Sunday links, 12/21/14

#BlackLivesMatter
–Why #BlackLivesMatter actions aren’t stopping.
-“We are connected online and in the streets. We are decentralized, but coordinated. Most importantly, we are organized. Yet, we are likely not respectable negroes. We stand beside each other, not in front of one another. We do not cast any one of ours to the side in order to gain proximity to perceived power.”
-Powerful pictures from #ChanukahActions around the country, including the one I attended in Brookline.
–26 ways to be in the struggle beyond the streets.
–“Some of the worst racist tragedies in history have been perfectly legal”: Kimberlé Crenshaw on Eric Garner, Broken Windows and police impunity.
–When we talk about police shootings, we need to talk about gender.
-This makes my heart happy: two women who met at the protests in Ferguson are getting married.

One of the pictures I took at the Brookline Chanukah Action

–Angela Davis: “There is an unbroken line of police violence in the US that takes us all the way back to the days of slavery.”
-It is beyond disturbing to learn about how the Cleveland police treated the family members of both Eric Crawford and Tamir Rice after they were killed.
–Policing is a dirty job, but nobody’s gotta do it: 6 ideas for a cop-free world.  In the meantime, Richmond, CA is an example of how a police department can do better.
–Being a cop showed me just how violent and racist the police are. There’s only one fix.
–From Michael Brown to Assata Shakur, the racist state of America persists. You can read more about Assata’s situation here and here, and sign a petition asking Obama to pardon her.
-This is great: Product Review: The Invisible Backpack of White Privilege from L.L. Bean.

Fa(t)shion
-Glitterinthedirt interviews Tracy of Domino Dollhouse and Shawna of Chubby Cartwheels about the small business side of plus size fashion–very relevant to what I was talking about in this post.
–Fashion and feminism: Taja Lindley of Colored Girls Hustle.
-The new issue of Skorch is awesome as always.
–33 plus size dresses for New Year’s Eve–because what better night to channel Beyoncé?
–17 bizarre Nicki Minaj outfits, because she knows how to make costume-wear look incredibly cool.
-The Fab Fatty Wonderland clothing swap looks amazing!
–The next big plus model is also a master’s grad, philanthropist, and all-around bad-ass.
-I’m drooling over the Marchesa gowns that Nicolette got to see up close in NYC.
–11 inspiring holiday outfits from our favorite plus-size bloggers.

Outfit August, day 12: pretty pastels

The life of a fatshion blogger is so hard. I just had to go to one of my favorite cupcake places to find the perfect background for this outfit. 😉

Dress: White Mark via Zulily, skirt: made from two skirts sewn together (you can see it worn on its own here), necklace: Forever 21, bracelets: Deb, earrings and fascinator: So Good, shoes: Clarks

This dress is really short–even on someone as short-legged as I am–hence the skirt underneath.  I really like how they go together, and it felt vaguely superpower-ish to have hidden unicorns under my dress.

The Big Thrifty 2014 = awesomeness.

The Big Thrifty just gets better every year. This year, it moved to a much more spacious location, which was a huge improvement over the previous one. Not only was it bigger, air-conditioned, and so much more comfortable, but it had extra space for movement classes and hanging out. Being able to sit around, talk with my friends, and make new ones made the event so much more fun.

I volunteered to help set up the event the night before, which was a lot of fun although unexpectedly exhausting. I got to meet Deb Malkin, the founder of Re/Dress and co-founder of the Big Fat Flea, and a bunch of other cool people. We volunteers also got first crack at the clothes, and I found a few great pieces–including the sparkly bubble skirt that I wore to the event itself.

One of the new features this year was a photobooth, which means I have some fun pictures from the event to post! A bunch of them feature the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a modern order of queer nuns. They were so nice and had some truly fabulous costumes.

Me with Shannon, Emily, and two of the Sisters

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 3/12/14

Fat Heffalump

glittergeek

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 11/27/13

No Small Affair

The Do It Yourself Lady

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 11/20/13

ShapEly Louise

Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

10 more ways to make a living in a green economy

Cupcakes: a vital part of any economy.

Jobs have been on my mind a lot lately…if by lately, you mean the past three years or so.  It’s a lot less depressing to envision what the job market would look like in a sustainable economy than to think about the shitty choices it offers now. And if we’re going to build a better economy, we have to start by imagining it, right?

So here are ten more ways that people could make a living in a new economy:

1.)  Delivering city freight by bike.

This would be a win-win all-around, as it would lower carbon emissions, decrease traffic, and provide exercise to the bike messengers.  Here in the US, we don’t have the necessary infrastructure for such wide-scale biking: but building it would create even more jobs in construction and urban planning.

2.)  Cupcake bakers. Because a revolution without cupcakes is not one worth having.

3.) Artists, writers, performers, and other creators of all stripes.

As my friend Bethany says, “The truth is, we don’t know what is possible. Which is why the pushers of envelopes, the stretchers of bodies and minds, the pioneers, the prophets, poets, and weirdoes are so vitally important.” See also this piece about why artists and designers are just as necessary as more “practical” jobs.

Birthday OOTD: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

One of my favorite stylistic tricks is shameless copying. So when I came across this picture of an extremely bejeweled Betsey Johnson, I couldn’t help but put my own twist on it. If some jewelry is good, then more is better, right? 😉

Dress and skirt (gray with gold trim, worn under dress): ASOS Curve,  tiara: Kmart, pink pearl necklace: Claire’s, Tutus and Tiny Hats custom necklace: DiDepux, clear heart necklace and rhinestone metallic bangle: Wet Seal, pink plastic necklace: thrifted, black pearl necklace: gift from my grandmother, silver and pink bangles: Deb, pins: gift from a friend, heart charm necklace and earrings: Domino Dollhouse, tiny hat, roses and rhinestone necklace, and pink rhinestone bracelet: So Good, rings: really really old

These pictures are from the evening part of my birthday party. I’ll post pictures from the beach and dinner separately!

This is what a deep economy looks like: Cupcake Camp Boston (plus OOTD)

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I’m a bit obsessed with Bill McKibben’s book Deep Economy. This is because McKibben so clearly articulates a vision for a future that is livable, community-based, and joyous–a future that will destroy neither the planet nor the lives of its inhabitants. His book is both practical and visionary: both a blueprint for creating a healthier society and an exploration of what that means.

And so, when I recently attended Cupcake Camp Boston, I couldn’t help but see it as one delicious example of a deep economy: a tiny, tasty model of a society built around community connection rather than profit.

Cupcake Camp promotes both local businesses and community togetherness, with a good helping of buttercream frosting. The basic idea is that you pay a small fee to sample a certain number of cupcakes from local bakeries. (Ironically enough, I didn’t end up eating a single cupcake! By the time I arrived, tickets were sold out, so I just wandered around. A few of the booths gave me cupcakes despite my lack of a ticket, but I was too full from breakfast to eat them, so I was planning to save them for later…until they started getting all melty, so I gave them away instead.)

In addition to the cupcakes themselves–which are both a great deal for the consumers, and great publicity for the bakers–there were all sorts of fun, free activities, including a cupcake relay race and a cupcake eating contest!

International No Diet Day links roundup, and delicious noms!

In (belated) honor of International No Diet Day, and in defiance of the ridiculous Canadian ass-milliner who thinks that Instagramming your food makes you fat, here are some pictures of tasty things I’ve eaten/drank lately.

Last week, my office had a meeting at which we got to decorate our own cupcakes. It was SO EXCITING.

Over the weekend, Steve and I went to a May Fair. It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to eat Indian food at fairs/festivals, and this one was no exception.

The other day after frolicking, a few friends and I went out to eat. I had delicious sweet potato-apple-walnut-brie quesadillas with a side of cheesy fries and strawberry habanero sauce. I’m a little obsessed with strawberry habanero sauce–it’s pretty much the best thing ever.

And last but not least, an iced dark chocolate to celebrate the warm weather!

Now, here are a few of my favorite posts I’ve read about INDD:

-The Fat Chick Sings: International no longer dedicating my life to dieting day.
-Kyla the Great: International No Diet Day, May 6th, 2013.
-Fat Girl Posing: Happy International No Diet Day (content note: eating disorders and suicidality).
-Virgie Tovar: Remebering lost tiramisu on International No Diet Day.
-The Queer Fat Femme Guide to Life: Three ways to reclaim food awesomeness on International No Diet Day.

Enjoy the spring weather (if you’re in the Northern hemisphere), and the joy of eating and sharing food (anywhere)!