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Showing posts from October, 2012

Feminism: In Which I Have Choice Words for Ann Coulter That I Will Not Use

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Can we please agree to never give this woman airtime ever again? She is a hateful woman who has no regard for the rights of people who are not rich, white Republicans. She makes me question my commitment not to say unnecessarily incendiary things about other women, because believe me, I have some choice words for her, but I will refrain from using them just this once. After taking immense heat for calling the President a retard after one of the debates, she went on Piers Morgan's show to defend her position  and complain about being censored by the "word police". I cannot with her or anything she says. The fact that she wants to disfranchise women and is proud of that fact makes me a little sick to my stomach. (Fun fact Ann, that would mean your vote too...) The fact that she has no sensitivity for those with down-syndrome, and can't seem to comprehend how words become bastardized when used derogatively really make me question how she ever became as highly regarded as

Photography: In Which I Shoot the NDDCI "Transition" Rehersals

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via BattyMamzelle  (That's me now, in case you forgot. I did.) It has been absolutely ages since I've shot anything substantial. Last week(ish), I shot the Noble Douglas Dance Company 's rehearsals leading up to their show. It was a great experience, and a lot of good practice. I learned a lot about shooting large groups while remaining inconspicuous and also engaging enough to get good shots. It was exhausting to say the least. In any case, these are a few of the shots that I did not hate. There are very few of them. Check them out after the jump, and then check out the far superior shots taken by FPF over on the NDDCI facebook page . Continue Reading My Brilliance! >>>

In Which I Am Now BattyMamzelle

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So... I did this little thing where I changed the name of my blog. AGAIN. I know, I'm a pain in the ass. I've been thinking on this for a little while now, and I think this change is for the best. It's going to take me a little while to sort out all of the kinks and update all my links, so pretty please bear with me if things are a little wonky for the rest of the week. In any case, the new name of my blog is BattyMamzelle . There is a meaning behind it, but I'll wait until I've settled all the technical things before I write a detailed post about it. The new/temporary URL (until I get around to re-purchasing a domain) is www.battymamzelle.blogspot.com . All m other networks will change accordingly. ( twitter.com/BattyMamzelle etc.) Again, I'm SUPER SORRY that this is happening so suddenly and AGAIN, (I switched to PLola in January)  but I think it's a neccessary change, and I don't plan on changing again. I'm trying to have the old URL redirect here

Feminism/Uncensored: In Which I Unleash A Sh*tstorm of Ranted Expletives on a Local Radio DJ

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I am PISSED. Last night I spent about an hour in my car, hate listening to the radio. I was heading home around 7:30pm and listening to "Raw Nitro" on Boom Champions 94.1 FM with Mr. Smooth and DJ Karey. It was their "Make Up or Break Up" segment, and the topic of conversation was essentially a very crass version of  What's your number ? Intrigued as I am by discussions of sexuality, I listened, curious to see where it would go. I'm not sure why I thought the session would be in any way enlightened, but I had faith in Trinidad. That faith was shattered last night. Because THIS: I am so fucking sick of the blatant misogyny coming from the djs on #94.1fm. The double standards are rampant and it needs to stop. — Cate Young (@battymamzelle) October 18, 2012 Listeners were encouraged to call in and disclose their numbers. Fair enough. What was NOT okay was the way in which the female callers were treated after having done so. There was a CLEAR and BIASED dichoto

In Which I Am Outraged Almost To the Point of Tears

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You hear about things like this happening all the time, but they're mostly anecdotal. You assume that thing couldn't be that bad, and that the person is surely exaggerating. But then you see something like this and it makes you outraged and frustrated to the point of tears. (Or at least it does if you're like me and you cry when you get angry instead of getting physical.) People like to think that Obama's mere existence is an indication that people no longer hold racial prejudice. And even though they clearly do, it would be fine if that prejudice wasn't supported by a power dichotomy that had the ability to make life so difficult for people of colour. This video is about a teenager from Harlem's experience with NYC controversial "Stop and Frisk" policy, the often racial motivations behind each stop, and the pressure of police officers to "fill their quotas". It's horrible the way that the people who are being paid to protect us are being

Editorial: Ellinore and Maria by Mikael Schulz in “Beautiful Color” for Fashion Gone Rogue

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via fashion gone rogue  Ellinore and Maria by Mikael Schulz There really isn't much to say here except "Holy shit that's gorgeous." Full editorial after the jump. Continue Reading My Brilliance! >>>

Editorial: Emma Xie & Claire Collins by Alexander Neumann in Haute Couture for L’Officiel Paris October 2012

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via fashion gone rogue Emma Xie and Claire Collins by Alexander Neumann I haven't posted editorials in quite some time, so I figured I'd get back to that today. I absolutely love this editorial in October's LÓfficiel Paris. It's strong, colourful and very dramatic. Basically everything I love. What's especially gorgeous about this shoot is the way there are multiple fashion photography tropes going at once. You've got the broken down doll, the dark and dangerous, the aloof and fabulous and the "am I just this fabulous". It amuses me that like everything else, there are still easily identifiable recurring themes in fashion photography. It makes the game a little easier to play and understand. Enjoy the pretty! Continue Reading My Brilliance! >>>

Misc. Music: Put Your Graffiti On Me by Kat Graham

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Here we are again! I actually had a thoughtfully written piece planned for today, but I'm lazy and I don't feel like finishing it. Really all I want to do is watch last night's episode of Dexter, but I digress. This installment of Misc. Music  stars resident witch in chief Kat Graham. If you're plugged in, you'll know that I'm not being rude. She plays badass, lady-witch Bonnie Bennett on the CW's Vampire Diaries. In any case, the dance-only video version for Kat's Put Your Graffiti On Me  single is pretty hot! Apparently Kat Graham is still pursuing a music career and this was her first single released back in March. Why she insists on doing the music thing is beyond me. She's a great dancer, as evidenced by the video, and she's STUNNING, but her singing is mediocre, and things are clearly not taking off for her. This is probably her fifth "first single". NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU KAT... Especially since she seems determined to

Fashion Finds: Historically Accurate Disney Princesses

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via Visual News Artwork  ©  Claire Hummel , 2011 And my childhood obsession with Disney princesses will never cease! Over on pinterest today I discovered these awesome illustrations by Claire Hummel of the princesses with historically accurate costumes. Most of Disney's versions weren't that far off! Me, I just think these illustrations are gorgeous. Pocahontas above jump might be my favourite, but check out Tiana, Mulan, Ariel, Belle and others after the jump! Continue Reading My Brilliance! >>>

In Which I Am Now Peggy Olsen OR I Got A JOB You Guys....

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via Freshed Baked Sketches I am employed. So basically a miracle happened. I started last Friday, and I'm now officially a copywriter at an advertising firm. I won't say where yet because I don't know if I'm allowed to and I had to sign some scary looking confidentiality contracts... I'M PEGGY YOU GUYS. My middle name is even Margaret. FOR SERIOUS. Okay now that I've indulged myself and compared myself to Peggy Olsen, (as if) I actually really like this job. I mean, it's been a week, so it might be too early for sweeping assessments, but everyone is really nice, the work is fun and challenging, we drink rum on Fridays.... it's pretty sweet! I'm excited to do a little more and have more responsibility because bored is essentially death to me, and I want to feel like I'm earning my keep. The only thing that sucks is having to get up at 5AM to beat the traffic and get into town on time. I have been sleeping until 10AM for FOUR YEARS. This responsibi

Changing the Conversation: The Dove "Real Beauty" Campaign and the Debate on "Real" Women

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The Image of Real Beauty? via Lexis Agency There are many things that bother me in this world. That's why I have a blog. So I can whine about them in peace, and not harass people who don't want to hear about it. But there's something happening in the body politics debate that has been bothering me in the last few months, and I want to lay it out in the open. The Dove "Real Beauty" campaign is problematic. In the last few months, I've seen countless advertisements from Dove touting their dedication to "real" beauty and "real" women. Naturally, all the women in the ads are older, curvier, and often, women of colour. Now, you must be asking yourself what could possibly be my issue with a campaign that seeks to radically change the definition of beauty? Dove's ads have taken women who are typically ignored by major beauty franchises and elevated them to star status. This is what we've been asking for, right? Dove has finally done what

Cover Wars: Joan Smalls for Dazed & Confused

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via fashion gone rogue Joan Smalls by Sean and Seng Vavoom! Temptation indeed.