The girl with the most cake

As you know, I've been on a total Hole kick lately, and one lyric always stood out to me as worthy of remembrance (and therefore illustration). Here it is:



Illustrated in photoshop by me, Copyright by me.

Totally kicking ass in every way: Chick music and grunge

Jezebel recently posted an article about the video vixens of the 90s. I was so inspired by the style and attitude of these songs that I started listening to all of the Hole and Garbage I could get my grubby little hands on. It made me really miss genuine grunge; it made me miss female artists who were 90s-era Courtney Love gritty. Wearing little girl dresses that were stained and ripped. Dolls covered in mud and doc martens and red lipstick. I miss aggressive lyrics about womanhood and raw voices, things I never knew I loved until I realized that I felt like they were lacking in the current music scene.

But, I am not musical maestro. I am unaware of many bands that exist today that might fit the description I gave in the previous paragraph. I apologize for this gaffe, if it is indeed a gaffe. I do have the power, however, to embed music videos and get steeped in a 90s nostalgia that isn't exactly mine. When my ages ranged from 3-13 through the course of the 90s, I can only really lay claim to vintage Britney and N*Sync, sadly. I will just excuse myself by saying that my brother listened to practically all of this during his rebellious 90s youth (I'm going to embarrass him further by pointing out that he TOTALLY used to sport a rat-tail).

Without further ado, my vid pics for 90s vixens and ultimately AWESOME bitches:

Things that totally rock about this song: "They get what they want, and then they never want it again...." Hole. "Violet." 1994

Ah yes, Old Time Liz Phair before she sucked, yada yada yada. Loving the refences to Chicago in this one. Liz Phair. "Stratford on Guy." 1993.

It's funny because Pink has a single called "Stupid Girls" but I think this one accomplishes much more of what Pink was going for with that heinous song and video. Garbage. "Stupid Girl." 1995.

Quite the bitter song about a father not coming home to his child. Loving it. It makes me want to buy a pair of boots (but then again, what DOESN'T make me want to buy a pair of boots?). PJ Harvey. "C'mon Billy." 1995.

To be honest, it was hard to find a song by them I truly loved because Seether was a little too glossy sounding for me. This is pretty kick-ass though. Veruca Salt. "Volcano Girls." 1997.

No official video for this song on youtube, as far as I could tell. Sleater Kinney. "Little Babies." 1997.

Heck yes, Bikini Kill! Fucking STICK IT TO THE MAN. Bikini Kill. "Rebel Girls." 1993.

Doll parts has GOT to be my favorite girl angst 90s anthem. It is so epically bitter. Hole. "Doll Parts." 1994.

I would normally save this for my tumblr...

...but I figured my readers might be interested in one photograph of me as a child. So many kittehs, so much joy.

Am I a misandrist/On attempting to be "out" as a feminist

I am a feminist.

No, I'm not a misandrist.

And no, I don't think claiming the term "feminism" means that I am only a second wave white woman who believes in the rights of rich white woman but can't see past her own white nose.

I try to be all encompassing. I argue with people that I am a humanist.

Feminism has clearly needed a new definition for a while. I have heard and read so many countless weak excuses about claiming the word "feminist." Some people, some WOMEN, seem to think that their journey is over as an advocate for social justice.

For example:

"I'm not a feminist but...[insert remark about how this totally sexist/racist/classist thing REALLY SUCKS.]"

Um, no duh. You are a feminist because you hate the fact that all women are objectified in the media or because you hate the fact that black women are told they are undesirable to marry or because if you are a homeless woman you are more likely to have multiple sexual assaults then a homeless man. You are a feminist, so suck it up and claim the term.

Listen, I get the fact that you probably think that feminism is some historical term that refers to a bunch of bra-burning (that didn't happen btw) hippie women in the 70s who are so out of touch with what women really have going for them today. "That was then, when women were slapped on the ass in the workplace and placed under curfew at college," you think to yourself. "This is now, where I can be whatever I want--a doctor, a scientist, a writer--and no magazine tells me how I perceive my own body and no man tells me what I can or cannot do."

All right then! Go pat yourself on the back! Go have a drink at a bar and flirt with some guy. Have a couple more drinks to celebrate. But if you wake up tomorrow in a strange place and you realize that there is semen on your leg and you don't remember consenting to ANYTHING, you might view the situation differently when the subsequent rape trial blames YOU for being drunk, instead of your rapist for RAPING.

Yes, I brought up the rape card. Because sexual violence and feminism are two discussions that go hand in hand.

As are racism and feminism. As are homophobia and feminism. As are trans-hate and feminism. As are all things that have to deal with gender, i.e. being a human and existing in this society.

Feminism, as a movement, is here to try to end social injustice. That is it. It is not trying to prioritize women over men, or prioritize white women over black women, or poor people over rich people. It recognizes the concept of intersecting identities. If you disavow feminism, you are disavowing the struggle to bring PEACE to human race.

/If any of this sounds familiar to you, maybe it is. I write this tremulously, hoping that I won't piss anyone off, but the fact of the matter is that I worry myself. Sometimes I feel like I need to "come out of the closet" as a feminist because I am quite the chameleon. Sometimes I swallow my tongue and what I'm truly thinking. This blog is here for me to explore these thoughts. And one thought I have is--why do I have to feel like I'm covering up my feminism? You will never hear me say "I'm not a feminist, but" but you will most certainly see me sit silent while some poor girl gets lambasted for having a wrecked body. Maybe it all women's bodies weren't up for consumption at all times, we wouldn't have to be feel so guilty when we are silent in these discussions.

So anyway, reconsider the label for me, please?

Get-rich-quick, aka blogging is the new San Francisco gold rush

Sometimes I question my motives for wanting to write this blog. It gets hard to sort out what it is I'm actually trying to do or say here. I really enjoy writing my posts on the ways in which society sucks at dealing with HALF of its population (womankind) and I also enjoy writing about social constructions and pop culture and pretty dresses--you name it. I think I may have overdone the whole social networking aspect of the internet in the past few months, namely because I'm beginning to be saturated with the idea of the get-rich-quick scheme that blogging offers. We've all seen Julie and Julia, right? A movie whose central theme is, essentially, that if you are dissatisfied with your life and aren't living up to your own expectations, you can write a blog, get famous, have a movie made of your subsequent book, and then totally find yourself in the middle of all of the success you wanted to begin with.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind it if I landed a book deal (although I hardly expect to land a bookdeal with a blog as hodge-podge as mind) but I can't help but feel those twinges of hope and jealousy whenever I encounter the latest tumblr or blog that has made its way into the upper echelons of blogdom: the Published Book. I can name so many off the top of my head: postcards from yo momma, Dealbreakers (NOT related to the Liz Lemon book), Julie's cooking blog, etc etc.

But I'm carving out my internet niche because this blog was started in the throes of my post-graduation depression. I wanted to write about all the things that cycle in on me when I have depressive trains of thought--how the world can seem so meaningless--and I channeled that energy into expressing my outrage at the various and sundry gender injustices there are the in the world. I will still continue doing that, and I will still continue writing this blog, but I wanted to acknowledge the fact that there is also a part of me that hopes to get to 10,000 views and hopes to be written about somewhere else, some part of me that is disingenuous and ambitious and that part sometimes gets in the way of the actual writing and productivity.

News Hits

I have been all over the internet lately but not so much on my blog. QUICK HITS:

• I got a tumblr. It's in the about section of this blog and I don't know if there's really a point to having both a tumblr and a blog but I think I'm gonna post really quick hits there. I.e. videos I like and pictures that are funny and other inanities. Check it out at essandk.tumblr.com
• I got a new computer. My laptop died about 2-3 weeks ago. As a result of getting a new computer+my laptop's death, I have had access to any photo editing software; hence, no photoshop phuns or postcards from yo momma reblogged or new banners. It bothers me a lot not to keep the site looking fresh, but so it goes! Hopefully I'll be hooked up with CS4 soon.
• Um, did I mention I got a new computer? Totally awesome.
• The last bit of news that is sad is that my childhood cat Fireball passed away today. He was 17 years old and had been with my family a long time. Most of you who read this blog will already know this because I have been posting about it everywhere but I really needed to put it here, on my Blog Of Record, for posterity.

Love.

crap email in the customer service industry

As is pretty common with my crap emails, this one is in ticketing:

You guys are FUCKED!!!  When people are checking out you only show the prices for the tickets and nothing about any service charges.  You guys know that no one actually reads the long list of bullshit that's listed in the terms and conditions and you count on that.  At least other ticket sites have the common courtesy to show how much service fees are before you actually check out.   You guys SUCK!!!! GO FUCK YOURSELVES!!!  I'LL NEVER BUY FROM YOU GUYS AGAIN!!!   Now I have to pay overdraft fees to my bank so what was supposed to be $60 for four tickets has become $125!!!  FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then ten minutes later the guy sends another email:

Sorry, Please disregard my last email.  I just looked at your site again and saw the extra charges at check out.  MY BAD!!!! I guess I just wasn't payin' attention. Sorry for the harsh email I sent previously!!!