Sunday links, 6/15/14

Maple bacon donut = HEAVEN.

Fa(t)shion
-Leah is organizing a challenge called Outfit August, which is like Fatshion February but focused on re-using and re-purposing items you already have. I will be participating, although I’m not sure yet to what extent–it depends on how much time/energy I have, and how much the hot muggy August weather takes away any desire I have to be fashionable.
–Scarlett & Jo uses bloggers ad models for their new collection, and other brands should probably follow suit.
-Good news: Wet Seal will be extending its plus size line to a bunch of stores this summer, including two in the Boston area.
-Re/Dress is now carrying exclusive items from Chubby Cartwheels, including two pastel lace skirts that I’m in love with.
-This fat babe sweatshirt is so cute. And would go really well with either of the aforementioned lace skirts!
-Georgina of Cupcake’s Clothes is selling hand-made clothes. Huzzah!
–This high schooler turned her prom dress into a work of art.

Fat Acceptance
–I’m cute, fat, and living.
–Can we please stop body-shaming ourselves and each other as a form of female bonding?
-A comic about dealing with street sizeism.
–Seriously, weight loss doesn’t work.
–Why isn’t obesity research better known?
-Help fathlete Kelly Leo Gneiting swim the Anacapa Channel.

Climate and Sustainability
–Welcome to West Port Arthur, Texas, ground zero in the fight for climate justice.
-Two great responses to Ezra Klein’s privileged pessimism on climate change: Three reasons you shouldn’t lose hope on climate change and Why it’s still not “game over” for global warming.
–A new environmentalism for an unfractured future.
–Cowboy and Indian Alliance plant sacred Ponca corn in the path of the Keystone XL pipeline.
–Protesting coal with cupcakes = my kind of activism.
–Yes, black people talk about climate change.
–Rite of passage: a father and son explore a changing landscape.
–Kid play zones in parks: “Leave no trace” inhibits fun and bonding with nature.
–The real triumph of the city will be seen in Buffalo.

How We Live: A Journey Towards A Just Transition from Kontent Films on Vimeo.

Friday links 11/1/13

This jack-o-lantern partied a bit too hard.

Happy day-after-Halloween! I hope you all had a good time.  I spent the evening watching Cabin in the Woods with a group of friends, and although I don’t usually like horror movies, I loved it! It’s pretty much impossible for Joss Whedon to make anything bad, and it didn’t hurt that the cast was full of great actors.

I also had a Halloween party last weekend, where I dressed up as a steampunk Pikachu (in reference to this comic). I will post pictures soon! Now, on to the linky goodness…

Fa(t)shion
-I don’t mean to turn my blog into a complete advertisement for Domino Dollhouse, but their new skull-print babydoll dress and leggings are too awesome not to post about.
-This photo shoot of five fat babes is fabulous.
-The Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator, a collective workspace focused on sustainable production, will be opening in 2014.
-John Scalzi writes about why he dresses the way he does, and how, as a middle-class white man, he faces less appearance-based judgment than most people.
-Jille Edge’s Flickr has plenty of old-school Delia*s nostalgia.
–Politicizing plus size fashion with blogger Brooklyn Boobala.

Fat Acceptance
-There will be a Fat Justice Workshop here in Boston next weekend.
-This fat bellydance DVD looks great.
-Abigail Saguy talks about the history of the “obesity epidemic.”
–Fat people need candy too.

Climate and Sustainability
-A must-read from Naomi Klein: how science is telling us all to revolt.
-The Transition Lab, which trains ordinary people to create a resilient future, sounds amazing. If any of my fellow Bostonians want to learn more, check out the presentations they will be giving in Cambridge next week.
-A great overview of what a post-growth economy means, and why we need one.

Valentine’s Day: Daleks, cupcakes, and Jedi hugs for all!

I’m neither single nor Floridian, but I’m so happy this exists. Image credit: Ken Spivey

I’ve always had a conflicted relationship with Valentine’s Day. On one hand, how could I hate a pink-and-red holiday that revolves around chocolate-worship? On the other hand, for the many many years I was single, it was just another reminder of what I wanted and hadn’t yet found.

Now I have a relationship, and it’s awesome. I’m happy for the opportunity to celebrate it, but I also want to keep in mind that this holiday can be hard for a lot of people.

For anyone who’s single and doesn’t want to be, there’s one post I can’t recommend enough: Kate Harding’s On Dumb Luck. I wish it were required reading for everyone, ever.

Single folks, here’s what I know: you are exactly what someone is looking for, and that someone is exactly what you’re looking for. You just don’t have a damned bit of control over when or where you’ll stumble across each other. That sucks a hundred kinds of ass. But you don’t have to be prettier. You don’t have to be better. You don’t even have to be patient, if you don’t feel like it. You just have to be.

My favorite part of V-Day. Image credit: Kickass Cupcakes

The Evening of Awesome

As you might guess from the name, it was indeed awesome.

Less awesome were our seats, which were dizzingly high up and terribly cramped. Not being able to stretch my legs for two and a half hours with no intermission? Not fun. And I have fairly short legs.

But, physical comfort aside, it was a great show. John talked movingly about the process of writing The Fault in Our Stars (which you should read, if you haven’t yet), Hank played some of his wonderfully geeky songs, and there was a Q&A featuring Neil Gaiman and Hannah of My Drunk Kitchen.

Nerdfighers for life!

Kimya Dawson, who I hadn’t heard of before, also performed. I loved her songs, and will definitely be checking out more of her music.

As for the Mountain Goats? Meh. I know a lot of my friends love them, but I’ve never really gotten into them. And their performance lacked the energy, the oomph, that makes live music enjoyable. I did appreciate their cover of They Might Be Giants’ “New York City”, though–and John and Hank’s awkward dancing along to it!

There were lots of funny moments throughout the night, but the best one, hands down, was during a reading from John’s novel Paper Towns. Neil Gaiman read a sentence that began, “I decided that I would actually, literally suck donkey balls…” the crowd erupted in laughter. It was pretty amazing. (If you’re curious, the context was that the character would do such a thing if it would allow him to get out of government class.)

The Project for Awesome

It’s that time of year again–time for awesome!

The Project for Awesome is an annual event on YouTube in which thousands of video creators make videos supporting their favorite charity. Anybody is allowed to participate – simply make a video about a charity you support and post it on YouTube on December 17th. Then tune into the livestream and join in the commenting and donating fun. DFTBA!

You can find out more in John’s video about the project:

It’s a really cool idea, and I’m looking forward to voting for my favorite charities. I was not yet a nerdfighter last December, so this will be my first time!

Friday Links, 11/16/12

It’s Friday. Why not start off with some fun fluff?

FA
-The ridiculousness of the concept of “extra weight.”
–A few thoughts on Love Your Body Day.
–Five things every gym should already be doing.
-Surprise! Our friends’ attitudes about their bodies influence our own.
-An interview with an awesome fat yoga teacher.

Fa(t)shion
-Passing this along from Fatshionista: a request for Pinterest users willing to be interviewed for a school project.
–Jessica Dee’s Etsy shop has gone live! I think my favorite piece is this brocade skirt.
-This Firefly shirt, which I found through Natalie, is just amazing.
-From the other Natalie comes this unedited rant about looking into fatshion’s navel. She makes so many good, important points–make sure to check it out. I have a lot of thoughts about all of it, and may expand them into a post later.
–Worker abuse is a fashion don’t.
-This Etsy store sells gorgeous, cheap appliques that could easily be made into necklaces by adding a ribbon.
-Through Sal’s post on warm winter tops and jackets, I found the gorgeous clothing brand Desigual. They only carry up to a US 14, booo. But if you’re an in-betweenie, check them out, because their stuff is unique and amazing. I would especially want this shirt if it came in my size.
–Seven cute, quirky, and possibly rule-breaking plus-size sweaterdresses.

Other
-A new advice column I like: Turning the Screw.
–Identity politics and grammar in the developmental writing classroom.
–30 things you don’t have to have by 30.
–Why Occupy’s plan to cancel consumer debt is brilliant. Seriously, this plan is so creative and amazing, it just makes me want to jump for joy.
–The last neighborhood I loved: Rockaway, Queens.
–Ask Lesley: How do I stop accidentally offending people all the time?

Friday links and cupcakes

This is an old post, but it brilliantly sums up everything I hate about clothing shopping: Seven Scenes, for a Reason

A great post that clears up misconceptions about Health at Every Size: HAES Matters: The Weight-Neutral Core of the HAES Approach

Internet Calls Girl Fat, and Her Response is…Perfect. I followed Megan Tonjes back to YouTube, and found out that she made John Green cry! It is a small, small internet. I’m a little obsessed with the Vlogbrothers*, and it’s funny to see their section of the internet colliding with the fat-o-sphere.

I was a little less happy to see that most of the videos on Megan’s personal channel are about weight loss. It’s her body, and she has a right to do whatever she wants with it–but it’s still disappointing to come across someone who seems like a kickass unapologetic fatty, only to find that she’s pushing the same old weight-loss paradigm. Blehh.

Cutest video ever: My Dog and My Cat Are Perfect Friends

My favorite response to Ann Marie Slaughter’s recent article in the Atlantic: I DO Want To ‘Have It All,’ Starting With What Women in 178 Countries Have

Just for fun, here are some cupcakes I bought for a friend’s engagement party last weekend:

*For those unaware, John and Hank Green = the Vlogbrothers, a pair of adorably geeky brothers who make videos about EVERYTHING. John is also a YA novelist. He and Hank run a convention called VidCon, where Megan apparently performed a song about John’s latest book, The Fault in Our Stars. Which, btw, you should read. Seriously, go read it. I will wait.