Category: pop culture

Judgment & Discrimination

raining17Leave a comment

I don’t understand the stigma around tattoos and piercings, and the shaming of general presentation of oneself. The fact that someone has to censor their appearance out of fear of getting a job is corrupt. Everybody should feel safe to express themselves how they choose without having to worry about judgement and discrimination.

However, this is not to say I don’t see the reasoning behind this societal rule. It would be difficult for someone covered with crude tattoos from head to toe, or with piercings covering their face to escape judgement. While this person could in fact be incredibly kind, I believe it’s safe to say most would not want him/her to perform their heart surgery, nor teach their kindergartener.

Photo Credit: http://www.bitrebels.com

I believe the only rational argument in this case to be the fact that although only a generalization, it can often be inferred that someone who would get an obscene face tattoo suffers from a mental illness. Therefore, it is fair to prevent these cases from working important jobs.

However, more times than I can count I have heard “with that piercing, he/she will never be taken seriously” or “with that tattoo, he/she will never get a job.” A few, small piercings or a small, tasteful tattoo should not affect judgement of a character, and especially not an employment decision.

Everybody expresses themselves in different ways – different wardrobes, jewelry, cars, etc. Why should body art be any different?

Again, I’m not talking about those with obscene tattoos or piercings, as people with insane clothing choices are likely to be judged equally. But there is no reason someone’s small depiction of self-expression should negatively impact how they are perceived.

Photo Credit: 40.media.tumblr.com

If an interviewer is unable to see past a tattoo and view a person as a whole, then honestly, the job in question might not be the job for them. Although a matter of opinion, tattoos and piercings do not represent somebody in entirety.

To put it simply, it’s not fair to discriminate against people solely because of how they choose to express themselves.

The Nefarious Pastry

whynotstayinLeave a comment

French macarons. Instantly recognizable, coveted. A pastry to instill child like glee in the hearts of all.

If the sight of those perfectly round little sandwiched pastel cookies does not evoke some sort of emotion, specifically respect, in you then you, yes you dear reader, have absolutely no soul.

These deceiving angelic and simple looking cookies are probably Satan’s tea cakes of choice. All those french pastry chefs regardless of Michelin star status are hand-picked by Satan for his person entourage.

Why I make such a large deal of them you may ask yourself. Well in truth perhaps I exaggerate a tad, but still.

French macarons are notorious in the pastry world.

The batter is temperamental on an exceptionally good day, piping a load of tears, and not to mention don’t even bother showing up if they aren’t perfectly round and smooth enough to make a baby’s butt look like sand paper.

Again perhaps I exaggerate.

But despite my dramatic air the parameters of a good macaron are truly satanic.

This is why my head nearly spun round, detached itself, and did a jig when I tried to bake these infamous cookies for the first time this weekend.

The reason I almost exorcised my self is because the first batch I have ever made turned out looking like this:

Photo Credit: Emily Burns
Photo Credit: Emily Burns

Bragging aside it was surprising to say the least. After hearing horror stories from my baking partners past attempt, I was prepared for blood sweat and tears. Too say the least I’m frickin proud of me and my dear baking buddy.

The world of baking is endless and the grandma just got adventurous.

Letter to Kimye’s Baby

happyrose15Leave a comment

On Saturday night, the second Kimye baby was brought into the world. At the time I am writing this the name of this baby boy is still unknown, but I really hope that his name is Easton because duh.

Although Easton’s, I will now on refer to him as Easton to put good vibes into the universe, will have Kanye’s great advice, I am here to give Easton some advice for life in the limelight, because obviously I am the best person to be telling him these thing.

1. Be careful with the faces you pull as a child

Your big sister North has given some great faces in her childhood years. These faces have spread across social media like wildfire. But if you want some of your funny faces plastered on screens across America, more power to you little guy, because Norths are pretty darn adorable.

2. Don’t let the kids on the playground push you around.

Your dad is Kanye West. No one can push you around because soon you may be part of the first family of the United States.

3. Take fashion advice from your parents.

Your parents go to probably hundreds of fashions shows, they know what looks good, but you can wear what you want. I’m just saying if I had that resource I would take advantage.

4. Have fun.

I know living life in the public eye will be difficult. Paparazzis are the worst, but try to ignore them. Live your life how you want to. Go jump on a trampoline or something, just jump around and enjoy life

5. Don’t let the haters get to you

Social media will be hard. There will be plenty of haters who say that your baby face isn’t cute enough, but don’t listen to them. Be you and let the haters see you prosper.

Now I realize that the West family are probably not reading this blog post, but if they are I’m happy to babysit anytime you want.

 

Grow Up

whynotstayinLeave a comment

Sometimes it seems like the world should just stop moving, so why doesn’t it. Why is it that the world has such little regard for the daily goings of its inhabitants.

Like the saying justice is blind, maybe the world is too.

Justice is Blid
Photo Credit: https://www.reddit.com

Like a mother unseeing of her child’s flaws.

But we the inhabitants don’t have the liberty of being children, because the world won’t just stop being a mother. So guess what childhood’s over.

It’s time to put away all those guns synonymous with a child’s pea shooter. To put away all those stink bug bombs, all those parking lot fist fights all that sibling hate.

Training wheels are off. Sink or swim.

The monsters in the closet are real. That hand wrapped around your ankle leading off into the dark under your bed. Hate and brutality is etched into the dry papery skin of that hand and arm. The monster in the closet is made up up of apathy and fear.

Monster Under the Bed
Photo Credit: https://www.tumblr.com

It’s time to take the night light out of the wall and face those monsters on their home turf.

Shia Labeouf Film Fest

beetlejusLeave a comment

Without any doubt, Shia Labeouf is his own #1 fan.

The actor has been known  for going to great length to gain attention in the media. Most recently, he decided to watch all of his entire filmography in reverse chronological order, while a live stream recorded every minute of the 72 hour Shia-Fest.

This endeavor, which he has titled #ALLMYMOVIES gained quite the following in the past week.  Remarkably enough, the live stream didn’t feature the actual films being watched, but the reactions to the films by Shia himself.

In another peculiar twist, the live stream did not have sound, so the audience watching online had no clue which movie he was actually watching.   From the moment Labeouf took his seat, dressed in a large winter coat with the hood on, looking remarkably like a homeless man, the event had already set the stage for being strange.  The emotions of Shia varied from happy to sad to embarrassed to bored to excited to just being asleep.  At times Shia’s reactions were satirical at best, such as the time he burst out laughing in a particularly racy scene in Nymphomaniac.  Throughout the entire 3 day spectacle Shia also donned some of these exceptional faces

Shia went through a plethora of emotions… and also took a siesta

An intriguing way to spend half a week

Riding the Struggle Bus

Nearly a hundred people queued up to view the screening live, most of these people being students of one of the Universities in New York City, where the screening took place.   For a man who doesn’t want to be famous, Shia Leboeuf goes to some very great lengths to gain attention.   

The 5 Most Beautiful French Châteaus

paris22Leave a comment

When I was scrolling through my Instagram this morning I ran across a photo that was a link to an article Vogue had posted.

The article was about an Australian couple who are renovating a gorgeous château in the South of France. So I decided to do a round of up of the most amazing Châteaus France has to offer. (Let’s be real, pretty much all French Châteaus are winners.)

5. This Winter Wonderland Château

Photo Credit: Pinterest

It reminds me of the house in Taylor Swift’s Blank Space music video. Enough said.

4. The Château that Inspired this Post

Photo Credit: Vogue

Between the creeper vines growing up the house and the amazing driveway, I am envious of the owners of this estate.

3. This Grand Château

Photo Credit: thegoodlifefrance.com

This Château is majestic in the grandest sense. With the light layer of snow all around and the beautiful architecture, I am having serious house FOMO.

2. This Beauty

Photo Credit: green-landscape.com

Though this picture is worth a thousand words, LOOK HOW MAJESTIC. This should be in a Disney movie.

  1. Valentino Garavani’s Château de Wideville
Photo Credit: iTunes/ E!

Remember on the Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode of Kim and Kanye’s wedding when the whole clan casually were invited to Valentino’s Chateau for a celebratory wedding brunch?

Well I do, and I must say GOALS. This Château is jaw dropping. From the beautiful interior, to the amazing gardens, Valentino’s Château definitely secures the place as #1.

And since this is the #1 Château here are some more amazing pictures of the grounds and of my favorite episode of Keeping up With the Kardashians (no regrets).

Photo Credit: iTunes/ E!

GOOOAAALS

Photo Credit: iTunes/ E!

And of course, Versailles is amazing in every sense, but if it was in the list, there wouldn’t be much competition.

5 Best Dressed Celebrities for Halloween 2015

happyrose15Leave a comment

Trick or treat  – These costumes are definitely better than the ghosts made from bed sheets.

Every year celebrities take the spooky streets and dress up just like us normal folk.

When November 1st comes around we get to look at the tabloids and take a look to see how the stars dressed up as for this annual ghostly night.

Here are the 5 best dressed celebrities of the night

photo credit: getty images

5) Gigi Hadid

Gigi dressed up like good ol’ Sandy from the 1970’s classic Grease. What can I say it’s a classic but I craved more creativity from Gigi, but still she looked great because, duh she’s a super model.

photo credit: the ellen show

4) Ellen Degeneres

Ellen’s costume gets all the points for creativity. The queen of daytime television and of life in general dressed up as Karla Kardashian, the new Kardashian sister. This costume screams tacky and I love it.

 

 

3) Neil Patrick Harris’ Adorable Family Costume

photo credit: ew.com

What’s the point of having kids if you aren’t going to coordinate an adorable costume with them? Ok there are a lot of pros to having kids, but a Star Wars themed family costume has to be up there. Look at them and feel the force of cuteness overtake you.

2)Kim Kardashian

Embedded image permalink
photo credit: twitter.com

Do you remember the 2013 Met Gala where Kim Kardashian wore a completely floral ensemble and everyone said she looked like their grandmas couch. Do you? Well good, because so does she. That’s right Kim Kardashian dressed up as Kim Kardashian for Halloween and blessed everyone’s Instagram feed and eyes.

And now the moment we have all been waiting for

The best dressed celebrity on Halloween was..

  1. Heidi Klum
photo credit: justjared.com

Heidi Klum gets all the points, a 10 out of 10. Every year she takes it upon herself to become completely unrecognizable and she has done it yet again. She spent hours, literally hours, in hair and makeup completely altering her face and body shape to becoming the ever so famous Jessica Rabbit. She sets the bar higher and higher every year and she has yet to disappoint.

So that’s it, the top five for Halloween 2015. I can’t wait to see what the stars have up their sleeves for next year.

 

The Problem with Social Media

mariethearistocat

Recently, Australian social media icon Essena O’Neill “quit” social media.

She deleted her Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. She did this because she felt trapped and alone; that all her life leading up to now, she was unhappy and always seeking the acceptance of others.

She feels social media has created a “brainwashed generation,” a fake life.

Prior to deleting her Instagram, she edited her past captions stating the reality of what went into each picture.

Some were hours of waiting for the perfect lighting; taking a picture in an uncomfortable pose for the most beautiful outcome; yelling at her sister or mother to take an image from a more flattering angle; or sponsoring a company she didn’t even like or support.

Then, she released her website: http://www.letsbegamechangers.com/, where she talks about issues that really matter to her.

Now, I’m very happy she has come to the realization that her career in social media was bad for her and changed that, but she is trying to start a movement against the “fake” social media image. She thinks that everyone who posts “beautiful” pictures on Instagram are never enjoying the moment, and their happiness is based on their likes.

However, she is neglecting the fact that social media can be good and not everyone is obsessing over likes.

On Facebook, you can invite your friends to an event. Whether it be a birthday party or a meeting for a new club, it is bringing people together. It is allowing people who normally wouldn’t hang out to build up connections and band together.

Social media doesn’t only bring people together in person, but through the Internet. You can talk to a family member on vacation in another country, or a friend who you want to catch up with. You can also connect with people based on common interests. There are websites and blogs for anything you are interested in, such as book clubs and feminist forums.

O’Neill’s website is an example of this. She talks about issues that matter to her and lets others join in as well. Now this is such a cool website, but it’s SOCIAL MEDIA. She is using a website to display her ideas. She is connecting with others via the Internet. She is doing what makes her happy.

So many other social media stars are happy. She thinks that when one becomes successful on Instagram or Facebook, then all they think about is success. All their happiness is derived from that success.

However, these people aren’t just their pictures. They have vibrant lives that extend from their phone, no matter how much they display on social media. They experience happiness and sadness from places beside their feed. Just because her social media experience was bad, doesn’t mean social media itself is bad.

She is also bashing on the women and men producing these “unreal” lives. She is saying that all they’re the creators of this unattainable image, the exact images that lead her and other young girls to lust for the life shown on their screens.

In a sense this is true, but she’s neglecting to include sources for this feeling other than social media. She doesn’t talk about how burger commercials, more often than not, use skinny bikini-clad women to promote a slab of meat in between two buns or how there are huge billboards of women standing confidently in their underwear.

She refused to acknowledge that social media platforms are borrowing from other aspects of life, that a young girl or boy’s insecurities don’t have to come from social media.

She also makes it seem that there is something wrong for liking these images. She says these images of beautiful beaches or a girl wearing a dress are brainwashing me.

That is far from the truth. I like these pictures not because I want to model the people in the pictures, but because they are nice to look at. Why must I have a perfect reason to look at a picture of ice cream?

I think instead of “quitting” social media, she should’ve deleted her old pictures and posts and started anew. To use these platforms to further spread her opinions on issues that matter to her.

No one was forcing her to post pictures of her wearing a striped dress, or a picture of her in the pool.

Instead of starting this anti-social media fight, she should’ve use these resources to talk about real world issues. Think of how many people she’d influence if she called upon her following of 500,000 people. She could’ve started a revolution for something that matters to her.

Super Scary (and Sexist) Halloween Costumes

mariethearistocat

When I was little, I’d play dress up. I’d put on my mother’s beige heels or my sister’s prom dress and strut around my room like it was a runway.

I’d wear a pink tutu and make a crown out of yellow construction paper and draw little jewels with magenta and green crayons.

I could spend hours and hours just frolicking around my room; trying on this shirt or pretending to be that Disney princess.

Even though my dress up days have passed, there is still one occasion where I can relive one of my favorite elementary school pastimes.

Halloween – It’s the day where the ghosts, ghouls, and zombies come out to play. Where you can be whoever you want to be, without judgement. It’s a time to live in a fantasy for a day.

When I was little I’d jump for joy knowing I could wear my princess or witch costume to school, and the incoming candy overstock I’d have after trick-or-treating.

Now that I’m older, I’m just excited for the excuse to dress up for a day. I’ve noticed that it’s becoming harder and harder to find a costume I like, and for one big reason: women’s Halloween costumes are hypersexualized.

Now, this may not come as a surprise to some of you. You’ve been through the struggle of picking out a costume. Whether it be you couldn’t choose just what you wanted to be or you couldn’t find the perfect costume for who you wanted to be.

For women, finding an appropriate costume takes another ounce of effort. I’ve found that once you grow out of child sizes and into teenage or adult sizes, that the dresses don’t really grow much longer.

If you go onto any major costume store, such as Party City, you can see just how true this is. There are very few costumes for women that don’t contain one of the following: little tutus, corsets, skin-tight body suits, or above mid-thigh skirts.

Now, some women like wearing these costumes, and I see nothing wrong with that. But, the problem is for the women who don’t want to show much skin on Halloween.

Bustle, an online news blog, did an article about the difference between men’s and women’s costumes, which you can see here: http://www.bustle.com/articles/7907-15-mens-and-womens-halloween-costumes-reveal-some-scary-sexism .

They bring an air of comedy to just how sexualized women’s costumes can be. For example, a man’s costume for an owl is a full-body suit while a woman’s costume is a short dress with little feathers all over it.

And that’s not even the worst of them.

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The problem with this inherent sexism is that it gives women boundaries for this fun holiday. If a woman isn’t particularly confident in her body, or doesn’t want to show it off, then her costumes are very, very limited.

Even teenage girl’s costumes are becoming more and more skimpy. In fact, most costumes that would fit me I can’t even wear to school, because they don’t follow school dress code.

Some would say that it would be easier just to make a costume at home, but why should I, and many other women, have to?

Instead of telling me what I should do to help my costume-less state, tell manufacturers to create more women’s costumes that are less provocative.

Hurting is not Flirting

happyrose15
Photo Credit: thedailylove.com

As a young girl when a boy would pick on me on the playground I was told it was just because he liked me.

As a young girl when a boy would hit me on the playground I was told it was just because he liked me.

Photo Credit: facebook.com

Where do we draw the line? If a punch leaves a bruise and a girl goes crying to a nurse, does the excuse that “he must really like you,” make the bruise diminish? Like the size of a bruise or the deepness of a cut shows fondness to a young girl.

The sad truth is that we have taught boys the idea of violence and taunting is a way to show a girl that you like her.

Society has a serious problem in the way that we define masculinity. Young boys are shown that they should hide their emotions and the only manly way to display those suppressed feelings is through violence. Because for some reason acting “feminine” is a worst case scenario.