We were listening to the news on the way home and we heard about the shooting in Louisiana. I looked at Chris and said, “How much you wanna bet he’s white?”
But y’all just go ahead and keep telling yourselves Black people are the ones you need to be scared of.
I guess all it took was a couple of visits to the hospital. Chris and I have both come down with colds. So far mine is just a sniffle but he’s been coughing his lungs up.
Whimsical Flower & Fashion Hybrid Illustrations by Limzy
Malaysian visual artist Lim Zhi Wei, also known as Limzy, composes stunning whimsical fashion illustrations, which use meticulously placed flowers and petals as silhouettes for beautiful couture gowns. Most of her work involves creating installations or sketches with the aid of flowers and ordinary materials for a beautiful final product. Although the young artist mainly produces fashion and flower sketches on paper, she also makes use of the beautiful natural medium to create images of insects, food and other adorable sceneries. We can’t help but notice that Limzy’s glamour sketches and technique remind us of illustrator Gretchen Röehrs’ fashion food-based creations.
I can never seem to strike a happy medium with my air conditioner. It’s either beastly cold or I have it off. That’s it. If it’s on it’s freezing no matter what temperature. I guess that’s what we get for choosing the industrial size for our bedroom.
Have him towed if he continues to park there after Chris talks to him!
It’s not really that kind of situation. There are three apartments on the property. They have two parking spaces. Chris has one. The other neighbour has one. The tenant in the back on another property has one. I don’t know how the spaces were divided but they made those agreements before I moved here. What’s left is the yard. I park my car in a part of the yard that is paved so I don’t have to walk in the mud but it’s not like it’s an official spot or anything. It’s just the yard. So he’s not wrong to park there, he’s just being incredibly discourteous because since I moved here that’s where I’ve parked. The space doesn’t belong to anyone but I would figure that he wouldn’t have used it since that’s where I always park. Plus he is now forcing me to walk in the mud which to me is ungentlemanly (yes I am old fashioned about shit like that).
It’s ok. I’m just going to look out for the next time he moves it and then I’ll move my car. Because my car barely every leaves the yard. It was only out because Chris’s car was in the shop but he got it back.
I’m pissed off at my neighbour downstairs. He bought a new car and he hasn’t sold the old one yet. So he started parking the old one in my space. Now I usually wouldn’t have a problem with it except for two things: a) I now have to park in the grass and it’s rainy season so it’s fucking muddy as all hell and b) the spot over makes it really hard for me to get my car out of the yard when it’s full of cars. I’ve been parking my car in the same space for over a year. How does everyone else get to have their own spot except me? He always fucking moves into it when I’m using my car. I think it’s just really fucking discourteous. I’m going to ask Chris to talk to him. God knows I’ll rip him a new one if I do it.
Spent all day running around all over Port of Spain trying to get stuff done. Took twice as long as I thought it would.
Apparently you can purchase anything in a TTPost office with a credit or debit card EXCEPT stamps. For stamps you must pay in CASH. That little detail added an extra hour to my rounds today. Joy.
I’m reconsidering the business arrangement I loosely entered into to show my stuff at a store. The commission is too much. I can’t afford it. I’m better off selling my pieces at a craft fair and getting my work out there that way. Upmarket here I come.
My mom’s partner does woodworking and has been making me some display pieces for me. They’re SO awesome. We could SELL THEM ON ETSY for MAD MONEY. Omg we fucking should I’m gonna ask him if he wants to do it.
I had supermarket sushi for lunch. It was in the car for a few hours before I got home. So far I’m still alive and breathing. We’ll see how that goes. If I die I’ll let y’all know.
I’m not sweating it. I’ve been at this size I am before. It was due to about a 10 lb weight gain. I definitely felt it and saw it. I know it’s impossible for me to be weighing 221 lbs.
Going through the photos of Tribe and Bliss 2016 carnival costumes was extremely upsetting today.
Firstly, the costumes are all overpriced but that doesn’t seem to stop anybody from purchasing them.
2. The costumes are morphing into cosplay. Maybe we should have a comicon in Trinidad??
Anyway, my real issue is their choice of models. All the women are either white or very light skinned Indians, with long flowing straight hair and expressionless faces. Not even in the Caribbean can we see a beautiful black woman model unless it’s Wendy Fitzwilliamas, who is apparently the token black woman of Trinidad and Tobago. Not even here, where the sun is out everyday and we are all sun-kissed, can we find melanin on a billboard. The fashion industry here is all fucked up. They want to appeal to a certain aesthetic. Blacks aren’t aesthetically pleasing, so let’s use the minority as the standard of beauty we accept as our own, and trick people into believing that we all look like this, and need to look like this. They didn’t even bother adding in the biracial light skinned girl with curly hair like they usually do to offset the sea of white women. It wasn’t necessary this time. THIS TIME, they want you to know for sure that they think black women are not good enough to be put at the forefront of their line. They want you to know what they think women should look like. They didn’t even have any black men which is a big deal because who doesn’t love a tall dark man in society today?
This is absolutely crazy.
We were happy that teen vogue put black girls on their cover, yet, here in the Caribbean, where we don’t have to chant #blacklivesmatter and be afraid that we won’t make it home tonight just because of our skin color, we are taking our own for granted. We take our freedom and do THIS. Still portrayed as coconut vendors and people that climb trees for a living.
They are also sending a message: they don’t want black people in their band.
I’m sure it may not have been this way at its inception, but Carnival has become very commercialize in hopes to garner international visitors rather than preserve our cultural traditions. As a young girl, even in my times, European aesthetics were the norm, even when black models were included. What’s the name of the magazine that featured pin-up girls from Trinidad and Tobago? Those were the women you saw being used to promote Carnival, and most of the times they were either light skinned indo Trinidadians or of mixed ancestry.
But I don’t think that tourists that come here to play mas are expecting to be surrounded by an island full of white people. In fact a large percentage of the people who come here to play mas are Trinidadians that live abroad or foreigners of Trinidadian extract. Ultimately it doesn’t matter who you’re trying to attract, using that demographic and that alone is unacceptable. The OP is correct in their assertion that the European aesthetic as the standard of beauty is the choice these bands have made. They are also communicating that these are the people they want to buy their products. Trinidad and Tobago is still colonized with the idea that white is better. That’s why so many people worship the “red” woman. Because the lighter you are the better, never mind that there are an infinite number of dark skinned beauties in our country. We’ve been taught to hate our own skin colour. How many of us were told to stay out of the sun lest be get too black? The message is deliberate. Lighter is better and white is best. This isn’t about catering to tourists this is about an anti-black aesthetic.
You’re absolutely right in terms of the demographic of the revelers who participate in Carnival, as well as anti-blackness on a global scale. However, I added that part because Carnival is very commercialize now, therefore, the white washing (i.e., European aesthetics) to promote Carnival to appeal to an international audience. I am not invalidating the OP. As you said, “….their assertion that the European aesthetic as the standard of beauty is the choice these bands have made. They are also communicating that these are the people [Europeans or Trinbagonians?] they want to buy their products”. Therefore, even with locals returning to participate, some Carnival organizers are trying to use the European aesthetic to appeal to other types of tourists ( inclusion of other groups of people). And, from a historical standpoint, the use of whites on a commercial level represents this sense of safety, “mass” appeal. Check these articles out.
Unfortunately I was not able to access the articles. I think it’s a decision based on multiple issues. I don’t think that advertising to the foreign market is the primary cause for choice. I say that from many years experience working in the advertising industry here. The choice is always towards mixed/lighter girls regardless of target market. And yes I do understand the use of whiteness as the safe standard but this, within the context of mas, is actually a relatively new development. Not that they ever really used black girls much, but at least they used to use brown ones. And again, the majority of their clientele is local. So it would only make sense to make your entire campaign white if you were also targeting local whites et al. At any rate it doesn’t seem to be affecting sales negatively. Carnival is for the elite nowadays. A costume costs a mortgage payment and people don’t blink to pay it. I will stick to my jouvert. Mud and paint doh discriminate.
I’m not sure where the miscommunication lies, if any. Perhaps, it’s the way I opened my initial response (and the only reason I mentioned that is, despite it being a national celebration, the historical timeline of Carnival points to different nuances and developments within Carnival ).
Carnival was not ours (black or brown people). It was actually brought to Trinidad when the French ruled (whites) – also see Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Louisiana, US) for another reference), but then with the change of power from the French to the British, then with the emancipation of slaves, slaves co-opted it to signify their freedom, to counteract the mockery made of them when the French reenacted
Cannes Brulées (rounding up of slaves to put out fires in the cane fields), as well as dressing up in masquerades caricatures of black and mulatto people. Therefore, Carnival was co-opted by Afro-Trinidadians or those of African ancestry as a means of expressing their political ideologies; their freedom.The slaves also began to replace their instruments with theirs. At this point, the elites of that era, who were whites, ceased to participate in Carnival, as it was celebrated by “Jamettes” (i.e., the underclass).
While there has always been masqueraders, mas, as we know it, which emerged within the timeline of Carnival in the Twentieth Century when the white elites gradually re-entered in the celebration of Carnival, and the elites started “organizing” (some fancy French society name I can’t remember) and the the private sector started making contributions to it, its marketing and promotions changed to reflect the elites. In fact, the mas reflected European characters. However, gradually, all ethnic groups, despite their economical status started co-participating in Carnival.
However, it wasn’t until the government started playing a bigger role due to an increase in nationalism, did it become truly inclusive of all demographics. And while designers sought inspiration from various sources, it wasn’t until George Bailey introduced an African theme, “Back to Africa” ( which he won “Band of the Year”) was there an aesthetic shift in the way mas were designed and presented at Carnival.
I’ve slightly diverted from the topic, but I wrote all of this to say that with the historical timeline of Carnival and the increase in globalization, Carnival remains our main tourist attraction. As you said there are multiple factors; therefore, I stand firmly with the remaining part of my response, especially in regards to the marketing of Carnival to an international audience, despite” …a large percentage of the people who come here to play mas are Trinidadians that live abroad or foreigners of Trinidadian extract [I consider them part of said international audience regardless of their national ties to Trinidad]. I also didn’t mean to imply that this is solely the reason, but only to highlight one of the “multiple factors”.
Therefore, while this development is new (the sole use of white models), I do believe the change is a conscious shift to appeal to a different demographic (an international audience that is white, who are economically at a position to participate). The changes may not be visible, but it would be glaringly apparent at some point, as with the photos of the white models (which I have not seen) being used to showcase Tribe and Bliss 2016 carnival costumes.
It’s apparent now that Trinidadians, whether local or those living abroad make up a huge percentage of the people playing mas, but who is to say that it will remain as such in a couple of years from now with a shift in marketing. And, yes, I do think, it’s a marketing ploy, an international one, given that these bands are taking their business abroad.
It’s not right, but as you say, “at any rate it doesn’t seem to be affecting sales negatively”.
As you pointed out, “mud and paint” (Yah forget powder) don’t discriminate. It’s free, and you see all representation of women, fat, slim, tall, short, big ass, flat ass, broad nose, slim nose, black or brown, from all ethnic groups and economical status.
Yes understood and agreed. Also yes we have diverged from the OP’s point. I suppose to me it begs the question at what point did mas become ours and stop being theirs, if ever. And if it did, then is it reverting to theirs again? Because mas was accessible to all at one point. It’s not anymore. But like any country that markets itself for tourism, what was once for local consumption becomes fodder for foreigners.
At any rate what Carnival was in terms of artistic expression etc. no longer exists and hasn’t for a long time, lamentably. It’s evolved into a multimillion dollar business churning out costumes pre-assembled in China for the masses. I suppose this is just part of the evolution. Even my beloved jouvert had changed. You have to pay to play which I consider obscene and the opposite of what jouvert is about. So it goes. Pan used to be gangsta ting once upon a time. Now it’s super respectable.
Good news is that my mom’s being discharged from the hospital today with a clean bill of health. They took really good care of her and were very vigilant.
People shit on the healthcare service in Trinidad all the time but honestly I’ve been really happy about the service we’ve gotten, with my Dad and with her.
If we’d taken her to a private hospital and had to pay for all the tests she got (several blood tests, several ECG’s, a CT scan, chest X-ray) it would have cost us thousands of dollars. As it is it’s cost us nothing. She was really well attended to and the only thing that sucked was the food. I don’t think that’s a lot to complain about.
No way can you gain 50 lbs and only go up one pant size. That scale can’t be right!
Yeah. Plus I think I’d notice if I had gained that much weight. I estimate I probably gained about 15lbs. I’ve lost a lot of it since, and the pants that I was wearing last time I weighed myself are fitting me on the loose side now. I mean I think I’d see 50 extra pounds on me. I’m tall but I can’t hide that much weight.
So I stepped on Chris’s scale today and it’s telling me that I’ve put on close to 50 lbs since I last weighed myself (about a year ago). I know I put on a little weight over the past two years but can you gain that much weight and go up just one pants size (which is the same pants size I was wearing last time I weighed myself)? I’m really flummoxed. I’d think I’d notice if I had put on that much weight. It’s basically saying I weigh as much as Chris who is four inches taller than me. Wtf?
Going through the photos of Tribe and Bliss 2016 carnival costumes was extremely upsetting today.
Firstly, the costumes are all overpriced but that doesn’t seem to stop anybody from purchasing them.
2. The costumes are morphing into cosplay. Maybe we should have a comicon in Trinidad??
Anyway, my real issue is their choice of models. All the women are either white or very light skinned Indians, with long flowing straight hair and expressionless faces. Not even in the Caribbean can we see a beautiful black woman model unless it’s Wendy Fitzwilliamas, who is apparently the token black woman of Trinidad and Tobago. Not even here, where the sun is out everyday and we are all sun-kissed, can we find melanin on a billboard. The fashion industry here is all fucked up. They want to appeal to a certain aesthetic. Blacks aren’t aesthetically pleasing, so let’s use the minority as the standard of beauty we accept as our own, and trick people into believing that we all look like this, and need to look like this. They didn’t even bother adding in the biracial light skinned girl with curly hair like they usually do to offset the sea of white women. It wasn’t necessary this time. THIS TIME, they want you to know for sure that they think black women are not good enough to be put at the forefront of their line. They want you to know what they think women should look like. They didn’t even have any black men which is a big deal because who doesn’t love a tall dark man in society today?
This is absolutely crazy.
We were happy that teen vogue put black girls on their cover, yet, here in the Caribbean, where we don’t have to chant #blacklivesmatter and be afraid that we won’t make it home tonight just because of our skin color, we are taking our own for granted. We take our freedom and do THIS. Still portrayed as coconut vendors and people that climb trees for a living.
They are also sending a message: they don’t want black people in their band.
I’m sure it may not have been this way at its inception, but Carnival has become very commercialize in hopes to garner international visitors rather than preserve our cultural traditions. As a young girl, even in my times, European aesthetics were the norm, even when black models were included. What’s the name of the magazine that featured pin-up girls from Trinidad and Tobago? Those were the women you saw being used to promote Carnival, and most of the times they were either light skinned indo Trinidadians or of mixed ancestry.
But I don’t think that tourists that come here to play mas are expecting to be surrounded by an island full of white people. In fact a large percentage of the people who come here to play mas are Trinidadians that live abroad or foreigners of Trinidadian extract. Ultimately it doesn’t matter who you’re trying to attract, using that demographic and that alone is unacceptable. The OP is correct in their assertion that the European aesthetic as the standard of beauty is the choice these bands have made. They are also communicating that these are the people they want to buy their products. Trinidad and Tobago is still colonized with the idea that white is better. That’s why so many people worship the “red” woman. Because the lighter you are the better, never mind that there are an infinite number of dark skinned beauties in our country. We’ve been taught to hate our own skin colour. How many of us were told to stay out of the sun lest be get too black? The message is deliberate. Lighter is better and white is best. This isn’t about catering to tourists this is about an anti-black aesthetic.
You’re absolutely right in terms of the demographic of the revelers who participate in Carnival, as well as anti-blackness on a global scale. However, I added that part because Carnival is very commercialize now, therefore, the white washing (i.e., European aesthetics) to promote Carnival to appeal to an international audience. I am not invalidating the OP. As you said, “….their assertion that the European aesthetic as the standard of beauty is the choice these bands have made. They are also communicating that these are the people [Europeans or Trinbagonians?] they want to buy their products”. Therefore, even with locals returning to participate, some Carnival organizers are trying to use the European aesthetic to appeal to other types of tourists ( inclusion of other groups of people). And, from a historical standpoint, the use of whites on a commercial level represents this sense of safety, “mass” appeal. Check these articles out.
Unfortunately I was not able to access the articles. I think it’s a decision based on multiple issues. I don’t think that advertising to the foreign market is the primary cause for choice. I say that from many years experience working in the advertising industry here. The choice is always towards mixed/lighter girls regardless of target market. And yes I do understand the use of whiteness as the safe standard but this, within the context of mas, is actually a relatively new development. Not that they ever really used black girls much, but at least they used to use brown ones. And again, the majority of their clientele is local. So it would only make sense to make your entire campaign white if you were also targeting local whites et al. At any rate it doesn’t seem to be affecting sales negatively. Carnival is for the elite nowadays. A costume costs a mortgage payment and people don’t blink to pay it. I will stick to my jouvert. Mud and paint doh discriminate.
With all the heat Anita Sarkeesian gets for her Tropes series, you’d think it was a new topic, but Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert had a discussion on a similar theme when they were talking about the influx of slasher movies on their show in 1980.
I’ve had a really stressful couple of days. My mom’s in the hospital and thankfully it’s nothing serious but we thought it was and I had flashbacks of my dad all over again and it was just awful for a while.
I was crying in the car when I thought something was wrong with her and then Chris says, “Look… pigs,” and I looked up and we were stopped so these two little spotted piglets could cross the road and I just burst out laughing at the sight of them and at that point I somehow knew she’d be ok. Pigs man, like what the fuck?
I really wanna say something about something exciting but I’m not allowed but it makes me really happy.
Apparently coffee does have an effect on me. I am so not sleepy. But we had a really great dinner at La Cantina tonight.
We have a bag full of pommeracs at home and I am going to destroy them tomorrow along with that Julie mango
I’ve had to teach my phone how to spell y’all. I guess it’s a Yankee phone.
I think one of the reasons I love being awake at night while Chris is asleep is because I really enjoy the experience of curling up with him in bed and I just love being awake to enjoy it. I sometimes feel cheated when I wake up for having slept through it.
Going through the photos of Tribe and Bliss 2016 carnival costumes was extremely upsetting today.
Firstly, the costumes are all overpriced but that doesn’t seem to stop anybody from purchasing them.
2. The costumes are morphing into cosplay. Maybe we should have a comicon in Trinidad??
Anyway, my real issue is their choice of models. All the women are either white or very light skinned Indians, with long flowing straight hair and expressionless faces. Not even in the Caribbean can we see a beautiful black woman model unless it’s Wendy Fitzwilliamas, who is apparently the token black woman of Trinidad and Tobago. Not even here, where the sun is out everyday and we are all sun-kissed, can we find melanin on a billboard. The fashion industry here is all fucked up. They want to appeal to a certain aesthetic. Blacks aren’t aesthetically pleasing, so let’s use the minority as the standard of beauty we accept as our own, and trick people into believing that we all look like this, and need to look like this. They didn’t even bother adding in the biracial light skinned girl with curly hair like they usually do to offset the sea of white women. It wasn’t necessary this time. THIS TIME, they want you to know for sure that they think black women are not good enough to be put at the forefront of their line. They want you to know what they think women should look like. They didn’t even have any black men which is a big deal because who doesn’t love a tall dark man in society today?
This is absolutely crazy.
We were happy that teen vogue put black girls on their cover, yet, here in the Caribbean, where we don’t have to chant #blacklivesmatter and be afraid that we won’t make it home tonight just because of our skin color, we are taking our own for granted. We take our freedom and do THIS. Still portrayed as coconut vendors and people that climb trees for a living.
They are also sending a message: they don’t want black people in their band.
I’m sure it may not have been this way at its inception, but Carnival has become very commercialize in hopes to garner international visitors rather than preserve our cultural traditions. As a young girl, even in my times, European aesthethics were the norm, even when black models were included. What’s the name of the magazine that featured pin-up girls from Trinidad and Tobago? Those were the women you saw being used to promote Carnival, and most of the times they were either light skinned indo Trinidadians or of mixed ancestry.
But I don’t think that tourists that come here to play mas are expecting to be surrounded by an island full of white people. In fact a large percentage of the people who come here to play mas are Trinidadians that live abroad or foreigners of Trinidadian extract. Ultimately it doesn’t matter who you’re trying to attract, using that demographic and that alone is unacceptable. The OP is correct in their assertion that the European aesthetic as the standard of beauty is the choice these bands have made. They are also communicating that these are the people they want to buy their products. Trinidad and Tobago is still colonized with the idea that white is better. That’s why so many people worship the “red” woman. Because the lighter you are the better, never mind that there are an infinite number of dark skinned beauties in our country. We’ve been taught to hate our own skin colour. How many of us were told to stay out of the sun lest be get too black? The message is deliberate. Lighter is better and white is best. This isn’t about catering to tourists this is about an anti-black aesthetic.
Self-taught Finnish photographer Mikko Lagerstedt loves to capture atmospheric and simplistic landscapes at night, which reveal the beauty of the open sky and nature’s scenery. Lagerstedt’s starry sky images reveal the grandiosity of nature in an isolated setting, where only the stars are Earth’s companions.
Going through the photos of Tribe and Bliss 2016 carnival costumes was extremely upsetting today.
Firstly, the costumes are all overpriced but that doesn’t seem to stop anybody from purchasing them.
2. The costumes are morphing into cosplay. Maybe we should have a comicon in Trinidad??
Anyway, my real issue is their choice of models. All the women are either white or very light skinned Indians, with long flowing straight hair and expressionless faces. Not even in the Caribbean can we see a beautiful black woman model unless it’s Wendy Fitzwilliamas, who is apparently the token black woman of Trinidad and Tobago. Not even here, where the sun is out everyday and we are all sun-kissed, can we find melanin on a billboard. The fashion industry here is all fucked up. They want to appeal to a certain aesthetic. Blacks aren’t aesthetically pleasing, so let’s use the minority as the standard of beauty we accept as our own, and trick people into believing that we all look like this, and need to look like this. They didn’t even bother adding in the biracial light skinned girl with curly hair like they usually do to offset the sea of white women. It wasn’t necessary this time. THIS TIME, they want you to know for sure that they think black women are not good enough to be put at the forefront of their line. They want you to know what they think women should look like. They didn’t even have any black men which is a big deal because who doesn’t love a tall dark man in society today?
This is absolutely crazy.
We were happy that teen vogue put black girls on their cover, yet, here in the Caribbean, where we don’t have to chant #blacklivesmatter and be afraid that we won’t make it home tonight just because of our skin color, we are taking our own for granted. We take our freedom and do THIS. Still portrayed as coconut vendors and people that climb trees for a living.
They are also sending a message: they don’t want black people in their band.
We are at a sports bar watching Trinidad play Panama (football or soccer for you yankees) in New Jersey.
On the other screens Trinidad is playing Jamaica at cricket. That match is actually taking place two blocks away from here.
I’m feeling kinda weird about it like my priorities are screwed up. Should I be watching cricket live? Instead of football on tv near where the cricket is?
It was a really great series. I think the character development of the main protagonist was especially good. It was an interesting world to inhabit for a while.
We have a nest in our veranda built in an old dried up fern that’s on permanent rotation. I think this is the third mama bird that has used it to incubate her babies. She just flew off so I got a peek at the eggs. They are so tiny! #nature #nest #birds
Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority”
and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person”
and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.
I’m finally in the last episode of SOA. It’s taken me ages to get here. I sort of got turned off by the amount of violence but I had to finish the series. I’m kinda half watching it. I’m tired. I just need it to finish.
The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone in a bright red
suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle
and the blue of the sky) the size of the Predator. The red was removed
with chroma key
techniques, leaving an empty area. The take was then repeated without
the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were
combined optically, the jungle from the second take filled in the empty
area. Because the second take was filmed with a wider lens, a vague
outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending
around its shape. (x)
do you ever do that thing in class where you notice you’ve stopped paying attention so you try to focus but then you’re focused so hard on trying to focus that you’re still not paying attention to what they’re saying
You’re flawed. Like, really flawed. And so is your current or future life-partner. Being flawed is part of the definition of being a human. And one of the worst fates would be to spend most of your life being criticized for your flaws and reprimanded for continuing to have them. This isn’t to say people shouldn’t work on self-improvement, but when it comes to a life partnership, the healthy attitude is, “Every person comes with a set of flaws, these are my partner’s, and they’re part of the package I knowingly chose to spend my life with.
Tim Urban, How to Pick Your Life Partner (WaitButWhy.com)
The AC in my studio has been dripping onto the roof of the porch downstairs. I never hear it but today I left it on while I was in my room. I wonder how come it doesn’t drive them crazy. It sure was driving me nuts. Then again I was in a super pissy mood today. I would have punched a Care Bear if I’d seen one.
Part of my new collection… Bronze and titanium coated crystal with gold plated chain and hooks. #artisanjewelry #sundarajewelry #jewelry #earrings #bronze #crystals
Today I’m working on some hammered pendants and earrings. I love working on pieces like this but all this hammering has my arm really sore! Not to mention the fact that my ears are ringing from all that noise.
I’m working with copper and brass, both of which can get really hot when drilled. My solution? Heat resistant gloves! They make things a little clumsy but at least I’m not burning my fingers. Thankfully I’m on my last piece now. Then the fun starts! I get to adorn them 😀
My family’s meeting in Orlando this December and we’re taking my niece to Disney. So my brother used miles to buy my and my mother’s tickets for which I’m super grateful because that saves me and Chris a $600+ airfare and we only have to pay for Chris’s ticket. BUT I only just found out he booked us in business class. Which I’m really happy for for ME (and mom) but that means that Chris will be alone the entire trip sitting in coach. And I feel super horrible about that.
I finished those earrings. My back is killing me from sitting at the bench for so long. I have a bunch of commissions to finish and a ton of other stuff to work on. Busy is good though. I could be sitting around wondering what to do with myself instead of having work to do.
I can’t express how grateful I am to be doing what I love every day. Eh. Grateful sounds trite. I’m ecstatic and full of passion and joyful and peaceful. And stressed, part of it is stress. Working for yourself always is. You never know how much money you’re going to have at the end of the month. Or if you can make your deadlines. And if you’re just having beginner’s luck. Or if you’re on a wave. Freelance graphic design works in waves and troughs. But this might work differently I don’t know. I’m new to the game. But I know that right now even though my back is hurting and I’m tired I feel really fulfilled creatively. And that’s worth a lot.
I’m working on a commission piece and it’s giving me beans. But I am determined to finish it and like it. It is pretty though I have to admit. Just is taking me a long time to get it done.
It’s really, really, really nice to be earning some money again.
I’m on the last season of Sons of Anarchy, episode 7 of 13 and I can’t seem to finish it. I guess I don’t want it to end.
I am seriously jonesing for some salmon sashimi. Maybe I’ll take Chris out to sushi when some of my money clears. That’s the crappy thing about selling online… 30 days.
I wonder what television writers think diplomats and ambassadors actually DO? On tv they’re always the target for some terrorist organization or something. Do they think they walk around with state secrets? They’re not SPIES. They’re the people that you go to when you lose your passport in a foreign country and help you get home. In my experience, they attend a hell of a lot of cocktail parties. But I guess they SOUND important.
Chris has been watching a show called The Whispers and it started off with a bunch of kids that were being influenced by some sort of entity to do bad things so every time he puts it on I ask him if he’s going to watch “de creepy chirren show”
How did I miss this, I was just watching the gymnastics. Plus some of these commentators have been some real dicks in general, last night was comedy gold over men’s gymnastics, the two commentators were practically gouging each other.
I dunno it’s on ESPN. They’re showing swimming now and they PUT A BRAZILIAN FLAG IN OUR SWIMMER’S LANE WTF!!!!!!!!!!
I’m watching a women’s football match between Trinidad & Tobago and Colombia at the Pan Am games. You would swear the commentator has been hired to denigrate the T&T team. We just scored to equalise five minutes before the end of the match (1-1) and he won’t stop talking about how unlikely a T&T victory is. What we suck so much? Fuck off dude.
I was supposed to be working on beading today, but these earrings decided they had to be made. Me gustan! #jewelry #artisanjewelry #sundara #earrings #brass #crystals
Holla to my city 😩✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾🙌🏿
Why is there a Confederate monument in Seattle,Washington?
^^^ That was my next question. Did Washington state even exist during the Civil War??????
EXACTLY!!!
Nope it’s that the northwest is a strong hold for racists and was designed to be a black-free white-topia so we have hicks out here with confederate flags who have literally never been to the south.
I have always been taller than average too (5’7), and with fairly broad shoulders I got from my years as a swimmer. I am in no way petite or “fragile”-looking. And yeah, people do not mess with me as much as, say, my 5’2/115 pound sister.
I guess it’s all relative, my sister is your height and build and people fuck with her a lot more than they ever did with me. I’m 5’10" tho
I was in the pharmacy the other day and this tiny little slip of a girl walked past me. She was probably in her late teens, and I couldn’t get over how small she was. It amazes me sometimes how incredibly tiny some full grown women are. And of course they make me feel like some lumbering hulk of a person next to them. I wonder what it must be like to navigate the world at that size? I’ve always been taller than average. People don’t fuck with you so much when you’re a tall woman. There’s an automatic ass-kicking assumption factor that comes with it, even if you don’t deserve it. Or maybe that’s just me.
I can’t decide if I’m actually hungry or if I just want a cinnamon roll. I suppose it doesn’t really matter does it.
I found some beading needles today that I thought I’d lost. You should have heard me exclaim I was so happy. Cause a) I just ordered some new ones and b) I was going to do beading today so awesome.
So I was contacted a while ago by a local store who wants to showcase my jewelry. One of the owners saw my stuff on Facebook and contacted me. It actually turns out she’s dating my cousin which is pretty cool, I met her and she’s awesome and I love her shop. Anyway I’m super psyched because it means that now I have a physical location to show customers my stuff. So I’m working on a new collection of pieces for them.
For a while now I’ve been trying to get my neighbour downstairs who is a carpenter to just cut some wood so I can use it for display of my pieces and he just won’t remember to do it. Finally I asked my mom’s boyfriend and he can totally do it for me so I’m gonna work on that with him this weekend. Psyched x 2.
Learn to accept myself and be unapologetic about who I am. When the did that I liberated myself from the need for other people’s approval. I doesn’t mean that I don’t care what people think of me or how they feel about me, but I don’t allow it to control me.
All these people criticizing Serena Williams’ body… well she’s an athlete, how else is she supposed to look? That body is what’s winning winning winning winning winning her matches. Suck it elitist racists.
I only say I’m from the Caribbean to people who aren’t familiar with our region. To people in the know, I’m a West Indian. I think that applies to most West Indians.
Chris made us baked salmon, boiled corn and baked potatoes for dinner. I seasoned the fish 😀 (another food post)
My hands are insanely dry from working in the studio. I’ve been working hard… I have good news.
I want to go to Cuba soon, before it gets shitty and overrun by tourists.
I’d respect racist people a little bit if they could at least own their fucking racism. Stop fucking justifying it and just own it.
What’s wrong with Serena’s body. I missed something.
Nothing’s wrong with it. But a lot of people have been criticising her, saying she’s built like a man because she’s muscular. They’ve gone so far as to call her a gorilla.
Allow me to speak for pretty much every artist on Tumblr when I say we love reading your comments. Seriously. If you have something to say about a piece of art you like, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE say it. It doesn’t matter if it’s as simple as “omg” or as stupid as “how fucking dare you do this to my feelings” just. Please. Say it. Write it in the tags I don’t CARE we just wanna see it. It literally makes our day.
I’m baking cinnamon rolls at 11pm and my kitchen smells glorious. I wonder if my neighbours can smell it? I wonder if they’re cussing me out right now?
Serena Williams smashed through Wimbledon on Saturday, defeating opponent Garbine Muguruza to win her 21st major tennis title and sixth Wimbledon title. But while Williams’ victory has many proclaiming her the best athlete in the world, commenters on Twitter and the media immediately tried to turn the focus onto the color of her skin, her supposed lack of femininity and her weight.
soulsistrin 