Pride and Joy

I forget, it is still cool to pose with your cat?

What about wearing purple socks and mom jeans, with leggings underneath them for warmth?

I think they are "cool" because one, the "hipster" culture dictates them to be so.  Let's face it, anything "cool" is completely constructed by the society, hipster or mainstream. In the world of hipsters, dorky, ugly outfits are completely "off the hook" on the "rad-meter". So why do I care about what hipsters say about my outfits? Other than the fact that it's kind of nice to be considered "cool" (especially when I was never thought as that growing up) but dressing ironically is probably the most cost effective way to catch people's attention with your outfits. Not to mention the kind of gems you stumble upon while thrift shopping. The point is, it's never necessary to be bothered by what others say about your outfits but it's also silly to pretend that you're not interested in people's compliments. All I've been hearing from "hipster" fashion people are how much they don't care about what other people think but the truth is, some of them do, a great deal in fact. So yeah, dress as ironic as you want, people are going to talk about how much of a fucking hipster you are but don't act like you're not flattered when hearing about how much people are jealous of your one of a kind, vintage, neon, teapot sweater dress.

Bachelor of Arts

I have a degree in Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology. It has been two years since I graduated and so I still don't have a job which requires me to flex my B.A. prowess. Perhaps I have more deductive reasoning skills and know more about different parts of the brain than some people but as far as practicality goes, I've only been able to use those powers for the good of enlightening conversations and win pointless debates on esoteric subjects that only a psych major would know or care.

What am I planning on doing then, you ask? Well, I think the answer to that is obviously more schooling. Yep, I'm currently in the process of applying for a masters program in Art Therapy and so far it's been quite a challenge. Not to mention I will be even deeper in debt with student loan which I have no idea whether or not I'd be able to pay off. Regardless, I'm just glad I still believe that education is the only way to a productive and fruitful life.

Sunday Funday

Weekends are wonderful because they provide ample amount of downtime to be productive.

In addition to finishing a complete season of Frasier on Friday night, I cleaned my entire apartment on Saturday! In the spirit of being fruitful and constructive, I spent today out and about enjoying the city.

It began with attending the Taboo Sex Show, which was actually kind of disappointing. Jeremy and I spent most of the time avoiding salespeople trying to unload the latest dildos and flavoured lubes, and butt plugs, and clit tinglers, and bondage tapes and what have you upon us. We quickly darted through the "sex-sells" galore, got our free entrance tickets   eyefuls and found the nearest exit.

We proceeded with a viewing of Django; the newest Quentin Tarantino movie, to which I must say made up for the shortcomings of the earlier sex show. Later, we went for awesome Chinese food and with that our day ended. Now I'm at home, crying over the gashes in my new creeper shoes. What the fuck, why are they so flimsy?

Selling Out

I'm sure every blogger faces or had faced or will face this conundrum: whether or not to  monetize their blog. Recently, I've been toying with the idea of adding Ad Sense on this blog but was immediately fraught with guilt.

The truth is I really don't want to be a "sell out"; and I say those words in the most straight up, clear cut and non-clieche way possible. I mean,  If you host an independent blog with contents that challenge the many facets of the mainstream culture including issues on consumerism and journalistic and artistic integrity and you plastering that blog with ads that sells shit you have never even seen or will ever give a fuck about is extremely hypocritical and is like "sell out". Also, let's face it, it wouldn't be worth while for a fringe blog like mine to be selling out because I really don't get enough traffic to be making a ton of cash. Seriously, how fucking sad is that, trading in my morals for chump change? Ultimately though, the main deterrent is the repulsive idea of exploiting my readers and shamelessly making a gain off of promoting things I most likely will never see, own or ever use.

With that being said, I have seen some of my favourite bloggers go from being an "ad-free blog" to making mad monies with banners for American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and what I can only hope is just another edgy and ironically hipster online fashion store called "Nasty Gal" (couldn't come up with a better name? Really?). However, not every one of them can be demonized as "sell-outs" because some are extremely ethical about how they promote and profit off the ads. It almost sounds like I'm waning towards putting ads on my blog but here's something I learned as a psych major and through years of observing this behaviour in others and myself. People can pretty much justify and reason through just about anything because we hate having conflicting ideals. We also find it not only comforting but also necessary to explore and even publicize our "sorting out" of these conflicts (ie. via blogging, much like how I'm sorting through my opposing views on ads on blogs). In the end, how much one feels about one way or another comes to a final choice supported by reasons they have outlined throughout the process. Therefore, going back to my original dilemma I have decided against ever adding ads to my blog for the very simple reason that I just don't want to be a "sell-out".

A Feminist's Nightmare - American Apparel

This is terrible! How can American Apparel, one of the few accessible all American-made, sweat-shop free clothing companies and a self-proclaimed environmental and progressive business pioneers be hiding behind such a heinous deed?! Just when I thought the sexual harassment  lawsuits were bad, this just brought American Apparel from my "shop-here-if-you-absolutely-have-to" list to my "BOYCOTT-DUE-TO-EXTREME-MORAL-DIFFERENCES" list. I am sad and infuriated beyond words.

The major box-kicker here is the cruel paradox that American Apparel is both socially conscious and immoral. It allures those who are struggling to find ethical fashion and disappoints big time when the owner and the company's name is consistently paired with headlines that exposes AA's unfair and sexist practices and various sexual scandals. Nothing really hurts more than finding out that a company that pride itself on its open and fair labour practices and offers great benefits, wages and career and educational advancement opportunities is actually being operated by an owner  who is a total sleaze bag. According to several reports from multiple sources, Dov Charney seems to think he's operating some sort of "hipster harlem" in hiring mainly "fresh-faced'  (young) who may or may not be approached by him for a "career advancement" (personal favours for a raise) when he's feeling "managerial" (power tripping)  and "in the mood" (horny or just plain wanting to be an asshole).

After learning about some of the truths of American Apparel, I, both as a feminist and a conscientious consumer am totally discouraged. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I found a source of fashion that not only caters to my style but also don't completely contradict my morals and values. To think I used to want to work there!

I thought I'd parallel the ironic practices of American Apparel by wearing two pieces of my favourite American Apparel items; the dolman sleeve top and the red leggings. At least I can make good use of all of my American Apparel stuff because from now on there will be no new additions to my wardrobe from American Apparel.

Laughing with a Mouth of Blood

What the fuck. Am I actually cracking more than a coy smile here? No. Way! 

I just recently realized why I don't smile as often as I should. My imperfect teeth an my obviously ethically Chinese looking eyes. Yes. Sounds silly but I have had the biggest insecurities about looking Chinese and gap toothed.

Well, it's 2013 and I'm over them now. I'm also drunk while I'm blogging. Take that, self-consiousness! Happy new year, everybody.