Page bang:

The Farrah-flip of the 70s:

The art-deco bang of the 80s:

And the amazing man-swoop of the 80s:

Rachel’s long-layered bang pretty much sums of the style of the 1990s:

And, finally, what is most-popular today (Betty Page? 1920s Bob? You decide.):

Make your own conclusions about the cycle of the bang thru the ages.

Presidential Forum on LGBTQ issues

In case you missed it, Logo and the Human Rights Campaign hosted a forum for the front-running Democratic candidates on August 12th. You can see the entire thing or more brief segments here.

I just watched the whole thing and found it extremely interesting. This issue is something that I feel very strongly about, have read a lot about, and have personal experience with – so the responses were important – and I was looking for something profound. I must say – while I was impressed with many of the candidates statements – I came away feeling like, really? That’s it? I know it takes time – moving items and concerns through politics and government is grueling. But I sort of agree with John Stewart’s analysis:

“…At the debate, the Democratic candidates were trying to reassure the gay community how much they support them, while reassuring the rest of the country that they don’t completely support them.”

Also – the Logo blog: Visible Vote ‘08 has great posts with news summaries and updates on all things related to LGBTQ in the 2008 election.  

Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters

Courtney Martin, one of the Feministing girls, recently wrote a book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters. She was in Berkeley in June (totally bummed I missed it) and I recently caught this clip of her reading an excerpt from her book:

I’ve been totally self-obsessed lately, critiquing every part of myself: and the way the world sees me, the way I see myself, basically, who I am. (I’m told this is relatively normal at my age?!) Parts of what she read are along the lines of what I’ve been thinking lately. I have a full planner and an axiety disorder - I’m judgemental about myself and forgiving of others – I must get As - I must make money – I must make it look effortless - I get homesick – I am annoyed with this part of myself – I cry when I have serious conversations with my friends – I can never show enough humility – I got passed over for a job – Have I dropped out of the race? – I want a hug – I want to change the world – I want to sleep away the days – I would like to believe I love to be busy – I have no faith – I wish I could believe in a God.

I’m sure if I’m just being melodramatic … bits of this probably hit home with most everyone. It’s interesting, none the less. I would like to hear other’s thoughts!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Things I miss:

1. Talkboys (and Talkgirls). I never had one, but I always wanted one. I believe they were made popular by Kevin in Home Alone? Correct me if I’m wrong.

2. The game: Hungry, Hungry Hippos. The video I posted a few days ago is what reminded me of this game… I used to love it. I think they still make it too. Just never ending fun! Classic.

3. Radio. I know radio is still around, but, I miss the days when radio was like, really new (for me) and really cool. I remember staying up until 10.3o just to listen to the “Hot 10 at 10″ on Kiss 98.5. I used to tape it, and I could never understand how it worked out that I was able to have the songs for free. Times have changed.

Holler Back, Girl.

I recently ran across the HOLLABACK SF site. This one is specifically for the San Fran/Bay Area, but there are links to other HOLLABACKs, which can be found for most other major cities. It’s a blog where people (mostly women) post their stories of street and transportation harassment. Some even post pictures (taken with a cell phone, or handy digital camera) of their attacker.

I have sort of come to accept the fact that I will be harassed on the street, groped in the mall, stared at on the bus, followed through a parking lot, stocked down a street. Luckily, for me, it has never really gone beyond that … I always try to stay safe in these situations … never walk alone at night, walk along well-lit streets, carry my cell phone in my hand, look tough. I don’t know why I have accepted this … it’s kind of out of my nature to fall behind someone who I clearly know is an idiot.

That said, I am terrified of street harassement. It’s scary, no matter what time of day, what neighborhood or how many people you are with … it’s so hard to predict what will happen next, if the person is just an asshole or if he (I have never been harrassed by a woman) is actually dangerous.

It also really pisses me off. It makes me feel like trash after someone grabs my ass, or says “Slow down Mommy, you movin’ too fast,” calls my friends and I “white bitches” outside of the 7-11, or follows me to my car in a parking lot while slurring insults. I won’t really accept the fact that I just need to “chill out” about this … it sucks.

And – I cannot just brush it off. Unfortunately, I have never been able to just let something like that slide … I take it and I think about it. Think about how I present myself, how people preceive me, what I could do to blend in more, disappear. What really sucks is that,  if I want to walk home from the bus stop wearing big sunglasses … I should be able to, without someone commenting on my race, class, ethnicity, gender, weight, hair color, body-type, breast size, or style. I mean, shit, people (dudes) just have no idea how demeaning, hurtful, and time-consuming their words can be.

I am convinced that the number one reason dudes do this is because they can. I’m not saying that you (or I) neccessarily let them, but just the way in which gender has created a clear divide in society, where men are on top and women are on the bottom. This, along with many other factors (males being the majority in political leadership, educational leadership, church leadership, coorporate leadership, males receiving higher wages for the same work, etc, etc…) just prooves that patriarchy (especially white patriarchy) is still alive and well.

Anniversary.

It’s almost my sixth month anniversary of having this blog (or any blog for that matter). I can’t believe I even care that I’ve been posting for six months, and honestly, I can’t really believe I have a blog. I was definitely late in entering this world – I never had an “lj” or anything … and at the height of my”traditional journalist” attitude I was totally anti-blog.

This blog has become a sort of therapy, really. It’s a way to dis-absorb (what’s the word?) all of things I read, think about, grapple with. Not that I want to not  think - it’s more like, I think way too much, and I have this space to store these thoughts until I can come back to them. An added bonus is that people read this… and react to what I say.

Of the 112 posts I’ve had thus far, here are my top five (most fun to write):

Oh Boy!

JR.

Long Day

Church

Summertime