I invested good money on that weave, it saved my life!

This young woman was shot by an ex-boyfriend, but her weave saved her life. The bullet made impact in the back of her head, where her wig cap and weave prevented it from penetrating. Damn! That hair dresser knows what she's doing, that weave isn't going anywhere. 

Born or Bred?

Doggy Pageantry

This was a special week: my favorite pageant after Miss Universe took place, The Westminster Dog Show. Someday I will attend in person, but for now, the coverage on USA and internet was pretty satisfying.

I have been plotzing over the toy breeds, my favorties being the chihuahuas, Pekineses, Chinese Cresteds, pugs, Italian greyhounds, and a breed I'd never noticed before, the Japanese Chin. The Chinese cresteds are fantastic, imagine a taller chihuahua, hairless with a nice mottled pattern, but with long tufts of hair on the head, ears, chin and bottom of the legs. They left the top tuft super long and the ears too so that it looked like Loni Anderson's hair style in WKRP in Cincinnatti. Off the chain. 

Then there are the miniature poodles, shaved to the skin in parts and then the hairy bits shaped like topiary. Exquisite. OMG the grooming was a fucking masterpiece, Ivana Trump is nothing in comparison. That dog's up-do put Marie Antoinette to shame!

In general it's not surprising that I should love the toy breeds the best, like me they are: petite, highly strung, noisy, high-maintenance, extremely camp, and require a lot of grooming.

The breeders/show people whatever they are called, are hot messes in terms of grooming. There are a lot of bad polyester bedazzled dresses worn at unflatteringly ambiguous hem lengths with coffee colored hose and loafer style shoes. My favorite was one of the presenters, who was extremely butch but with a suburban Prince Valiant-style coif, and a severe suit, neutral lipstick and a very deep voice. Not sure if she was a she or a trans-woman, but she was the bomb.

Yes Pecan!

My loyal reader and commenter, Narciso Espejo, shared this fabulous item regarding suggestions for Ben & Jerry flavors inspired by our (thank goodness) former President:
___________________________________________
Ben & Jerry created "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama.
They then asked people to come up with flavors for George W. Bush.

Here are some of their favorite responses:

- Grape Depression

- Abu Grape

- Cluster Fudge

- Nut'n Accomplished

- Iraqi Road

- Chock 'n Awe

- WireTapioca

- Impeach Cobbler

- Guantanmallow

- imPeachmint

- Good Riddance You Lousy Mother&*^%$... Swirl

- Heck of a Job, Brownie!

- Neocon Politan

- RockyRoad to Fascism

- The Reese's-cession

- Cookie D'oh!

- The Housing Crunch

- Nougalar Proliferation

- Death by Chocolate... and Torture

- Credit Crunch

- Country Pumpkin

- Chunky Monkey in Chief

- George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate

- WM Delicious

- Chocolate Chimp

- Bloody Sundae

- Caramel Preemptive Stripe

- I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands...with nuts

Oh no they didn't

This week, one of my teaching assistants told me that when they were showing Manet's "Olympia," a student literally held up a piece of paper in front of his face until they switched Power Point images. Another student emailed me and had a saying about the need to believe that the Devil exists at the bottom of his message. Now I see that there is a new Born-again Christian fashion statement - "ex-masturbator," best quote: "You people are laughing because you people are masturbating." Having survived the Regan era, and of course the dictatorship of Bush the Second, and the Religious Right, I am experiencing Post Traumatic Stress.

West African Fashion

Photo by Ashanda

Yesterday I had to go back to buy MORE of the Obama fabric for another friend, who will use hers as a table cloth. (you may recall that my friend and I are having dresses made; there was a fantastic show at the Bard Center for Decorative Arts a while back that included "patriotic" dresses, scarves, table cloths, etc. from Japan, the UK, the USA, and France from WWII - to-die-for and also sinister)  So we went back to the fantastic purveyor of wax cloth, other fabrics, jewelry, and bling, Kaarta, at 121 W. 125th Street. We also checked out the Malcolm Shabazz Market, which had ready-made clothes, such as the absolutely gorgeous dresses - one might say schmattas or batas - like the one above, which features a football print. Football being soccer of course, one of the handful of sports I actually like. 

The Bard show was called Wearing Propaganda: Textiles on the Home Front in Japan, Britain, and the United States, 1931-1945, and there is a catalogue, edited by Jacqueline M. Atkins, (2005).

am I dreaming?

I can't keep up with all of the lovely things President Obama has been doing since taking office just a few days ago. Giving a shout out to us "non-believers," speaking to a Middle Eastern tv channel, reaching out to Muslims, signing an equal pay act, revoking Bush's ban on giving money to international organizations that promoted safer sex and birth control, allowing stem cell research, promoting rights for unions and workers, sponsoring increases in funding for education, condemning bonuses for corrupt Wall Street executives, he also used the "p" word - POOR, saying the economic stimulus is not just for the Middle Class but for those aspiring to join it, including the poor. I hoped that his avoidance of this word during the campaign did not mean that he did not care about the poor since his own background and Michelle's are working class, his mother was on food stamps at one point, and he was a community organizer, but I wasn't totally sure he would go there. Every time I turn on the TV or read the papers I feel like it's a Christmas miracle, LoL.