There is nothing quite like having to explain a problem over and over again, and go over the fact that this thing appears to work fine if you have a feature turned off, but when you turn it back on you can see that it’s broken, and spending time crafting a long and detailed email about how you came to that conclusion and what you did to figure out what is breaking, only to keep hearing “Well, I looked at it with the feature turned off and it works fine.”

Yeah. I just love that.

Being alive is embarrassing, but maybe the best thing out there is having someone else say, “I see you being weird and it’s good and important and please do as much of that as you can for as long as your heart can stand it.

drink your juice.  

Click through for the actual story that precedes this, but I feel like the above is an important thing to remember regardless of context.

It’s all about how you have to look a certain way or else you’re worthless. You know when you look in the mirror, and you think, ‘Ugh, I’m so fat, I’m so old, I’m so ugly’, don’t you know that’s not your authentic self, but that is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising, magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself so that you will take your hard-earned money and spend it on some turnaround cream that doesn’t turnaround shit.

When you don’t have self-esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything in your life. You will hesitate to go for the job you really wanna go for. You will hesitate to ask for a raise. You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote. You will hesitate to dream.

For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution. And our revolution is long-overdue.

Margaret Cho (via wilwheaton)

What is the difference between “Very Black” and “Blackest Black” mascara?

Is one of them actually a very dark grey? Also, does anyone actually want mascara that isn’t blacker than a black hole? My eyelashes should have an event horizon. The room should actually get a little darker when I walk in. I feel like this has untapped marketing potential. 

A stitch in mind

Life turned inside out
reveals the seams
of a pattern loosely followed
Unruly crossing of thread
pulled through random needle-trail,
mismatched scraps consumed to make the whole

(your eye is sharp and bright;
it draws me along
the measure of your path)

It brings me no relief to struggle against
this tether, that tenuous tense line
taut around my pith, the noose
that holds me back (it holds me together)

yes, I am a motley creature
and by reveling in my foolishness
I find my undoing

(strand by strand,
like a lover releases a corset)

Your hands could feel no rougher
than the bonds I have chosen,
but they would unravel me
with willing precision

and the whole world fly to pieces as I tumble through the tears

True story…

I just spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out the best way to get a song I bought on my phone uploaded to my Google Music account, because the app downloads music but doesn’t support uploading, because Google does not have their shit together, and so I had consigned myself to this convoluted solution that involved putting Dropbox on my phone and syncing folders and then I realized hey, Lori, your phone is ALREADY PLUGGED INTO YOUR USB PORT TO CHARGE, so why don’t you just copy the file over like an intelligent human being.

Ahahahahaha I’m an idiot. 

A Little Song & Dance: In the Immortal Words of Baloo & Mowgli; "I Wanna Be Like You-u-u!" ..Or, not? ;)

bigtimebellydance:

But regardless of style, with everything I do, use and wear, I prefer to learn about things FIRST, and utilize them in my dance RESPECTFULLY AND THOUGHTFULLY second. What are your thoughts?  Do you (or feel other dancers) have rules for costuming where it pertains to certain styles?  Do you think most (or even just certain) bellydancers aspire to look precisely one way or another?  Is there a rote formula for “the true” Tribal, Tribal Fusion, or Cabaret look? 

Reblogging, because I’m not sure how long answer replies can be, and this could get wordy…

I wanted to speak to your points about emulating other dancers from a complete beginner’s POV, because I really appreciated this post and it definitely gave me some things to think about.

For context: I’ve been dancing for about a year, I have a few student shows under my belt and my costume collection consists of a couple pairs of flared pants, some hip scarves and two lace cholis. I am right at the stage where I am looking to acquire some costume pieces with a little more polish, and to be honest, I am terrified. Where should I shop from? How will I know if something is inappropriate? What kind of “look” am I even trying to achieve?

This right here struck a chord:

I prefer to learn about things FIRST, and utilize them in my dance RESPECTFULLY AND THOUGHTFULLY second.

The stumbling block is, how exactly does one go about being thoughtful and respectful? It’s obviously not about how well-intentioned one is, so how does a dancer determine what is “safe”? Which I think actually inadvertently answers one of your later points, about the “mini-me” followers who try to emulate another dancer - looking to someone with more experience and knowledge is an easy way to set those boundaries early on. (A more cynical argument is that it also takes the accountability off the mini-me, because “so-and-so did it, and she’s been dancing for eleventy-bazillion years, so that makes it okay for me.”)

My main point is that (speaking for myself, and only for myself), I don’t want to be or look like an idiot, so emulating things I’ve seen more seasoned dancers wear/do is a way for me to learn. I’m sure it’s different for everyone. 

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