It's Not Rocket Science

fek: Barbara Kruger’s never really talked about Supreme, the...

Sun, 12 May 2013 06:19:44 -0400

Barbara Kruger’s never really talked about Supreme, the skate company who’s been ripping off her ideas and prints letter for letter, color for color, for their red-and-white logo, which you have seen, because it is everywhere.

I emailed her casually to ask her about this. And today, she got back to me, and gave a candid statement on the matter of Supreme for the first time, ever, really. By emailing me a blank email, with an attachment. Which you can see above.

I watched Air America for the first time in ages last night....

Sun, 12 May 2013 05:02:13 -0400

I watched Air America for the first time in ages last night. Successfully identified: the origins of my love for Robert Downey Jr and massive cargo planes, and the reason why I spent a third of my twenties drinking in terrible bars in Southeast Asia (I highly recommend this as a way to spend your twenties, particularly if the alternative is drinking in terrible bars in Sydney).

I really love the way that one boring person on Twitter can just destroy a joke and then make the...

Thu, 09 May 2013 06:37:10 -0400

I really love the way that one boring person on Twitter can just destroy a joke and then make the flesh melt off your face a la the creepy Gestapo officer in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

buckybird: Loras Tyrell Fashion 101 The...

Wed, 08 May 2013 05:22:24 -0400

buckybird:

Loras Tyrell Fashion 101

The Most Eligible Bachelor in Westeros.

clambistro: FUCKEN FINALLY Ditto

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:53:23 -0400

clambistro:

FUCKEN FINALLY

Ditto

richardrushfield: alisonagosti: Jason and the Argonauts...

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:51:53 -0400

richardrushfield:

alisonagosti:

Jason and the Argonauts skeleton fight

This has more drama than every Michael Bay/Roland Emmerich/McG/Battle of LA/whoever combined. RIP Harryhausen, author of my childhood’s most spectacular dreams.

Also an important moment for anyone who ever did Classical Studies/Ancient History in high school. Last class of term = HARRYHAUSEN SPECTACULAR. Farewell, excellent man.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunitySelling seafood barbeque on the...

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:12:32 -0400

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Selling seafood barbeque on the street, Jakarta, Indonesia

wearejakarta:

This guy reminds me of my dad and his love for BBQ on coal.

BBQ seafood street food, Bendungan Hilir (Ben Hil).

ikan bakar yes very good I would like this right now please (pref. eaten in a warung in Ben Hil) (SOON JAKARTA, I WILL BE IN YOU SOOOOOOON).

Just keeps getting better and better every time I look at it.

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:56:03 -0400

Just keeps getting better and better every time I look at it.

strangeasanjles: holyfuckmeinthemouth: noworseforwear: Fridas...

Sun, 05 May 2013 07:16:55 -0400

strangeasanjles:

holyfuckmeinthemouth:

noworseforwear:

Fridas cast. I was in tears. #hammerandsickle #fridakahlo #fetus

clambistro: oldmanasante: Comedian Aisha Tyler owned all the...

Sun, 05 May 2013 06:14:55 -0400

clambistro:

oldmanasante:

Comedian Aisha Tyler owned all the trolls hating on the fact that she was selected to be a presenter at the 2012 Ubisoft E3 press conference. In the form of a poem. I think I’m more infatuated with this woman than ever before.

====

Dear Gamers

I play.

I’ve played since I was a little kid.

Since I begged my dad to buy me a Nintendo LCD Donkey Kong, Jr.

Since I blew through three weeks’ allowance playing Defender at the laundromat.

Since you were a twinge in the left side of your daddy’s underoos.

I’ve been a gamer since I made friends with a girl in the 5th grade just to get at her Atari.

Since I missed the bus playing Galaga after school.

Since I missed the start of Return of the Jedi playing Tempest in the theater lobby.

You think you know. You don’t know.

I’ve been a gamer since before you could read.

Since I aced midterms after staying up all night playing Evil Tetris.

Since I became dorm champ at Leisure Suit Larry.

Since I double-wielded on Time Crisis 3 at Fuddrucker’s.

I was a voice in not one, but two major video game titles.

I hosted the Reach Beta tutorial.

I was a Gears of War superfan panelist at ComicCon.

I hosted the Ubisoft presser at E3 2012.

I didn’t do any of it for the money.

For most I got paid next to nothing, and for some, less than that.

I did it because I love video games.

Because I’ve dreamt since I was a kid of being in one of the games I love.

How many games have you done voices for?

How many cons have you repped at?

Your buddy’s Unreal Tournament garage deathmatch doesn’t count.

I go to E3 each year because I love video games.

Because new titles still get me high.

Because I still love getting swag.

Love wearing my gamer pride on my sleeve.

People ask me what console I play.

Motherfucker, ALL of them.

I get invited to E3 because real gamers know I’m a gamer.

I don’t do it for the money.

I have plenty of money.

I don’t do it for the fame.

Fuck fame.

I do it because I love video games.

I don’t give out my gamertag because I don’t want a mess of noob jackholes lining up

to assassinate me on XBL.

I don’t give a shit what you think about my gamerscore.

I don’t play to prove a point.

I don’t play to be the best.

I play because I love it.

I play.

I’ve been playing my whole life.

I’m not ashamed of it.

I don’t apologize for it.

It’s who I am.

To the core.

I’m a gamer.

So to all the haters out there who claim I don’t play;

To the GAF dicks,

Gamespot trolls,

To every illiterate racist douchebag on Youtube:

Flame away. Go nuts.

Post every jackass comment your heart desires.

I’ll still be playing when your mom’s kicked you out of her basement

and you have to sell your old-ass console

and get a real job.

For now, I say to you respectfully,

and I mean this from the bottom of my heart,

GFYS.

:’D

flamshed: A Merübe production.

Fri, 03 May 2013 04:13:05 -0400

flamshed:

A Merübe production.

Going to turn my barren Canberra balcony into this.

Thu, 02 May 2013 06:19:41 -0400

Going to turn my barren Canberra balcony into this.

Photo

Thu, 02 May 2013 06:02:14 -0400

"After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity..."

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:09:28 -0400

“

After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.

Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.

I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?

The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.

She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,

Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.

She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.

Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.

Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.

She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.

She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.

To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.

And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.

And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,

With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.

And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.

Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.

They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.

Not everything is lost.

”

- Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.”

(via awelltraveledwoman, clambistro)

Language, culture, travel, food and people. Some of our favourite things in one small, powerful story.

(via superlinguo)

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:33:23 -0400

Photo

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:19:50 -0400

PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V Almost ten years ago I taught English in...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:16:42 -0400

PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V

Almost ten years ago I taught English in Jakarta. K Pop was massively popular with my students, and there was a hard-core fan group who would copy out transcriptions of the lyrics and learn them and their translations in English, which they would then ask for help understanding in class (I also had a few classes that included students from the Korean International School, which made translation easier and more fun and an excellent learning experience all round blah blah blah). K Pop seemed to make up at least half of what was played on MTV Asia as well (the rest was J Pop and whatever is the appropriate name for Indian pop music).

When Gangnam Style was at its peak, an SMH Entertainment Journalist who shall go unnamed wrote a pathetic column about it - his chief complaint seemed to be that it was in a foreign language and thus the “kids” listening to it would have no idea what it meant, but also that he didn’t seem to think it had any meaning at all anyway and blah blah the End Of Music. I thought about my students in Jakarta, slaving away over their song translations (would that they have spent as much time on their regular English homework, but anyway), desperate to know exactly what these songs meant, and I was so happy to realise that right now there were probably teenagers in Sydney doing the exact same thing.

Where I am going is basically WOO ASIAN CENTURY COME ON DOWN and shut up David Dale, who cares what you think anyway. (Whoops)

21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed.

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:53:53 -0400

rosalindrobertson:

A while ago, I penned a fairly angry response to something circulating on the internet – the 21 Habits of Happy People. It pissed me off beyond belief, that there was an inference that if you weren’t Happy, you simply weren’t doing the right things.

I’ve had depression for as long as I can remember. It’s manifested in different ways. I did therapy. I did prozac. I did more therapy. My baseline is melancholic. I’d just made peace with it when I moved, unintentionally, to a place that had markedly less sunshine in the winter. I got seasonal depression. I got that under control. Then I got really, really sick. Turns out it’s a permanent, painful genetic disorder. My last pain-free day was four years ago.

So, this Cult of Happy article just set me off. Just… anger. Rage. Depression is serious – debilitating, often dangerous, and it’s got an enormous stigma. It leaves people to fend for themselves.

It’s bad enough without people ramming Happy Tips at you through facebook. There is no miracle behaviour change that will flip that switch for you. I know, I’ve tried.

A friend of mine suggested that I write something from my point of view because, surprisingly, I manage to give an outwards impression of having my shit together. I was shocked to hear this. And I find this comical, but I see her point. I’m functioning. I’ve adapted. I’m surprisingly okay. I think the medical term is “resilient”.

So, here it is.

My 21 Tips on Keeping Your Shit Together During Depression

1)   Know that you’re not alone. Know that we are a silent legion, who, every day face the solipsism and judgement of Happy People Who Think We Just Aren’t Trying. There are people who are depressed, people who have been depressed, and people who just haven’t been hit with it yet.

2)   Understand that the Happy People are usually acting out of some genuine (albeit misguided) concern for you, that it’s coming from a good place, even if the advice feels like you’re being blamed for your disease. Telling you these things makes them feel better, even if it makes you feel like shit. (If they insist on keeping it up, see #12.)

3)   Enlist the help of a professional. See your doctor. You need to talk about the ugly shit, and there are people paid to listen and help you find your way to the light at the end of the tunnel.

4)   Understand that antidepressants will only do so much. They’re useful, they’ll level you out and give you the time you need to figure out your own path to getting well. They can be helpful. There are lots to choose from. They may not be for you, and even if they are, they take some time to kick in. Conversely, they may not be for you. Work with your doctor.

5)   Pick up a paintbrush, a pencil, an activity you got joy from in the past and re-explore that. Or, sign up for the thing you always wanted to try. There is a long history and link between depression and creativity. It’s a bright light of this condition, so utilize it to your best advantage.

6)   Eat nutritionally sound, regular small meals. If you’re having trouble eating, try to focus on what you’d like to eat. I went through a whole six week episode of tomatoes and cream cheese on a bagel twice a day. Not great, but it was something – helpful context, I’m a recovered anorexic. Conversely, if all you want to do is scarf down crap, try to off-ramp it by downing a V-8 and doing #9 for 15 minutes, and see how you feel. Chucking your blood sugar all over hell’s half acre is going to make you feel worse.

7)   While you’re doing #3, get some bloodwork done. If you’re low on iron or vitamin D, or if your hormone levels are doing the Macarena… these can all contribute to zapping your energy or switching your mood to Bleak As Hell.

8)   If you’re in bed and the “insomnia hamsters”, as I like to call them, are on the wheel of your head, watch Nightly Business News on PBS. This has the effect of Nyquil. Swap out your coffee for herbal tea. If you just cannot sleep, try the next tip….

9)   Learn how to meditate. Start by focusing on your breathing. Not sleep, not thoughts. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Meditation is focusing on being present in your body, not careening around in your brain. It may not be as good as sleep but it will give you some rest and recharge you.

10)                  Face a window as often as you can – at work, at home. Look out into the world. Watch. Observe. Try to find something you find pretty or interesting to focus on. And, handily remember that one in five of those people out there feel the way you do.

11)                  Cry. Better out than in. Sometimes it’s not convenient or career-enhancing to cry, so find a private place as best you can and let the tears go. Carry Kleenex and face wipes and extra concealer if you wear makeup. You can always claim allergies.

12)                  Any “friend” who resolutely believes that your depression is because you’re lazy, because you’re not trying hard enough, who blames you for not bootstrapping out of it- that friend needs to be cut off. Polite (#2) is one thing, but there is a limit. You don’t have to explain, you can just not respond. You feel badly enough, you don’t need their “assistance”.

13)                  Limit your time with people who drain you. You know who they are. Often you don’t have a choice- but you can put the meter on. And, subsequently, be aware of what you’re asking of those close to you.

14)                  Everyone has shit they’ve got to deal with. What you have been saddled with is your shit. Recognize, just as you’re not alone, you’re also not unique. The grass may look greener, you may be jealous or envious of others who don’t have to deal with depression, but you likely do not know everything that’s going on with them.

15)                  Let go or be dragged. This is an old Buddhist saying. It’s a very useful way to frame aspects of depression. Betrayal, anger, fear… letting go is a process – often a painful and difficult process - but it’s ultimately going to show you the path out of this terrible place. Repeating the mantra can help when you’re feeling gripped by these feelings.

16)                  Wear clothes that make you feel confident. It takes as much time to put on nice clothes as it does to put on sweatpants. You will want to wear the sweatpants. Fight the urge. The whole “look good/feel better” campaign isn’t limited to cancer and chemotherapy. Or women.

17)                  Avoid fictional drama and tragedy like the plague. No Grey’s Anatomy, no to The Notebook, or anything that won a Pulitzer prize. You’ve got enough going on In Real Life. Comedy only. Or trashy stuff. Old episodes of WonderWoman? I’ve got the box set. Mindless drivel, like the latest CGI blockbuster. Or clever, funny books. David Sedaris. Jenny Lawson. Fiction exists to elicit emotion, and the emotion you need to express most right now is laughter.

18)                  Simple exercise, if you can. It can be something as simple as taking the stairs up a flight, or walking around the block. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, it doesn’t have to involve climbing a mountain or running a marathon. Baby steps.

19)                  Depression will lie to you. Depression will try to tell you what others are thinking. That you are unloved and unworthy, that others think little of you or don’t care – or even wish you harm. You are not a psychic. Keep repeating that. “I am not a psychic”. Repeat. The only way to know what another person is thinking is to up and ask them.

20)                  If you are well and truly losing this battle, reach out to someone. I’ve been the random friendly-but-not-close person who has fielded the occasional outreach. I like to think I’m not judgemental and generally resourceful, and others have thought the same, so they called and asked. You know someone like me. And they will help you.

21)                  Forgive yourself. I’m writing out all these tips, and I can’t always muster the strength to even stick my nose outside, or walk up the stairs, or eat my vegetables. Today, I got outside for ten minutes. I will try again tomorrow. And I will try again the day after that.

This list will not cure you. This list will not flip on the happy switch. God, I wish it were that easy. The theme here is to not to unknowingly sabotage yourself. All these little things? Like your blood sugar, or watching nonstop episodes of House, or endless Try Harder lectures from your Perpetually Perky sister?

They all make dealing with depression just a tiny bit harder than it needs to be. And it’s hard enough, all on its own.

UPDATE: Wow, guys. Thank you. The feedback has been wonderful - all I wanted to set out to do was something helpful.

For those of you who want to see the original rant, Here it is.. www.diycouturier.com/post/41923259437/to-the-person-who-wrote-21-habits-…
And here’s the response to my response (?) - basically, after posting my retort, the happy people came at me with torches all over the interwebs.
www.diycouturier.com/post/42465364887/trollin-trollin-trollin#_=_

Also, a few people have mentioned that having a critter is a great thing to keep you on track, that taking care of something and having something rely on you keeps you going. I went back and forth on including that, but for some, it’s just not feasible to have a cat or a dog… but my cat is my Prozac.

And, I wrote this in Canada, where we have universal health care. It breaks my heart that people don’t have access to professional support. You can sometimes find a community health centre, or sometimes your work benefits will have an employee support or assistance plan as part of your insurance. If you’re without benefits and hitting desperation, phone someone. Friend, family - even your local distress centre.

Stay well, my melancholic interweb friends…xoRR

I wish I had had this list two years ago. Also I can’t believe that my breakdown was two years ago? And how good I am, if not quite the same (also my anti-depressants gave me a twitch, if you can believe that) (they were still excellent and I do not regret taking them, if you are reading this and contemplating a course yourself. They didn’t destroy my creativity or anything like that, but they allowed me to think straight and it was wonderful). And number 19, I think I should copy that out and carry it around with me.

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Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:29:39 -0400

WE ASKED MAGGIE IF SHE WAS A FEMMO AND SHE BASICALLY SAID, ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID? DID YOU NEVER LISTEN TO A WORD I SAID?

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:24:00 -0400

I am just going to post this New Statesman article in its entirety and maybe no one will write another asinine “oh but like she was a role model and a secret feminist right?” article again. She wasn’t. She hated feminism. She didn’t do anything for women besides demonstrate a woman could be prime minister of the United Kingdom (the importance of that I will leave to others to debate. I am happy to mark it as an important symbolic victory. Certainly the next female UK PM, whoever she might be, will inevitably be compared to Thatcher first and any of her other preprocessors second, even if she isn’t a Tory). I mean seriously even if you are someone who liked her, don’t you think it’s pretty rude to keep insisting she was something that she rejected? And for everyone else: please stop picking at it, you’ll go blind:

There will be much discussion about Margaret Thatcher’s role as Britain’s first female prime minister in the coming days, and whether she can be considered a “feminist icon”. It’s probably worth remembering the Iron Lady’s own thoughts on the subject:

‘The feminists hate me, don’t they? And I don’t blame them. For I hate feminism. It is poison.’

- as said to her adviser (and one-time New Statesman editor) Paul Johnson, according to a 2011 piece he wrote for The Spectator.

Update: Sky’s political correspondent, Sophy Ridge, has written a blog about Thatcher’s legacy for women, adding two more pertinent quotes:

She sits uneasily as a feminist trailblazer, famously saying “the battle for women’s rights has largely been won” and “I owe nothing to women’s lib”.

The latter quote comes from a 1982 lecture. In full, it runs:

“The battle for women’s rights has largely been won. The days when they were demanded and discussed in strident tones should be gone forever. I hate those strident tones we hear from some Women’s Libbers.”