Reading while fat, part 4

“Buildings and cars, electricity and language–what a piece of work is man, right? What triumphs of rationality, you know? If you really take it all in, you can become enamored with a smug belief about how smart you and the rest of the human race have become.

Yet you lock your keys in the car. You forget what it was you were about to say. You get fat. You go broke. Others do it too. From bank crises to sexual escapades, we can all be really stupid sometimes.”

–David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself

Pretty ironic for a book about unconscious biases, huh?

#FatshionFebruary, day 26

Top: Chic Star, skirt: vendor at a dance festival, petticoat and socks: Domino Dollhouse, tiny hat: So Good, boots: Hot Topic, necklace: eBay, studded wristband: Macy’s, zipper wristband: some random store on Newbury Street

#FatshionFebruary, day 25

I was flipping through my old Girlfriends LA catalogs, thinking about scanning one in its entirety. And that inspired me to dig out one of my old GFLA shirts and try to see if it would fit over another shirt. Which, excitingly, it did!

The Oscars: the good, the bad, and the ugly

I didn’t actually watch the Oscars, but who needs to, when all the highlights (and, unfortunately, lowlights) are all over the internet?

The Good 

-The gowns of Octavia Spencer, Fan Bing Bing, Helena Bonham Carter, and the ridiculously adorable Quvenzhane Wallis–check out her puppy purse!

-Jennifer Lawrence’s reaction to ridiculous questions from the press:

Quote of the day

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
-Jiddu Krishnamurti (source: Brainy Quote)

Quote of the day

“When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: if you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.”
― Martin Keogh, Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World (source: Goodreads)

Random funny mental image of the day

So, yesterday I was reading more of The Story of Stuff. (Which, despite that one thing that pissed me off, is an amazing and important book. Go read.)

And I came across a sentence that mentioned the “low-end Swedish fashion giant H&M” (Leonard, 116).

I totally pictured The Hulk with long blonde braids, wearing a peplum top and floral skinny jeans.

#FatshionFebruary, day 22: pink and black lace

I love these earrings. I got them years and years and years ago, from a jewelry vendor who came to my college.

#FatshionFebruary, day 21: galactic flapper

This ampersand necklace was my Valentine’s Day present from Steve. 🙂

Friday links, 2/22/13

Stuffed French toast with caramelized apples, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. Nom!

Fat Acceptance
–Get ready for NOLOSE 2013, which sounds amazing! I would love to make it to NOLOSE someday.
-Toronto fatties of color, check out the It Gets Fatter Project’s Fat Talk.
-Participate in a cultural shift by submitting your health care story to ASDAH’s Resolved: Addressing Weight Bias in Health Care video project.
–There’s no need for this obesity epidemic hysteria.
–How not to be a dick to your fat friends.
–Thigh gaps, calories, and ignorance about how bodies actually work.
-On not being impressed with thin people trying to be the voice of FA.
–HAES matters: a health at every size model for our children.
–Mindful eating: what it is, what it isn’t, and why kids don’t need it.
–Talented fat people are not actually shocking.
-Laura Beck gets to the heart of so much fat hatred.
-Both Glorify and Fierce, Freethinking Fatties are inviting fatties from marginalized backgrounds to write for them.
–How I learned to love my fat arms.

Fa(t)shion
–Tutu DuMonde’s clothing is gorgeous–too bad it’s for children! I’d totally wear it if it came in my size–unlike Jeska, I have no qualms about going to the bank dressed like a 1920’s circus performer.
-Continuum’s Constrvct collection is such a cool idea–you can design your own fashion, and then the clothing is custom-made to your measurements. It’s not particularly affordable, but I’m still glad it exists.
-Check out Rachele’s How To Be a Fat Bitch e-course #3, which is about fatshion.
–A review of a Sealed With A Kiss dress, and a really cool Etsy shop that makes custom clothing.
–Not for girls: are women ditching pink?
–Dressing for yourself and dressing to put others at ease.
–ABAN: Empowering girls in Ghana, one fabric at a time.
–Stop telling girls their hemlines are too short.
-A fabulous punk Marie Antoinette-themed photoshoot.
-Total eye candy: a floral affair.

Everything Else
–How not to write a travel piece like Nicholas Kristof.
–Why you shouldn’t participate in voluntourism.
–The war on sex workers.
–The triple-pane windows theory: a shockingly simple blueprint for cities to save the planet without wrecking the economy.
–A tiny village in Vietnam where women choose to be single mothers.
–The curious case of Reeva Steenkamp’s boyfriend.