Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

So, this video by Jesse Rosten is kind of perfect. Thought I’d share. I’ve always been interested in how american media portrays women—Ad agency 72 and Sunny constantly takes the easy way out with sexy or sexist ad campaigns (like Kim Kardashian for Hardees or Carls Junior or whatever, Men vs. Women for nike running, and ‘Dress Irresponsibly’ for PacSun)*. Dr Pepper 10 “It’s not for women” campaign is lame and bogus. And even Dennis Rodman is backing a topless basketball team for fuck’s sake—but I somehow haven’t always been sold on the ‘photoshopping affects a woman’s body image’ debate. Anyone who thinks the eyelashes in any CoverGirl mascara commercial are actually real CAN NOT be taken seriously. If only these ladies knew how easy it would be to photoshop their Facebook profile pictures. Maybe I should teach a class.

Also if you’re interested in media and society’s affects on american women’s self image, I suggest you watch the documentary Miss Representation. It made me cry.

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A lot of designers are getting heated over the whole thing, but my opinions on the matter can be summed up by Connecticut-based designer Matt Hunsberger’s post on the subject.

“Verdana actually makes sense. Aside from IKEA’s probably-bullshit reasoning about wanting one font for both web and print, Verdana is an accurate reflection of their brand. Think about it, Verdana is a utilitarian typeface that is kind of crappy but everyone has it on their websites. IKEA is utilitarian furniture that is kind of crappy but everyone has it in their houses. See, it makes perfect sense.”

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So there you have it, the first cover of LOVE — the magazine the blogosphere has been abuzz about since October.  My thoughts?

The thought of boobs without nipples is weird!
Doesn’t the L seem really far away from OVE?
I’m digging the hand-drawn headlines but not the lack of breathing space.
I love her manicure.
Love the color.
I can’t wait to read what other people say!
I can’t wait to see the inside!

Hey LOVE, will you send me a copy, please?

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“But those times were fleeting like the summer days.
We were bodies of water, destined to flow our separate ways”

I don’t write much about music but friends of friends, Make Do and Mend’s new album “Bodies of Water” is now available for free via download from their website.  With musical influences such as Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker, and Lucero it’s easily one of the best albums to come out of Connecticut in a long while.  Brimming with heartfelt lyrics about nostalgia, friendship, and feeling uninspired  by what confines us; Bodies of Water has been a great backdrop to my feelings of restlessness while at home for another New England winter break.

Photo: Luc Rioual of Hot Air Press

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“…and i hate when things that actually matter get too ‘IN’ with scene kids…like global warming and the presidential election.”

-Jill Sandrey, Friend

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Pros:

• If even 100 people from Oprah’s audience become vegan due to her 21-day vegan experiment, those 100 people will “save” 10,000 animals a year. (I say ’save’ because there is always the argument that ‘For every animal you don’t eat, I will eat X more.’)
• “I actually think about how my food got to my plate.” says Oprah on her 21-Day Cleanse blog. If only everyone could adopt this way of thinking in both food and consumer products, our world would become much more environmentally-aware.
• Oprah mentions on her blog multiple times how she still feels satisfied eating vegan. I feel like the thought of leaving cheese and ‘creamy’ dishes in the dust deters many people from becoming, or at least trying a vegan-lifestyle.
• Oprah is introducing her audience to a vegan lifestyle, if nothing else, maybe being vegan will become more wildly accepted rather than a choice that provokes an “Oh I could never do that!” or “What the hell is a vegan?!” response.
• A lot of the vegan dishes Oprah blogs about sound pretty simple to concoct on your own, without help from Tal Ronnen. Kathy Freston, along with providing spiritual cockamamie, has tips underneath each of Oprah’s blog entries, like adding fruit nectar to bland meals like oatmeal to make them more satisfying. I almost like this better than Oprah teaching her viewers delicious vegan recipes.
• Switching to a plant-based diet is much healthier, and in a country where obesity rates are rising I back anything trying to encourage a positive, healthy lifestyle.

Cons:

• Oprah is selling her 21-day vegan lifestyle as a spiritual experience, often relating experiences back to Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Oprah is near-ignoring the entire topic of animal rights, most likely because her audience would not want to hear it (which is a problem in itself).
• Oprah is not committed to veganism, I’m sure she has at least two leather couches in her home or on her chartered jets.
• Oprah has a team of personal Chefs (although her chef, Tal Ronnen only was with her for 2/3rds of her 21-day cleanse). I feel like this could deter people from trying veganism because it makes it seem like it is hard to prepare a great-tasting vegan dish on your own. It makes veganism seem complicated and out of reach for the average person.

All in all I back Oprah raising veganism’s profile in the media, anything to bring it to a larger audience and become a more accepted way of life is awesome. I hope that Oprah publicly debunks the myth about vegans not being able to get enough protein into their diet, I don’t watch the show regularly enough to report back on that. If even a few people switch to a plant-based diet by being inspired by Oprahs 21-day cleanse, that’s great. It benefits not only your health and animals, but also the environment and learning to live a sustainable lifestyle.

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