Speaking on the Ferrari Bumper Sticker debate...

Ok, for the whole story you need to read this original article, this beautifully eloquent rebuttal, and this apology.

If you don't want to read all of that, here are the cliff notes;

Lisa, a journalist for the independent student publication based out of the University of Buffalo, wrote an anti-tattoo column. This, in and of itself, was not the problem. The problem was that she was trying make her argument with her own skewed view of Feminism. She stated that women who are not happy with their body should go to the gym, get their nails done, wear some heels....you know, typical girly stuff.  She promised that investing your energy, money, and time into things like this would be a much more rewarding experience than "getting ink." That is an awfully bold promise based on a widespread assumption that she knows what ALL women want! She also stated that, "an elegant woman does not vandalize the temple she has been blessed with as her body." In regards to the experience of getting a tattoo, she asked, "at the end of the day, are you really a happier person?"And made another widespread assumption that "nothing comes out of getting a tattoo."  

Seriously, she is gorgeous!

I have so many things to say about this presumptuous, judgmental, piece of "journalism," so very much!  The rebuttal I mentioned at the beginning (link again here, "Why yes, I will put a bumper sticker on this Ferrari!" ) basically summed up all of my thoughts in a much more eloquent way (seriously, go read it, Danielle is awesome!). 

Here though are some of my thoughts. First off, tattoos have nothing to do with not being happy with your body, in fact they are a way to adorn it! They are art, wonderfully meaningful and unique art that you get to display on your body! Secondly, in response to tattoos being completely unrewarding and doing nothing for a woman, that is ludicrous!! Ask tattooed person about one of their pieces and you will be met with a story. Whether it is the meaning behind it, the event that surrounded it, what they think of when they look at it, or whatever else they connect to it; it will almost always be met with a story that will tell you more about that person. What a beautiful way to share a piece of yourself, and to share in that with others! Lastly (but absolutely not least!), her attempt at a Feminist argument just went sadly astray. Its 2012, women can look, be, act, and think in any way that they damn well please! Please don't judge those of us who do not base our outer beauty on what men want!

Ganesh, you just know that one has meaning!

Ok, all of that said, the response she got from the internet was painfully insulting and immature!! People called her fat, ugly, stupid, and various swear words that I don't care to repeat. She actually got hate mail and threats! Really people, really? She wrote a response to all of this, but was obviously focused on the hurtful responses of others, and rightfully so in my mind. People don't seem to realize that going into nasty attack mode only causes the other side to retreat further into their beliefs. I mean really, who would think "oh, maybe tattooed women really are beautiful, eloquent people" when being bombarded with insults and hate mail?! Way to represent our wonderfully unique and expressive tattooed culture guys, thanks a lot for that!

Well anyways, did anyone else get caught up in this debate? What do you think on the issue?

cutest tattoo ever :)

Random Simple Pleasures {13th Ed.}

Simple Pleasure #13 ~ Dog Walks at Dusk
Ok yes, I really enjoy walking the pups! In particular though, the scenic route that we have, in the fall, at dusk is just awesome!

view of the river from the park

Domino kicking up some leaves :)

another of the river

and the St Paul skyline! (ps: Im particularly proud of this pic because I had no tripod and
2 dogs tugging at me to keep walking!)

I love fall

I absolutely adore fall! Seattle is great, but I really missed the changing seasons while I was there. There is something so beautiful and comforting about fall that is just impossible to describe. Here are some of my favorite highlights though that just cant be beat out by any other season....

The oh-so-beautiful leaves
I love everything about fall leaves; the colors, the smell, the sound they make when you walk through them, and how they make the whole landscape look different each day.

source unknown (but I wish it was my backyard!)

Pumpkins
Everything about them, from picking them out, to carving them, to making tasty seeds!

local pumpkin patch

Plus, pumpkin flavored everything!
Coffee, chocolate, cheesecake...yum!

Crock-pot meals

Yum!

our minestrone

The fact that it is the perfect temperature for all of my favorite clothing items...
Boots

cute! (source is full of awesome fall pics)

Scarves

Sweaters
Seriously, what is better than a sweater?

how cute is Zindle's?!

My favorite accessory; sleeves!

yup, I love them!

Ahh fall, you are so perfect, why do you have to ever give into winter?

Random Simple Pleasures {12th ed.}

Simple Pleasure #12 ~ Scenic Dog Walks
I love living in a neighborhood with so many different dog walk routes! It never gets boring that way :) We have a couple of small parks close by so the dogs can run around mid walk. There is also a really big beautiful park within walking distance that has trails and awesome trees that just scream "hey come over here and read under me all day!!" My favorite route takes us by a beautiful view of the downtown St. Paul city skyline and then down a path towards the best park.

click on it, it's even prettier when it's big!

Happy tired dogs and happy exercised me...awesome!

Soundsuits

I just went and saw Nick Cave's Soundsuit exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. They were really amazing! They just have a beautiful aesthetic to them, it was everything I could do to not touch them! If this exhibit ever comes to your town, I highly recommend seeing it. (Oh and I saw the Picasso exhibit at SAM awhile ago too and that one is a must see as well!!)

I really liked these ones, they look liked they are exploding with excitement to me!

This one was my favorite, but the picture doesn't do it justice. Similar to the above one, it was a "man" in what can only be described as an afgan bodysuit and he was encased in a birdcage of sorts. I think he just found every tacky bird bric-a-brac item at a thrift store and made this surprisingly beautiful cage out of it...awesome! Oh, and to top it off, the man in the cage had a really awesome vintagey lion mask on :)

Ahh, as I am typing this I am realizing that these small distant pictures run the risk of making the work look tacky, but it really isn't! It is awesome to see in person, like it is art that is painfully sitting still and you can just picture it breaking free into a joyously beautiful dance!

ps: watch awesome videos here and here!!!

Random beauty

I really love seeing random acts of beauty, particularly when someone uses an opportunity to complain as a medium for art!

Turning potholes into sweaters!

see more Parisian sweater streets here :)

...or flower gardens

via here

this one is right here in West Seattle
(we have far too many potholes, so someone got creative!)

Or, one of my favorites...

Random acts of knitting!! 

both in my beloved West Seattle as well! link here

such a cozy tree :)

They all just make me want to find my creative bone so I can commit my own random acts of beauty! What would you guys do to make your neighborhood more interesting?!

Oh, and Happy Earth Day!! :)

I want...

I really want my bedroom to look exactly like this!

more pics here

I love it! Its just so calming and serene, and there is an adorable owl lamp! I want the entire thing recreated in my bedroom! Apparently it is from a themed room bed and breakfast place in Italy, but their website is painfully slow so I couldn't book a trip, shucks! :)

Proud to NOT be a barbie!!!

I saw this ad on Rachele's blog

Apparently it was banned from being used by the Body Shop because Mattel (that's right, the Barbie people) thought it was offensive! After doing some internet research on this, I realized I'm a bit late on the uptake, but I do remember wondering what happened to this ad...

...and hearing that it was banned from billboard advertising because it was offensive. How is that possible?! How can something like this ad be ok to advertise and flaunt in young girl's faces, but a depiction of a real woman is "offensive?!" I happen to find it offensive to show sickly thin (and yet still photoshopped!!) women who have fake body parts in advertisements. When will our society finally realize that stick thin, silicone, and Botox do not equal beauty?!

Beauty is comfort in your own skin, its kindness and generosity, its glowing because you are happy, and emanating that to others! Just imagine what the world would be like if we all modeled that to young girls....

My beautiful Beau

I said goodbye to my lifetime dog 2 years ago today. I miss him. I miss his adorable high speed circles every time I came home, I miss how he would howl in true husky form anytime he heard a car alarm :), I miss his expressive eyes, I even miss his hair everywhere and chasing him around for hours when he would pull a Houdini move and get loose!

My Beau, he saw me through so much between the difficult ages of 16 and 25. He was my constant, the force that kept me grounded. I needed him longer, but Im happy for what I had. Everyone deserves a Beau, a bond that strong, a true lifetime dog. I still miss him like crazy, but am so honored to have had 9 years with such an amazing companion.

I love you Beau, enjoy 2011 running around the clouds honey...

Wear the light!

I am in love with these scarves that a Cup of Jo found!

The artist took beautiful sky pictures and put them onto scarves so that "even during the darkest months, you can feel the light all around you!" How awesome is that?! 

If you have ever been in Seattle during November and December, you understand my excitement about this idea...the constant dark and drizzle is definitely getting to me. Anyone else feeling the winter blues yet?

We are all connected...

Have you heard about this website? It is amazing! Apparently it scans the internet (blog sites and twitter..?) for statements with the words "I feel" in it. It then compiles everything into this amazing visual database to essentially view what people are feeling around the world. There is something about the way they lay it out that results in a profound visual for me. I often feel like emotions are floating around in this scrambled colorful way like this. We all feel these emotions, yet we rarely share in that connection. Its amazing to think that we could just select this emotional dot and instantly feel more connected to those around us. What would happen if we all chose to do that in real life? Wouldn't the world be a more congruent, connected, and generally better place if we were true to ourselves and our emotions?

I love that they chose that name also, we always answer "oh Im fine," why do we do this? Why can't we say what we are really feeling when everyone knows that "fine" is just a way to hide all that colorful emotion under a blanket of gray!

Anyways, check the site out. They have a bunch of features so you can choose to look at only one feeling (people who feel alone, happy, or anxious for example). Or if you pick the "madness" option, you see all emotions at once. I like this one because you can click on one that states a profound emotion that you really react to..and then a second later click on one that says "I feel like dancing" or something simple like that. You can click on the squares rather than the dots and it shows a feeling imposed onto a picture. I love these ones...

I am such a proponent of attending to emotions and becoming congruent with how they are presented. I love the visual that this site presents in relation to that concept. Ironically, I don't feel like I am portraying exactly what it is about this site that hits such an emotional chord for me. I think there are just no words for how some things make you feel. Maybe I just have this strong reaction because I am such an empath, but I really think it is awesome. I hope you guys do too...