Choose your own way to burn

So she became Secretary of State instead

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:07:58 -0700

So she became Secretary of State instead

Why Katniss Everdeen is a Woman of Color

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:19:58 -0700

Why Katniss Everdeen is a Woman of Color:

katnissisoliveskinneddealwithit:

“I loved The Hunger Games when I devoured the trilogy in a week (the first book, in a day). As a woman of color (brown, not olive skinned) who grew up in a third world country, the idea of being a revolutionary hero in the world of YA seemed to speak to my childish self. When I found out it was going to be made into a movie, I was so excited to see who would be cast to play my black-haired, olive-skinned heroine. This week, Jezebel reported that Jennifer Lawrence may be cast in the lead: she is most decidedly not the black-haired, olive-skinned woman of color I imagined kicking butt as the Girl on Fire. Jezebel bases its argument that casting should include non-Caucasians on explicit descriptions of characters in the book, and not on the omissions or the overall metaphor that I found to be the most compelling argument for why Katniss is not white. In short, the entire metaphor that runs through the book about oppression, hunger, and excess is meaningless if none of the main characters are people of color.”

(click to read the rest)

This is a really good read, and it pint points basically all of the problems I had with the casting, of mostly everyone basically, but especially Katniss and Gale. I really liked this bit:

If Collins intended this metaphor, and Katniss is a white girl with skin somewhat darker than her mother, then I hate this book: because then Collins is deliberately appropriating the struggles of millions and placing white protagonists in places where people of color should be (and in reality, are).

“I wanna be your friend” I whisper quietly to myself while stalking your blog and not making any...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:39:57 -0800

“I wanna be your friend” I whisper quietly to myself while stalking your blog and not making any attempt to talk to you.

"Those who come to Islam because they wish to draw closer to God have no problem with a multiform..."

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:55:51 -0800

“Those who come to Islam because they wish to draw closer to God have no problem with a multiform Islam radiating from a single revealed paradigmatic core. But those who come to Islam seeking an identity will find the multiplicity of traditional Muslim cultures intolerable. People with confused identities are attracted to totalitarian solutions. And today, many young Muslims feel so threatened by the diversity of calls on their allegiance, and by the sheer complexity of modernity, that the only form of Islam they can regard as legitimate is a totalitarian, monolithic one. That there should be four schools of Islamic law is to them unbearable. That Muslim cultures should legitimately differ is a species of blasphemy.”

- An excerpt from a lecture by Sheikh Abdel Hakim Murad (Tim Winter) given to a conference of British converts on September 17 1997 (via thalamtnafsee)

"The strangest twist to all of this is that Dan’s totally psychotic attempt to fit into this world..."

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:56:41 -0800

“The strangest twist to all of this is that Dan’s totally psychotic attempt to fit into this world works. Because the girl he was trying to pursue the entire time is somehow barely affected by what should be literally terrifying news—instead she seems to find it kind of hot. Yes, after Dan slanders her online numerous times, publishes a takedown piece of her in Vanity Fair, and admits to having lied to her repeatedly for years, Serena finds that Dan is exactly the kind of guy she has always wanted to be with, a guy who has “earned” his place among us as someone who knows how to pull the strings of power. Frankly, Serena is impressed, teaching little boys everywhere that stalking and tearing down the object of your affection might actually work, so go ahead, take your best shot! She reaches across the table to hold his hand, and the episode cuts to five years later.”

- Sonia Saraiya [http://www.avclub.com/articles/new-york-i-love-you-xoxo,90012/] (via clintbutts)

#serenate #tw: gossip girl #you’ll not be missed xoxo #IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE#one of the reasons why i hate gg so much is not that my otps didn’t get the chance to be together #it’s because the things GG taught all the teenagers who watch and glamorize this show #they taught them that it’s okay to be unhappy in an abusive relationship #it’s okay for a guy to sell you like a property #you should be grateful that there is a guy who stalks you for ages #and it’s totally fine that the guy thinks that you are desperate shallow and nothing but a golden shell #i feel so sick when i said ‘but chuck sold blair for his hotel’ to my rl friend #and her response is ‘yeah but well he is chuck bass!’ #HOW IS THAT A REASON

you should see this post: lalondes(.)tumblr(.)com/post/35511647973/malala-yousafzai-in-a-2011-interview-with-cnn

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:09:24 -0800

I have seen it. :)

PSA PSA PSA PSA I miss voting legally by 6 days. 6. Days. I cannot vote.

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:47:36 -0800

PSA PSA PSA PSA

I miss voting legally by 6 days. 6. Days.

I cannot vote.

imsirius: Emma and Ezra rehearsing

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 03:18:55 -0700

imsirius:

Emma and Ezra rehearsing

mehreenkasana: I grew up watching my mother get insults from random white people she didn’t know in...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:30:07 -0700

mehreenkasana:

I grew up watching my mother get insults from random white people she didn’t know in public for wearing the Pakistani dress shalwar kameez. For her, it was just her clothes. Nothing too threatening about a brown woman in a shalwar kameez with her three daughters along, right? But anything that is not anglo-centric in America is instantly alienated. I remember how we would walk through malls and look at long skirts and silk blouses for her and she would make sure she bought something “western” but that also covered her because she followed her Islamic faith. Why? So her colleagues wouldn’t make fun of her at the bank.

Every time she would wear a blouse looking at herself in the mirror, she would turn around and ask me, I was barely 8, “Do I look educated now?” Like as if she needed their approval to function in that society despite having a masters degree and work experience, despite being fluent in English and excellent at work ethics. What the fuck for? When a white person comes to a brown or black country and wears our cultural clothes, we’re supposed to celebrate this display of “diversity.” But if a person of color tries celebrating their heritage in a white environment, accusations of “backwardness” commence.

It broke my heart but it never broke my pride in my culture. If you see me in America wearing a shalwar kameez with my dupatta dangling down my shoulders and my feet in my chappals and give me a stare that implies “What are you wearing, ew?” or “Wow, so exotic!” or “Which backward country is that from?”, I will greet you with my middle finger and be on my lofty way.

littlegiddy: auld-langsyne: elvabarr: In the first draft for...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 01:09:29 -0700

littlegiddy:

auld-langsyne:

elvabarr:

In the first draft for Half-Blood Prince when Harry’s at the station and Dumbledore comes to meet him, in an early draft of that script Dumbledore said to Harry “I remember a young woman with eyes of flushing whatever… ravened hair” I read this and I scribbled on my copy of the script “Steve, Dumbledore is gay!” Shoved it up the table and Steve goes “ohhh”.

NO you know what this is actually such an uncool moment that it makes me a little vomit-angry to think about it. the thing is, you as a young adult novelist, have this fantastic opportunity to show young kids (LIKE ME; I WAS A YOUNG KID THAT READ THESE BOOKS) that being gay is awesome and normal and acceptable. instead, what you do is write a series of books where the only romances that are depicted are heterosexual, actually, the books are so straight that no one notices you actually even had a gay character until you say “oh yeah that one’s gay! whoops sorry forgot to mention it!”

you might think that it’s super duper progressive that you consider sexuality so irrelevant to character that you don’t even mention it, but the matter of the fact is that you do need to mention it. we need gay role models in pop culture and dumbledore can’t exactly be a gay role model if you make him out to be an sexless wisdom dispenser. talking about being gay and gay romances and gay experiences would have been wonderful and damn relevant in harry potter because straight romances and straight experiences were a really big focus! being gay is not a throw-away detail! it’s pretty fucking important!

so, idk, i don’t give jo a whole lot of props for this little thing she forgot to mention that no one even noticed, because i needed gay role models in my mainstream pop culture when i was growing up, and you missed a fantastic opportunity by not talking about it the same way you talked about being straight.

perfect commentary.

#THIS IS NOT REPRESENTATION

"The (500) Days of Summer attitude of “He wants you so bad” seems attractive to some women and men,..."

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:38:33 -0700

“The (500) Days of Summer attitude of “He wants you so bad” seems attractive to some women and men, especially younger ones, but I would encourage anyone who has a crush on my character to watch it again and examine how selfish he is. He develops a mildly delusional obsession over a girl onto whom he projects all these fantasies. He thinks she’ll give his life meaning because he doesn’t care about much else going on in his life. A lot of boys and girls think their lives will have meaning if they find a partner who wants nothing else in life but them. That’s not healthy. That’s falling in love with the idea of a person, not the actual person.”

- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (via pratfall)

startlingly-good: Harry & Hermione | Parachute III. by ...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 03:02:43 -0700

startlingly-good:

Harry & Hermione | Parachute III. by Restrictedbeauty @YouTube

My favorite Harmony fanvid of all time.

deckardcain: 8 month old baby hearing his mother’s voice for...

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:30:55 -0700

deckardcain:

8 month old baby hearing his mother’s voice for the first time with cochlear implant

Kristen Stewart Dropped from 'Snow White' Sequel Plans (Exclusive)

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:16:00 -0700

Kristen Stewart Dropped from 'Snow White' Sequel Plans (Exclusive):

hannahorvath:

Okay, so Kristen Stewart cheats on her boyfriend, who she is not married to, not engaged to, has no real legal bond to, and her career suffers. This is not the first movie she has been rumored to be dropped from. (I think it might be the third) People have talked about how this might hurt Breaking Dawn. How people will harass her at premieres or public appearances. Pretty much, the cheating scandal has made her such a liability that it might be a really long time before producers are willing to cast her in anything.

Meanwhile, Chris Brown physically assaults his girlfriend. There are pictures of what he did to Rihanna. There is a detailed police report saying exactly what he did. And has his career suffered at all? His most recent albums have only gotten more and more popular, he won a Grammy, he was invited to perform at the Grammys, and he still has a huge fan base, mostly female, disturbingly enough.

Meanwhile, Charlie Sheen physically assaults his wife, again, with detailed police reports. He makes anti-Semetic remarks about his boss. He goes on a bender that is captured by every major news outlet. And it’s all a joke. He trademarks all the crazy shit he says and makes money off the merchandise. He not only gets a new TV show, but it is the highest rated show on FX.

A+ sexism there, Hollywood.

kaisermonkey: Celebratory giveaway! I’ve passed 100...

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 22:42:11 -0700

kaisermonkey:

Celebratory giveaway! I’ve passed 100 followers!!

To celebrate 100 followers, I’ve decided to host a random giveaway! This giveaway is for my current followers only. I’m sorry but if you’ve followed me after I make this post, you are not elligible for this giveaway. Please do not be discouraged though! I may decide to hold another giveaway in the future after I pass another milestone :-)

PRIZE: $10 Starbucks card OR $10 iTunes Card OR $10 USD into paypal (*this is mostly added in for my International followers, but I’m not going to make you show proof you’re not from the states if you win and this is your choice)

PLEASE NOTE: you must have a registered Starbucks card at starbucks.com if you want your prize instantly and not through the mail. This is super easy to do and you do not need to actually purchase a card from Starbucks, just have a gift card registered! If you have any questions about this, I am happy to answer!

RULES: You have the option of 2 entries by August 26th. 1 entry for reblogging (*note: this is the only time I will allow you to reblog from me!!) and 1 entry for liking this post. ANY EXTRA REBLOGS WILL GET YOU AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED

DEADLINE: You have until August 26th at Midnight PST to reblog & like. I will then use a random number generator (if anybody knows of a better one, please let me know!) to choose one winner (One winner is all I can afford right now. I might choose more winners next time!). I will then contact them via ask within 24hrs (so please have your ask enabled) and they then have 48hrs to get back to me with what prize they want.

AGAIN: THIS IS ONLY FOR MY CURRENT FOLLOWERS ONLY. This is because I want to show my appreciation for my first 100 followers. I appreciate all of my followers and it’s honestly the reason I keep uploading all the shows that I do even though I’m behind on the majority of them. If you’re following me after I’ve started the giveaway (8/12) please do not think you’ve missed out! If this blog keeps being as successful as it’s been, I might have another giveaway in the future!

thetickr: Gabby Douglas, USA, Women’s All-Around Gold...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:14:00 -0700

thetickr:

Gabby Douglas, USA, Women’s All-Around Gold Medal

Gabby “The Flying Squirrel” Douglas has captured the gold medal in women’s all-around. Gabby becomes the first African American to win gold in the event.

Oh, and she turns 17 in December.

anthagio:

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:23:00 -0700

anthagio:

Photo

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:08:59 -0700

stayandchewthefat: partysoft: face-down-asgard-up: However...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:04:53 -0700

stayandchewthefat:

partysoft:

face-down-asgard-up:

However you feel about Anne, bravo to her for this take down.

Watch interviews with her and with ScarJo about their comic book films. Watch how they always get questions about their bodies and clothing and diets and blah blah blah fucking blah. Watch as the male cast members do not get the same treatment.

Because apparently all we care about when it comes to actresses are their bodies and not, ya know, their acting.

is that the same interviewer who asked scarjo about her “undergarments”

Well played.

iramofthecolumns: This is Aliya Mustafina. She’s a Russian...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:14:00 -0700

iramofthecolumns:

This is Aliya Mustafina. She’s a Russian gymnast, a Muslim, and is ethnically of Tatar descent (thanks, Google). She was Alicia Sacramone’s main competition during the 2010 World Championships. Alicia got gold, Aliya got silver. She’ll be competing in the next Summer Olympics, without a doubt. BASICALLY, she’s doing big things, so keep an eye out for her…if you want.