mixtape/cd challenge

here's the list:

saves the day
the get up kids
lifetime
glassjaw
dashboard
braid
texas is the reason
the promise ring
brand new
taking back sunday
the smiths
silent majority
piebald
jawbreaker
the weakerthans
weezer

here's the challenge:

1. compile a mix including your ALL TIME FAVORITE song by each band.
2. include a list of why this is your favorite song and/or a funny story or anecdote about the song. you may only choose ONE song for each band.
2. create an itunes playlist and burn three cds.
4. mail the cds and lists to each of us!


everyone should post your address and add any bands or rules to the challenge!

empire waisted tales of woe, part 2

i JUST read this article in the new york post:

BABY BLUES

THE HIDEOUS TREND THAT MUST BE STOPPED

By FARRAH WEINSTEIN

Writer Farrah Weinstein and singer Hilary Duff (above). They’re not pregnant — designers just want you to think they are.

June 19, 2007 -- I am not pregnant.

Will everyone please stop asking me?

It’s been enough to give me a complex, the whispers, the questions. At first, I thought I must be putting on pounds. Or because I recently married. Then, catching myself in the mirror one day, I realized the truth:

It’s these damn baby-doll dresses.

For the past season, the fashion industry has foisted poofy, flouncy dresses on the female population, and for the most part, we’ve bitten. I bought a pink baby-doll at Ooh La La in Long Beach, L.I., that was cotton with an adorable eyelet pattern on top. It was cute, comfortable, reasonably priced, but most of all - forgiving.

I kept eating. And eating. And eating. No jean zipper to worry about. No stomach to stick out. No problem. Wearing this dress, I ate about 2,000 calories more than I normally would. That’s the joy of a babydoll - it can hide a lot of flaws.

It also creates one major flaw: Every woman, no matter how in shape, looks like she’s smuggling pillows.

At the MuchMusic Awards over the weekend, Hilary Duff wore a beautiful billowy dress that made the waifish singer look like Tyler Perry in disguise. If a wee pop idol can’t look good in one of these, what chance do I have? I’m convinced the whole Nicole Richie “pregnancy” buzz is simply gusts of wind.

But it’s the fashion industry, dazzling us with cool colors, snazzy prints and get-out-of-here graphics, that is really pulling the silk over your eyes.

I beg of you, ladies. Don’t feed into it. It’s unflattering. And men don’t like it.

“It’s 100 percent a girl thing,” said Alison Brod, a 37-year-old pr firm owner, who is expecting her second child.

“I’ve been pregnant twice in 12 months. They’ve been in style both seasons. It’s all I wear. What’s funny is I used to yell at the girls in my office to dress up more. Now, I have 50 girls running around in baby-doll dresses. It’s so easy for them to throw on that they all wear them every day now.”

Her husband, on the other hand, is not a fan.

“Most girls look fatter in them,” he said. “Guys do not like baby doll dresses.”

Michaelangelo L’Acqua, a doorman at Dune nightclub in South Hampton, says the baby-doll trend is “huge” right now but if a girl wants to get in the door, she’s got to have the right body to wear it.

“It all depends how a woman carries herself,” he said. “If they’re short and squatty, it usually doesn’t work for them. But when a girl is around 5-foot-9, it’s a very sexy look. When you look all the way up the legs, it is hot.”

Michaelangelo also misses checking out all proportions of a woman’s frame.

“I like ass,” he says. “I like all types of asses and a pair of jeans that really contours to it. I’m not going to hate on baby-dolls, but nothing beats a good ass.”

The trend is not dying, either. Designers like Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Rowley, Tibi and Juicy Couture all carry the baby-doll dress. Shoshanna, Jill Stuart and Alice & Olivia are already working on babydolls for next season.

“Everybody wants the baby-doll,” says Jeff Goldstein, owner of Blue & Cream boutique in South Hampton. “I think it’s sort of an expression of the tone in the air. It’s not as serious, sexy and sultry. You can dress it up, or wear it with wedges or high heels. People in the Hamptons are totally embracing that freedom.”

Still, he would rather see women want something “revealing.”

“But girls are immature, and they wear these things because people tell them to do.”

Alright, then. I’ll tell you what to do - hang up the poofy and buy some shorts. Get a belt. Anything to stop New York from looking like a walking collection of Peeps.

As an example, I returned one of my baby-doll dresses to Zara, refusing to be conned by the fashion industry and knowing I would never wear it, even though it was adorable. At the register, a woman next to me asked if she could buy it because there were none left on the floor.

Sure, I smiled and handed her the dress to look at.

She was pregnant. It seemed only fair.

empire waisted tales of woe

Yesterday I stopped into the laundromat down the street to drop off two months worth of laundry [seriously, two months] and left in tears. Here's why..
I was wearing a totally comfortable, non clingy, brightly colored, fancy free, not a care in the world, i'm going frolicking in the park type of summer dress...I went to hand over my two bulging at the seams laundry bags and the woman who owns the place [who has seen my dirty underwear on several occasions now] looks down at my midriff and the following conversation takes place.

laundry lady with no tact: 'you are pregnant?'

me: uhhh..no.

llwnt: (leaning down and staring at my belly) REALLY?

me: NO. it's probably just the dress.

llwnt: (still looking down): oh...(totally convinced that i am lying)


Seeing as I was almost in tears, I fought the urge to say something to the effect of "that's really rude" and swallowed my pride, walked out of the shop, bewildered, and went home to stare at my mid-section in the mirror at every possible angle.
Ok, so I do have a bit of a belly, as I do enjoy eating sweets..but pregnant? That's a bit extreme.
From now on I vow to:

1. do at least 100 situps a day

2. wear the safe from pregnancy rumors, but not quite as comfortable as empire waisted, shift dress

3. burn all of the tented, shapeless offenders before the urge to wear them again strikes



exhibit a: the offender




look! it's gisele! she could wear anything, literally, and it would look good on her, and this is kind of unflattering, no?



exhibit b: the safe choice.




there will be no mistaking me for preggers in this one.

to cut, or not to cut?

okay. i didn't think this day would come as soon as it has, but i'm thinking about cutting my hair. like all the way off. maybe shorter than i've ever had it before (it was around chin-length when you gals met me!) me and my hair just haven't been getting along recently. we've lost touch and grown apart. it's been a great relationship, but it might be time for us to breakup. so here is what i'm thinking.
i like the length. and i want to keep my side part/bangs of course.
this may be a bit shorter than i'm thinking, but i like this a lot. this girl is really cute, her name is agyness deyn and i guess she's a model.
i'm really embarrassed to be referrencing posh's style, but take away the way too dramatic front razor-edge bangs, i'm into her shorter hair. not into her fashion choices.
basically, i just want to look like this girl. she's from sweden, of course.
here is a recent picture of me with my hair up so you can get an idea of how i would look. notice the neck. it sounds way dramatic, but seriously, it's a huge scary decision for me.
i need all of your detailed input.

spotted: perfect bathing suit

Carmen Marc Valvo Twisted Bandeau
bloomingdales. $158.00

i can't imagine this not looking good! and it's really cute and classy and hides a good amount of what needs to be hid but because of the strapless top it's not like, too much, you know? and i love that it's white, although within five minutes on me it will most def be stained with coffee. is it worth $158.00?? i have no idea. this is the scary thing about having money and not having to pay rent/food/utilities (thanks dad).. i totally could afford this, but should i?

here are some other options, also mad loot.

option 2: Our Exclusive Gottex Skirted Bandeau
bloomingdales. $89.98

i like the shape but i'm not totally amazed by the colors/print. it looks like outer space but in a weird, off-setting way. like outer space on a bad acid trip. or outer space drunk for the first time, wobbling around making the other universes uncomfortable.

option 3: DKNY Draped Swimsuit Dress
bloomingdales. $112.00

eh, decent. i like how the bottom looks but that's about it. and it's so plain and basic that if you took like $100 bucks off of the price, i'd maybe be like "hm, maybe." donna karan has some balls.

option 4: Juicy Couture Metallic Stripe Ruffled Maillot
bloomingdales. $168.00

kind of cheesy but also kind of cute. it looks fun to wear you know? like i imagine myself playing frisbee in it but somehow in my dream i can actually throw and catch the frisbee, not drop it / miss it each time and have to slug my lazy ass all around the field picking the fucking thing up.

option 5: Juicy Couture Beach Skirted Bikini Bottoms
nordstroms. $65.00 (bottoms only)

if i actually continue to "work out" (term used very loosely) like i have been, maybe i'd go for a two piece. and if i were to go for a two piece, i'd maybe go for this one. my problems with two pieces are usually the bottoms. i always feel like i have to wear shorts you know? and i don't want to anymore because it's just not the ideal beach day when you have soggy, wet cotton falling off of your ass and stretching out and smelling weird. anyway, i like these. they are a good alternative to the boy shorts bottoms. the one piece is cute too:
but i'd want the draping to hide a little more vag.


HAPPY SUMMER!

thoughts on desperate housewives...

so, i have watched seasons one through three of desperate housewives consecutively over the past few months. some issues i had with the portrayal of characters on season two were more than accurately written about by none other than, jennifer l. pozner on her blog in 2006. you can read her article here: http://www.wimnonline.org/WIMNsVoicesBlog/?p=162 i am now seven episodes away from completing the third season and want to share some of my new found concerns. if you're not a dh fan, i apoligize in advance. anyway, in season two when andrew is all OOC or whatev, his conserv parents are primarily not down with the fact that he's gay. well, when he comes back from living on the streets and PROSTITUTING, bree is totally cool with him and all like, "OH ANDREW, YOU'RE SUCH AN ANGEL" (even though he fucking tried to blackmail her and destroy her life). but in order to regain his place in the family, he totally compromises his sexuality! like after he comes back, they NEVER talk about him being gay and his boyfriend is totally out of the picture, even though that dude was actually really good. this show plays into so many reagan family values/basic instinct kinda shit. like for example, nora, tom's baby mama is a threat to the perfect, idealistic scavo family and what happens to her?? SHE DIES! andrew can be gay, and give blow jobs for money but if he just becomes asexual and forgets about his attraction to men, justice will be restored on wisteria lane. although, i'm not sure what's gonna happen on the last several episodes, i do know that danielle is now the slut. can't wait to find out what happens to the illegitimate baby!! ps - there's a book called "reading desperate housewives: beyond the white picket fence" and i bet there's a chapter discussing this exact same thing. most likely written by pozner (fucking monopolizer) amazon customer review: "I bought this book as a fan of Desperate Housewives. It is, however, inappropriate for most fans. It is a collection of 17 essays on DH, primarily feminist writings. I slogged through three essays and gave up. They seem to be well-written, but they were just too academic and dry for me. The chapters are (1) Culture, (2) Sexual Politics, (3) Genre, Gender, and Cultural Myths, (4) Narrative, Confssion and Intimacy. All of these topics are of interest to me, but I still couldn't handle the writing style and content---just too dry and frankly, boring. If you are looking for very serious, academic writing, and are a DH fan, you could potentially enjoy this book." hahha is it bad that that review sounds really appealing to me? UPDATE: literally a few hours after writing this, andrew casually told lynette that he was "doing the soda delivery guy" for the pizza place her and her husband own. there goes my theory

ebay dismay

on the topic of ebay, can you gals recommend any good ebay stores i should look at? or like tips on how to find good stuff? i was really into ebay in like 10th grade when i sold all my sailor moon paraphanalia (and made a bank!) but since then i've totally neglected the wonderful services ebay offers. mainly because i fear it's power.