Cherry Chip Cupcakes by The Nonpareil Baker

This delightful beauty is from The Nonpareil Baker. Visit the website for the recipe for this Cherry Chip Cupcake with cherry vanilla buttercream!

yeah, man..

Unedible treats from etsy

My new DIY treats from etsy! All below images are directly from the etsy pages. Click on the etsy links below to visit the sites.

Cherry Jam and Bread Necklace
By AllartsKitchen

Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake Ring
By Neat Eats

Milk and Cherry Jam Cookies Ring
By AllartsKitchen

read the turquoise dot

Minty was always my favorite

Now, I'm missing My Little Pony play. Oh, to be young.

Sweetberry (2003)
Photo from Ponytopia

Minty (2003)
Photo from Ponytopia

Cupcake (2004)
Photo from Ponytopia

Cinnamon Breeze (2004)
Photo from Ponytopia

Triple Treat (2004)
Photo from Ponytopia

Kiwi Tart  (2005)
Photo from Ponytopia

Fizzy Pop (2005)
Photo from Ponytopia

Apple Jack (1983)
Photo from Summer Hayes' My Little Pony Collection

Cherries Jubilee (1981)
Photo from Museum of Childhood

Peachy (1981)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Moonstone (1982)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Blossom (1983)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Fizzy (1984)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Sweet Tooth (1986)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Sugarberry (1986)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Twinkler (1986)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Sweet Blossom (1991)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Strawberry Scoops (1991)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Chocolate Delight (1991)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Raspberry Jam (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Cranberry Muffin (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Cherry Treats (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Blueberry Basket (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Boysenberry Pie (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

Strawberry Surprise (1987-88)
Photo from Ponyland Press

looks like a galaxy cupcake to me

(source)

9 planets

I'm in love.

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My Little Pony in ink

Talk about commitment..

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treats n' ink

pic source

Happy 60th Birthday Tommy Ramone

(source)

~Born January 29, 1952~

Cynthia Nixon says she chose to be Gay. Should we be upset?

(source)

Actress Cynthia Nixon (probably most well know for her role as "Miranda" in Sex & the City) was recently featured in The New York Times. Nixon explained that she believes her homosexuality is a choice. This left me flabbergasted. She readily admits that being gay may not be a choice for others but it has been for her. Below is the direct quote from The New York Times article.

“I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.” Her face was red and her arms were waving. “As you can tell,” she said, “I am very annoyed about this issue. Why can’t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we’re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it, and I don’t think that they should define the terms of the debate. I also feel like people think I was walking around in a cloud and didn’t realize I was gay, which I find really offensive. I find it offensive to me, but I also find it offensive to all the men I’ve been out with.”

What's difficult here is that so many of our gay brothers and sisters have been struggling to exist peacefully in this heterosexist world. We have all been told that being gay is not only sinful but it is a choice. Neither statement could be farther from the truth. Many of us know this.

So, understandably Nixon's statement is concerning. She's already received much criticism from various media outlets from LGBTQI communities.

Although, Nixon's views seem really out there, I was not quick to dismiss her. This is HER life, her journey. I am not gay and I do not know what it is like to be gay in a heterosexist world. I am privileged as a straight woman and have the luxury of having known all along which gender I am attracted to. Some gay individuals know this from the get-go and others do not. Being a straight woman I have never been shamed by society for desiring men.

So, basically I allowed the initial shock to subside, I picked up my slack jaw from off the floor, and I told myself to sit down and shut up. I allowed myself to respond rather than react. That's always important. I read her words again.

The first time I read the above piece, I felt shocked, confused and upset being that I have always whole heartedly believed that being gay is not a choice. It's important for us as a collective to understand that those born gay, are born gay.

Nixon's story appears to be unique, and because of this, it might be easy to just foist a new label onto her and insist that she is actually bi-sexual. It certainly would make things easier for us to understand. But ultimately we do not know if she is bi-sexual and when it comes down to it, it is not our business. It's not her job to make her words easier for us to understand.

Nixon did choose to speak up about her choice. She chose to share this with the world. But she has told us all she wanted to, it seems. She has not elaborated as to why she made the choice to be gay. So, in other words, we don't have the full story and we may never. We can scratch our heads and try to make sense of it for our own piece of mind. I think it's perfectly okay to be confused, but I think it's even more important to understand that she is a person in love who knows what she wants. As I said earlier, it is HER journey, not ours.

In 2010, The Advocate ran a piece on Nixon:

Nixon said of her fiancee: “She’s like a short man with boobs. A lot of what I love about her is her butchness. I’m not saying I fell in love with her in a sexually neutral way. I love her sexuality — it’s a big part of what I love about her — but I feel like it was her.”

Since coming out, the actress has been honored for her work campaigning gay rights, recently winning a GLAAD award.

She said: “I identify as gay as a political stance. If anybody, prior to my meeting and falling in love with Christine, had asked me about what I think about sexuality, I would have said I think we’re all bisexual.

“But I had that point of view without ever having felt attracted to a woman. I had never met a woman I was attracted to [before Christine]. And maybe if I’d met her when I was 20, I would have fallen in love and only dated women. But maybe if I’d met her at 20, I wouldn’t have responded at all. Who knows?”

In a 2008 interview with The Telegraph, Nixon divulged that, “In terms of sexual orientation I don’t really feel I’ve changed. I don’t feel there was a hidden part of my sexuality that I wasn’t aware of. I’d been with men all my life, and I’d never fallen in love with a woman. But when I did, it didn’t seem so strange. I’m just a woman in love with another woman.” 

I don't think that Nixon is necessarily setting the gay community back, but I do think that it will take some open minds to understand what she is telling us. And the gay community knows better than a straight person such as myself, that open minds are hard to come by. So, it makes sense to me that there is some controversy. Asking questions about gender and love is always progressive. Hopefully it will lead to a better understanding of ourselves. We have the freedom to agree or disagree with Nixon's statements just as she is free to make those statements. If we are to get anything out of this, I hope this prompts an explorlative discussion.

when you saw this

Right before entering a classroom, I was able to sense the television in the room. It boggled my mind for a while but then I came to learn that I was sensing the high pitched sound of a TV turned on to the blue screen.

Now that I'm an adult, I'm wishing to see a TV rolled into my place of work. It'd also be great if I could leave each day at 3pm.

"North Carolina Republican Calls For Publicly Hanging Abortion Providers"

Word for word article from Addicting Info

January 28, 2012

By Stephen D. Foster Jr.

Republicans have a long love affair with executing people. They enjoy it so much that a conservative audience at a GOP Debate cheered for executions this past fall. Republicans also have a deep hatred for doctors who perform abortions. They hate it so much that they, led by Bill O’Reilly, actively targeted Dr. George Tiller until one conservative nut job murdered him inside a church. GOP lawmakers have sought to make it legal to kill abortion providers in several states such as South Carolina, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa. Now a Republican lawmaker in North Carolina not only wants to executeabortion doctors, he wants to hang ‘em. State Rep. Larry Pittman wants to bring back public hangings as a form of execution, and he wants to tighten the noose around the necks of abortion providers. In an email  sent to all the members of the general assembly, Pittman said:

“We need to make the death penalty a real deterrent again by actually carrying it out. Every appeal that can be made should have to be made at one time, not in a serial manner. If murderers (and I would include abortionists, rapists, and kidnappers, as well) are actually executed, it will at least have the deterrent effect upon them. For my money, we should go back to public hangings, which would be more of a deterrent to others, as well.”

Just another bloodthirsty “pro-lifer.” Abortion is a legal procedure, one protected by the United States Constitution. If, in 2013, a Republican President takes office and the balance of the Supreme Court stays the same, there’s a chance that Rowe vs. Wade could be overturned. There’s a chance that abortion could be made a capitol offense in some states.

Hanging is one of the crueler forms of execution. When a person is dropped through the trap door of a gallows, their neck can snap. If the neck does not snap, the person is literally left hanging and writhing while they slowly get strangled to death. It’s rather gruesome and is a throwback penalty associated with the Old West.

For now, Pittman is just another crack-pot, determined to drive all OBGYNs who perform abortions out of the state (and probably succeeding), but the more crack-pots we allow to be elected, the better the odds that right-wing bloodlust will extend beyond abortion providers and onto women.

Senators

"Birth Control For Men? For Real This Time?" - by Jessica Mack for Ms. Magazine

Ms. Magazine article by by Jessica Mack word for word.
January 13th, 2012

When the birth control pill hit the U.S. market 51 years ago, the hope had been for a male method to follow close at its heels. Yet, despite decades of research and periodic hopeful headlines, progress has been largely indiscernible.

Now, researchers are touting new developments: a reversible vasectomy, a “dry orgasm” pill and a miracle plant from Indonesia, to name a few. The demand appears to be there, considering that 1 in 6 U.S. men over age 35 has had a vasectomy. But with so many false alarms, should we believe that this time’s the charm?

Research on male contraception began in the 1970s, initially focusing on the use of hormones to manipulate sperm production. But while trials demonstrated efficacy, results were marred by nasty side effects and onerous administration (one potential method combined an implant below the skin with monthly injections).

A decade later, Elaine Lissner was just graduating college with a big idea: She founded the Male Contraception Information Project (MCIP) in the late 1980s to track progress and raise awareness of male contraception. Lissner says, “I thought everything would change quite quickly, [but] the world wasn’t ready…for male contraception in 1992. Everyone was focused on HIV and [the abortion pill], and nobody had time for [this]. I couldn’t get any funding.”

“Only nonprofits and universities continued to work [on this],” says Regine Sitruk-Ware, executive director for research and development at Population Council and a veteran researcher in the field. Then, in 2003, the mapping of the human genome enabled a change in gears. Instead of tampering with the body’s hormones overall, researchers could zero in on specific mechanisms to affect sperm viability. Now research is focused mainly on nonhormonal methods, as well as those with added benefits such as protection from HIV or baldness.

One such method, likely to be the first on the market, is RISUG, or the “reversible vasectomy.” Currently in Phase III trials in India, it entails a one-time injection into the vas deferens of a harmless chemical solution that deactivates sperm passing through it from the testes to the penis. So far RISUG has proven to be effective, safe—and reversible with a second injection.

Several other methods are just around the corner. Plant-based pills, like one being manufactured from the gandarusa plant in Indonesia, may offer natural, nonhormonal options. Researchers in the U.K. are working on a “dry orgasm” pill based on medications that restrict sperm from becoming semen—thus orgasm occurs but ejaculation does not. Other methods, such as the use of moderate heat or ultrasound on the testicles, are noninvasive and relatively simple ways of inhibiting sperm production.
 
But obstacles still loom. Contraception is about many things—reproductive choice, personal freedom, partner trust—but perhaps mostly about money. In 2015, the global contraceptives market for men and women will reach an estimated $17.2 billion, yet industry players have done little to sustain male-method development (beyond or even including male condoms) because they still don’t see potential demand or dollars.

“Market research has shown little interest from males, so companies have continued to [bow] out,” says Sitruk-Ware. The problem with such research is that it’s based on a premise that could change once an actual product is available. That was the case with the vaginal-ring contraceptive NuvaRing: Initial projections said women would be uninterested. Yet recent NuvaRing sales in the U.S. are up more than 40 percent.
Luckily, the odyssey for a male method is benefiting from recent broad momentum around contraception globally. “The difference now is that we’ve been through a lot of years of consciousness raising,” says Lissner. “There’s a reason I stuck this out.”

Excerpted from the Fall 2011 issue of Ms. Magazine
Image copyright Sarah Richardson, 2011. All rights reserved.

Woody Guthrie's New Year Resolution

I've never EVER been one for New Year Resolutions but I came upon this a while ago (and am just getting to posting it now) and I was inspired.

Below is a New Year’s resolutions list written by Woody Guthrie in 1942 at the age of 30.

1. Work more and better 2. Work by a schedule 3. Wash teeth if any 4. Shave 5. Take bath 6. Eat good – fruit – vegetables – milk 7. Drink very scant if any 8. Write a song a day 9. Wear clean clothes – look good 10. Shine shoes 11. Change socks 12. Change bed cloths often 13. Read lots good books 14. Listen to radio a lot 15. Learn people better 16. Keep rancho clean 17. Dont get lonesome 18. Stay glad 19. Keep hoping machine running 20. Dream good 21. Bank all extra money 22. Save dough 23. Have company but dont waste time 24. Send Mary and kids money 25. Play and sing good 26. Dance better 27. Help win war – beat fascism 28. Love mama 29. Love papa 30. Love Pete 31. Love everybody 32. Make up your mind 33. Wake up and fight.

I imagine I'm biased as I believe Woody Guthrie is the true King of folk. Bob Dylan I suppose is the Prince. I reviewed this list and imagined that I didn't know how brought it into being. It's the simplicity that I love. It's the big goals and the little goals that add up to our day, our week, our year, our lives.

To learn more about the wonderful Woody Guthrie, visit the official website, here.

Occupy Valentine's Day

Just came upon an awesome concept. Introducting Occupy Valentine's Day. The tumblr website tag line reads, "Down with couple-talism!" The tumblr site was created by  Samhita Mukhopadhyay author of Outdated: Why Dating is Ruining Your Love Life and Executive Editor of Feministing.com.

From the website:

The yearly celebration of Valentine’s Day—defended as an innocent and harmless tribute to love—often serves to remind us that either our romantic situation is not good enough or our single status is a tragedy. 

Most people, coupled or otherwise, can’t stand Valentine’s Day. It puts pressure on couples to be a certain way, it privileges one type of love (think heteronormativity!) and it makes single people feel incomplete. 

Celebrating love and romance is a wonderful thing, but it shouldn’t depend on buying certain products for the perfect experience (hello, romantic industrial complex) or on your gender, sexuality, race, class status or marital status. 

This year, let’s Occupy Valentine’s Day! You could….

• Blog about how traditional ideas of romance perpetuate gender inequalities and hurt people of all genders

• Share statistics about the growing majority of singles

• Raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault like others have

• Not be that douche-y couple on Valentine’s Day—maybe hang out with your best friends, single and otherwise 

• Shout about the lack of queer visibility in sexual rights politics

• Have a sexy conversation by candlelight with your partner about structural inequity

• Make a commitment to have fulfilling, accountable and loving relationships in all parts of your life

• Commit to never settling for anyone that is not good enough for you just because you are afraid to spend another Valentine’s Day alone

These are just a few ways we can use Valentine’s Day to raise awareness about the limited ways we think about romance. Occupy Valentine’s Day is about changing the culture of romance.

Occupy is a concept and action popularized by the important Occupy Wall Street protests that continue in cities all across the world. The language of occupying has opened a critical moment for us to radically re-envision the kind of world we want. 

Celebrating love is wonderful and romance can be great too. But we don’t need corporations to dictate how we should do it, a mainstream media chastising us for not doing it right or traditional ideas touted over and over by our friends and family. That shit is oppressive and hurts us more than helps.

Share your love freely, daily and with your community—everyday. Occupy Valentine’s Day!

I am in love with this idea. The Occupy Valentine's Day website allows viewers to submit their own take on the holiday. Below are some sample submissions from the website.

She’s Straight. I’m Queer. Who the fuck cares. 
The attached photo is of me and my best friend. A few years ago, we started referring to each other as “platonic girlfriends.” Somewhere between the dates, cuddling, constant affirmations of adoration, and the assurance that she will always be there to get me out of whatever sadness cave into which I’ve dragged my poor-ass self, I realized that while our preferences may not quite add up to playing doubles in the tennis match of sexytimes, she’s pretty much the only romantic partner I need. In fact, she’s even flying out to San Francisco from Cape Town so we can spend Valentine’s Day together.

It’s not from a man. I bought it myself. It’s not even real. I bought it so I could travel the world alone without being hit on. Diamonds don’t always mean what you think they mean.

 Former Nice Guy (tm) Says:

Never again will I expect a woman’s body or love solely because of the way I have treated her
Treasure Friendships
Love Free
Love Often

My love is not pink…..

If taking the time to give a shit

feels like a fucking holiday
UR DOIN IT WRONG.

To make your own submission visit the Occupy Valentine's Day tumblr website.