Me

So I've told you about my stats and my dancing a few times before, but you've never really seen me.   I did a photo shoot today.  Enjoy the highlights!

Photos by K. Cupp

New Artwork

"Bright Dream" (In the style of Peter Max)

Ink on pointe shoe

"Peacock Feather"

Ink on pointe shoe

Managing your look: How to be hipster without overdoing it

**Disclamer--Opinion based**

So there's this look/persona making its rounds... the hipster look.  For those of you who don't know, it's sort of a hippie revival, but, like, so much cooler.  Google pics of young men who live in Portland, OR to find out more.  While some peeps are "true hipster" with their body odor and mustaches and tight kakis and such, the more mildly "hipster" look has become Seventeen magazine cool, just like the rocker look and goth look and surfer look...

I know, I know your not "real" unless you were hipster before it was cool and all that, but I want to talk fashion for a minute.  I am not turning this into a fashion blog, I just want to discuss this thing which has been on my mind.

There is this phenomenon in teen girls and young women.  My young gum-popping coworker perfectly exemplifies this.  This phenomenon entails making (copying) certain fashion trends because many other people wear them and many stores stock them.  Said coworker came in to work with this story about how she had bought some pants because they were "cool" and she was going to "force herself to wear them" until she felt comfortable with the new and previously foreign style.  The hipster look has become ubiquitous enough that anyone shopping at Target or Forever 21 can come out looking like a pot smoking, music fest loving, free range chicken eating documentary filmmaker.

Because I'm big into sincerity, I advocate caution when taking on a hipster look (unless, of course, you are 100% committed to the hipster lifestyle.  Signs that you are a true hipster include drinking locally sourced homemade chai out of mason jars, loving your bicycle but not enough to put on more sensible biking trousers than tight jeans, buying recycled notebooks on principle,  playing an obscure instrument like a kazoo and calling yourself a musician, and "liking things before they were cool".)

To avoid being mistaken for a true hipster, be careful with the fashion and follow these tips:

1.  Be sparing with your tattoos and piercings.  Any tats that contain mustaches or stylized doves are especially hipster.  As are septum piercings and gauges (on everyone) and nose cartilage piercings on men.

2.  Big/heavy glasses are to be chosen with caution.  Especially plastic Ray-Ban frames for non-sunglasses.

3.  Be careful with hairstyles including some shaved parts and some longer parts.  Men (and ladies, I suppose), watch the beards and 'staches.

4.  If you choose any of the styles above, choose ONE.  Never all of them.

5.  The same concept goes for relatively permanent/rarely replaced clothing and accessories, like your winter coat/boots, backpack, and purse.  Choose between zero and one of these items to have in a hipster stye.  Keep the rest classic or stylistically ambiguous.

6.  Follow basic fashion rules, such as baggy top = fitted bottom and vice versa.  One telltale hipster trait is unapologetic sloppiness or disproportion in an effort to look "effortlessly cool" (sorry if that sounded rude).

7.  Use t-shirts, shoes, scarves, and jewelry to add hipster accents to your look.  Especially hipster items include: plaid big shirts, knit hats, mustache prints, bow ties, chunky framed sunglasses, plain colored Toms,  and Converse sneakers.  Use these items sparingly, and never more than a couple at a time.

By following these tips, hopefully you can manage your look to be "cool" without being extreme or insincere.

A few notes on grammar

My favorite "lovely happy sunshine" Sunday morning show usually has a segment on the English language.  This segment, hosted by a gray haired man, details the usage of incorrect English in the everyday speech of the "younger" generations.  While the word crimes discussed are most often committed by Gen-Y and younger, it seems to me that the entire country needs a brief course in proper speech.

Here are two common errors and easy corrections.

1.  When vs. Whenever

My young, gum-popping coworker says, "Whenever my sister got pregnant with her son, she got really moody."
"When," I correct her.
Misinterpreting my comment as a question, she answers, "In 2009."

People these days seem to believe that "when" and "whenever" are interchangeable.  They are not.

 "When" should be used when an individual is describing a specific event that happened one or very few times in the past, or when describing an event that is currently happening.  

Examples:
"When my sister got pregnant with her son, she became moody."
"When my parents got married, they lived in Hawaii."
"When you get to the store, please pick up some napkins."

"Whenever" should be used when an individual is describing an event that happens frequently.  If you can logically insert "always" into a sentence, then you can use the word "whenever."

Examples:
"Whenever I go to the grocery store I seem to forget an important item." (Can be rephrased as "I always seem to forget an important item when I go to the grocery store.")
"Whenever I feed the dog, he runs to his bowl."  (Can be rephrased as "The dog always runs to his bowl when I feed him.")
"I'm ready to leave whenever you are."  (Can be rephrased, though awkwardly, as "I will always be ready to leave; it's your call when we actually get going.")

Note that it is always appropriate to use "when," even in a "whenever"-appropriate sentence.  When in doubt, use "when."

2.  Me vs. I

"Do you want to go to the party with Barrack and I?"
This is an example of the misuse of a personal pronoun as an object.  This specific example was used on the "lovely happy sunshine" morning show of which I am so fond.

Quick and dirty, here's the rule:  "I" is a subject.  "Me" is an object.  When multiple people are involved, be polite and put yourself last.

Examples of "I" as a subject:
"I am going to the party."
"Tim and I are going to the restaurant."

You would never say "Me am going to the party."  So why would anyone ever say "Tim and me are going to the restaurant."?

Examples of "me" as an object:
"Jody is going to make pancakes for me."
"My dog is coming to the park with Celina and me."

The gray-haired host of the grammar segment on the "lovely happy sunshine" morning show says that he believes that some people think that they sound sophisticated when they use "I" as an object.  This pattern of speech does not make individuals seem sophisticated.  It makes them seem uneducated.

Just calm down about body image already!

So this image has been circulating the internet for quite a while.  In a non judgmental world, it would merely call attention to the difference in the body types of the models used in each of the campaigns.  This benign compare and contrast is fascinating in itself.  In our real (and generally less kind) world, this image has been accompanied by quite a comments such as "VS models too skinny," "Real women have curves, " and "Finally! You don't have to starve yourself to be attractive."  

I understand that the Victoria's Secret models put quite a lot of effort into maintaining their figures and that the Dove models do not.  I also understand that the VS love my body campaign has more do to do with feeling sexy in expensive and generally ill-fitting undergarments, while the Dove campaign is supposed to be about body image (but is really trying to get consumers to buy soap).  Both of these facts seem lost to the masses who view and comment on the image.  

I agree with the assertions that 1. many body types can be considered healthy and beautiful and that 2. the mainstream fashion and beauty industry generally lacks diversity in shapes and sizes.  I disagree with the vast majority of the comments that viewers of the image have left.  While I think the VS models represent a shape unattainable by most people, I do not think they are too thin.  I am well aware that women without curves do in fact exist and are not imaginary.  Women have never been forced to starve themselves to be attractive (a subjective standard).  Generally people who are actually, legitimately starving (concentration camps, African famines) are not attractive (by any standard).  

I am also very disappointed and mildly offended by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.  They endeavor to show a "variety" of women with "real" bodies.  Where is the representation of my body?  You already know my stats from a previous post, 5'3", ~95lbs.  I am petite.  I also have the common ballet dancer/ hella-athlete-from-waist-down body type (google Maria Kochetova) with a thinner  torso and very muscular legs.  In relation to the standard of my own body, the women of the Dove campaign, with their model-tall and size 6 to 10 frames, are giants.  They represent a single body type.  This does provide a contrast from others, like the VS models.  However, I am appalled by the implication that anything smaller and less curvy is not "real."  I exist.  My fellow dancers exist.  VS models exist.  The beautiful Lizzie Velasquez, who lives with a medical condition that keeps her from holding body fat, exists.  (Find out more about Lizzie's story here: http://www.aboutlizzie.com/#!lizzies-story/ccm8)

I'm all for empowering women.  I'm all for health.  I'm all for feeling beautiful with what you have.  Just be careful not to empower one group by alienating another.

This image has been around too.  The answer to the proper punctuation-lacking question (though it is clearly rhetorical) is the mid 1960's, following Twiggy's rise to fame.  This image does not address pre-WWII fashion standards, which also favored more Keira Knightley-esque figures, thanks to Coco Chanel and her designs-for-long-narrow-androgynous bodies.  While the fashionable body type of the day fluctuates for reasons completely unbeknownst to me, I don't think that "hotness" can be definitively pinned down.  It's more of a personal thing.  

As an individual (and a "skinny girl") who likes girls, I find Nicole, Keira, and Kirsten (three rightmost images on the top panel) very attractive.  I've got a thing for Keira, so I'd call her the "hottest."  I don't find any of the women pictured on either panel unattractive, however I do think that Heidi's boobs are gross and Marilyn is a little thick for my personal tastes.  

In general, I disagree with the individual who created this image and its wording.  There is no universal standard of "hotness" or even attractiveness, and it certainly is not tied solely to body type and shape.  

Freakonomics, as currently applied to my life

You've heard of that book, "Freakonomics," where the authors list two completely separate things (like car seats and DVD players) and then explain how they are alike (car DVD players make kids sit still and watch, so you don't necessarily have to put a little one in a carseat if s/he is older than 2 yrs and sitting still).  I've been making a few strange connections lately, and I think everyone ought to see things as I do...

1.  How is ballroom dance like Guitar Hero?

In guitar hero, one must press the correct buttons on the game controller at a precise time in order to make the correct sound and earn points in the game.  The buttons that the player must push are displayed on the game screen before they need to be pushed.  If the player jumps the gun and hits the buttons too early, the game will make an unpleasant sound and points will not be earned.  Hitting the buttons too late will result in "dropping notes" and the game will be equally short lived.

In my ballroom partnership, I am the follow.  My partner is the lead.  Once he makes his movement, I have a precise amount of time (according to the dance we are doing and the music we are using) to mirror his movement.  If I move too quickly, I am encroaching on his lead and thus messing up the dance.  If I take too long, I am dropping steps and putting the dance in equal danger of failure.

One way to practice the ever-important rhythm that makes ballroom dancing successful and beautiful: play more Guitar Hero.

2.  How is Lady Gaga like Spring Awakening?

(You know I do research on culture and popular music, so bear with me here.)

Lady Gaga's music video for Alejandro (the extended 8 minute version) is...wow.  Intense.  Weird.  For some reason, I really like the song (It's a samba and it's stuck in my head), but similarly to most current pop hits, I really don't like the meaning of a lot of the lyrics (drug and kinky sex references).

The lyric "Don't call my name, don't call my name, Alejandro," could have a few interpretations.  It could be literal (dude, quit saying my name, leave me alone).  It could also be more figurative (Stop being so appealing, you're arousing me when I don't want to be aroused).  The imagery in the music video (which can be a little disturbing) features Gaga in a nun outfit singing the "don't call my name" lines, then showing what appear to be flashbacks of a mostly nude Gaga and male dancer making movements suggestive of highly active sex of various types.

Once the shock has worn off a little, I can see the beginnings of a universal archetype of the struggle between human desire and morality taking form.

Spring Awakening is a musical (once on Broadway starring Lea Michelle) that seems very clean cut and pleasant...until the themes of love, sex, and morality come out and all Hell breaks loose.  Honestly-- the girls are wearing these cute little (modest) white ruffled dresses, and then one of them basically rips hers off (she's got on a nude leotard, briefs, and tights) and starts grinding on a male actor wearing the same modesty garments.

Maybe it's a stretch, but I found both of these presentations to have the exact same themes, though they were presented in the exact opposite order (Gaga: shock value first, theme second; Spring Awakening: theme first, shock value second).  Which was more shocking?  Seems too close to call.

3.  How is Diet Coke like the HIV virus?

Most diet sodas have zero calories, according to the nutrition facts.  Most also have an icon on the packaging that reads "zero calories per serving."  This wording means that if one is to drink one serving of the beverage, one will be consuming effectively no calories.  This DOES NOT mean that if one drinks more than the amount specified as one serving the individual will be consuming zero calories.  The fractional calorie in one serving is multiplied by the number of servings consumed, and if enough is consumed, calculable calories have been ingested.

Sound a little nit-picky?  Try this next one on for size.

I saw a news story about an infant girl who was born with HIV.  She was immediately treated, and by the time she was a toddler, she was considered cured.  Her blood tests showed that she was no longer afflicted with the virus.  Her aggressive treatment was scaled back.  By age 4, blood tests showed evidence of the infection again.  It became clear that her body was never completely free of the HIV virus.  With repeated aggressive treatments, the virus became so "dilute" in her system that it was undetectable in her blood test, leading scientists to declare that her HIV was no longer existent.  Just like some claim that Diet Coke has zero calories, only with much bigger consequences.

...And there you have it.  Hopefully more will come, as I experience them.