Oy vey

I had another dream that I had a baby. This time it wasn't tiny or anything but normal sized. I was sure I didn't want to keep it. When it came out I ripped it into a lot of tiny litle paper shreds, and they were made out of paper as if I made made a 3-dimensional paper doll. Then, i realized that I maybe did want it, so I frantically jiggled the tiny pieces of paper back into place and formed a living flesh baby again. I started getting really attached to it but kept losing it because when I saw my cat, the baby in my arms turned into the cat and the baby disappeared somewhere and I had to find it. I went on a trip with my cousin and realized that I hadn't asked someone to watch the baby (I name it Allison) and so I called my brother frantcally and no one had seen it. I then get a message a few hours later that the baby had found its way to the pool and drowned. I don't even know what to say about it.

Sigh.

Natural selection, hard at work. Oy Vey.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/evacuation-holdouts-again-urged-to-leave-before-mudslides-hit-.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/station-fire-evacuate-gold-canyon.html

Why do Californians (and rich people) always think that they can somehow miraculously "save" their house from natural disasters? Is hosing down your house really going to stop a fire with 40-foot flames? Is a wall of sandbags really going to stop a river of mud sliding towards your house at speeds of up to 35 mph? All these people ever end up doing is wasting the money that the state has to spend sending firefighters and rescue crews to try and rescue them, while they could be spending their time doing other more worthwhile things like, oh, fighting fires. Plus, why should your house be more valuable to you than your life and the life of your family? If you don't feel like dealing with evacuations and natural disasters, maybe you shouldn't have gotten a fancy-schmancy expensive house in the mountains in the first place.

Shame on the parents with children (especially young children) who made that poor judgment call.

Plus Plus Plus...

I have something I have to get off my chest. (ha-ha)

I really can't decide if I like or resent this sort-of trend of 'Plus-size" models in magazines right now. On one hand, I am enjoying that they are showing more realistic-looking women, but labeling them "plus-sizes" when they are size 12s (and the average size of an American woman is 14) is pretty depressing. Also, the fact that magazines are all patting themselves on the back and pretty much saying "look! we have token fat girls! We're inclusive!!! Buy our magazine!!!" and the fact that they usually oversexualize the 'plus-size' models, putting them in lingerie and see-through things and having them pose naked also bothers me. The focus is so much on the actual body, all the "fat rolls" and other such "anomalies" that they seem to have forgotten that they're actually modeling clothes or other products. They even sometimes pose the models and direct the lighting so that it emphasizes their curves even more, trying to prove their self-promoting point. Crystal Renn puts it plainly:

""When designers and editors choose one fat girl to salivate over, and revel in her avoirdupois, I'm not sure how much it advances the cause of using girls of all sizes in a magazine,"

I think there's something really poignant in the fact that when Glamour posted the picture of the model sans-photoshop, with a little bit of (gasp!) belly-pooch and (gasp!!!!!!) meat on her thighs, the letters from women were overwhelmingly happy that finally someone showed a picture that was a realistic depiction of what a woman actually looks like.

My psychic powers are telling me that any negative notes sent in were all probably from (you guessed it) men. They complain that things like this are "glorifying obesity" and "not warning people of the health dangers of obesity" and other such bla-dee-bla-bla. Hysteria about obesity as if we're talking about Rosalie-fuckin'-Bradford here. Finding newer, not so sneakier ways to needle women about their weight guilt-free. You know, that's really rich, considering that the current fashion situation is glorifying dangerously skinny models that whittle themselves down until they collapse and die on the freakin' runway. So, they can take that and shove it up their asses, basically.

I try to think all this 'plus size' model stuff out, weight the positives against the negatives, but the one thing that my mind keeps going to is: 12 is plus size??!! are you serious?!? My pant size is 12+ and I do NOT, under any circumstances, consider myself plus-size, nor will I let a magazine and a ridiculous fashion industry tell me so. I want to be glad that there's media attention about normal-sized girls, but my mind keeps telling me that I'm slightly offended.

It's hard to put a finger on what I find offensive about all this hullabaloo.... The only way to describe it is: It's like, even though the magazines are being all "inclusive" or "diverse" or whatever they want to call it, it still feels like one giant backhanded compliment. Like, "we love you even though you're fat." As if after every punchy, glittery headline stating "plus size," or "diverse body types" or any other name for it, there's a little needling fashionista voice afterwards going "fat!" "fat!" "fat!" We love plus size ("fat!") models! This model is beautiful ("even though she's fat fat fat!") You get what I mean. Ugh. I think, seeing as the average american lady is a size 14, we shouldn't have to endure the indignity of being called a "diverse body type." Diverse? I'd say a size 00, 0 or 1 pant size is pretty freakin' diverse. How many people have you personally met who are a size 00? Right.

Well... on that note, if you couldn't tell, I am currently obsessed with: Crystal Renn

Here's a photoshoot with a skinny twit "straight-size model"

notice how Crystal Renn looks 100% hotter than the skinny girl in every single one. Hehe.

Also: I am in love with this Swimsuit Photoshoot.

Although I am aware that this looks like a pretty much direct rip-off of Rineke Dijkstra's Beach series:

No matter.

Uh oh, I'm being all FEMINIST again.. oops (that one's for you elle, heehee)

Then again, maybe I should stop tooling around on Jezebel and get to work.

when I had my permit and I was learning how to drive at Delta driving school, my instructor told me "You already drive like someone who has their license." I didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult, but I think i've realized that it's an insult.

as my brother says:

"Californians are laid back.... until you put them in a car."

ugh ugh ugh

I am trying to follow the coverage on the testimonies being given during the Prop. 8 trial, but every time I read a testimonial from people "protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage," I start steaming from the ears and have to stop in order to save my sanity.

I have nothing intelligent to say about the whole ridiculous issue (which should not even be a fucking issue in the first place) other than ARGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHASDJHSGDFJhIUYERTJKHASBDFKYUAGWEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whatever happened to the idea of the separation of church and state??? Has everyone completely lost their minds?!?!?

If you feel like following the ridiculous balderdash that is the conservative party:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/prop_8/

http://twitter.com/theadvocatemag

So.. I was reading a copy of People magazine about how certain women stay "beautiful forever" and how women can be beautiful even as they age. Cool, I think. Finally something acknowledging that older women are something other than old hags. However, as I flipped through the magazine, I was looking through their lists (they have images of women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc) and I realized that all their lists stopped at the 50s. None of the lists of women mentioned anything about women over 60. They didn't even mention Meryl Streep!

I guess they should have retitled their article, "These celebrities are beautiful until they hit 60.... THEN they become old disgusting hags."

Thanks for that, People Magazine.

I'm pretty excited for next semester! My class schedule goes something like this:

MONDAY

Modernism, 1:00-3:45, Ellen Cutler

(most likely, still trying to get in) Intro to Creative Writing, 4:00-6:45, Paul Long.

TUESDAY

Studio Drawing: Portrait, 9:00-3:00, Abby Sangiamo

WEDNESDAY

Narrative Illustration, 8:30 (ew)-2:30, Fuqua

Homosexuality and Civilization II, 4:00-6:45, Margee Morrison

THURSDAY

freeeeeeeee  (buh admissions 8:30-4:30)

FRIDAY

Illustration II, 9:00-3:00, Danamarie Hosler

shweet! Holler at me if we have any classes together.

2010: A Cut Above The Rest

That was the motto for the Rose Parade this year. And I really reeally hope it's true, cause I think everyone agrees with me when I say we need it!

I painted my nails silver for the new year festivities. And Joan told me "Silver nails... I saw a movie where a girl had silver nails... oh, right, she was a prostitute."

I now possess ten hooker nails. And I am gosh dern proud of it.

Today was the most beautiful day, very appropriate for a start to a good year. (plus, there was a blue moon last night! Has to be some kind of omen.) The sky was a brilliant blue, with a few wispy clouds. The mountains, usually shrouded by smog, were in perfect clear view and I could see them all the way from south pasadena. They graced the sky on my drive back from Annabel's house and I sighed with a little bit of (bittersweet) happiness.

The sunset was magnificent! the entire sky was stained an orange-pink color, and the mountains looked as if someone had colored them in with an orange marker. So beautiful.

I tried to capture it on my phone, but it was difficult. I love how much I have come to appreciate the place I live since being gone. I just wish it wasn't so beautiful so I wouldn't miss it so much.