Sunday, February 24, 2013

Adam Yauch recognized for film work at 85th Academy Awards

Happy that the Academy acknowledged Beastie Boy Adam Yauch aka MCA as a film maker. Yauch credited himself in film projects with the moniker Nathaniel Hornblower.

 August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012

Oscar Nominated "Fresh Guacamole" by PES

I'm watching the 85th Academy Awards as I write. Tonight stop-motion film maker PES, was nominated for an Oscar with, Fresh Guacamole. The film didn't win, but the clip I saw looked familiar. Did some digging and I see that my suspicions were correct. The film was indeed made by the creator of Western Spaghetti.


Fresh Guacamole by PES - 2012



Western Spaghetti by PES - 2008

Maggine Simpson in the Academy Award Nominated, The Longest Daycare

Maggie Simpson was nominated for a short film entitled The Longest Daycare. She didn't win, but she did offer an Academy Award performance.

The Longest Daycare - Oscar Nominated 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Henry Rollins with The Beastie Boys





















Henry Rollins with The Beastie Boys Press Photo
Photographer Unknown
Issued by RCA / Imago, Capitol

Zip back to 99' When Ad-Rock Blew Me Away: 1999 MTV Music Awards Acceptance Speech

You might remember...


Adam Horovitz's 1999 MTV speech + Beastie Boys "Song For The Man" LIVE -Adam starts speaking at 2:50.

Ad-rock takes the MTV win as an opportunity to speak about the sexual assaults that took place at the 1994 Woodstock Concert.

"......you might say that the Beastie Boy 'Fight For Your Right to Party' guy is a hypocrite. Well, maybe; but in this fucked up world all you can hope for is change, and I'd rather be a hypocrite to you than a zombie forever." 
- Adam Horovitz, 1999 

I remember sitting at the MTV awards while Adam made this speech and feeling so fucking proud of him. I also recall it being totally humid outside and realizing I had my period on the way there in the car, but that’s another story. This clip is total punk rock/performance art to me. I mean, getting up at a totally superficial fake hugs bullshit event like this and being vulnerable and talking about something REAL is no fucking joke. We left 5 minutes after this because it was so far beyond the “who farted?” feeling, it felt like people were gonna kill us.  

Hard to believe it was over ten years ago. He is even cuter now if you can believe it. 
~Kathleen Hanna, of the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. Wife of Adam Horovitz aka Ad-rock, 2010

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Women's Adidas Original Firebird Track Jackets

Perhaps I'm channeling my inner Beastie Boy with these little numbers. Bold and vibrant which is a new concept to my closet. Two new purchases from Adidas.






















Women's Adidas Original Firebird Track Jacket in Light Aqua/Lab Blue.






















Adidas logo on the back.

Onto jacket number two.






















Women's Adidas Original Firebird Track Jacket in Dark Navy/Uni Red



Uni Red Adidas Symbol on the back.

Website Description:

The classic CR Firebird Track Top returns, complete with the legendary 3-Stripes down the sleeves, a little embroidered Trefoil over your heart, and a large Trefoil on your back.

  • Front zip pockets
  • Full zip with stand-up collar
  • Ribbed cuffs and hem
  • Large contrast Trefoil print on back
  • 100% polyester tricot
  • Imported
To purchase visit, Adidas.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Beef Jerky

I found this five years ago and am now rediscovering this playful animation, used to accompany Cibo Matto's "Beef Jerky."


Beef Jerky - Cibo Matto

Bright Eyes ft. Tom Morello: "Road to Joy" Live at Ottawa Folk Festival 2011

Bright Eyes ft. Tom Morello HD: "Road to Joy" Live at Ottawa Folk Festival 2011

If Dr. Seuss, Playdough and Hello Kitty Came Together















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It's Kinda Nice

The sun finally went down; now I can breathe.

"We're Done Hiding": A First Lingerie Line for Transgender Women

I don't know how I landed on this article, but I'm glad I did. Great news for trans folks. Below is the article from a site called Lingerie Talk.



If the images above seem completely ordinary to you, then Chrysalis Lingerie has done its job.
The first collection from this new NYC label represents something of a breakthrough in alternative fashions: the perfectly-named Chrysalis is the first lingerie line designed for, and by, transgender women.

For the estimated one million American adults who identify as transgender, this is no small milestone.
“A lot of women have been waiting a long time for something like this,” Chrysalis co-founder Cy Lauz told Lingerie Talk.

“Speaking from personal experience, I found no products that specifically cater to transgender women. There are some things for cross-dressers and drag queens, but they’re all sexually exploitative.
“I wanted a product that actually celebrated who we are, something that made us feel beautiful but is also practical.”

Now, for the curious, let’s get to the big question: What exactly distinguishes lingerie for the TG market?
Chrysalis will launch this spring with a basics collection of bra-and-panty ensembles in five colors. The power-mesh panty is designed to create a seamless look by using a special panel that “tucks us in,” Cy said, while the bra comes with hidden pockets that hold full-cup inserts to create the appearance of a natural bustline.

The result is a product line versatile enough to work with different body shapes and still achieve traditionally feminine lines. (The models used in Chrysalis‘ promotional photos are all TG women.)
The brand is also planning a couture collection that will use its technical innovations in teddies, shapewear, lingerie and even swimwear.


Various studies estimate up to 6% of the adult population identifies as transgender — people who experience some degree of dysphoria related to their birth gender, and who frequently choose to live as a member of the opposite sex. About two-thirds are male-to-female transgenders, which is the audience that Chrysalis was designed for.

Only a small percentage of transgender women are pursuing sex reassignment surgery or hormone therapy that can help them develop natural female curves. As a result, finding appropriate undergarments can be a challenge, and shopping for underwear in women’s stores also presents obvious difficulties.

Chrysalis answers a lot of problems and questions for transgender women regarding their underwear,” Cy said. “It gives them peace of mind. You don’t have to think about it anymore.”

Chrysalis Lingerie is the brainchild of Cy, an interior designer and fashion stylist, and partner Simone Tobias, the creative director of a menswear brand. The company got its first public exposure last fall when it was featured in the Style Network documentary, ‘Born Male, Living Female‘.


For its founders, though, Chrysalis is about a lot more than fashion: it’s about the politics of acceptance for a misunderstood and maligned community.

Chrysalis wants to change how transgender people are viewed,” Cy said. “We want to make people look at transgender people as human beings.

“We’re done hiding. We’re done keeping quiet. We are a very diverse community, we do exist, and we have explicit needs.”

Although 16 U.S. states have enacted non-discrimination laws that specifically protect transgender people, the TG community still faces widespread discrimination, marginalization and even violence. It is also one of most widely misunderstood groups in society, burdened by stereotypes of flamboyant drag queens and viewed as a kind of sexual deviance. Gender identity disorder is still listed as a mental illness in psychiatric reference texts.


“One of the the things that’s definite in our lives is your gender,” Cy said. “When something blurs that line, I can see how other people would feel threatened by that. It shakes your reality.
“We don’t want to paint a picture of what a transgender woman is supposed to look like,” she added, “but we do want to change how the outside community relates to us.

“We all have one common denominator — we’re all still human beings. And we want to be acknowledged for who and what we are.”

A chrysalis, the cocoon stage in the life cycle of a butterfly, is the perfect symbol for what Chrysalis Lingerie is trying to achieve, she said.

“A chrysalis is also a metaphor of transformation,” she said. “But in order to transition, you need to create a space where you are safe and loved.”


Because their first collection has a traditional, minimalist look that wouldn’t be out of place on the shelves of Armani or even DKNY, Chrysalis risks being accused of trying to make the TG community appear more “normal” as a way of conforming to societal expectations.

The company knows this, and is highly sensitive to the complex politics of identity in the LGBT world, Cy said. Chrysalis isn’t pushing a one-size-fits-all vision of TG life, although it is staying away from explicit fashions that can reinforce stereotypes and further marginalize transgender women.

“I feel there’s a lot of stuff out there that’s really sexually explicit in nature,” she said. “We’re just trying to balance the market.”

And the timing is right for something like Chrysalis, she added. While news events like this weekend’s decision by the Miss Universe Canada pageant to bar a TG competitor still get the most attention, public acceptance of gender-variant people is also growing. Portrayals of TG characters in TV and films is becoming more common, and in 2010 the Obama administration appointed TG activist Amanda Simpson as an advisor to the Commerce Department.

“The whole world is embracing the fact that humanity comes in different forms,” Cy said. “Life is so vast and so glorious there has to be more than two ways of living your life.”

Watch for the first collection from Chrysalis Lingerie to appear on the company website soon. Products will be for sale online and, hopefully, through progressive retail boutiques.

Football, Violence & America by Henry Rollins

Last week I posted Henry Rollins' 2/7/13 LA Weekly article in which I praise the evolution of his attitudes towards feminism. I mentioned that although Rollins is socio-politically minded, he has carried some heavy duty sexist views in his younger years. To read that post, click here.

I am now posting this week's LA Weekly article in which Rollins addresses the harms of machismo. I find it to be a well crafted piece. To read the article at the LA Weekly site, click here.

Henry Rollins: Football, Violence, and America

By Henry Rollins Thu., Feb. 14 2013 at 3:45 AM

Rollins 300.jpg
 
A few Sundays back, in a room full of celebratory people, I watched Alicia Keys sing the national anthem before the start of the Super Bowl. As she began, the room quickly went quiet out of respect and because of how well she performed. She was incredible.

As she sang and played piano so beautifully, I could not help but juxtapose this massive event, attended by more than 75,000 people and watched by millions more, with the quiet, sad work being done in preparation for the funerals of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. Both Navy SEALs were allegedly shot and killed by an ex-Marine at a shooting range in Texas days before the game.
It is sometimes difficult being an American. We often are tasked with having to take the very good with the very bad in equal measure and still keep going. Somehow we do it.

The game is about to start. There will be a lot of very strong men colliding repeatedly, stunning feats of physical prowess, expensive and humorous advertisements that you will actually want to watch and a halftime show that will be talked about for weeks afterwards. All of this is going to happen while the deaths of two men are grieved.

This is what I was thinking about as I watched wide shots of the thousands in New Orleans standing as Ms. Keys played. The cameras briefly cut away to a group of soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, the image making "The Star-Spangled Banner" all the more poignant.

In this single instance, you see the history of America. There is Alicia Keys, the daughter of a biracial couple, singing the lyrics of Francis Scott Key, a slavery advocate, in easily one of the highest-profile appearances any performer will ever make. We have come a long way, and there is a long way to go. Change and progress are not easy to establish or promote.

In a recent interview, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would not acknowledge a link between the brain injuries some players suffer and the playing of football. He danced around the issue, and it's easy to understand why. Literally thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the NFL by retired players, many of whom say that information on brain injury in football was withheld from them.

It is instilled in thousands of American males from an early age that one of their requirements is to be able to both dish out and take a lot of pain. They are taught the rules of this road in gyms, rings, backyards and fields all over America.

This is part of our collective identity. If it were not, the Super Bowl would not be as popular as it is. This single event encapsulates and crystallizes the America of America. You have it all. Men in peak physical condition, highly trained, with a single objective; beautiful women to cheer them on; and an audience of millions that take all of this in with an incredible amount of seriousness. An audience that literally roars with approval when a man is hit so hard his helmet flies off. Men will limp off the field at either the zenith or nadir of their lives up to that point. Adults who have no relation to any of the players will actually cry if they don't get the result they wanted.

"It's just a game" is what you tell children to prepare them for loss and to promote good sportsmanship. I would not suggest expressing this point of view to a man wearing face paint in the colors of his favorite team. Many adults are far too immature to handle the information.

And could such adults be the ones who are holding up the arrival of the future?! Why, could it be that there are those so deeply invested in the past that the mere mention of a different way of going about things sends them into fits? Well, now, we could be onto something. We've already discussed Commissioner Goodell, who can't handle causality, but to strengthen the case we'll need more examples. So little time; so spoiled for choice.

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre was OK with background checks at gun shows in 1999. Not so much anymore, however. You can check his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime from May of that year. It's a quick read -- go for it. Then you can check his new opinion on the same topic in his horn-lock with Sen. Patrick Leahy last month. Guns for everybody! No tyranny on his watch. Hey, all you pistol-packin' mamas and papas, don't get any blood on your new threads!

At the same hearing, AR-15 pin-up hot thang Gayle Trotter, a mother of six (Good grief, woman! Do you and your husband ever just talk?), testified as to the need for all mothers to have some kick-ass firepower:
"An assault weapon in the hands of a young woman defending her babies in her home becomes a defense weapon. And the peace of mind she has, knowing she has a scary-looking gun, gives her more courage when she's fighting hardened violent criminals."

She said scary-looking.

Perhaps one of the sadder examples of not wanting to move on would be Sen. John McCain. You might remember him from his old group, the Keating Five. Anyway, there are a few things that Mr. M can't handle. He ran for president and was outshone by his running mate, who was a laugh riot and a dolt. Ouch. He was beaten by a man, many years his junior, who will be talked about centuries from now.
 
Oh, and Mr. McCain was dead wrong about the success of the troop surge in Iraq. When he recently (and petulantly) tried to corner Chuck Hagel into a yes or no answer regarding the surge's success, Mr. McCain only came off as a bitter old man at the end of the line. He won't be secretary of defense either. You'll have to wrench the validity of the invasion of Iraq and the push to flatten Iran out of his cold, dead hands.

I watched the Super Bowl all the way to the end.

Onitsuka Tiger by Asics Mexico 66

Onitsuka Tiger by Asics Mexico 66

My new kicks! Colors are labeled as Wine/Elderberry. Purchased these at 6pm.



Onitsuka Tiger by Asics Sakurada

So, I took a break from 1940s vintage shopping and landed on something extremely loud and tacky. I purchased these Onitsuka Tiger sneakers by Asics Sakurada at 6pm. I can't say I have ever owned something so bright.


 

Little Twin Stars Wristwatch: Pink Dream

My new purchase is a Little Twin Stars watch from Sanrio.



















This watch features Kiki and Lala in a night time scene with stars.

 - 1.25"H x 1.25"W (watch face)
- Stainless steel and PU faux leather.






















To view more watches from Sanrio, click here.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Exactly
















(source unknown)

Try it; I double-dog dare you













(source unknown)

Now, you keep track of all your ejaculate


Book Hangover


Sigh..


Hello Kitty Cheeseburger Tote

My new Hello Kitty tote. Yes, I'm a grown woman who continues her love for Ms. K. In keeping with my love for food themed tackiness, I found this to be a delightful addition.



















Charming and cute, and depictions of food that I haven't touched in some time. I'm fancy myself a health nut, but I suppose the images still have appeal.



















Profile to the side and there is a stack of grease which would be a precursor to anyone's heart attack. But don't worry, the bow makes it cute. Can you tell I'm conflicted?




















Black denim and a HK popping from a burger. To purchase this tote bag, visit Sanrio.

Tattoo Ettiquette


Adored Vintage Clothing and the Into the Wild shoot at Salvation Mountain

You wouldn't know by looking at this first image that this is an ad for vintage clothing and unless you are familiar with Salvation Mountain, you wouldn't recognize the backdrop either.















This Into the Wild photo shoot is meant to promote Adored Vintage Clothing. I often purchase 1940s vintage clothing from Adored, however, I never thought I'd see yet another "troubled" waif modelling shoot on such sacred ground. Sacred in its history and effort.

The Into the Wild shoot is no doubt named after the film Into the Wild which featured Salvation Mountain.















So what is Salvation Mountain? A place that no doubt was granted permission by its owner. So, in that sense, is it truly such a disgrace? Perhaps not.

Salvation Mountain is located in Imperial County close to the Salton Sea: it is a creation by Leonard Knight. Leonard is an 81 year old man who created this mountain out of his love for God. Travelers who believe and do not believe in God, have stopped to meet Leonard and see his amazing mountain.

Just this past year, Leonard has had some problems that come along with age. He's doing well, and the mountain continues to be maintained.
















Although I feel that the model and the art don't go together, I imagine it will help fund the upkeep of the masterpiece.

Tomorrow is the day. Occupy it.

Occupy Valentine's Day 2013, your way.
















Image via Occupy Valentine's Day.Visit the website to view other images and to submit your own.

It's that time. Occupy Valentine's Day 2013

Tomorrow is the day o' Hallmark. Occupy Valentine's Day, your way.

















Image via Occupy Valentine's Day.Visit the website to view other images and to submit your own.

Oreo Cookie Cheesecakes















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Funfetti Twinkies














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Birthday Cake Marshmallows Birthday Cake














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Velvet Pink














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Just take off the custard





















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