Hey all,
So in my last post, I said I'd be moving from Vox to Wordpress. Well I lied. I'm moving back to Blogspot. I have a great community of fellow bloggers and other people who read my nonsense, and you can comment on my posts without having to sign up for anything. So here's the address: http://mellowyel.blogspot.com. Enjoy.
- 'Yel
]]>Why is it that I can never find the clothes I want to wear? I'm tall with big hips, right? Thick thighs, big butt, the whole thing. (thanks, Mom :) ) Obviously, some trends are not meant for me, such as the brightly colored skinny jeans trend, the leggings-as-pants trend, etc. But I think I'm being oppressed by the miniskirt.
I used to have this really cute denim skirt. Stonewashed, straight until the knee where it flared out just a little, to give it a very polished look. I rocked this skirt to no end. Last year, after four years, I finally, reluctantly, gave it up to my little sister, because it no longer fit. Then I started the search for my next denim skirt.
None of the major stores were doing denim skirts. If they were, they were like 3 inches long and just barely covered my behind. So I went online. Searched EVERYWHERE. Nothing. The only other style available was the pencil skirt, which I wasn't even going to try, for obvious reasons. I couldn't believe it: I was like " Is nobody making skirts for girls like me who don't wear miniskirts? Am I not a consumer worthy of catering to?"
Now, I understand that the miniskirt was part of the whole women's liberation, sexual revolution, whatever. It challenged norms, symbolized women sticking it to the Man, etc. etc. But why has it suddenly become a means of oppression to girls who are not a size zero? I don't have the legs for a miniskirt. People may disagree with that, but still, I am not a person who willingly shows off her legs to the world. I live in jeans, knee-length skirts, and the occasional long skirt. I know I'm not the only person with my body type. So why can't I find clothes for my body type at any of the stores? Isn't the point of retailing to provide the things that people want? I'm not a plus-size, but that doesn't mean I can rock a miniskirt without looking ridiculous. I'm a consumer - the retailers are supposed to be catering to ME. But they're not. They're catering to the small proportion of the female population who like to wear miniskirts. The retailers are pretty much saying if you can't wear a miniskirt, you're not hip, or trendy, or cool, and that's your loss.
Now, other women have gone all "Well, I'm jst going to make my own clothes." Unfortunately, I don't have that option. I'm a pre-med Biology major, trying to get into medical school in the US as an international - I don't have TIME to make my own clothes. So I have no other option but the retailers. And all they do is throw their damn miniskirts in my face and say "Wait till next season." My figure isn't "in" right now, so I get kicked to the wayside to make way for skinnier, leggier girls.
Another thing: the skinny jean. How come the only skinny jeans available in the stores are "slim fit"? Did they never stop to think that girls with big butts would actually want to wear skinny jeans? They say that it doesn't flatter my figure, but I LIKE skinny jeans. As long as I wear a top that covers my butt, I'm fine. I can't find any skinny jeans that fit me, and if they do, they're plastered with Baby Phat or Apple Bottoms logos in sequinned lettering. I DON'T WANT SEQUINS ON MY BUTT.
I may be the only person in the world who feels this way, but I'm going to make enough noise for the world to hear.
STOP CATERING TO THE FEW WOMEN WHOSE FIGURES FIT YOUR IDEA OF BEAUTY. MAKE CLOTHES FOR ALL WOMEN. A SIZE 12 MINISKIRT IS NOT THE ANSWER.
(On a side note, I'm moving to Wordpress. Will link you to the new blog soon.)
]]>So they finally convicted OJ Simpson of something. Not the murder of his wife and the other guy, but for beating on some dude for selling off his memorabilia in Vegas. He could be sentenced to life in prison. Now I'm all about people getting their just desserts, but after reading this article, I wonder whether this is the right thing to do. The jury was 3 women and 9 guys, and there were no black people, even though the defendant and prosecutor (?) were both black. It seems like they were already biased before the trial started. I don't think wrongfully convicting someone of something they didn't do, after they were acquitted for something they did do, is fair, if in fact that's what they did. To me, it's just more proof that the justice system is messed up. I mean, I'm sure it's karma or God's judgement or whatever, and I do think that he should go to jail for what he did, but it just doesn't seem right to do it this way. He may be getting what he deserves, but he should have gotten it a long time ago, and not through some weird legal twist.
]]>So I'm mad. For a number of reasons (a phone call, an encounter with someone I'd rather avoid at the moment), but I'm writing this post because I'm mad at this.
http://anthonydavidmusic.com/music.aspx
This is Anthony David. I discovered him thanks to the iTunes Store's "Just for You" box. They suggested him because I had a lot of R&B/Soul type stuff. One listen, and I was hooked. I don't know quite what it is that makes me love his music. I think it's the way he sings - he sings like a man baring his soul to the world. Lyfe Jennings sings like that. And he's a great songwriter. My favorite song of his is Heartstrings - you can relate to it. The only one I can find on Youtube is Words with India.Arie, which is great as well. The music just runs through you like water, and you feel like he's sitting down next to you, having a conversation. It's personal and it's real. This guy has talent.
And NOW? Now he's signed to a label, and they've given him some neckchains and some aviator glasses, and he looks like a Musiq Soulchild wannabe. See this is the point Bob Lefsetz makes in his blog, that I read fairly often. THE LABELS DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FANS! They don't care about people like me, who listen to this music on a bad night to make them feel better, they don't care that we liked him in his casual, scruffy outfits because we could relate to him, we felt like we knew him. I don't know the guy on that website. Bring me back my Anthony David.
I would say, for anyone who likes his music, go out and buy his old albums, 3 Chords & The Truth, and The Red Clay Chronicles. Don't buy the crap that Universal is trying to push down our throats. Because his new album, Acey Duecy (what the hell kind of name is that?) is his two older albums made into one. If you buy it, you won't be paying for his music - you'll be paying for the chains around his neck, the ridiculously expensive shades, and the white tee that probably cots 30 bucks. You'd be paying for the IMAGE, what Universal wants to sell you, not your music.
This makes me sad, because I love Anthony David. I should be happy for him now that he's signed to a label. But they're just going to ruin him. I only hope that they don't do the same thing to Dwele, who is the most underrated artist out there. He should be selling more music than Musiq Soulchild, but he flies under the radar. Maybe it's better that way.
I will say, though, that India looks gorgeous in that video.
]]>PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ADVISE EVERYONE YOU KNOW
THAT THEY ABSOLUTELY CANNOT GO TO THE POLLS
WEARING ANY OBAMA SHIRTS, PINS OR HATS,
IT IS AGAINST THE LAW AND WILL BE GROUNDS
TO HAVE THE POLLING OFFICIALS TURN YOU AWAY.
THAT IS CONSIDERED CAMPAIGNING
AND NO ONE CAN CAMPAIGN
WITHIN "X" AMOUNT OF FEET TO THE POLLS.
"THEY" ARE BANKING ON US BEING EXCITED
AND NOT BEING AWARE OF THIS LONG STANDING LAW
THAT YOU CAN BET WILL BE ENFORCED THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"THEY" ARE BANKING ON
OBAMA SUPPORTERS THAT ARE TURNED AWAY
WILL NOT GO HOME AND CHANGE CLOTHES...
TO AVOID ANY PROBLEMS, PLEASE DON'T WEAR
OBAMA GEAR OF ANY SORTS TO THE POLLS!!
PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION...
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE ALREADY AWARE OF THE LAW,
THIS WAS NOT MEANT TO INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE.
JUST TRYING TO COVER ALL GROUNDS.
THANKS
To be honest with you, I think this particular Obama supporter is a bit intense, but who am I to judge. What I think doesn't really matter, anyway. And I'm sure this applies to McCain/Palin supporters as well. (I wonder what kind of Palin t-shirts they would make...)
]]>So I decided, possibly naively, to search for African music on Pandora. It's a great service with a lot of music, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So the first song plays, Amplified Heart by Caged Baby. It does not sound African in the least, but I like it. It's electronic, but not the intense, clubworthy stuff; it actually makes you stop and listen. It reminds me of a song I really like, Play It For Today by The Legends. So I listen all the way through, and the next song starts up. It sounds like a bad mix of Death Cab and Paul Van Dyk: it's Depeche Mode. I have never listened to this band, even thoug I've heard good things, but this song is just NOT my style at all. So I skip over, and they finally play a Yousoou N'Dour song. I enjoy it, and look forward to another song. I get a poppy dance beat, like Cascada: it's Seal's Loaded, a song that made me wonder if this was the same dude who did Kiss from A Rose. And that's when I start writing this post.
The thing about Pandora is that it's not music-on-demand, it's radio. So you can never guarantee they'll play something you like. But I'm really disappointed at the fact that they have such a limited collection of world music. They don't even have Fela, for God's sake. No Amadou and Miriam, no Tinariwen, even though these bands are somewhat known in the US. I just don't understand how they can play songs side by side that sound NOTHING alike. I checked their analysis of the features of the song, that they assess using the Music Genome Project, and the only thing these songs have in common is "electronica influences". (To their credit, the Depeche Mode song also had "mild rhythmic syncopation" as a common element.) I mean, why not just play me a lot of Youssou N'dour and leave out the rest? Geez.
The next song I get comes from New Order, a post-punk era British rock band (that apparently used to be Joy Division) that incorporate electronic and disco elements into their music. That's when I give up, and thank God (and Steve Jobs, albeit reluctantly) for iTunes, and CDs. Pandora's great, but not perfect, and I'm still waiting to see a music service that gives me the wide range of musical genres that I want, (and have, to some extent) in my library. Hopefully, this will happen soon. In the meantime, I'll be posting some good world music on this blog sooner or later, so look out for it.
]]>I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy. I took on a bunch of responsibility this semester, so I'm almost overwhelmed. Sometimes I think "Why do I have a blog in the first place?" Well, because I think it's cool. Because I think what I have to say is important. Because I need some sort of outlet seeing as I don't dance anymore, or do anything artsy because I've decided to devote my life to medicine. However, now that everyone knows what my blog is, I can't really let out, because people will know that I'm talking about them, or will know who I'm talking about. I need a change. I need to let loose a little. I discovered a while ago that there are no extremes in my life. I do everything in moderation. Is that a good thing? Or do I end up slowly losing my mind because I keep myself in a straightjacket all the time? I think this is one of the reasons I want to take a year off and go abroad, to Asia. I want to do something completely out of the ordinary so that I can be different, I can be special, I can be cool. And also so I don't feel like I have to distill or reduce myself to my future career. This is why I have a blog. And this is probably the most honest post I've written here.
let them see what I write. Let them talk. I think I need to free myself from society's opinion of me, and just do what I think is good for me. I think it's part of being a Christian, not conforming to the world's opinion. it's part of being an individual, of being a free-thinker. It doesn't mean you're atheist, or liberal, or whatever. You just do you. What's important to you, that's what counts.
Ay yay yay. I'm going to go socialize, then plan for medical school. I need help, God. help me out. Oh, and Lolia, I wrote this post because you didn't include me on your blogroll. Thanks for helping me let it all out. I think I'm going to post more often this year.
Lataz.
]]>Here's my question: am I the only one who thought "steroids" when this dude won the 100m with a HUGE gap? That's what it seems like. Everyone's simply saying "Usain Bolt is awesome!" But no one's calling him out. Maybe it's because it's the Olympics, and there's supposed to be a higher standard of sportsmanship or whatever, so no one thinks of it. But in my opinion, if they called out Barry Bonds, they should Bolt out too. I highly doubt the use of steroids is an American phenomenon.
That's a really good name for a short-distance runner, by the way.
]]>I read this post on my friend's blog, and it got me thinking.
Men have this uncanny ability to cut themselves off emotionally, even in supposedly close relationships. I don't really get it. Can anyone explain?
For as far back as my knowledge as the history of the world goes, men have been the stoic, unfeeling, strong ones. Women have been the emotional, weak ones. How did this come to be? Is this part of the inherent differences between men and women? Or a construct of early human society whose effects ripple down into all people today?
A woman whose husband is away at war is trying to get her son to sleep. He cries and refuses to sleep until he sees his father. She tells her son that her shadow on the wall is his father, to stop him from crying at night. The soldier eventually comes back and expects to be greeted enthusiastically by his son, but his son says "You're not my father. I say goodnight to my father every night before I sleep." The man, of course, suspects that his wife has been unfaithful and is silently enraged for the entire day. He refuses to eat the food his wife prepares. His wife doesn't bring up the issue, or try to explain, nor does he question her. The next day, he leaves. The wife, overcome with grief, throws herself into the river near her house. The man comes back, and as he tucks his son in at night, sees the little boy bowing to his shadow on the wall. Only then does he understand. He builds an altar in honor of his wife on the river bank, and grieves the rest of his days.
This is a story based off of a traditional Vietnamese poem. I bring it up because both the man and the woman refused to tell the other what they were thinking or feeling. Traditionally, the Vietnamese have been taught not to show emotion. I'm not sure exactly the reason, whether it's because it's a sign of weakness, or for another reason. But the married couple cut each other off emotionally because they didn't communicate, and it resulted in tragedy. The story states that they did have emotions, even though they didn't show them. Does the lack of emotion, or at least the expression of it, make them strong? Admirable, even?
Men always try to have the "I don't give a &*#!" attitude, to grossly generalize. In fact, society generally encourages it. Emotions are for women only. When women try to have this attitude, to be "strong", they are considered to be acting like men, and this is generally not looked upon with admiration, despite the whole women's rights issues that have been brought up in the past fifty years. What is it about emotion that makes men shy away from it? Is it that society has been attributed to women, the physically weaker and smaller sex, and is thus an undesirable thing? Is it that women ARE inherently emotional, and men aren't? Does a lack of emotion really make you strong?
Jay-Z was rapping about groupie girls trying to get his sex and his money. Tearria Mari and Foxy Brown were talking about a friend who was a friend no more. They wanted nothing more from him than his friendship and support. He maybe assumed that they were out for the money and fame, and dropped them faster than you can say "Jigga". Does this make him strong? "The Man"? A pimp even?
Anyway, he's supposedly married to Beyonce. And if this is the case, my only explanation for him cutting off ties with these two ladies is that he's scared Beyonce'll kill him or any woman she sees as a threat. If I were him, I'd do the same. Just listen to Ring the Alarm for proof. That woman's CRAZY.
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