My take on Boobquake

Is that yes, of course, it is exclusionary when it comes to women who prefer modest dress for whatever reason, or must wear modest dress regardless of what it is that they actually prefer. And yes, of course, it has little to do with the actual struggle for women’s rights in Iran. And yes, dudes’ll say that Boobquake is a terrific idea – because they get to stare at some bewbs.

Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with Boobquake for as long as we recognize all that. People forget that it was never meant to be serious. In fact – fancy this – it was the opposite of serious. It made fun of an inane cleric’s inane statements. Stupidity doesn’t deserve profundity, imho. Or not always, anyway.

“Not all tears are an evil”

I was sitting across from a famous man in a cafe, crying my eyes out into a napkin. The famous man slid his hand across the table and got a hold of mine.

“How can I help?” He asked.

“Talk to me, just talk to me,” I said.

The waiter paused with my tea. People marched up and down the sidewalk – some going toward the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and some headed in the opposite direction. The famous man’s hand was warm, mine was cold. My Urban Decay eyeliner was melting away.

“Please don’t cry,” he said.

But I wanted to.

Fragility makes for a strange currency. You really must be careful in how you dole it out. All of the assumptions that people make about an older man in a restaurant – and the younger woman who is with him, and is crying – they may or may not be true, but they can cut deeper than you expect them to. Feminists have endless debates about ZOMG MASCARA. Somehow, I think that crying in public is just a little more loaded than the length of your individual eyelashes. Continue reading ““Not all tears are an evil””

Oh give me a break

“This is a permanent threat to Ukraine’s territorial integrity because the Black Sea fleet is the outpost of the Russian state in Ukraine,” [protester Igor Derevyanko] was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. – BBC

I kind of hate the fact that I need to point this out, but historically – Crimea wasn’t even a part of Ukraine. I mean, it was part of the Kievan Rus, sure (note the “Rus” in “Kievan Rus”). Most of the people who live there have stronger ties to Russia. There’s nothing weird about that either. It’s just the way it has worked out.

Monday music: “some say life will beat you down”

Storms, storms all through the weekend, and me hiding from them in Lush and Topshop, mostly. Going through some of my old writing these last few days, I was struck how, at the age of 21 – 22, I felt that I would never be the heroine of a story again. That the stories were over, because I had grown up. I’m glad that life has been proving me wrong on that account – no matter how bizarrely it may choose to do so.

Obsessions – Marina and the Diamonds
Peligro – Manu Chao
The Scientist – Coldplay
Cum On Feel the Noize – Beat Crusaders
Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting – Elton John
Alternativa – Akvarium
I Don’t Like Your Band – Annie
re: Stacks – Bon Iver
Heartbreak Beat – the Psychedelic Furs
Just Lust – the Buzzcocks

So this is what happens in this old Stalinka sometimes

What you see here is a kitchen sink full of sludge. To be precise, this is a kitchen sink full of sludge after some extensive cleaning efforts – so you can imagine just how much sludge was originally there. The sludge was also on the floor.

The pipes were being cleaned – and so I got a nice present waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Nothing says “happy Friday” quite like sludge, I think. The downstairs neighbours got it even worse.

(And yeah, yeah – I need to get this sink replaced – not that it would affect the occasional sludge-fests all that much – I need to do a lot of things to this place. Such as buy it out, for example. Anyone who cares to send ideas my way should also send money.)