Get For Free !!!: 10/15 BlogHer

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art journaling–how I do it
October 14, 2009 at 10:26 pm

<![CDATA[While I was in Chicago for BlogHer this summer, I shared a hotel room with the amazing <a href="http://www.jenlee.net/" target="_blank">Jen Lee</a>, one of the most beautiful writers I know in real life. As soon as we'd checked into our hotel, we wandered to a nearby grill for some much-needed lunch, and our conversation turned to journaling. "You'd think that for as long as I've been blogging," I was saying, "I'd be a pretty avid journaller. But I'm actually pretty horrifying at it. I think it just makes me feel really ridiculous–like I'm just sitting there talking to myself. And then, sometimes I write something, and I don't like how it turned out; or I try to create 'art,' and it's just frightening, so I rip the page out, and then I have a journal with a ripped page, and that looks like crap, so then I just discard the book altogether." She blinked. "Okay," she said, looking at me like I'd grown a second head, "I think maybe you're just too hung up on the process. I don't think journals are supposed to be that perfect." "Yeah?" I asked. "How do you do it?" "Well," she began, "I try to write at least three pages every morning." "Like in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/?tag=chookooloonks-20" target="_blank">The Artist's Way</a>?" I interrupted. "Yes," she said, "I just write, totally stream-of-consciousness, for 3 straight pages. I find that this helps centres me for the day, and I don't let myself turn on my computer for the day until I've written these three pages. It keeps my email inbox from prioritizing my day, you know? So I write. And sometimes it's deep thoughts, and sometimes it's just a list of what I need to do, or pick up at the market." "Oh really?" I said, paying close attention. "So your journal isn't just your innermost thoughts and dreams?" "Well, sometimes it is," she admitted. "and sometimes it's the start of a story idea. But I carry my journal with me, and add things to it all day long. Sometimes it's a phone number of a new friend or dry cleaner. Or someone's mailing address. I basically just write everything down in my journal. If I'm required to handwrite something, it goes in my journal." "So it sounds like it's just a hodgepodge of stuff–no real rhyme or organization." "Other than date, no," Jen admitted. "The cool thing is that I can always find that phone number or figure out when I dropped off the dry cleaning, because I just have to flip through the pages to the right date." I love this idea. I think the reason journaling hasn't worked for me in the past has to do with structure. But if I just look at my journal as a place to record my life–my messy, disorganized life, with its half-thoughts, and to-do lists and scrawled messages and the occasional fortune-cookie fortune or found photograph–the end result pretty much accomplishes the recording, chronicling purpose, doesn't it?Since that lunch, I've completed 2 full moleskines full of my messy life. To make it interesting, I often watercolour the pages prior to filling them with my thoughts, scraps and other ephemera. I feel more centered as a result, and far more productive. I fill it with writing ideas–blog posts, book chapters–while I'm sitting in the carpool line waiting for my daughter, waiting for her at gymnastics, or just sitting having a chai tea latte at my favourite coffeehouse. It's seriously changed my life.Do you art journal? If you don't, and would like to give it a try, here's some inspiration:The lovely Lucrecer Braxton has recently been giving us <a href="http://www.art-slam.com/category/peek-in-my-journal/" target="_blank">peeks inside her old journals</a> that are just breathtaking.Art Junk Girl <a href="http://www.artjunk.typepad.com/journaljunk/" target="_blank">also shows us the inside of her journals</a>–less words, more art, all beautiful.If you're just getting started, since that lunch, <a href="http://www.jenlee.net/home/take-me-with-you.html" target="_blank">Jen Lee has started her own line of journals that gently ease you into the journaling process.</a> They might be just the nudge you need.And finally, here's <a href="http://www.chookooloonks.com/blog/2009/9/10/love-thursday-putting-love-goals-and-journaling-together.html" target="_blank">how I've combined my journaling with goalsetting</a>–so far, so good.If you already journal, have any tips you'd like to share? Karen is a writer and a photographer in Houston, Texas. You can read and see more of her work at <a href="http://www.chookooloonks.com" target="_blank">Chookooloonks</a>. ]]>

Fashion Mags Catch Plus-Size Fever. Now Can We Get Past "Plus Size?"
October 14, 2009 at 9:21 pm

<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.lemondrop.com/bloggers/emily-mccombs/">Emily McCombs</a>, Lemondrop. Glamour has been getting a lot of accolades for including <a href="http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2009/10/supermodels-who-arent-superthin#slide=1">a spread of genetically gifted plus-size models</a> in their November issue, and we have to admit we find it amazingly refreshing to feast our eyes on women who have winking bellies, shapely thighs and even (gasp) back flab just like ours.But, <a href="http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/09/03/glamour-mag-making-more-plus-size-models-get-naked/">as we've pointed out before</a>, we'd rather see average-size ladies scattered through the magazine's regular fashion spreads then stripped down for a special section. Not to mention that copy like "Are these women gorgeous or what?" can ring a bit false after the past however many decades Glamour has spent making women feel bad about their bodies.Much more quietly, November's Marie Claire rolled out a new column directed at plus-size women, written by Ashley Falcon, a 5-foot-2-inch, 220-lb. fashion stylist, and entitled "<a href="http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/trends/articles/ashley-falcon-plus-size-stylist">Big Girl in a Skinny World</a>." Of her size 18 figure, Falcon says, "I'm relegated to the plus-size racks, where trendy usually translates into 'when's your due date' empire waists and cinch-sack drawstrings. It's not easy being chic, but it's an epic struggle when you're a big girl." She goes on to offer tips on <a href="http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/trends/articles/best-jeans-for-plus-size-women">the best jeans for plus-size bods</a>.The new column, while a bit scattered, was charming and seems more genuinely inclusive of different body types than Glamour's spread of <a href="http://www.asylum.com/2008/09/09/bbw-15-big-beautiful-plus-size-models/">nude size 8-12 models</a>. Still, in her editor's letter, Glamour's Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive writes, "Glamour is committing to featuring a wider range of body types, including in fashion and beauty stories ... In the real world women of all body types ... have sex appeal, full, fabulous lives, and men drooling all over them. Our pages should tell the same spectacularly confident and diverse story."We'll believe it when we see it, but if Leive delivers on half that sentiment, November's spread may be just the tip of the iceberg for how women's magazines will cover different body shapes in the future.Seeing plus-size women's bodies in the pages of our magazines is awesome. Hearing their voices is even better. But best of all would be a magazine that features women of larger sizes without needing to identify their perspectives as "plus-size." Let's hope that someday soon features and fashion spreads portraying a diverse range of body types will be unremarkable enough that magazines won't feel the need to label them.From strange news to celeb gossip to riveting first-person accounts, <a href="http://www.lemondrop.com/?from=blogher">Lemondrop.com</a> features the stories, videos and links that people are talking about. We get the conversation started about pop culture, relationships, topical issues, politics, fashion and more, curating the best of the web to entertain and inform in the rapid-fire, conversational style of today’s twenty and thirtysomethings. <a href="http://www.lemondrop.com/bloggers/laura-gilbert/?from=blogher">Laura Gilbert</a> is managing editor. ]]>

Public school, backpacks and lockers (oh my)
October 14, 2009 at 9:15 pm

<![CDATA[My daughter started middle school this year. I'm only exaggerating a little when I tell you that I spent the first two weeks in a permanent clench, memories of my own awkward middle school years washing over me in an unexpected wave of PTSD. But the good news is that she absolutely loves it; she's adjusted well, both academically and socially, and most of my fears, it turns out, were for naught.The only thing she doesn't like about middle school is just about the only area where I never had any sort of problem, back in my day. The issue: Backpacks and lockers.Her elementary school had a row of hooks outside each classroom to hold bags and coats. The truth of the matter is that the only time her backpack came home full was when the art teacher told everyone to take their projects–she just didn't have much "stuff" to tote.We knew middle school would mean more gear, and she was excited to be getting a locker, and we discussed how to best manage what she carried when so that she wasn't schlepping eight sets of books and binders around all day long. In theory, it was all going to be fine... and in reality, well, it's been a little more challenging.Challenge the first: At my daughter's school, sixth graders are given one locker break each day. That's it. I guess in seventh and eighth grade they get a bit more freedom to visit their lockers between classes, but for these kids, once a day is all they get. And for about the first month of school, that one locker break was only about an hour in–for the rest of the day, everyone had to carry everything they needed for practically every class. (That break has since been moved to a bit later in the morning.) That was particularly problematic because...Challenge the second: Backpacks are not allowed in the hallways. I'm pretty sure that–upon hearing this–I actually said the words, "Say what?" Kids are allowed to tote their stuff to and from school in backpacks, but according to school rules they are to head directly to their lockers and stow their packs immediately upon arrival, and backpacks may not be taken out again until the end of the day.If I work very hard at it, and make my thinking as convoluted as possible, I almost understand why the school has chosen to ban backpacks as a matter of safety. So, fine. They felt it had to be done, they don't want kids carrying packs in the halls. Okay. But the kids aren't being given multiple opportunities to visit their lockers, and they have a lot of stuff. My daughter has class materials as well as a musical instrument and a packed lunch, and although she's big enough to start stealing my shoes, she's still only about 70 pounds with a couple of bricks tied to her. Plus she's only got two arms. It is physically impossible for her (and many of her fellow students) to manage everything she's required to carry without a bag to put it all in.The school doesn't want to be unreasonable, of course, and so... students are allowed to use tote bags. Yes. Tote bags are permissible in the hallways and classrooms.Do not ask me to explain to you why an opaque tote bag is somehow safer than a backpack (truly, if it's a safety issue, make students use clear or mesh backpacks, I say), because I cannot. But that's the concession the school is willing to make.Every day my daughter packs up her backpack and heads to school. Upon arrival, she puts her backpack into her locker and transfers its contents into a tote bag I brought back from BlogHer '09. She's still carrying way too much stuff, but at least now she has to carry it all on one shoulder rather than in the ergonomically-designed backpack I bought her!(I find the situation a little frustrating, in case you were unclear.)In the grand scheme of things, maybe it's not a huge deal. But we're not the only ones struggling with backpacks and/or regulations designed to "keep things running smoothly."Laura at <a href="http://teachermuse.blogspot.com/2009/09/backpack-chat.html" target=_blank>Catholic Teacher Musings</a> asks if her readers' schools have rules regarding backpack weight:<blockquote>How heavy are your children's backpacks? Yikes! Sometimes, I lift the backpacks to see how heavy they are and I am amazed that a 100 pound middle school child isn't in traction from the load.</blockquote><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/318/story/1492861.html" target=_blank>Kansas City Star</a>'s Jennifer Brown is trying to make light of her high school daughter's weighty situation:<blockquote>I can’t help but think there’s one particular career path that really would benefit her obvious, er… strengths: Chiropractic medicine.“Think about it,” I tell her. “Everyone carries a backpack, right?”“Right.”“And pretty much nobody has time to get to their locker between classes, right?”“Right.”“And just look at those children, all bent over at the waist, contorting themselves to carry the weight equivalent of a VW bus on their backs all day every day.”“Yeah…”“If you squint and look at them just right, what shape do their little bent-over bodies look like to you?”“Ummm … dollar signs?”“That’s my girl!”Well, it’s not such a stretch, you know. If I were looking at future lucrative careers, I’d definitely look into being a chiropractor. Eventually these kids will have to take off their backpacks, and the person who can pop them back into human form after they do is going to clean up, I tell you.</blockquote>Author Joanne Kimes of <a href="http://sucksandthecity.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/middle-school-sucks/" target=_blank>Sucks and The City</a> shared my, er, not-quite-joy in having a daughter new to middle school this year:<blockquote>And I can actually see her spine start to curve because of the enormous amount of weight she’s forced to carry around in her backpack. We weighed it. With books it weighs 30 pounds. My daughter weighs 65. The poor thing is like a dung beetle schlepping around a gynormous piece of pooh…in the valley heat to boot! Today, it’s predicted to reach 104 degrees!</blockquote><a href="http://robbinoutloud.com/2009/09/18/are-schools-being-too-protective/" target=_blank>Robbin Out Loud</a>'s daughter doesn't even get to carry a tote bag, sounds like (and suddenly it seems like my kid gets the better deal, actually):<blockquote>Now I remember when I was in high school and we had to change classes and we didn’t always have the ease of going to our locker between each class. Heck my 10th grade year my locker was on the “sophomore” hall and most of my classes were on the “Senior” hall. Heck I never made it back to my locker most of the time. My daughter has a middle locker and she has someone above and below her. She has 4 minutes to go to her lock, bathroom and get to class. I depended on my backpack to carry my books for me. To really top it off she has to walk to and from school. They do allow her to carry a backpack before and after school put she has to put it in her locker during the day.</blockquote>One thing we've not had to deal with, yet, is the issue of, ahem, personal hygiene items when you're restricted in what you can carry. And just today Kelly of <a href="http://www.mochamomma.com/2009/10/14/one-small-thing-one-small-purse/" target=_blank>Mocha Momma</a> (who is an assistant principal at a high school) shared about how her school–which already doesn't allow backpacks in the hallways–is now cracking down on purse size, leaving many of the girls frustrated because big purses are "in" right now and all they have. Kelly could easily just grumble, but that's not her style:<blockquote>Some of the biggest complainers have come to see me in my office or caught me in the hallway or a classroom:Why can’t we carry big purses? I saved up $50 to buy this and it’s the only one I have! I can’t buy another one.This is stupid! I’m a good girl. Why are we always getting punished?Who even SELLS small purses? Everything in the stores is big. These girls are right. They’re also pretty whiny when they come talk to me so I decided to take something ugly and turn it in to something pretty. I asked seven girls to help me coordinate a Purse Drive for school and I’m using my blog to spread the word.</blockquote>(Kelly promises that more details on how her readers can help support the purse drive are coming.)I am dangerously close to going on a tirade that begins with "Back in my day..." and ends with, "Now all of you whippersnappers get off of my lawn!" Seriously, I understand that with the spread of violence in schools, what kids are carrying (and what they may be hiding, I suppose) becomes an issue. But it just seems like something that's taken on a (complicated, annoying, troublesome) life of its own. Is prohibiting backpacks (or, as in Kelly's school, big purses) in the hallways really going to cut down on violence? In this digital age, are there really still no good alternatives to weighing kids down with pounds upon pounds of books, particularly when they're not even allowed to carry them safely?There has to be a better way. Doesn't there?BlogHer Contributing Editor <a href="/blog/mir-kamin" target="_blank">Mir</a> also blogs about issues parental and otherwise at <a href="http://wouldashoulda.com/" target="_blank">Woulda Coulda Shoulda</a>, and about the joys of mindful retail therapy at <a href="http://wantnot.net/" target="_blank">Want Not</a>. ]]>

Abortion, Contraception: Women's Lives Are At Stake. Shouldn't We Rally Around Saving Them? (Yes, You Too, Church! YOU HEARD ME)
October 14, 2009 at 9:06 pm

<![CDATA[It might sound counter-intuitive to say that abortion rights <a href="http://www.blogher.com/why-abortion-rights-matter-maternal-health" target="_blank">are a maternal health issue</a> - after all, abortion does, in a (contestable) manner of speaking, prevent motherhood. But the response of the Catholic Church to a recent study that showed that expanding global access to contraception and safe abortion could save 70,000 lives a year - and some <a href="http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2009/10/05/index.html" target="_blank">hundreds of millions of dollars</a> in global health costs - demonstrates exactly why this is a maternal health issue.A <a href="http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2009/10/13/index.html" target="_blank">new report from the Guttmacher Institute</a> suggests that access to contraception and legal abortion would reduce the 70,000 annual deaths (globally) from unsafe abortions. The Catholic Church says, basically, pish-posh. <a href="http://jezebel.com/5381360/contraception-legal-abortion-could-prevent-70000-deaths-a-year" target="_blank">As Jezebel reports</a>, Deirdre McQuade of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities said, in response to the report, "We need to be much more creative in assisting women with supportive services so they don't need to resort to the unnatural act of abortion," and that "use of artificial contraception could increase a women's health risks and... they would fare better using natural family planning methods approved by the church."So, basically: 70,000 women die every year from botched abortions? They shouldn't have access to those unsafe abortions! They should be pushed to alternatives! And: natural family planning! Just like their husbands want! Which, okay: women should have access - access - to alternatives to abortion. They should have support in whatever choice they make around dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. But access to abortion is not the problem. In fact, it's the lack of access to abortion that is the problem, which is the whole point of the report. Many, many women without access to safe, legal abortions will seek out abortions anyway, simply because for many, abortion is the only reasonable option, whether because they don't have sufficient systems of support (systems of support - like positive family and/or marital relationships - that neither the Church nor any other organization can reliably replicate), or any one of a zillion other reasons. For many women it is, simply, the only option, and so they pursue it even when they know they risk injury or death. To respond to the issue with the assertion that such women just need 'supportive services' is to miss the point entirely. Most such women would need a support services intervention into their entire lives (pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, after all, are not fleeting circumstances.)Which is also the problem with the second part of the Church's response: 'natural family planning methods' presuppose a loving, supportive relationship with a cooperative partner. Unless, that is, the Church doesn't have a problem with husbands coercing their wives to be fruitful and multiply, even if bearing such fruit causes her emotional or physical distress. The fact of the matter is that if natural family planning methods worked or were relevant to all sexual-slash-reproductive circumstances, there wouldn't be so many women clamoring for abortions, or for safe and reliable access to birth control that remains under their control. And safe and reliable access to such birth control is <a href="http://jezebel.com/5381360/contraception-legal-abortion-could-prevent-70000-deaths-a-year">the only thing that has been shown to reduce abortion rates</a>. The only thing. Which is to say: safe and reliable access to birth control saves the lives of women who are mothers, women who are not mothers, women who hope to be mothers and women who hope never to be mothers. It saves women's lives. Why can't the Church get behind that?I've been outspoken about the fact that I <a href="http://badladies.blogspot.com/2009/03/abortion-means-never-having-to-say.html" target="_blank">deplore abortion</a>. I wish that no woman had to have an abortion. But I am nonetheless <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/theirbadmother/2009/05/doesnt-pro-life-mean-pro-life.html" target="_blank">emphatically pro-choice</a>, and will defend to the end the right of women to control the terms of their reproduction. And there is no question in my mind that although 70,000 abortions represents the termination of 70,000 pregnancies and that that is regrettable, 70,000 women's lives lost in unsafe abortions multiplies the tragedy immeasurably, and if that can be prevented, it should be. It must be.Catherine Connors blogs at <a href="http://www.herbadmother.com/" target="_blank">Her Bad Mother</a> and <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/theirbadmother/" target="_blank">Their Bad Mother</a> and everywhere in between. ]]>

My Blog Action Day Post: Climate Change and Poverty
October 14, 2009 at 8:29 pm

<![CDATA[Even though tomorrow, October 15th, is <a href="http://www.blogactionday.org/">Blog Action Day</a>, an annual event when bloggers write about the same issue on the same day, today is the best day for me to put up my post, so here it goes! I figure it's already October 15th in some parts of the world, so it's ok (: This year's Blog Action Day issue is climate change. Personally, I'm interested in the connection between climate change and poverty. According to the Carbonfund.org post, <a href="http://www.carbonfund.org/blog/global-warming/povertyclimatechange/">Report Shows Poverty Linked to Climate Change</a>:<blockquote>"A study, published in an August issue of <a href="http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1748-9326/4/3/034004/" target="_blank" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.iop.org');">Environmental Research Letters</a>, has shown that climate change will have a disproportionate impact on the world’s poor, pushing them further into poverty. The study examined the potential economic impact of adverse climate events, such as heat waves, drought and heavy rains on households in developing countries."</blockquote>The humanitarian organization,<a href="http://www.care.org/"> CARE</a>, has a whole Climate Change Information Center microsite at <a href="http://www.careclimatechange.org/">www.careclimatechange.org</a>. According to the site, the people CARE works with <a href="http://www.careclimatechange.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10%3Adefending-dignity-fighting-poverty&catid=2%3Avision&Itemid=56">are telling them</a> that climate change is already causing: <ul><li>More people to suffer from hunger;</li><li>More people to live without access to adequate water;</li><li>An increase in health threats;</li><li>A decline in the productivity of natural resource based livelihoods; and</li><li>An increase in the frequency, scale and intensity of conflicts over natural resources.</li></ul><a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/climatechange">Oxfam International</a> also has a climate change campaign, and a <a href="http://blogs.oxfam.org/en/climate-change">Climate Change blog</a>. <a href="https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1037">Oxfam America</a> wants supporters to send an email to President Obama asking him to, "make the US a leader [during the <a href="http://en.cop15.dk/">United Nations Climate Change Conference</a>] in crafting an equitable global treaty that provides substantial financing for poor and vulnerable communities to adapt to climate change." <a href="http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/">Oxfam UK</a> is asking its supporters to send similar emails to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. I have to tell you that reading about this stuff makes me feel a bit discouraged, but I was heartened to find the post, <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/next-urban-crisis-poverty-and-climate-change">The next urban crisis: poverty and climate change</a> on the World Bank's <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/blog">Development in a Changing Climate</a> blog, that mentions the launch of the Rockefeller Foundation's <a href="http://www.rockfound.org/initiatives/climate/acccrn.shtml">Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network</a>. <img style="float: left;" src="http://www.blogactionday.org/imgs/badges/bad-300-250.jpg?1255560369" alt="" height="250" width="300" />The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, "aims to catalyze attention, funding, and action on building climate change resilience for poor and vulnerable people by creating robust models and methodologies for assessing and addressing risk through active engagement and analysis of various cities." What other projects and innovations have you heard about that are being developed to help poor people who will be, and are affected by climate change? You can still sign up to participate in Blog Action Day on <a href="http://www.blogactionday.org/">blogactionday.org</a>, and follow their latest news on the <a href="http://site.blogactionday.org/">Blog Action Day blog</a>.BlogHer Contributing Editor, <a href="http://blogher.org/?q=member/britt-bravo"> Britt Bravo</a>, also blogs at <a href="http://havefundogood.blogspot.com/">Have Fun * Do Good</a>, WE tv's <a href="http://www.wetv.com/blogs/do-good-feel-good/index.html" target="_blank">WE Volunteer blog</a>, <a href="http://www.theextraordinaries.org/" target="_blank">The Extraordinaries</a>, and the <a href="http://culturalentrepreneur.org/blog/" target="_blank">Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship blog</a>. She is a <a href="http://www.brittbravo.com/" target="_blank">Big Vision Consultant</a>. ]]>

A 'HAPPY' Tax Break for Pet Owners?
October 14, 2009 at 8:21 pm

<![CDATA[Better sit your furry 'tocks down for this one. Introduced on July 31, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113791908">a proposed bill</a> (HR 3501), Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years, or 'HAPPY Act,' would give pet owners a sizable tax break. The primary sponsor, <a href="http://mccotter.house.gov/HoR/MI11/Home/">Rep. Thaddeus McCotter</a> (R-Mich), reasons that the economic crisis has negatively affected all Americans and pets should not be excluded in tax relief solutions. <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3501.IH:">The bill</a> would basically amend the IRS code to allow an individual to deduct up to $3,500 in a taxable year for qualified pet care expenses. The bill defines qualified deductions as "amounts paid in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet expense other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the qualified pet."The bill's language specifically defines a qualified pet as a "legally owned, domesticated, live animal." Evidently, the bill does not include research animals or those used in a business, such as breeders or lion tamers.<img style="vertical-align: top;" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2009/10/14/mccotter.jpg?t=1255533876&s=2" alt="" height="225" width="300" /><blockquote> "Well, we've had reports of people having to turn in pets because of the economic recession. And when you think about the relationship between people and pets and the humane way that it helps people think, it seemed to me to be a good idea, and we dropped it in." --Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) in an interview with YouTube's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_uiSuy7TR8&feature=player_embedded">DoggyTV</a> </blockquote>I really have to hand it to Rep. McCotter, who is likely to face resistance from non-pet owners who will cry unfair advantage. He is taking a brave, unprecedented stand on human-animal relationships and putting his money where his food bowl is. The congressman is clearly (ahem) non-neutered. On the other hand, owning a pet is an option and, yes, an economic luxury. God knows I'd love to have a horse of my own (and came close a few times) but just can't stomach the $700 per month care and feeding of such an animal. I have also had to put off getting a doggie companion until my income stabilizes. And yes, it's pretty awful being without a pet - excruciating, actually. Of course, if I already had a dog, we'd find a way to make it work - like any family in a pinch. Shhh. You hear that? It's the fair and inevitable question ringing through the air: "Why should non-pet owners be subsidizing pet owners through the taxes they pay?" And a possible-added-benefit question ringing in my own head: "Might such a tax break encourage people who have thought about adopting a pet to act on it?"<img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wx6QlzyZ1NCbEY6MyrNYqQKVCfTq-6w5BTIQcSDOE7MVn2NxT37un24S8HaiaLGX5NmjRNULLdxMbKSC3dQ_elIkOdCwqEFMx2KgtqSxu698f0UpdrCvwinFAsLRol8lTKcXqxRu4Ec/s400/IMG_0092.JPG" alt="" height="200" width="300" /><blockquote> "Providing pet owners the opportunity to deduct pet care expenses is an important step towards ensuring that pet owners provide adequate veterinary and other necessary pet care. It encourages responsible pet ownership and will hopefully reduce the abandonment of pets by people struggling as a result of the economic downturn." --<a href="http://www.pijac.org/">Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC)</a></blockquote>I've read some rumors that the tax break would not be available to all pet owners but only those who make over a certain income. Still, I couldn't find this in the bill brief and have not seen it confirmed anywhere trustworthy. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and it will be interesting to see what happens to it. (If you want to actively support the bill, go <a href="https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2605">here</a> or call your local House rep and bark in their ear.) No matter the outcome, I definitely got a weird thrill reading an official puppy-love acknowledgement in that famously clinical congressional-ese:<blockquote> SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63 percent of United States households own a pet. (2) The Human-Animal Bond has been shown to have positive effects upon people's emotional and physical well-being.</blockquote>Huzzah! The Obvious has finally found its way into the hallowed halls of our nation. Rick DeBowes, commenting on <a href="http://blogs.vetmed.wsu.edu/Dean/post/2009/08/10/The-HAPPY-Act.aspx">Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine blog</a>, summed it up nicely:<blockquote> "Interesting, as I have long wondered how long it would take for the human-pet-veterinarian bond to reach into society so far that federal legislation would be forthcoming to support it. The pendulum continues to swing." </blockquote><img style="vertical-align: bottom;" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/22/business/22pettoys_600.jpg" alt="" height="244" width="373" /> *** A fine suggestion from Wenchypoo over at <a href="http://wenchwisdom.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-just-in-ever-hear-of-happy-act.html">WenchWisdom</a>:<blockquote> "Maybe a better way to write off animals would be to give a tax credit for every animal adopted from a shelter--that way, it would offset the cost of getting the animal out (spaying/neutering, shots, dental, etc.) and getting it home. In some shelters, it's almost as expensive as a pet store." </blockquote> Mother, blogger, pet owner and Steelers diehard, Blackandgoldfan, takes issue with the whole idea over at her blog, <a href="http://therightstuffbng.blogspot.com/2009/09/happy-act.html">TheRightStuff</a>:<blockquote> "Right now, the IRS allows a taxpayer to deduct medical and dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. If you spend less than that, you can't deduct your medical expenses. But you can sure deduct expenses for the care of your pet under this legislation! Am I the only one who has an issue with this lunacy?" </blockquote>However, That One Girl at <a href="http://thecharwoods.blogspot.com/2009/09/hr-3501-happy-act.html">LifeAlongTheWay</a>, is pretty much wagging her tail:<blockquote> "This makes me very happy, as I'm sure that it will make other responsible pet owners happy as well! We love our dogs and, for us, they are a part of the family. I'm glad that they are finally thinking of pets as part of the family!"</blockquote>~ClizBiz (Image Credits: Top - <a href="http://awards.gettyimages.com/awards.cfm?display=photographer&photographerID=10">Chip Somodevilla/</a><a href="http://awards.gettyimages.com/awards.cfm?display=photographer&photographerID=10">Getty Images</a>; Middle - <a href="http://clizbiz.com/">ClizBiz</a>; Bottom - <a href="http://www.peterthompsonphoto.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=10829&Akey=7LWHJGQ9">Peter Wynn Thompson</a>) ]]>

Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way: Young Activists Matter Too!
October 14, 2009 at 7:30 pm

<![CDATA[I edit a series of activist blogs called <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes">Care2 Causes</a>, and I'm learning a lot. Environmental bloggers, animal rights advocates, gay rights, human rights and, of course, women's rights; each post raises an issue with a new perspective and new ideas. But there's <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/author/ameliatd/">one particular blogger</a> whose posts intrigue me, not only for their quality (most Care2 bloggers are excellent) but also because she demonstrates something very important for "midlife" activists to remember: the world didn't stop with us! Listen to this great young woman: <blockquote>In my few years of activism, I have experienced ageism and significant intolerance of the voices of youth. We are called frivolous and apathetic - and I think those indictments are sometimes self-fulfilling prophecies. But the voices of tens of thousands of youth, marching with people of all ages, genders, sexualities, races, and religions, spoke loudly, saying that the time for change is now.</blockquote> How many of us, no matter what we're involved in, have empowered younger activists to take a serious role, beyond data entry and phone banking? Yes, the Obama Campaign did it but they were an exception. Too often, we who ran antiwar marches and political campaigns and food coops when we were in our twenties treat them as if they'll be 40 before they're capable of anything. How did that happen? These younger folks have real issues, too, that inform their advocacy. Tula Connell wrote in September on<a href="http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/09/01/young-workers-a-lost-decade/"> the AFL-CIO blog</a>: <blockquote>Something bad happened in the past 10 years to young workers in this country: Since 1999, more of them now have lower-paying jobs, if they can get a job at all; health care is a rare luxury and retirement security is something for their parents, not them. In fact, many—younger than 35—still live at home with their parents because they can’t afford to be on their own.</blockquote> Not so cheerful. Tanene Allison, in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanene-allison/online-and-off-millennial_b_112873.html">a Huffington Post</a> entry a year ago, also described her Millennial generation, but by describing herself: <blockquote>(Disclosure: I am, in fact, a Millennial! I am writing this blog post from my social justice-focused workplace, where I use two computers simultaneously, have my iPhone stationed nearby, and am listening to music.) (Specifically, I am alternating between the New York Philharmonic and Patti Smith, as a reference point for those who engage in the debate around Millennials and what we make of culture.) In other words, I am writing to you about my peers.</blockquote> Some random explorations, sure. But they make the case for paying serious attention to these folks, not as a generalized demographic but as thoughtful, committed, full-hearted participants in the struggle to build a better future. We're lucky they're there, and we should listen to them ]]>

Does Choosing to be Self-Employed Jeopardize Your Dream of Home Ownership?
October 14, 2009 at 6:10 pm

<![CDATA[When I chose the self-employment route, I had already owned my current home. Yet I am looking to the future toward a home that meets my desires for what I most want now (versus 11 years ago when I purchased this place). I'm not even in the analysis stage yet because the time is not right financially or otherwise for me to make the move. I had heard that it can be more challenging for the self-employed to qualify for a mortgage and that was before the debacle in the banking system. Now I wonder just how much more difficult it may be when the time comes. When one chooses to become self-employed does that mean the death of the dream of home-ownership?I recently read <a href="http://nymag.com/realestate/realestatecolumn/58832/" target="_blank">"The Self-Employment Catch-22"</a> in <a href="http://nymag.com/" target="_blank">New York Magazine</a> and it practically made me spit up my perfectly good weekend brunch. I realized the rules were challenging but this statement stopped me in my tracks:<blockquote>They’re freelance workers, of whom there are around a million in the New York and who constitute about 25 percent of the city’s mortgage market. Strict new rules, established after bad mortgages crippled banks, have made obtaining financing nearly impossible unless the borrower can show a regular paycheck. “Now you can be ready, willing, and able to buy, but you can’t get the money,” says Sara Horowitz, executive director of the Freelancers Union, which has 75,000 members in New York.</blockquote>The glaring challenge for the self-employed and freelancers among us beyond the usual <a href="http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/04/10/how-do-you-qualify-for-a-mortgage-loan/" target="_blank">how to qualify for a mortgage loan</a> exercise is the lack of paper trail proving income. Without that W-2 you are required to find another way of offering a clear, well-documented picture of your income that makes the now gun-shy lenders feel confident that you can pay your mortgage. Anyone who has spent more than 12 months self-employed knows that monthly income fluctuates, sometimes wildly. Lenders don't like see-saw numbers.In the past, low or no documentation type loans and other creative financing was the answer. No longer. In the UK, the <a href="http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article14186.html" target="_blank">self-certification mortgage</a> is a thing of the past. In the US, entrepreneurs took a real hit with foreclosures bearing a large brunt of the bust since many took out risky mortgages to make the dream of home ownership happen. According to the <a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2008/12/30/predictions-for-entrepreneurship-in-2009/">Wall Street Journal Blogs</a>:<blockquote>Foreclosures bite entrepreneurs hard. Many self-employed took out risky mortgages (such as “interest-only” and option adjustable-rate) that will reset at much higher interest rates starting in 2009 and coming years. An analysis by the National Association for the Self-Employed found that about 23% of the self-employed — or about 3.7 million of them — hold these “toxic” mortgages.</blockquote>On the ironic same side of the coin entrepreneurship has been on the rise as traditional employment undergoes radical changes through layoffs, re-organizations, and a changing business climate. As a result, even more people are going to be facing this double whammy of stricter mortgage requirements and the inherent fluctuations of being your own boss. To add more insult to injury the very techniques that benefit the self-employed like home office and other deductions are the same things that can make even a successful business show far less net income than a similarly successful employee with a W-2. The idea of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rebuild.org/news-article/payday-loans-for-the-self-employed-what-to-without-a-w2/">payday loans</a> are becoming an option for self-employed professionals but only those in truly difficult financial circumstances.Here are some fundamentally good articles on taking that leap toward home-ownership:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="http://millionairemommynextdoor.com/2009/06/when-should-i-buy-a-home-have-we-reached-bottom-yet-what-is-the-right-price/">When Should I Buy a Home? Have We Reached the Bottom Yet? What is the Right Price?</a> by Millionaire Mommy Next Door</li><li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/29/how-much-debt-do-you-have-calculate-debt-to-income-ratio/">How Much Debt Do You Have? </a>and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/04/10/how-do-you-qualify-for-a-mortgage-loan/">"How Do You Qualify for a Mortgage Loan?</a>" by The Digeratilife</li><li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mrsmicah.com/2009/10/05/home-prices-and-interest/">"Home Prices and Interest: With or Without Interest - Do You Know What You Paid"</a> by Finance for a Freelance Life</li><li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bethemiddleman.com/blog/bethemiddleman-news/buying-a-property-if-youre-self-employed/">"Buying Property if You're Self-Employed" </a>by Be the Middleman</li></ul>I had a bit of a hard time finding links out there on personal experiences from freelancers buying homes both before and after the lending crisis. If you are a freelancer/self-employed, what has been your experience with proving income stream and obtaining a mortgage? Whether it was pre or post banking bust, please share your stories in the comments... <hr />Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, offers <a href="http://www.thepaulagcompany.com/">life and business coaching for women</a> to help you gain the clarity, confidence, and courage you need to succeed on your own terms. Get the free eCourse <a href="http://www.thepaulagcompany.com/feartofreedom">"5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom"</a> at her website ]]>

Translating my son's digital world
October 14, 2009 at 12:30 pm

<![CDATA["What number is bigger than 1000 trillion?" asks my husband on the drive home."Google. Googleplex!" replies my nine-year old son Douglas.Now, he didn't mean Google's headquarters. He meant a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googolplex" target="_blank">googolplex</a>, the theoretically largest number in the world. He tells me he learned about it last year in third grade.Third grade. In third grade, my son learned about a number that is in fact impossible to calculate or even write.Me? I learned about it when I looked up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googleplex" target="_blank">Googleplex </a>in Wikipedia and found the reference to the number.That's the challenge we <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native" target="_blank">digital immigrants</a> face when raising our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native" target="_blank">digital native</a> children. No matter how fluent we become, we are immigrants. We don't think about digital "stuff” the same way our children do. They understand it naturally, natively. We're always translating.I can't even comprehend what a googolplex is. For my son, it's just a number.Now, I’m pretty fluent in this digital language. I’ve been around the Internet long enough to own getgood.com, which I acquired in 1994, and used as a family website (blog forerunner) until 2004 when I started my consulting business. Google me and you’ll find junk I posted in 1993 and 1994 on Usenet. Way back when, I could <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeshifting" target="_blank">time shift </a> on a VCR. Trust me, before DVRs, that was a big thing.None of that matters when it comes to the challenge of parenting a digital kid. It’s not about how well we use the tools ourselves. It’s about making sure our children engage with technology in appropriate ways. We need to balance our children’s digital world with the real one, and sometimes it's a struggle to make sure nothing gets lost in translation.There's no shortage of research on the impact of digital media on children. Research is good. Here's some:<ul><li><a href="http://cdmc.georgetown.edu/" target="_blank">Children's Digital Media Center, Georgetown University</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdmc.ucla.edu/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles</a></li></ul>But, we're in the trenches. Our kids are going online today. Yesterday.Research isn't going to help us raise our kids. Not really. It may help our kids avoid the same mistakes we made, but by that point, we'll be grandparents, and really, will it matter so much then? Our job will be to spoil those kids just like our parents, if we were lucky enough that they were still alive, spoiled ours.I digress. Research is important. Valuable. But the most useful research on a day to day basis is our own. How are we dealing with raising digital kids? How can we help other parents navigate the same treacherous waters? That's what we'll share here in BlogHer's Digital Parenting thread.I’m thrilled to be participating in the project, and look forward to speaking with all of you. Next week, I'll get personal, and share how my son's digital world has evolved.In the meantime, take a look at <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/health/13klas.html?_r=1&hpw" target="_blank">this column</a> by pediatrician Perri Klass about our children's changing learning habits. Can our children really do their homework and watch TV and surf the Internet and text with their friends simultaneously? The answer, amazingly, seems to be yes:<blockquote>The advice my older son gave me about my younger son was, “Don’t worry about it till there’s something to worry about. If he’s doing well in his classes and his homework, fine!” And that was also Dr. Cooper’s advice to parents: “If they’re doing well, permitting them to have some choice permits them to find their own style.”</blockquote>As long as they are performing well in school, don't worry? Easy to say. Not so easy to do.What do you think?Susan Getgood is a marketing and social media consultant. She blogs professionally at <a href="http://getgood.com/roadmaps" target="_blank">Marketing Roadmaps and</a> also writes a personal blog <a href="http://snapshotchronicles.com/" target="_blank">Snapshot Chronicles</a> and a family travel blog <a href="http://snapshotchronicles.com/roadtrip" target="_blank">Snapshot Chronicles Roadtrip</a>. She is a co-founder of BlogwithIntegrity.com, and recently started work on her first book.Join BlogHer’s new community journalism project! Report on how you and your family interact with technology in the age of digital parenting in the Family Connections group. </mce:style> ]]>

Youth Violence is a Public Health Issue. Why Don't We Treat It that Way?
October 13, 2009 at 10:30 pm

It has been several weeks since the nation recoiled in horror at the videotaped brutal beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, the Chicago honor student who was caught in a melee between two factions of warring youth. Last week, President Obama dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder to the city to declare that he understood the urgency of the problem:

"The Department of Justice is releasing a new study today that measures the effects of youth violence in America, and the results are staggering. More than 60 percent of the children surveyed were exposed to violence in the past year, either directly or indirectly. Nearly half of children and adolescents were assaulted at least once, and more than one in ten were injured as a result. Nearly one-quarter were the victim of a robbery, vandalism or theft, and one in sixteen were victimized sexually."

The Attorney General went on to discuss the need for coordinated solutions:

Our responses to this issue in the past have been fragmented. The federal government does one thing, states do another, and localities do a third. We need a comprehensive, coordinated approach to address youth violence, one that encompasses the latest research and the freshest approaches. Our administration is committed to implementing such strategies, which is why we've asked for $24 million in next year's budget for community-based crime prevention programs such as Ceasefire and Project Safe Neighborhood. And it's why our Office of Justice Programs is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide support and assistance to communities affected by violence.

Hear, hear! But I'm wondering -- where the public health experts are in this discussion?

A comprehensive study done under Clinton administration Surgeon General David Satcher argued forcefully that youth violence is not only a public safety issue; it's a public health issue. One key conclusion from that 2001 report suggests the road not taken:

The most important conclusion of this report is that youth violence is not an intractable problem. We now have the knowledge and tools needed to reduce or even prevent much of the most serious youth violence, with the added benefit of reducing less dangerous, but still serious problem behaviors and promoting healthy development. Scientists from many disciplines, working in a variety of settings with public and private agencies, are generating needed information and putting it to use in designing, testing, and evaluating intervention programs. ... Thus, the most urgent need is a national resolve to confront the problem of youth violence systematically, using research-based approaches, and to correct damaging myths and stereotypes that interfere with the task at hand

The Satcher report advocated a public health approach to the problem of youth violence that:

Defines the problem, using surveillance processes designed to gather data that establish the nature of the problem and the trends in its incidence and prevalence;
Identifies potential causes, through epidemiological analyses that identify risk and protective factors associated with the problem;
Designs, develops, and evaluates the effectiveness and generalizability of interventions; and
Disseminates successful models as part of a coordinated effort to educate and reach out to the public (Hamburg, 1998; Mercy et al., 1993).

I've taken the liberty of quoting the Satcher report extensively because it's worth asking whatever happened to its recommendations. A 2005 study by criminologist Brandon C. Welsh suggests that there were those in the criminal justice community who were still unaware of the value of this approach to the youth violence problem. From the abstract:

The increasingly punitive response to juvenile criminal violence is an unsustainable approach to reducing juvenile violence, according to the author. The sole reliance on a law-and-order approach is at the center of the problem. However, the public health perspective represents a promising approach to the reduction and prevention of juvenile violence and should be considered as a complement to the traditional law-and-order approach, rather than an alternative.

The sheer magnitude of post-traumatic stress being experienced by Chicago's children alone makes health policy an essential part of the solution to youth violence in that city. Listen to Trinity United Church of Christ's pastor, Rev. Otis Moss III, as he talks about what the children in his congregation are experiencing:

Rapper Killer Mike's XXL magazine blog post about his reactions to Albert's murder attests to the breadth and depth of the problem. Watching the video of the murder brought "20 ghosts" to his mind of victims and perpetrators of violence that he knew from his own youth, he said, adding:

Dozens of children have died this year in Chicago, and we did nothing. Atlanta, D.C, Detroit, Newark, Miami, N.O., Baton Rouge, Lil Rock, Oakland, thousands are dead and we did and do nothing! We watch the victims and families on local news, CNN and FOX and watch the offenders on 48hrs and American Gangster and Gangland and still we do nothing!
We feel a tinge of sadness for the children that die. We feel bone deep anguish and hurt for those black mamas. We look and feel lucky not to live "there." We thank God our kid are ok and we resume life in this broken model of a village. We do nothing more! By doing nothing more we keep KILLING OUR CHILDREN!?!?!

"Mike's" cri de coeur elicited an impressive response, and we can only hope that his call to adult responsibility will be heeded.

Blogher CE Nordette Adams is watching the same tragedies unfold in her own city, New Orleans:

The level of stress on people here as we watch our own city, New Orleans, buckle under violence that often involves people under 25 is sometimes unbearable, which is why I address it in poetry and poem-prayers. Some days the bad news is so overwhelming I feel like we're drowning in blood, and I wonder how do they get their hands on so many guns. Why is it so many young people seem consumed with the need for revenge?

However, we more than cries of righteous indignation. We need to bring the same level of informed citizen activism to this problem that we bring to every other pressing issue we face. With that in mind, here are some tentative thoughts about questions we should be asking and solutions we should be considering:

1. We need to ask HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius what role her agency is playing in shaping policy on youth violence. I searched the HHS website with the term "youth violence" this evening and got no results. A search of the website of the Surgeon General brought up the Satcher report.

2. Speaking of Surgeon Generals, we don't have one. Pres. Obama's nominee, Dr. Regina Benjamin, only cleared the Senate Health Committee last week and reports are that Republican lawmakers are holding up a Senate floor vote because of an unrelated dispute with the Administration over Medicare contractors. The Surgeon General can play a valuable role in inter-agency policy coordination. What can be done to fill this key vacancy?

3. What's happening with the S.A.F.E.T.Y. (Securing America's Families by Educating and Training Youth Through Nonviolence) Act? Civil rights veteran John Lewis advanced this bill last May and so far, it has yet to receive consideration. It would create a grant program to train young people in non-violent conflict resolution.

4. We need new approaches to breaking the school-to-prison pipeline. My colleague, Dr. Deborah Thompson, a professor of education at The College of New Jersey has often referred to the correlation between poor reading skills, the likelihood of school failure, and future incarceration. Indeed, a study reported just a few days ago in the New York Times, The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School (.pdf) makes it clear that we pay a high price for failing to keep kids in school. Not only do we see higher rates of unemployment and incarceration, we see greater expenses for taxpayers.

5. Let's delve more into what works. The Department of Justice has a links to case studies of successful programs. I wonder about the fact that only two of the studies cited were published after 2000.

Here's one example of an approach that might be worth some formal study. I have a former student, Amy Stein, who is a social worker treating young people classified as emotionally and behaviorally disturbed. Using a combination of environmental education and arts therapy, Amy reports success in helping get kids back on track both psychologically and academically. As she chronicled in her 2002 book, Fragments: Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder, her creative approach to working with young people stems from a combination of personal and professional experience. Stein found that organic gardening and artistic expression helped her in her own battles with ADHD and other issues.

My interest in Stein's approach was buttressed by a speech that I covered last year for Blogher by activist and scholar Angela Davis spoke about a successful prison gardening project that she observed. She said the women participating in the project had learned new skills, improved their outlook on life and become healthier by changing their diets. They dreaded having to return to their communities, though, where the triggers remained that led to their incarceration, but constructive outlets such as community gardens were lacking.

What kinds of creative approaches do you think communities and policymakers can enact to combat youth violence?

LainaD: The Murder of Derrion Albert: Do We Pay More Attention to Digital Documented Crimes?

Karl Lagerfeld Says No One Wants to See "Round" Women
October 13, 2009 at 10:28 pm

Not too log ago, designer Mark Fast caught our attention for including plus-sized models in his London Fashion Week runway show. Fast's decision inspired some really interesting discussion, both here at BlogHer and elsewhere, about everything from what constitutes a "plus" size to why couture matters. For the most part, though, everyone agreed that Fast's choice to show his clothes on women with actual curves was a step in the right direction.

Everyone, that is, except Karl Lagerfeld.

This week, the German magazine Focus published an interview in which Lagerfeld dismisses the use of plus sized models, calling it "absurd." The fashion industry, Lagerfeld told Focus, relies on "dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women."

"These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly," Lagerfeld says, adding that these women are just jealous of the models.

Oh, Karl. For heaven's sake.

What got Lagerfeld on this particular soap box? No, it wasn't too many years of wearing those sunglasses and leather gloves constantly; it was German magazine Brigitte's decision to stop using models. Instead, the magazine will feature real women, says editor Andreas Lebert: "We will show women who have their own identity, the 18-year-old A-level student, the company chairwoman, the musician, the footballer."

Lagerfeld isn't down with that, unfortunately. Instead, he defends the models, saying that "Ninety percent of them are quite normal, properly proportioned girls with less fat and more muscles, who also eat pizzas and burgers." And while we're not picking on models, thin or otherwise, to assert that every woman who would like to see someone closer to her size is a "fat mummy" dosn't really make us want to defend Karl Lagerfeld.

We're not the only ones: Twirlit's Sherrie Gulmahamad is also rolling her eyes at Lagerfeld's pronouncements.

I don't take exception to his idea that "round women" don't mesh well with the dreamy fashion world. I take exception to calling us outspoken ones "fat mummies"! Lagerfeld (who is openly gay) can only see the female world as divided into his mannequins and to chubby potato chip-eating complainers. Plenty of healthywomen who think the size zero phenomenon is sick AREN'T potato chip couch surfers. I'm sure without much prodding you can find outspoken athletes, female politicians, philosophers and feminists, who aren't "fat mummies". Let us never forget that recently two supermodels wasted away to nothing and died of anorexia.
This raises a rather dicey question. Do the gay men controlling the fashion world also control the messaging about *our* bodies – and is it wrong, considering gay men aren't really interested in our bodies in the first place?

Gulmahamad's question is an interesting one -- more interesting, perhaps, than Lagerfeld's uninformed assertion that women are down on super thin models because we're all essentially fat and lazy. Not because we're looking for a way to make fashion more than just dreams and illusions.

BlogHer CE avflox has an insider's perspective on the fashion world, and comes to a slightly different conclusion about Lagerfeld and the fashion industry.

Oh, but this is standard Karl, isn't it? He lives in a perpetual state of angina over society's murderous attacks on the skinny and the fur-loving.
I modeled when I was younger and I always thought that the whole point was that we had a nondescript body, and thus did not detract from the clothes. We were walking clothes hangers.
The fantasy and illusion is found in the genius of a collection and the portrayal of a specific lifestyle, not in the persons wearing its items. Karl should be concerned about how much emphasis is being placed on the bodies as opposed to his clothes and do something about that instead of making such a fuss. After all, this is his livelihood.
Focus, if they integrate different body types appropriately, is taking a step toward bringing the attention back to the clothes -- where it should be. Having said that, as a thin woman, I'm enraged by the statement that the mag will use "realistic" women because I am real, damn it. But, yes, variety would be excellent.

This gets to what I see as the heart of this discussion: Opting for models who look more like real women (even if we all agree that "plus" sized models are slim by most standards) is a step toward putting a kind of pragmatism into fashion. Lagerfeld fears the loss of the dream, but a fashion industry that lets all women dream about wearing the beautiful clothes that we see on the runway is an industry with a future.

What say you: Is fashion all about the dream, or are you crossing your fingers that one day you'll open a Vogue and see clothes that might actually work for your real girl figure?

Susan Wagner writes about pragmatic fashion at The Working Closet and chic suburban living at Friday Playdate.

Shake It Like Brunhilde – The Opera Bloggers
October 13, 2009 at 10:21 pm

Opera music is a lot like okra to me. it If I know it is heading my way I run in the opposite direction. I don't like Opera music. Well, most of it anyway. If it is not wrapped in a Warner Brothers cartoon or some form of animation I suffer. Classical music, yes, rack up some Glenn Gould and I will be happy; that dude could rock the 88's, classically speaking.

Honestly, I gave Opera a fair shot. I watched a performance of Madame Butterfly. Came away thinking she was a Class-A fool. I watched Fosca, not to be confused with Tosca, and again was shaking my head about women who choose to die for love. Can't count the times I have tried to listen to the Wagner Ring Cycle on the radio and woke up the next morning with the lights still on.

I'm not proud about it but I did get a good night sleep.

So why am I doing a post about Opera music? Because all forms of music need to be supported, encouraged and exposed to a broader audience. I got it figured this way. Some talented person who likes Opera but doesn't like all the women killing themselves will someday write an opera with no dame off'ing herself in the name of love.

But even if I liked the stuff it would be a challenge to find public access to the music. The popular music industry crowds out anything different or performers that are fully clothed. In America, the Public Broadcasting Service has cut way back on airing theatrical productions. The prices for Opera performances? Yowser! Even the bum rush tickets need a co-signer.

Ok, I exaggerate but not by much.

The fact is Opera music doesn't lend easily to visual exposure. The few classical radio stations are, well, radio. I rarely turn mine on unless it is time for L.A. Theater Works. Spoken word theater, not Opera. So I'm going to take myself up on a personal challenge and find Opera bloggers.

The Performers

Jessica at A Soprano Steps Out writes about balancing her auditions, the day job and her life in and outside of Opera music. In one of her posts Jessica reflects on an audition:

Saturday, the audition was fine. It really was. I mostly loved it, which is why the couple of questionable notes among dozens of other good ones really piss me off. I felt like I was really present in what I was doing, except that for some odd reason, I could feel my poor little knees shaking, and it seemed impossible that the panel didn't see it.

DivaVixen is a Mezo Soprano at Viva La Diva. There is the day job at the gym, interactions with three-year olds and having to sing "art songs" as opposed to arias.

And a lot of the time, you only get to sing art songs if you are performing for a specific art song competition or are famous enough to be asked to sing a recital for the paying public. I am a LOOOONG way off from holding recitals and have managed to dodge, thus far, the art song competitions.

There are fees for auditions, having to listen to contrary advice and a nerve racking experience of The Mikado that will not be forgotten. I liked reading their stories about the challenges on pursuing their careers in Opera. I have questions about the exercising that is done, I think it is for endurance on stage and not necessarily for shape.

Joyce DiDonato has a performance website and a blog at YankeeDiva. Hey Opera people, take a hint from Joyce and post video of yourself and a bit of performance on your site. I could see who she is, a bit of her personality and yeah, a bit of music. No seriously, she has a great voice.

Appreciators of Opera Music

Intermezzo is another soprano this time from London who writes about Opera from a devoted fan/critic perspective. There is love but she isn't afraid to say if a performance was less than stellar.

Garanča is more problematical. Carmen needs a bit of dirt under her fingernails, and no, an elegant smudge of brown greasepaint is not the same thing. Her agile, honeyed voice is elegance personified; there's little to suggest an earthy gypsy heart beating beneath.

The Opera Tattler is similar in style but also writes about Opera news, gossip and what happens on and off the stage. I do think it is a good idea to report the behavior and make up of the audience. Also check out An Unamplified Voice and OperaChic.

So Where Does This Leave Me?

Perhaps I need to be willing to watch short-form Opera videos and performances. Classic Arts Showcase does air those kind of video excerpts but I can't stay up until 1 a.m., which is when my PBS channel airs the program.

I can continue to check on YouTube for Opera music. This is where I have problems with the current draconian content lockdown. I do believe in right livelihood and, as some of the performers would attest, they need to get paid. Once again the recording industry is busy punishing individuals and not recognizing the need to develop new audiences.

For Opera music that means making a few of artists work available so that we can see what you have. Engagement. A little introduction that could lead to a chic chat?

I'm not asking the Industry to have an open buffet. But tell me why Callas is the bomb diggity of Opera and show the woman in performance. If you don't want this to be a dying art form then a little more adaptation on your part is required. There should be a better effort to help newbies discover why an artist is important and help me locate new performers.

Gena Haskett writes at Out On The Stoop and Create Video Notebook.

The ultimate guide to going green
October 13, 2009 at 8:59 pm

<![CDATA[Each week, we're sharing our favorite links from our friends at Planet Green and TreeHugger. Enjoy!Just what we needed: The world's first <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/worlds-first-drive-through-museum-china-nanjing.php?from=treehugger">drive-through museum</a> is coming to China.Meet the <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/vegetarian-spider-hides-from-ants-so-it-can-eat-leaves-video.php?from=treehugger">Central American spider</a>, a rare breed of arachnid that likes to hunt...plants?The verdict is in: To feed everyone on the planet, we'll need to produce <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/we-need-70-percent-more-food-in-the-next-40-years.php?from=treehugger">70 percent more food</a> in the next 40 years. Is <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/is-clean-tech-becoming-socialist-plot.php?from=treehugger">clean tech becoming a socialist plot</a>?We've rounded up more than 100 <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/more-than-100-iphone-apps-for-green-shopping-eating-travel-and-fun.php?from=treehugger">iPhone apps for green shopping, eating, and having fun</a>.Harness the energy of the sun—<a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/solar-power-photovaltaic-panels.html?from=treehugger">without photovoltaic cells</a>.Buy <a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/buying-guides/buy-green-mens-underwear.html?from=treehugger">green boxers and briefs</a> for the dude in your life. Fried green tomatoes not quite your bag? Try making this <a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/green-tomato-jam.html?from=treehugger">green tomato jam</a>.Here it is: The ULTIMATE <a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/green-ultimate-guide.html?from=treehugger">guide to going green</a>!Check out our 50 ways to <a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/ways-avoid-waste-food.html?from=treehugger">never waste food again</a>.<img class="mceItem" style="float: left; padding-right: 5px;" src="http://assets1.blogher.com/files/th_pg_logos_160x120.jpg" alt="" width="158" height="119" /><a href="/http://www.planetgreen.com">PlanetGreen.com</a> offers practical, everyday tips on how to live a greener lifestyle. We offer actionable advice across a variety of topics: green made real. <a href="http://www.treehugger.com">TreeHugger</a> is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. Partial to a modern aesthetic, we strive to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information. ]]>