absolute swine.

Men really need to learn that disrespecting women is not okay. I’m sure even women with 2 teeth in their mouth and a shaved head still sometimes have to deal with men oogling and cat calling them. I can rant for days about this; it’s near the top of my list of things that don’t make sense in the world. My highly scientific theory tells me that “hollering” at women must work about 10% of the time for these scumbags to continue doing it.

Let me start by saying that my friend and office-mate at work has a very voluptuous figure (AKA lots of curves in the places men want to see them)! She literally cannot take two steps in public without men giving her constant attention. We were walking to the store during lunch time, which was 3 avenues away. In this time, every single man we passed either stared blatantly at her behind or actually verbalized their perverted “appreciation” for her body.

After a man driving some type of work truck insisted on driving alongside us at our pace trying to talk to her, I decided that this behavior is beyond obnoxious. Really, dude? You are driving at a walking pace in your fucking dry cleaning delivery truck trying to yell out your window at a classy lady on the sidewalk about how amazing her ass is? Not. Gonna. Work.

At block 3, two older men were sitting in their car and started yelling at her out the window, “Hey baby...” I yelled back. “Shut the fuck up you’re so disgusting!” In my moment of anger, that was all I could think of at the time. She was laughing because she didn’t know I had it in me. Five steps later another man on the sidewalk told her he wanted to place a choice body part of hers directly into his mouth.

I usually don’t get as angry as I did today over men being pure swine, but it took every inch of class I have in me (which is a questionable amount) not to stab about 13 men in the jugular AND they weren’t even talking to me! I truly feel sick to my stomach that she has to deal with this on a daily basis simply because she has a curvy figure.

Do these men not know that she probably hears this on a daily basis and nothing they could possibly say concerning her body is original? Men should know that just because a woman is beautiful it does not mean that’s all she has going for her. If you really want to get a woman’s attention, compliment her fabulous shoes, her eyes, jewelry, pretty much anything BUT her body.

What little faith I had left in men is absolutely depleted.

lust.

So I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I fell in love with so many looks from this past slew of "fashion weeks" that I'm already thinking about what I want to look like next fall/winter. Here is what I'm lusting after...

la ciudad respirando.

When I was younger I used to believe that there was one special person for me (hell, I even thought I knew who he was). I also used to believe in fate. I’m a bit jaded these days; I’m not the type that believes in soul mates or fate anymore. However, I’ve recently discovered that I do believe I have a soul mate, but not the kind you’d think.

After six years in New York, it’s due time we made it official. Now, I haven’t been to that many places in the world but I don’t think I need to have traveled the globe to recognize that this city will always be my lifeline, my main source of inspiration and energy.

I remember the night I realized that NYC is where I belong. In November I made a trip back to my hometown and went out to a local club. As the DJ played Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”, every person in the room (in suburban Pennsylvania) was singing along. I immediately felt this surreal, overwhelming sense of pride and love for my city. Everyone was singing this song about my city. Most of them have never been to the places mentioned in the song and will never walk the cracked sidewalks of BedStuy or pass by the high-rise condos in Tribecca.

I live in a pretty rough neighborhood in Brooklyn and I honestly wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love the crazy things I see on a daily basis; people struggling to survive. My life is the absolute opposite of “sheltered” and I thank New York for a large part of that.

I felt sad that the people singing along had no idea how relevant the words are. They couldn’t possibly fathom the feeling I had at that moment unless they walk the streets of my city every day and feel the energy I feel.

“Escuchela, la ciudad respirando.” I breathe better when I’m home.

 Myrtle Ave + Bushwick Ave, Under the M train.

the internet is a beautiful thing

For some reason today at work I Googled my name. I do this every so often to make sure there are no n00dz of me floating around out there on the internetz (jokes) but I don't think I've ever gone past the first page of search results. Today I scrolled all the way back to page 6 and I found a total gem - my high school baccalaureate speech. I thought it was gone forever since I don't have a copy of it anymore, but alas! The internet truly is a beautiful thing.

This is probably the only thing I want to remember from high school. I'd like to leave teenage angst, shitty family problems, the tramp stamp and my chubby self complete with terrible dyke haircut back in '04. At least I can leave everything in the past but the tramp stamp- that one's with me forever! Without further ado here it is; I tried to think of the nicest way possible to say "peace out mother fuckers!!!"


Bridges

When you think of a bridge, you probably consider a strong structure that connects a gap between two places, like a bridge over water or a bridge over a highway. Well, I consider high school a bridge. It’s a stable structure. It provides shelter and it carries you for four years from one point in your life to another. When you leave high school, you move on and cross many more bridges to create your own path in life.

Over the four years that we spend in high school, we change very much. We become molded into individuals with every choice we make. Throughout our senior year many people remind us of how much we have changed and grown since middle school and even ninth grade. When I first stepped foot into this high school just four years ago, I was a scared and fragile thirteen year old. It seems to me that we were all much different people back then. Before I crossed the bridge over to high school, I hadn’t thought about the path ahead and the next bridge that would take me to college. I didn’t realize how important high school was in the big picture. Going out on the weekends, going to all the football games and making sure I attended all the parties seemed like all that was important to me. However, as the years went on, my priorities changed as I matured and I became wiser in realizing that these things were no longer as important to me. Somewhere along my path, I crossed the bridge from childhood to adulthood. I didn’t care anymore if people liked me. I didn’t care anymore if being smart meant that I wasn’t going to be cool. I aimed my focus towards my studies so that I could take the next step in my life with ease-the bridge to college.

Thinking back, high school was an important bridge that brought us from middle school into the unknown world of adulthood. Crossing this bridge, getting through these past four years, has certainly been an obstacle. For some of us, these past four years of our adolescence will have been the best. For others, like myself, these years could have possibly have been the worst.

For a long time, I was all too eager to burn this bridge we’ve just crossed and forget about high school, as I’m sure many of you would also like to do. It wasn’t until I read a play in English class by Tom Stoppard entitled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead that I changed my perspective. One of the characters in this play said “We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered”. This quote is extremely significant to us today because as much as we struggled, and however much our eyes watered in these past four years, we learned more. Not just scholastic lessons, but imperative lessons that we will need for the rest of our lives. Whether it be as personal as discovering who you are, or as trivial as perfecting a math equation, we’ve all learned something and grown from it. Through these lessons, the majority of us have even found ourselves becoming adults. Who would’ve thought? I know we’re all sick of being lectured but I just wanted to leave you with this thought. Never burn the bridges that you cross because the people you have met, the lessons you have learned, and the steps you have taken to get from one side to the other have made you who you are today. This bridge has hopefully transformed you from that awkward middle-schooler to a distinguished individual. Congratulations class of 2004 and as Abraham Lincoln once said, “I bid you an affectionate fair well.”

if you build it, they will come.

True story: I date losers.

I realize this and I’m making a promise to myself that it won’t happen again. Just because you look like Tyrese and have an adorable accent that makes it impossible for you to pronounce the word “squirrel” does not mean you’re good enough for me! I know it’s really lame to make a list of what you’re looking for in a partner but I know that once I publish this to the world (or the 3 people that read my blog), I won’t go back on my word.

My next relationship will be with a total babe possessing the following traits:

• Educated. Preferably holding a college degree, but I do recognize that you don’t need college to be smart.
• You got that ambition, baby. Have a goal in life that doesn’t start and end with owning something expensive.
• Amazing tattoos, or at least ones that don’t include your own name. FAIL!
  
• Must love dogs.
• CREDIT. Let’s make that GOOD CREDIT.
• Makes more money than me. Which means you need a (legal) job first.
• Is into fashion, dresses well.
• Smarter than me. I want to learn from a partner, not have to teach everything.
• Reads more than Facebook status updates. Do I ask too much?
• Atheist
• Straight-edge
• Vegan
• Vampire (I keeed, I keed)
  
• This last one is very important - IS NOT an asshole. I never want to have to justify your words or actions to another human being.

If you or anyone you know has any information leading to the whereabouts of a person containing these traits, hook a sister up!

things i love.

So I am constantly saving pictures that I stumble across that I love and want to have in case I might *need* it some day. I decided to put them all together. Right here.


♥ Bettie Page Cartoon


This is actually the cover of Slayer's "Christ Illusion" done by Larry Carroll, who is quite the illusive artist. Try and find any of his other work, it's impossible!


Immodesty Blaize is an amazingly beautiful burlesque star. Her gown is made of newspapers! Love love love!


I'm a huge fan of Mexian art, especially those involving Dia de los Muertos skulls. This is just a part of a mural called Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park done by Diego Rivera (see Frida & Diego in there) and features La Calavera Catrina in the middle.


This is another Dia de los Muertos inspired piece. I want to be this woman (at least for Halloween!). This is done by 666 Photography.


I don't remember where I found this one, but I love it. It was my desktop background for a while.


This photo is from Ellen Von Unwerth's Revenge. She's probably my favorite photographer. Revenge is an amazingly beautiful and erotic book of vintage-inspired photos. Sadly, I don't have the book, but you can see the rest of the pictures here.


These are three of Los Caprichos, Francisco de Goya's series of 80 drawings. They were made to be a satire of Spanish society in the 1790s. They are so dark and creepy, I'm obsessed! They translate to "They all will fall", "The sleep of reason produces monsters", "Hunting for teeth".


I was doing a Google search for something completely unrelated when I discovered this image. I'm not sure when this was taken. Real or staged- I'll just pretend it's a temperance poster. I'll also pretend all of these rad old ladies are straight edge. Love it!


Lara Stone. My second favorite model - I don't even like blonds but she is so gorgeous and has a real body. Can you imagine some people categorize her as "plus sized"?


My favorite model EVER, Omahyra Mota Garcia, shot by Ellen Von Unwerth from Omahyra and Boyd. Tattooed and androgynous. You may have seen her in Jay-Z's Change Clothes video, Baby Phat ads, and X-Men: The Last Stand.


Who doesn't love baby heads? I do! (stolen from a blog I forget, sorry!)


Dita Von Teese because she is one of my style icons. So glamorous!


This is probably one of the coolest pictures ever. I would love to have my portrait taken like this. I love Katherine Von Drachenberg, she's super hot, an amazing artist and her last name has part of my last name in it. Maybe we're distantly related?


And last (but certainly not least) The GaGa. Fashion icon who comes with ridiculously catchy music. She is openly bisexual and doing amazing things for both the gay community and to empower young women. This is one of my favorite outfits that she's worn.

vegans are pussies

Recently I saw a blog post where the author gave their take on a link between atheism and veganism. Since I am both atheist and vegan, I found this interesting. I know that the two are not mutually inclusive, but I do know that all the vegans I’ve met are also atheists, but unfortunately not the other way around!

The obvious link between the two lies in a rejection of the norm, a higher level of thinking and rallying against indoctrination. Personally, I became a vegan in November ’07 after being a vegetarian of some sort for close to six years because I am seriously disgusted by the thought of eating flesh and hormones, etc. Furthermore, milk is vile, is meant for babies and reminds me of a lactating woman (pregnancy creeps me the fuck out).

Being a vegan had no influence on becoming an atheist for me, but I realize how how the two just make sense together.

As an atheist, I don’t believe in an afterlife. There is no divine power that’s going to save my soul and take me to heaven for all eternity but not my little baby pug. This being said, why should I think of myself as higher than my dog, or any other animal, that I may (directly or indirectly) take their life? By no means am I a radical vegan, but I do not believe that humans are so much more important than animals that we should be able to do what we want with them.

I came to an “ah ha!” moment while reading God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. He doesn’t talk about the treatment of animals in religion too much, but he does talk about how religion dictates that humans are above all other creatures and downright selfish.

“Religion teaches people to be extremely self-centered and conceited. It assures them that god cares for them individually, and it claims that the cosmos was created with them specifically in mind. This explains the supercilious expression on the faces of those who practice religion ostentatiously: pray excuse my modesty and humility but I happen to be busy on an errand for god. Since human beings are naturally solipsistic, all forms of superstition enjoy what might be called a natural advantage."

Later in the book, he says “Before Monotheism arose, the alters of primitive society reeked of blood, much of it human and some of it infant. The thirst for this, at least in animal form, is still with us.”

Because an undoubted majority of the world is brainwashed by religion, a majority (though lesser) believes in the animal sacrifice and the humans rule all mentality as put forth in religious texts. Specifically, in Genesis, god gives man authority over all animals (and all that was created). It makes sense to me that whether conscious of it or not, people don’t see veganism as a valid way of life because we are told that animals were put here for our benefit.

Jewish Kosher law says that their animals must be “humanely” slaughtered with a razor sharp knife so that there is no suffering. Animals killed with a knife that is not sharp or has a dent or nick cannot be eaten (sold to the gentiles). The Talmud says that "The mistreatment or cruelty towards animals is prohibited only when there is no profit or utility therefrom." So great, they don’t really permit hunting for fun, but you can hunt for pelt.

There’s a whole lot of animal slaughtering in the Old Testament. The annual Passover sacrifice where a lamb or kid is offered. After it’s blood drained, its carcass is distributed according to Jewish law. The righteous will, in fact, dine on whale meat when the messiah arrives, and god drowns all of Egypt's horses and kills the livestock as part of his plan to liberate the Israelites. (Side note: funny how less popular religions are marked satanic for sacrificing animals.)

The bottom line is that for me, it makes sense for someone who openly rejects religious indoctrination as an atheist, to also reject the farming and eating of animals as an idea that comes from god. Yeah, you may think animals taste good, but doesn’t heaven also sound good? Atheists should consider going vegan, if not because you care for the animals, your health, the environment, but because you wanna stick it to the religious peeps. End of story.



Here are a bunch of bible quotes about animal cruelty and human-centrism.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. -Genesis 9:3

¹Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

²Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

³Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 1 Timothy 4:1-4

Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. - Acts 10:13

One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. Romans 14:2

Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. - Exodus 29:38-41