I had the absolute best day today man. I hung out with one of my best girlfriends. We ate food, talked politics, went shopping, acted like the silly fools we are, and just enjoyed passing time together. It was a simple day doing normal things with an extraordinary friend. Today was a good day.
There’s an Elementary marathon on tv. I’ve seen all the episodes but I can’t seem to remember any of them at first or second glance.
I’m always surprised when people are able to recall entire plots, and scenes from movies. Especially when they haven’t seen them in a while.
If you start talking to me about a movie I saw last week most likely it’ll take me a while before I have any idea what the fuck you’re going on about.
I’ve realized that my short term recall is ok but my longer term memory seems to be shot. It feels like my brain just discards information it deems irrelevant. Once I enjoy a book or a movie I chuck it.
I can remember things I’d consider important, but entertainment seems to be disposable. I used to be able to remember everything but now it’s like my brain has only so much space.
Is this what getting older is like?
Man I’d love to watch Gilmore Girls for the first time again. Maybe I can make this work in my favour.
Didn’t expect to see asthma up here.. That’s a first for me
you’d be surprised the limitations on the life of one with asthma.
Scoliosis is invisible? I’d like to be one of the invisible ones because that means no one can see just how deformed and in pain I am. My scoliosis isn’t invisible.
Mine is invisible. But it doesn’t mean I don’t live with near constant pain.
I recently read, for the second time, a post calling for African Americans (and other members of the African diaspora) to stop wearing cultural and/or religious African clothing and face painting because they are appropriating African culture that does not belong to them.
Both of these were written by Africans.
It has taken me some time to address this because of how incredibly hurt I felt.
First of all, the incredible lack of empathy that these people display is astounding.
When we of the African diaspora seek to wear dashikis or paint our faces with tribal marks or choose whatever symbol of African adornment we choose, it is in an attempt to connect to our roots. OUR roots. OUR culture. OUR heritage.
If we are wearing something of a tribe that we don’t belong to, it is because we were robbed of our history, stripped of our identity. Our language and religion was stolen from us. But we know that we came from Africa. And no one can take Africa from our blood. Our skin. Our hair. Our facial features.
How dare anyone tell us we are appropriating African culture? We are descendants of Africans! We were dragged across the ocean to lands where we were treated as less than humans, and then our African brothers and sisters choose to violate us a second time by robbing us of our connection to our ancestral home? By telling us we do not qualify to wear the markings or the garments of our ancestors because through no fault of our own we don’t know exactly where we come from? Exactly which tribe we belong to?
How heartless do you have to be too look at Black people across the ocean and make a statement like this? People who have spent generations being told that African history began with European colonization. And that Black history in the Americas began with slavery. Who need in a very tangible way to touch something pure from where we came from, and who we were before our people were forced here. How disconnected from your own humanity can you be to tell us that we cannot wear things African?
We are seeking to heal wounds of generations. We are trying to connect to our roots. Educate us if you may. But you do not get tell us how.
quick reminder: hitler took a sign of peace in the buddhist community and tarnished it and used it as a sign to promote his agenda’ so when buddhist people found out that their symbol that was only ever used to display a sign of peace and was a clear sign of their religion, they didn’t argue and whine like children over trying to fly this symbol after the events of the holocaust, they all as a group decided that it was best to never use the symbol again, and even had signs in remote buddhist villages that were reminding others they could no longer use this symbol because it’s meaning would be forever tied with the millions of innocent people that were killed under the use of the symbol
so i don’t fucking get why it’s so hard for white people to let go of this symbol of oppression; since this flag has never had any connection to peace and it never fucking will
This is inaccurate. The swastika is still widely used in East Asian and South Asian countries by both Buddhists and Hindus. It had been a cultural and religious symbol for thousands of years. It is ubiquitous across the region. Please stop spreading this nonsense to make your point.
I always thought like that too. Like, when you read an “interpretation” of a painting by Monet, and they say he’s saying this or that, and I think, maybe he just really liked those flowers
I bet that’s what was really going on. I’ve had people read shit into my art and I was like, you’re nuts it’s just a chair.
Hahaha! I always got asked for an artist statement in college. I just wanna draw animals, bones, critters and make stuff… Is that a crime? Besides we all see something different in art anyway and make our own conclusions regardless of descriptions
Yeah I always thought the point was to let each person connect to it individually. Since when does art need a reason for being?
Tracy Lewis is an visual artist based in Northern California. She
currently teaching watercolor classes and workshops at her studio in Placerville, California.
I work primarily in transparent watercolor and I’m pretty much of a purest in my approach to the medium. I love to layer luminous transparent glazes of pure hue, giving everything a candy coat of Easter-like color. Even though my work is fairly realistic, I get caught up in the little abstract patterns within a subject. I enjoy setting up little still lifes of favorite things, playing with paradoxical juxtapositions, zeroing in on things to elevate the ordinary to the sublime. I love to paint portraits of beautiful contemporary women that are intense and a little mysterious.
This week, more than 7,000 refugees — mainly from war-torn areas in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — were welcomed into Germany as the Hungarian government ejected them from Hungary. The migrants were greeted not only with smiles, but piles of badly needed supplies.
Damn that just made me tear 🙂
The reception being given in German and Austrian cities this week to the refugees has restored my faith in humanity. It’s a shame that it took that tragic photo of little Alan Kurdi to make people take notice but at least something is finally happening.
It makes you wonder if America is gonna welcome the door to refugees?
I just want to make shit that I find looks nice. Adorn the world. Adorn people. That’s it.
Blows my mind when I hear artist statements that are like “well this is a post-modernist critique on feminism in the media under the gaze of masculinity in the Western-”
What??
What??????
What though like you have a reason??? You’re trying to SAY something?
Am I supposed to be trying to say something?
So Natasha, what’s the statement you’re trying to make with your art?
Uhhhhhh… I just want to make the world look pretty. -er. Pretty-er. Yeah so…
I’m watching election coverage on tv and this woman who keeps dominating the conversation is irritating me. Her voice… just ugh. She’s overly dramatic and just sounds like a chipmunk. I changed channels.
Chris is in class I’m hoping he gets home soon.
I’m tired.
Tomorrow is my girlfriend Rhonda’s birthday. I’m gonna give her a pair of earrings and take her out for a bite.
Hurry up and count the votes. I want this woman out of office
“This wasn’t the start of another Internet spat. What Minaj did was necessary and even radical. She was refusing to apologize for wanting to be visible and rewarded like her peers. She was calling bullshit on the audacity of a white woman, who has, in the past, responded to people of color with indifference while she bastardizes their language, hair, dance, and visual aesthetics. Minaj did what a lot of black women want to do: call out people when they try to render you invisible, when they try to render your pain insignificant.”
Still stuck in my car. I mean, can get out, but I don’t relish standing outside in all that humidity when it’s all nicely climate controlled in my car.
Johannes Stötter is an artist, musician and also a world champion body painter, born in 1978 in South Tyrol (Italy). Stötter studied at University of Innsbruck, Austria and AusAnatomy-related Bodypainting Workshops at Yoni-academy, Innsbruck. He always been a passionful artist and his works are influenced by spititual and nature-related themes.
Facebook – are sure to find something for everyone!
It ended somewhat abruptly but I suppose that was their sort of version of a cliffhanger.
While I was watching I was getting flashbacks of living in Caracas and hearing about Escobar. He was a larger than life figure. As a teenager, I didn’t understand how the world worked, how a known drug trafficker could be walking around free. I remember when he was “jailed” in his country club prison.
Watching the show is the first time I’ve understood in a real sense the source of the violence that gripped Colombia in those days. Venezuela was bad. Colombia you just didn’t go to. There were endless illegal Colombians who had moved to Venezuela to escape. Sadly now it’s going the other way, with Venezuelans desperate to escape the crippling poverty of their country feeling to Colombia.
I really liked the series. I was just bothered by the accents. The lack of authentic Colombian actors made it hard to fully immerse myself in the show. I think it was a travesty casting an actor whose first language wasn’t even Spanish to play Escobar. His performance is brilliant but his Portuguese accent slips through constantly. That said, even if you DO speak Spanish I’d recommend it. And if you don’t then you’ll have to read a lot of subtitles, but it’s worth it.
Gesine Marwedel (German, b. 1987, Eckernförde, Germany) – 1: Brain 2: Cricket 3: Seahorse 4: Flamingo 5: Swan 6: Heart 7: Ladybug 8: Lizard 9: Pelican Body Arts
Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a disinherited monarch. Women choose Alice [in Wonderland] because every woman sees herself as the only reasonable creature among crazy people who think they are disinherited monarchs.
Curse these fucking elections. There is a rally happening near our home and it sounds like it’s fucking Carnival. We tried to get some rest when we got home but they might as well have put the speakers in our bedroom. I will be so glad when this is over. Monday cannot come soon enough.
What if Kim Davis was against marrying interracial couples because according to her religion she believed that the races should not mix?
What if she decided that couples past childbearing age shouldn’t marry because they couldn’t procreate and that marriage is for bearing children according to her religion?
What if she decided that previously divorced people couldn’t remarry because according to her religion they were still married to their previous partners?
Where does it end? This isn’t about how she practices her religion. This is about how she practices her bigotry.
A New App That Lets Users’ Friends ‘Virtually Walk Them Home At Night’ Is Exploding In Popularity
Tens of thousands of people around the world are now using a free personal-safety mobile app that allows friends to virtually walk you home at night.
The Companion app, created by five students from the University of Michigan, enables users to request a friend or family member to keep them company virtually and track their journey home via GPS on an online map.
Although they can do so, the friend or family member does not need to have installed the Companion app. The user can send out several requests to different phone contacts in case people are not available to be a companion or not with their phones at the time.
Those contacted then receive an SMS text message with a hyperlink in it that sends them to a web page with an interactive map showing the user walking to their destination. If the user strays off their path, falls, is pushed, starts running, or has their headphones yanked out of their phone, the app detects these changes in movement and asks the user if they’re OK.
If the user is fine, they press a button on the app to confirm within 15 seconds. If they do not press the button, or a real emergency is occurring, the Companion app transforms the user’s phone into a personal alarm system that projects loud noises to scare criminals from the scene, and gives you the option to instantly call the police.
Boom. I had a much longer post brewing in my head about this, but why write a book when a Tweet states it so eloquently?
Yup!
Actually, no, not even close.
The government has stupidly decided to ignore the first amendment here and decide what marriage should be, for everyone. They are forcing people to accept what they want instead of getting out of the way all together like would have been right and actually in line with the constitution.
A woman in Kentucky decided the definition of marriage forced onto her unlawfully by only five individuals in the supreme court is against her beliefs so she said she would not put her name on licences that she did not believe in. That is not stopping a single couple from getting married for any reason, it’s at most putting an extra burden on them of traveling 30 minutes to another clerk who has been issuing the licenses without any issues.
Instead of respecting her beliefs and letting her either issue licences without her name or simply advising people to go to another office the state has told her that her beliefs and her definition of marriage are wrong, criminally wrong.
I personally disagree strongly with her about marriage and think anyone should be able to marry anyone they like, I don’t care or see how it affects me. However, the government should NOT decide for everyone what marriage is or is not and they most certainly should not do it without any actual lawful process. Forcing one definition of marriage, any one definition of marriage, onto the entire population is blatantly against the first amendment.
Even though I happen to agree in this case that same sex marriage should be perfectly fine I’m totally against the government deciding that and failing to respect different views and beliefs and I couldn’t possibly be more against them sending someone to jail over those beliefs. All the more so since reasonable steps to avoid the situation have clearly and intentionally been avoided and instead the case has been turned into a witch hunt of sorts and an example of how having a different view is no longer acceptable. And that is absolutely disgusting to me.
No one has to respect anyone else’s beliefs, only the right to have them.
She can have all the personal views she wants. She can be as big of a bigot as her religion requires of her while she’s at home, in her church, and at her clan meetings. As a clerk of the court she can’t discriminate, and her personal views are irrelevant.
The fact people like her exist is why SCOTUS has to even offer an opinion. They ruled 14 States had unconstitutional laws regarding same sex marriage. Laws whose sole intent is to discriminate against US citizens.
I just double checked because I didn’t remember the “only at home or church” clause about freedom of religion.
Shockingly it’s not actually in my copy of the Bill of Rights, maybe because it’s a photographic representation of the original and not the common core version.
Also, this seems so obvious that it shouldn’t need pointing out but the solution to discrimination is NEVER more discrimination.
There are NO laws requiring that she be a clerk of the court; there are, however, laws that as a clerk of the court you discriminate against no one and abide by the laws set forth. I don’t work in a butcher market because I am a vegetarian, and I find killing animals morally reprehensible. So, you see, then, how logically, it would be mentally indigent of me to work in a butchery and refuse to serve others meat because it is against my belief system. Her right to practice her religious beliefs DO NOT SUPERSEDE others’ rights to be married. SHE IS IN THE WRONG. SHE BROKE THE LAW BY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PERSONS SOLELY ON THEIR SEXUAL PREFERENCES. This is NOT rocket science, people. FUCK!
Kentuckian here! I feel like that matters…a little. This whole situation as me very upset.
Kim Davis can practice her religion all she wants. She could have QUIT her position in protest, posted about it on social media, and there you have it. My guess is, she doesn’t know how to use those platforms.
She can’t impose her religious rights on others, which is exactly what she is doing. So ditto, littlerunnergurl.
The whole “SCOTUS shouldn’t define marriage” argument is a little ridiculous. I think we are forgetting the crazy mother fuckers out there. If we didn’t have laws, we would have child abusers forcing kids to marry them. Trust me…they’d be first in line. Is that the freedom we want?
SCOTUS has defined marriage as any two consenting adults, basically. What more do you want? Ummm…I guess siblings can’t marry each other. Yeah…I’m fine with that. I suppose I can’t marry my mom. I’m good with that, too. ?!?!
The argument about whether or not the government should define marriage is a separate issue in this case. Even religious freedom in general is besides the point in this case.
In this instance, all that matters is that she was unable/unwilling to perform the essential duties of her role. Doesn’t matter why she failed to do it, really – she just could not/wound not do what she was hired/appointed to do.
No one has the legal right to keep a job where they are unable and/or unwilling to perform the key duties of that role. If you refuse to do your job, you can (and likely will) get fired. Period.
As for the criminalization angle; imagine you are a doctor and your religion objects to medical procedures such as blood transfusions. If you failed to offer that procedure to a patient based on (your) religious beliefs you would not only be relieved of your current position but also likely lose your medical licence and maybe even face criminal or civil charges in court. Heck, all of the above might happen even if you failed to perform the procedure because of the *patient’s* religious beliefs!
If you cannot do your job, GTFO. Especially in cases where it is a position of trust and/or you are in charge of access to something our society considers a fundamental right of citizens.
It’s lovely to decide that the government shouldn’t have the right to decide who can and cannot get married when you’re a person who has always had the benefit of government-sanctioned marriage isn’t it?
I did as well sales-wise as I did last month but for some reason today felt really slow. I had friends who were also selling and they said sales were pretty abysmal. It’s back to school month.
I realise for the UpMarket crowd I have make more pieces in a particular style. People were going gaga over this one necklace.
That’s fine because I can make my exclusive pieces for the other store and that’s a completely different direction.
That Kurdish child from Syria whose picture is being shared had a name, his name was Aylan Kurdi and he was 3 years old. He had a brother name Galip who was 5 years old who died as well, along with their mother. He had a family and would have had a bright future had the International community done anything to stop the attrocities, had the International community done anything to make seeking reguge easier and more humane. When you share his picture as some nameless person in order to spark outrage, in order to pat yourself on the back for doing *something* or for likes and shares you engage in the dehumanization of a 3 year old child. He had a name, Aylan.
And instead of sharing such a triggering, dehumanizing, and disgusting image to make yourself feel good you could donate money to the many organizations that are attempting to help refugees find shelter, that are attempting to feed them, you could start petitions, you could share the history of the war (words not just pictures), you could write letters to legislators that represent you to help put the pressure on them to act regarding the refugee crisis. When enough people actually DO something…things get done. But when you share a disturbing picture which further fuels our desensitization to violence you’re not doing anything other than appeasing your own ego.
So here are some ways to *actually* help:
1. Doctors Without Borders is providing medical aid in and around Syria. If you call this number you can ensure your funds go directly to Syrian refugees 1-888-392-0392.
2. World Visions works in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan to provide clean and sanitizing water. You can donate by calling 1-800-562-4453.
3. CARE operates multiple refugee centers in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and you can donate to them by calling 1-800-521-CARE
4. World Food Program will provide food to Syrians and other refugees…you can donate at wfp.org
But you can also do more, get involved in grassroots organizations locally, fundraise with your church/mosque/temple. Write and start new petitions. Protest in front of embassies or other places of governance.
Really, there are many ways to help and sharing a picture of a young child…a BABY without his name, his story, anything is not one of them.
In the picture, little Alan looks somehow unscathed, as if he were just taking a nap in the pristine beaches of Bodrum. But his journey was anything but peaceful.
His father, Abdullah Kurdi, told Syria’s opposition Radio Rozana that his wife and two sons died one by one in his arms on Wednesday as they clung to an overturned dinghy in waves just off the Turkish coast. He said he had paid €4,000 ($5,860) for four spaces on the five-metre-long rubber craft, which was crammed with 12 passengers for the journey to Kos, just four kilometres away. It was supposed to be a 30-minute trip.
“When we were away from the Turkish coast, oh my God the waves, we died. The Turk [smuggler] jumped into the sea, then a wave came and flipped us over. I grabbed my sons and wife and we held onto the boat,” Mr. Kurdi said, speaking slowly in Arabic and struggling at times for words.
“We stayed like that for an hour, then the first [son] died and I left him so I could help the other, then the second died, so I left him as well to help his mom and I found her dead. … what do I do. … I spent three hours waiting for the coast guard to come. The life jackets we were wearing were all fake.”
Soon afterward, Mr. Kurdi collapsed into sobs, bringing the interview to an end. “My wife is my world and I have nothing, by God. I don’t even think of getting married again or having more kids. … I am choking, I cannot breathe. They died in my arms.”
“Abdullah Kurdi, the father, was detained for 5 months in Air Force Intelligence in Damascus. While in detention, he was tortured and his teeth were pulled out. He had to sell his shop in Damascus in order to bribe the officers to let him out. This cost him 5,000,000 Syrian Liras (around $25,000). After he bribed his way out of jail, Abdullah fled to Aleppo with his wife and sons, Alyan and Ghalib. The situation in Aleppo became dangerous due to the constant aerial bombardment, so he fled again to Kobani, his hometown. When ISIS attacked Kobani last year, the family could no longer live in their hometown, so they fled to Turkey. Once in Turkey, the Turkish government did not provide them with assistance, so they paid almost $6,000 to secure 4 spots on a rubber dingy to the Greek island of Kos. While on the boat, rough waters caused the boat to flip. The lifejackets they were given were fake. His sons and wife all drowned in front of his eyes, in his arms. Kurdi had applied in June for refuge to Canada, but was rejected. After Aylan’s photo became a media story, he was reportedly offered citizenship to Canada. But he doesn’t want to go to Canada or Europe anymore. He says he will go bury his family in Kobani and stay there to fight against ISIS, because everything has been taken away from him and he has “nothing to live for.” So if the world wants to no more Aylans on the beach, stop torture and arbitrary detention by the Assad regime, stop the regime’s aerial bombardment, stop ISIS, make traveling to Europe safe, get Canada and the USA to accept more refugees.” -via Kenan Rahmani
Photos of Gillian Anderson by Nick Haddow. August 2015.
I need some ice, please? Totally bonked my head on the floor.
What women have endured is not only the history of men, but also their own specific oppression. Extraordinarily violent. Hence this simple suggestion: you can all go and get fucked, with your condescension towards us, your ridiculous shows of group strength, of limited protection and your manipulative whining about how hard it is to be a guy around emancipated women. What is really hard is to actually be a woman and to have to listen to your shit.
I had some really weird stuff going on back there too. I was convinced something was wrong with my stitches but when I went in they said everything was healing nicely.
Yeah the gum itself feels fine just the stitches are being all weird. I have my appointment in a week so hopefully I’ll be fine
I’m pretty much ready for UpMarket tomorrow. I’m so much calmer than I was last time.
I lowered my prices on a bunch of things because I’m sick of seeing them and I just want to get rid of them, stuff I made a while ago. I just want to make room for new pieces. So if you come by you might score some shit for cheap 🙂
Inner happiness doesn’t necessarily mean you’re free of hollow spaces or that things are always pleasant, but that, no matter what happens, you trust yourself to persevere—that you have total confidence in your capability to confront life’s difficulties and ultimately overcome them.
Either I busted one of my stitches or one of them is working their way out of my gum (they’re dissolvable) but something weird is going on in the back of my mouth.
Man this whole thing is terrifying to me. My parents are immigrants. They came here legally and I’m the only one in the family that is citizen by birth. Does this mean I have to prove that my parents came here legally if that actually happens? Scary.
It is. My siblings are immigrants too. They migrated legally but you know what? I know a lot of people who worked the system and stayed by either illegal or dubious means. They’re legal now and their entire lives are based in the States, not to mention their American-born offspring. What happens to them?
I think it’s crazy. The country was built on immigrants (and genocide and slavery but still) and now people are acting like having been there for two generations somehow makes all the difference? It’s disgusting.
There are approximately 4 million Syrians who are now trying to escape death in Syria. Many are stranded, lost, suffering or already dead. These are called “War Refugees” not “Migrants”. Thousands are already living below poverty line in camps and tents in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece, and thousands are trying to reach Europe because thats their last hope. They are not after your tax money or your jobs, they are after rescuing their children and families from eminent death.
Over 84% of Syrian refugee families in Jordan live outside camps and they are struggling to pay for the very basic life essentials including food and healthcare, for anyone who would like to sponsor a family for a week/month/year or just make a donation, you can do it through this link: http://donate.unhcr.org/ar/lifeline-en
I used to have pretty thick eyebrows. My mother always told me never to pluck them because she had plucked hers when she was younger and they never grew back. I totally dismissed her misgivings because a) she has very little body hair to begin with (being mostly Asian) and b) I inherited my thick eyebrows from my Dad’s side (hairy Portuguese). We all have them. It’s genetic.
So in college I decided I gave a shit about my unruly brows and tried plucking them. I probably did it for a few months and then stopped cause pfffft maintenance. And guess what? She was right. They never grew back. Ever. Which she laments because she thinks they looked better thicker but as far as I’m concerned I have one less thing to groom. But I think it’s really weird that they never grew back. I wish other parts of my body would follow suit.
My meeting went well today. They’re going to carry my line.
I should explain that a lot of people try and fail to get into this store. So I was actually really nervous.
The owner gave me some really good advice regarding the direction of my line. Because right now my pieces are all over the place style-wise and she could see that. But the pieces I created most recently were the ones that resonated with me the most, that I felt represented what I wanted to express the best. And she agreed, she felt most connected to those as well. So those were the pieces she kept.
She wants me to create a line exclusively for the store. Which I’m happy to do. I already have all the supplies I need because I’ve been buying up stuff like mad (which is why I’m broke). But it means I can get to work immediately.
I’m pretty psyched. This will be great exposure. I have butterflies in my stomach from the nerves. Eek!
Same. Bootcut all the way! If you have any kind of hip curve skinny jeans just don’t seen to work. At least not for me
That’s the other thing. I don’t think skinny jeans suits my build. Bootcut complement me a lot more because they balance off my thighs which are on the thicker side. I dunno they’re a classic look I find universally flattering. I really don’t care if I’m the only one wearing them. I don’t think bootcut will ever go out of style.
Is worth seeing again excellent body paintings of Cecilia Paredes (Peruvian, b.1950)
(previously). She is contemporary performance and installation artist, who is best known for her unusual work in which she uses her own body as a canvas for body paint. Her last name, Paredes, which means walls in Spanish, perfectly suits her fascination with turning herself into a human chameleon and melting herself into the walls.
Laying in bed talking to the television. Nerdy people are not good at playing trivia games. They know a lot of academic stuff but they don’t know anything about pop trivia.
The answer was Pink Floyd. The band with the giant inflatable pig at their concerts. Not Kiss.
I never stopped wearing bootcut jeans. They look good on me. I own six pairs of skinny jeans and none of them fit me properly. Also skinny jeans are hot. And I live in the tropics.
I got to pet a doggy tonight. He’s more puppy than doggy age-wise but he’s big for his age. I played with him and pet him and he jumped on me and I calmed him down and pet him some more and it was such great therapy. I’m jonesing for a dog so badly.
You know, when I saw those pics of her I thought “Hm, that doesn’t seem quite right..” Meaning that the way she seemed to have “aged” didn’t seem quite accurate…
Yeah I felt the same way. I mean I know she’s older than me but I didn’t think she looked like that. I’ve seen pictures of her in the media, candid shots, and she looks really good. So I thought the pictures were odd.
I just received my first (and second) texts from my mother. In my life ever.
This is making me really emotional for several reasons.
My father was really into technology, specifically computers and was an early adapter. We had our first computer in our house when I was fourteen, a Mac SE, back in 1987 when almost no one had personal computers. The first time I had ever even used a computer was two years before that.
My father was a workaholic and as his family our lives suffered from his neglect. My mother rejected anything to do with technology because he spent so much time on his computer. It became much worse after the advent of the internet. It was like his mistress. He spent more time reading news than he ever did relating to any of us. I also think my mother lacked confidence to adapt to the technology. So we had computers, later laptops, iPads, smartphones, kindles, iPods, you name it, and she wanted nothing to do with them.
It was only recently she acquired her first smartphone. And while I’m yet to receive an email from her (she uses is just no need to use it with me), getting a text is pretty huge. I feel sad that my Dad was not here to see it. He was frustrated and angered by her attitude. When he traveled he always had to contact one of us to tell her where he was and how to reach him. It made things so annoyingly complicated and tedious, especially when it came to legal matters, like when she was renting out her house in Miami. Everything had to come to me, then Chris, then her, then back. It was a nightmare.
She was expressing her views on the upcoming local elections. Her writing was so eloquent. It’s a side of her I’ve never seen. How different would our relationship have been if we could have written when we found it difficult to talk? I don’t know. But it was a big deal to me to get those texts today. It meant more than just what she wrote. It was a big step.
I think there is a difference. In that the photographer probably did some degree of editing, even if it is only adjusting contrast, color balance, etc. So in subsequent publication, printing the photo as-is, would be un-retouched.
Well all photographs for publication are edited in some way. No picture is ready for publication as-is. But I was referring to an article on Salon.com that was about these photos of Cindy Crawford that were released a few months ago. They were quite unflattering and supposedly showed what she looked like before being touched up. It turns out that they had been stolen and they were fake. They had been altered to make her look worse.
The headline was: Cindy Crawford speaks out about malicious “un-retouched” photo leak: “I felt really manipulated and conflicted, so I kept my mouth shut”
I felt un-edited would have sufficed. I think that they were using that term specifically to refer to the kind of cosmetic air-brushing that is done in the fashion and beauty industry. But it just felt clumsy to me.
I got a reverse version of a guy telling me to smile today. Instead he asked me if someone pissed me off. When I answered no he said I looked like I was worried by the expression on my face. Again I just said no and then reminded him that women don’t walk around smiling.
Stop fucking commenting on women’s faces. There are legitimate fucking reasons my face might look like that and none of those reasons are any of your fucking business.
Watercolour paints have a fantastic way of capturing vital energy and ghostly shades
of color that no other medium can, and Tilen Ti, an artist in
Singapore, has become an expert at using watercolour paints to their
fullest potential. The animals in his vibrantly colourful works seem to
come to life on the page.
Ti focuses primarily on various tropical
birds though he’s also painted more mundane creatures like cats and
snails as well. He sells his paintings on Etsy, so be sure to check him out! Etsy | Instagram | Tumblr | Deviantart
soulsistrin 