Do we always have to be tasteful? Do we really need to be well turned out, in impeccable clothes?
This quote by Diana Vreeland got me thinking:
“A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste—it’s hearty, it’s healthy, it’s physical. I think we could use more of it. No taste is what I’m against.”
A HUGE dose of paprika, perhaps. But look where the dress landed, at MoMA, one of the most influential museums of modern art in the world. Does that elevate it to the status of good taste? Perhaps not. But one should remember this, every Björk swan has it's day. Also, paprika. And stuff.
Why is the internet still obsessed with cats. I thought the cat meme/ picture/ video/ vine thing would die its natural death and the internet would move on to the next new thing. But Grumpy Cat is proof enough that the Internet Cat Phenomenon is still a thing.
Are cats the new celebrities with their narcissistic tendencies and love for the camera? Are we going back to the times when Egyptians used to worship cats?
Praised for controlling vermin and its ability to kill snakes such as cobras, the domesticated cat became a symbol of grace and poise. The goddess Mafdet, the deification of justice and execution, was a lion-headed goddess. The cat goddess Bast (also known as Bastet) eventually replaced Mafdet, and Bast's image softened over time and she became the deity representing protection, fertility, and motherhood.
That makes sense. Cats were useful creatures, killing snakes and vermin and keeping your house pest-free. But we don't have that problem now, we have pest control to take care of that!
Now that the Ancient Egypt Cat Goddess angle has been eliminated, what could be the reason behind our obsession with Internet Cats? Why are cats breaking the internet?
Breaking the internet. That reminds me of Kim Kardashian, another enigma. Nope, that's not it. Cats don't name their kid after a direction.
It has something to do with celebrities. I know it.
What do cats have that celebrities don't? A sense of mystery, that's what. We're bombarded with celebrity news. We follow them on social media. We know what Neil Patrick Harris eats.
Empowerment of Women. This video, apparently. Judge for yourself.
All I can see is juvenile teenage rebellion. It doesn't talk about empowering women. The way one dresses, who one chooses to sleep with (or not): in no way are these signs of empowerment. One may argue that this is a video produced by Vogue, a lifestyle and fashion magazine, and that one shouldn't expect it to handle heavy issues like liberation for women. If such is the case, shame on Vogue for packaging this crap as a "Women's Empowerment" video and misleading the viewers.
Fashion has nothing to do with empowerment! Or does it.
What is empowerment, really? It's all about being stronger and confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.
Here are some ladies in fashion:
1. Alek Wek
She's been an inspiration to countless women (including Lupita Nyong'o) who've been uncomfortable in their own skin. Not considered a conventional beauty with her dark skin, tiny booty and short natural hair; yet she has never thought of herself as otherwise. Read her interview here.
2. Winnie Harlow
The model with vitiligo. She's been bullied and ridiculed, but that didn't stop her from proving her naysayers wrong. This teenager now models for top fashion brands.
A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on
There are many more inspirational women from all walks of life.
Sure, the Vogue video featured shots of Nimrat Kaur, Adhuna Akhtar and Anupama Chopra to name a few. But they were merely extras in the movie, disjointed from the nonsense commentary. I'd prefer something which actually touches upon the subject, not this well-produced piece of white noise.
I'm not a 10 year old boy who likes Cartoon Network and video games. Wait, do 10 year old boys like Cartoon Network? Have they moved on to girls? I don't know what 10 year old boys like. I don't think I know any 10 year old boys. What age are my nephews? I don't know. There's so much I don't know!!!
So, Adventure Time. I'm a 24 year old, er, woman and I like Adventure Time. I'm a fan. I might even write fan fic.
My favorite episode, you ask? Jake the Brick. Poignant, simple and turns my heart into a warm smushy puddle.
Don't let the boring preview fool you, sit back and watch the episode in its entirety to turn your heart into a warm smushy puddle too!
This episode has almost every Adventure Time character listening in on Jake's monologue of the goings on in the wild, where he affixes himself onto a crumbling brick shack as a part of his "mystical journey or whatever" as Finn puts it. It doesn't have any awesome fights or adventures, it's quite the opposite of standard Adventure Time fare. Maybe that's the reason I love it so much.
I wish I could watch AT with some kid. A neighbor's daughter dropped by and all she wanted to watch was Oggy and the Cockroaches!! I tried to convince her to watch AT, but Oggy is all she wanted. 4 year old girls can be so stubborn.
Lynn Yaeger. Writer for Vogue, wearer of multiple skirts and distinctive makeup. Oh, and not to forget the flaming closely cropped hair.
I first read about her in Business of Fashion.
Such an interesting personality! I tried to dig up more about her, after landing up on the disappointingly short Wikipedia page!
I dug deeper, and learnt that she has Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness. Read about Lynn's experience with it here.
I began to wonder if she adorns herself the way she does as a manifestation of her difficulty in recognizing faces. She's set markers for others to "help" them recognize her. This isn't an original thought, though. She's wondered about this herself.
I've been obsessed with Adventure Time, and couldn't help but wonder how amazing it would be to have a caricature of her on my beloved cartoon show! As a princess, no less!
My cat died and I'm feeling awful.
Well, okay, I lied.
I don't have a cat. And my non-existent cat did not die.
Well, it did. I certainly feel like it did. If I had a cat and it died, I'd feel like I do now.
Or not.
I don't like cats. So I wouldn't feel like crap if it decided to fucking die on me.
Or maybe I would. I wouldn't have a cat if I didn't like him.
So yes, my cat died and I feel terrible.
Deep breath. (Some sobbing while listening to sad music)
I really loved my cat, you know? He understood me so well, and sometimes not at all. He never knew how to cheer me up but I was glad he tried. He loved me so much and I loved him too. I still do. Even if he decided to fucking die on me.
I don't know if I'll love a cat as much as I loved him. No cat could replace him.
Sir Ramsay, I hope Cat Heaven is treating you well.
Okay, I'm going to be brave today and write something. I will not close this window because I have nothing to say. I shall be Kim Kardashian*. Minus the sex tape. And Kanye West.
That reminds me, I need to brush up on my french. Duolingo, you foxy owl, you.
When in doubt, list it
So, I'll be reading a bunch of stuff and writing about it every day occasionally this week Here are the titles of my future posts:
1. Potato Salad Kickstarter
2. The reproductive system of a kangaroo
3. The Quit-your-job-and-do-what-you-love wave
4. The perfect recipe for viral content 5. "Be yourself" and other moronic things people say 6. Bees 7. Why I don't use Facebook (I know, done to death. But I want to whine about Facebook too!) This strip explains my relationship with that pesky social networking website.
I signed up for Facebook because I did want to cultivate interpersonal relationships. Also, I wanted to become less island-ey. But then, out of nowhere, stupid cats popped up in my news feed. So did selfies taken by narcissistic girls and the stupid comments accompanying them. And those typos!
Guess number 7 on my list is done! That sure was easy!
*I shall embrace my air-headed bimbo persona and write something positively frothy and thoughtless, in effect creating nothing out of nothing.
