skinny bashing and the body acceptance movement
part of me wants to do a longer post about the resurgence of what i’ll call the “marilyn vs skinny girls” debate i’ve seen this week on the web/facebook, wherein what should be a positive message (love all types of bodies!) is still framed as negative, pitting one kind of body against another, discussed here as “The Problem With Skinny Bashing” , (and reflected with a feminist bent here in Why The Sexy Equinox Yoga Video Pissed Me Off (ftr i personally think that yoga video is INSPIRING)) and how entirely self-conscious these things makes me feel about my own body issues and some of the things i do, and how making the other side feel bad because you feel bad is NOT THE POINT OF THE BODY ACCEPTANCE MOVEMENT, people – please stop comparing.
but that’s an enormous pandora’s box of judgments and feelings and so i’ll leave it at that.
Filed in culture and random linkage | Comment (1)stand up democracy and good use of internet
you may or may not have noticed, depending on how you read this blog, that this site was blacked out on Wednesday in protest to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) . there has been much debate about intellectual property rights and copyright infringement and what constitutes fair use and what is piracy. it’s a complex subject. but most people i know thought that it was the wrong tool trying to fix the wrong problem, and ill-defined at that. and if there’s one thing americans love as much as TV it’s the Internet! and so there was a digital uprising as well as a flood of phone calls to Congress, enough to overload their systems. and hey, look at that: it worked!
i’m not going to go on and out about it but to say YES! WIN! and that if you are angry, feel disenfranchised, don’t like the way something is going, DO SOMETHING. a movement is only people moving.
semi-sequitur: There is a great docu about music and the internet you should watch: PausePressPlay.
The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites.
But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity?
This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.
You know her life was saved by rock and roll
things have been….interesting.
here is my bitch list:
–rainy season has begun. as a bike commuter, this makes my days way less fun.
–it took 9 days to get my smartphone replaced after NYE (long boring customer service story) and the new one keeps doing all kinds of weird things that i hate
–my fitbit broke. again. there is a warranty but i might as well upgrade. so far fitbit is costing me $99/a year in replacement costs, but i’m addicted to it so i still recommend it.
–work things i can’t talk about publicly are at maximum stress
–life thing with a deadline i haven’t finished is suffering major procrastination and mind-blankage and ∴ stress
–stress is causing unfavorable physical conditions
–blahblahblah whole foods parking lot
don’t get me wrong. my life is wonderful and full of wonderful things, like redwood hikes and purring cats and good wine and yoga and amazing love. that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. but yeah, #1stworldproblems and i do try to keep perspective but i can’t even tell what news isn’t real any more so it’s pretty hard.
ANYWAY, i was driving to work this morning cuz it’s raining and it’s friday and at home i’d been listening to this great DJ The Count on KALX who reminds me a lot of my friend Finnius and plays David Bowie but whatever he was playing when i first got in the car was a bit too something for the rainy I-80 east moment and so i switched it over to 107.7, as um….7 times out of 10? they are playing some some rock and roll i really like. (I HATE VAN HALEN, ALL FORMS.) i didn’t know the song playing but it jammed on for 2 or 3 minutes (of my 7 minute drive) and i got really into it, and started thinking about how much better i suddenly felt. like, rock and roll in the morning really does make me feel so much better. A LOT. AURAL MEDICINE. and then i was like this is GOOD and seems like something i should know. what song is this? and then the vocals kicked in and i realized it was Working Man (Rush, 1974, definitive). (i used to hate Rush almost as much as Van Halen but i’ve come around.) do they play that every Friday morning? because they should.
Filed in autobiographical, me myself and i, music | Comments (3)video promo for lovesick5
clinically attracted
in which i go crazy in love. (possibly NSFW)
fantasy life 2012
it seems a local team did something and sports fever is taking over again. cool, i guess? < shrug> . i was thinking about this, how some people are really into being BIG FANS and things like fantasy sports or phantasy phish where you create (and try to manifest?) the best possible team/game/event EVAR. i’m more into Fantasy Life, and this morning i feel so grateful that i have so many other people not only playing along with me, but into making it FANTASY REALITY, from #occupy to fashion to fitness to art to music to education to policy to travel to procreation. dreaming ain’t good if you don’t try to make it real, and if we play it right it looks like RealLife 2012 is going to be an epic win. GO TEAM! you know who you are.
Filed in friends, resolutions | Tagged with #winning, optimism | Comment (0)everything is its own reward
(click for full size)
–Paul Madonna. this book is unbelievably beautiful. many thx again to Vera for the gift.
Filed in bay area gems, tv, books and movies | Tagged with paul madonna | Comment (1)epinephrine.
the emotional spectrum between frantic anxiety and welcome anticipation is interesting.
Filed in me myself and i | Tagged with anxiety | Comment (0)music rec: superhuman happiness
as seen in NYC: this may or may not be your thing:
Superhuman Happiness was founded in 2008 to seek joy and love through shared rhythm and melody, composed and improvised. To pursue a happiness greater than that of an individual. They have one CD, Stuart Bogie’s Superhuman Happiness – Fall Down Seven Time Stand Up Eight, and two 45 records entitled GMYL/Hounds and Human Happiness (Electric Cowbell). Members are known for their work with Antibalas…, the Sway Machinery, TV on the Radio, Battle Apples, The Phenomonal Handclap Band, Caural, The Roots, Nicole Atkins, King Expressors, Minerva Lions, Passion Pit, Celebration, Holly Miranda, Iron and Wine, Foals and the inimitable MC Chris. The band regularly rehearses, composes, and records together, engaging in various improvisatory musical games currently being compiled for implementation in widespread applications.
Filed in friends, music | Tagged with hippies | Comment (0)look mom no hands
today is almost t-shirt weather, except that the air off the pacific is cold.
do you ever have those moments where you see yourself, unexpectedly, from 20 feet away, like watching a few split seconds of scene from the movie of your actual life?
do you ever feel unsafe with yourself? do you look up sometimes and realize how vulnerable you are? through either the reality of mortal life, or because you’ve lead yourself into a specific situation that is maybe not ok?
people are on guard here, a strange distrust in the fact that we are all only human. it should be safe to be outside in broad daylight on a sunny afternoon. but it’s not. we’re not safe from each other if we are not safe from ourselves.
as i say this i ride down city streets with no hands, my fingers laced behind my back.
Filed in me myself and i | Tagged with anxiety | Comment (0)
