Fitching the Homeless.

Everybody loves a good villain. Somebody that everybody can agree is a huge jackass. This week’s jackass is Michael Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch.



Jeffries is the current target of the internet’s collective hate due to an old interview that recently resurfaced where he said some pretty fucked up things about who is and isn’t supposed to wear A&F clothes –



[W]e hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.
In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.




The whole “attractive, good looking people” remarks were instantly recognized as meme-able since Jeffries looks like he’s had… a few plastic surgeries. Like, so many plastic surgeries that he’s probably had to fly to Mexico for the last couple of facelifts because American doctors won’t touch him anymore. totallylookslike.com has made more than a few comparisons of him to some famous people –



totallylookslike1
totallylookslike2
totallylookslike3
totallylookslike4

Okay, Rocky Dennis and Sloth are a bit of a stretch but the Face of Boe comparison is actually pretty spot on.

Okay, Rocky Dennis and Sloth are a bit of a stretch but the Face of Boe comparison is actually pretty spot on.





In addition to that, there’s a strict “no fat chicks” policy at A&F so they don’t make XL women’s sizes and one manager said that they don’t want to see poor people wearing their clothes. This prompted somebody to start a new campaign to “rebrand” A&F”.







Pretty clever, right? Some homeless people get new clothes and A&F gets a hearty “Fuck you!” Everybody wins, right?



Wrong! Apparently there’s now online backlash against the backlash against Abercrombie! Backlashception!



There’s a lot of blogs pointing out that while Mike Jeffries is a total douche, the “Fitch the Homeless” video is using homeless people as props and exploiting them to prove a point. Even a lot of comments on the video point out that a much more effective protest would just be a simple boycott but I’m not so sure.



I understand why people would think that the homeless people are being exploited. One could easily think that the Fitch the Homeless campaign is trying to make A&F look bad by putting it’s clothes on the ugly, dirty, gross, sub-human homeless but is that really what’s going on? By giving A&F clothes to homeless people is the Fitch the Homeless campaign trying to make the company look bad or are they saying “Abercrombie doesn’t think you’re good enough for these clothes. We disagree.”



Whether it’s righteous or not, the Fitch the Homeless campaign has got the attention of Abercrombie enough to have them issue a bullshit non-apology on their facebook –



The only way those quotes could've been taken out of context is if they were an answer to the question "What is something horrible you would never say?"

The only way those quotes could’ve been taken out of context is if they were an answer to the question “What is something horrible you would never say?”





Ultimately, this will all probably blow over and Abercrombie will survive because most people willing to pay $40 for a pink t shirt that looks like it’s been through the wash 100 times just to look cool isn’t really that interested in social justice.



To be fair like .05% of the profit goes to the sweatshop that made the shirt.

To be fair like .05% of the profit goes to the sweatshop that made the shirt.

Why I’m Pissed at Some People Pissed at the Merida Makeover

For those of you living under bigger rocks than mine (which would be a pretty impressive feat), Disney has released their makeover of Merida for induction into the Disney hall of Princesses, and, get this, they changed her appearance.

Merida

They somehow found a way to give her MORE hair, while at the same time de-frizzing it. They made her waist smaller, and did something to her face that… ugh. I mean, I just don’t like what they did. It doesn’t fit. It looks like she’s wearing one of those plastic Guy Fawkes masks in lady form.

This has happened to all the princesses. Every single one of them has gone through this makeover process to give them all a unified style, with lots of glitter and makeup.

Now if you feel it’s “sexifying” the Disney princesses… she’s 16. That is pretty much the thick of puberty, where bodies are naturally doing what bodies do. But okay. Her character isn’t one about getting a man, so the idea that Merida would “sexify” for someone is dumb. I get that.

But what if Princess Merida wanted to dress up for her debut in the Disney Princess Hall? What if she was dressing up, not for the boys, but for herself? There’s a prevailing idea in our society that women being pretty is for other people. Sometimes, you just want to dress up for yourself.

There’s also this weird idea that being pretty and/or thin somehow makes you weak or dumb. That being thin makes you less of a feminist. Being thicker than someone else doesn’t make you ugly, and it doesn’t make you a better person. It just makes you thicker than someone else. That’s it. I agree that making her thinner lost some of the Merida in the makeover, but not that making her thinner makes her less of a person. It just makes her less Merida.

What the outrage over her looks is doing is telling little girls that looks matter. And quite frankly, they don’t.

There’s also a huge outcry because they took away her bow and arrows. Having a weapon does not make you a stronger person. Physical fighting does not make you a stronger person.

A strong person is one who stands up for themselves when it’s hard, or standing up for others when it would be easier and safer to hide. In Hunger Games, Katniss strongest moment was when she was without her bow and arrows (what the hell is it with bow and arrow as a lady weapon? THERE’S an underlying social thing I’d like to explore further). Her strongest moment was when she volunteered to go to the slaughter in place of her little sister. No weapons, no back up. Just a strong person making a strong choice.

And in Brave, the bravest thing that happened was Merida telling her mother “no.” Standing up for herself. Being a person of character. And it had nothing to do with having a weapon.

Now, I am pretty pissed off that the makeover didn’t seem to capture Merida. She missing that underlying strength that makes her a role model. And seriously- WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH HER FACE? I don’t think the makeover itself captures who SHE is. Remaking her into someone who’s not Merida is pretty gross. But being mad that they gave her sparkles is dumb, and has nothing to do with the quality of a person.

However, for those of you looking for makeovers that maintain the character of the princesses in a specific setting, here are a few of my favorites:

8 Very Cool Disney Princess Pinup Tattoos
HelleeTitch has an amazing Steampunk princess gallery
I love the Gothic one: Different phases of Disney Princess gallery
Disney Princesses go to prom
And my favorite: Disney Characters in realism

There are thousands more in Fanart out there that depict the character of the characters. Go out and take a look- I bet you can find a Merida Makeover that you like.

Senator Branden Petersen!

I don’t know if you guys saw the news but marriage equality is being signed into law today by Governor Mark Dayton. After the House didn’t fuck it up it was predicted that the bill would pass the senate pretty easily since they have a DFL majority but nobody was completely sure until the votes were cast and they did it.



We won.



My first impulse in writing about this is to just shamelessly gloat about this victory to the opponents of marriage equality. Just rub their noses in it. Maybe make a big satirical post about how I’m turning into a lustful cockmonster and want to marry a horse or whatever but I’m not going to. I’m sure there’s plenty of completely bullshit reasons on why some people want to treat homosexuals as second class citizens but I’m not going to change anybody’s minds by ridiculing them.



Besides, nothing I say could beat the pure, simple awesomeness of Laura Thompson’s now famous photo-



So gay.

So gay.





What I would like to do, however, is acknowledge two Republican State Senators for two very different reasons.



I listened to some of the debates before the vote yesterday and it was pretty much what you’d expect. Democrats going to the mic and shouting “love!”, Republicans going to the mic and shouting “Jesus”. One speech, however, took me by surprise. Senator Dave Senjem, a Republican, went up to the podium and said this (abridged).



We’re going to have same sex marriage. I think of people like Bob and Joe, good friends, good people, happen to be gay. I don’t have to understand everythign there is to know about being gay. But they take care of their house, mow their lawn. got a picture from Marge and Jo today, good friends, have invited me to their wedding. As we go forward, I hope through my life I’ve been able to reach out to people like this and say ‘I may disagree with you, I’ve been polite, I’ve been cordial’ . In a few minutes I’ll decide whether I step across this line or not and we’ll find out.



I heard that speech and thought it was really brave of that man to step outside of his party rhetoric and just look at the people around him. There was more to the speech where he acknowledged that the bill would probably pass with or without his vote and he hoped to go to Marge and Jo’s wedding.



He voted “no”.



He voted no because he knew the bill would pass with or without him so he decided to play it safe politically. Bob and Joe may keep their lawn mowed but nice lawns don’t get a man re-elected. He’ll go to Marge and Jo’s wedding but he’ll make a vote trying to keep it from happening. It was a coward’s vote but what should I expect? All but one Republican voted “no” yesterday. The single Republican who voted “yes”?



Senator Branden “Iron Balls” Petersen.
Not pictured: tree-trunk like arms, size 15 feet, set of titanium testicles.

Not pictured: tree-trunk like arms, size 15 feet, set of titanium testicles.





Senator Branden Petersen is the lone Republican who stood up for Marriage Equality yesterday. No bait-and-switch bullshit like Senjem, this guy said ahead of time that he’d vote “yes” and he voted “yes”.



This badass voted his conscience even though he’s a Republican representing ANOKA COUNTY. That’s Michele Bachmann’s stomping grounds. This was political suicide for him but he couldn’t look himself in the mirror knowing he voted “no”.



There’s a lot of people who are responsible for making today’s bill passage possible. Legislators, Gov. Dayton, Minnesotans United, countless volunteers and donors and all should be congratulated. In my mind, though, Senator Brandon Peterson is today’s MVP.



With honorable mention to Laura Thompson.

Resolution Monday Update

Okay. We’re five months into the year and I’ve made 11 New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been able to stick to a few of them completely, I’ve stumbled with a few and a couple I’ve just abandoned all together. It’s been really interesting and challenging to try to pull this off but there’s going to be a little change in my program here. Starting now I’m going to discontinue my weekly updates on the resolutions.



I’m still going to try to pull off these resolutions and if I can think of anything interesting to say about them or have any news on them I’ll certainly post about them but it’s getting hard trying to write about this every week.



Admittedly, posting about this every week has been useful in keeping these resolutions on my mind but I don’t want the content of this site to suffer for it. Sure, there have been some posts I’ve been pretty happy with on this subject and some of them, like my flossing tutorial were pretty popular but for every one of those posts there’s three posts of me just talking about donuts. Complaining about how I want a donut, bragging about how I haven’t had a donut all week or admitting that I ate three donuts in a day (my record is five). Don’t get me wrong, I can easily write up 250 words about my love/hate relationship with donuts every week but it’s going to get old pretty fast.



So that’s it. Until further notice, the weekly resolution updates will be suspended and I’ll just write about them if I can think of something funny. Monday’s posts will now go back to the regular schedule of fake detective novels, drinking stories and swearing at Republicans.



Shit. I really want some donuts now.

Fuck Off Friday: Westboro Baptist Church

I don’t think any organization pisses me off more than the Westboro Baptist Church. The attention seeking drama whores have appropriated my god for their own gain, using Him to gain power and money over others, as a tool in their business plan of ego. They use my lord’s name in vain and set themselves up as false prophets for profit.

I don’t mean cussing. Fuck that. I mean using the word “god” for themselves, in their own self-righteous vanity. They say “God hates fags,” claiming to know God’s wishes, thinking that they’re so right that everyone one else is less than in their wrong-doing and sin.

They’re so vain, they probably think my god is about them.

What they do hurts me. It affects how people look at me as a Christian, as a bisexual, and as a human being.

And what is the best way to handle hate? Comedy. Comedy can take an awful, horrid thing and make it laughable. It can take the power out of hate, the pain out of hurt. It can point out the indiscretions and stupidity of a group, person, or act and make it less.

First, I give you The 30 Best Anti-Westboro Baptist Church Protest Signs from BuzzFeed.

Not one of the BuzzFeed is this happy sign I found:

DSCF0690.JPG

This cartoon of Jesus telling WBC off in a Family Guy style pleases me:

The Foo Fighters have gained my esteem for this counter-protest:

And I think my all time favorite response to Westboro Baptist Church is this interview Russell Brand:

He’s the perfect mix of listening and attempted discussion, with humor and levity at the ridiculous points (and there are many). He handles the whole thing absolutely flawlessly with grace and decorum and comedy.

I’d bum a fag from him anytime.

I heard a rumor that WBC is contemplating coming to Minnesota to protest our soon-to-be new law letting the gays get married. Frankly, I feel this means we’re on the right track 🙂

But really, let them come. And if they do, let’s not shout back at them with hateful words and angry chanting. Let’s not give them that kind of power. Let’s ridicule the ridiculous with light-hearted cheer. Let’s organize a flash mob with rainbows and glitter. Let’s knock them down with comedy.

Let’s hit them where it really hurts.

Today’s Vote For Gay Marriage.

The Minnesota House is voting on a bill today that would legalize same sex marriage. It’s been a long, hard road for many people leading up to this day and I only have one thing to say to legislators about today’s vote.



Please don’t fuck this up. Oh God, please don’t fuck this up.



I hate getting my hopes up for these things but it sounds like this bill’s going to pass. I want to just breathe a sigh of relief but this could get fucked up at the last minute and I’m not going to be totally satisfied until the votes are all counted and it’s clear they didn’t fuck this up.



This could be huge. Allowing gay couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals in this state is not only a step forward for Minnesota, but each state that does this shows this country is moving in the right direction and that it’s only a matter of time before gays have complete equality in this nation. Each step in the right direction counts.



As long as the MN House doesn’t fuck this up.



I cannot stress the importance of not fucking this up enough. If they fuck this up, there will be more and more campaigning, ads, volunteers, debates, lawn signs, ads, hurt and arguments. This issue is not going away and if gay marriage isn’t legalized today it’s supporters will never stop fighting for it.



So don’t fuck this up. Please.

Meme a Hero

The country was stunned and thrilled yesterday when reports came out that three women who have been missing for over a decade were alive, healthy and soon in the arms of their loving family.



Amanda Berry, Georgina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were allegedly held prisoner in the home of Pedro, Onil and Ariel Castro. The women were freed by neighbor Charles Ramsey after he heard screaming coming from the Castro house. Here’s a recording of the 911 call that Ramsey made –







Uh… okay. The 911 recording has become a bit of an overnight viral sensation but the important thing is that these girls are safe. Let’s take a look at a local TV interview with Charles Ramsey shortly after the rescue –







That clip… has also become an overnight viral hit but let’s focus! This is a serious matter! This man was a big part in ending a 10 year nightmare for these women. Let’s hear him set the record straight with Anderson Cooper –







Jesus. Always with the McDonald’s. It’s like his socioeconomic status holds him to a different set of standards and priorities than people who don’t have to worry about where their next meal comes from. His mannerisms and world outlook is just so DIFFERENT than real people! That’s hilarious!



Let’s take this seriously. Please. These women were most likely systematically raped over the course of a decade. They’ve had no contact with the outside world. One of them has a kid now. Let’s focus on the facts and not on Charles Ramsey’s hilarious interviews. Before you know it somebody’s going to auto-tune this –







Jesus. It hasn’t even been two days and this guy has been completely memed.



charlesmeme



You see… It’s funny because he’s black.

Yeah, That Was a Great Sho- SQUIRREL!

I’m going to tell you a story about last night.

Some of you know that Bill and I have both spent an awful lot of time involved with the Monday Night Comedy Show. He performs there every few weeks or so, and has about 75 performances there tucked under his belt (the only one with more performances is P Bau, with 76. He got an award. It was a big deal). I’ve been going to, performing at, and helping with the MNCS since show #8. Bill and I did a lot of our dating at MNCS, and when Bill asked me to marry him, the first thing we did was set a date. The second thing we did was ask the host of MNCS to officiate our wedding.

Several years ago, when the show was just starting out and numbers were low, I found myself in a meeting where talk of shutting down the show occurred. It was about that time of that meeting that I made the MNCS logo (I saw the need for a little marketing and branding, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to help out friends in need).

I get royalties in free shows. Worth it.

I get royalties in free shows and a neat little Viking pin. Worth it.

The kids decided not to shut the show down, and last night, the show celebrated 6 years of near weekly performances.

As happens to me frequently, I was double booked, but after an awesome rehearsal, I went to the MNCS anniversary show and caught the last half. If you were there, you know how awesome it was. If you weren’t, there’s no way I can describe it.

But the takeaway from this is that my husband, who only drinks about once a month or so, was served by a bartender of legend, who pours the stiffest drinks this side of the Mississippi. So my husband was DRUNK. Repeating the same thing 50 times drunk. Rambling about the same thing, trying to make a point he made 5 minutes ago but doesn’t feel like he made sufficiently yet. Telling me secrets that weren’t secrets, dropping things, waking the boy while being super loud while trying to be quiet.

He was really fucking drunk, you guys.

I’m the sober cab, and I get him in the car, and drive towards home. And he’s rambling over and over about how awesome his coworkers are, and other such ramblings. I pull up to our house about 11pm. Our next door neighbor is on his front sidewalk, with ropes hanging off his boulevard tree, tying something to the end of it.

This calls for further investigation.

So we ask what’s up, and the guy says that his buddy is in the tree, getting rid of some squirrels that have started stealing their insulation. Not killing them, but knocking down their houses so that they realize it’s an unsafe place and move on.

I wonder if their homeowners insurance covers act of man, or will they have to fund their new homes out of pocket?

Anyway, I look up, and sure enough, there’s a guy in the tree, with safety ropes and harnesses and everything. and he’s pulling up the thing that was tied to the rope up to him. “Say- what is that tied to the rope?”

Beer. The guy in the tree wanted a beer, and my neighbor sent one up to him with his own safety ropes.

And it’s at this point Bill says “so you mean there’s beer in that tree?” And then decides he’s going to climb the tree to get some beer. My neighbor is encouraging this, and I try to talk him away, and he’s trying to decide how he’s getting up that tree with it’s lowest branches 15 feet off the ground. 5 minutes later, he realizes that there are ropes.

He’s becoming serious. and he is far too drunk. So I whip out the ultimatum that says I’m serious… I mean, I’d never follow through on it, but some couples have key phrases to let the other one know they’re serious. “If you try to climb that tree, you are never getting laid again.”

And then my husband says a thing that in my mind, totally sums up him, his ability to cut through bullshit, and get to the point of the matter. That he can assess with such ease, even while drunk as fuck, the exact situation, prioritize his desired outcome, and communicate effectively his intent and wishes in a deliberate and concise manner.

“Woman, I’m pretty sure I can get a slut like you to have sex with me again, but that is TREE BEER.”

Bill did not climb the tree last night. Instead, he set up the hookah, flipped off a police officer while he wasn’t looking, told me secrets I already knew, and made cold hot dogs with mayo even though we have a working microwave. But even though he didn’t climb that tree, I feel he will always have tree beer in his heart.

Pretty Girls in Trouble

I haven’t followed this Jodi Arias trial at all.



I’m not trying to sound superior or anything when I say that. My favorite forms of entertainment are cartoons, kung fu movies and anything zombie related so I can’t really pass judgment on what other people watch. True crime drama just doesn’t do it for me. That’s all.



Thankfully, cnn.com has posted an article for people like me who have missed the nonstop, 24 hour, meticulous, all encompassing coverage of the trial. Just like every other trial by media in the last few years, it’s pretty much come to the conclusion that she’s guilty while trying vainly to seem unbiased. Also, like every trial by media in the last few years, it’s involved a pretty white girl –



Damn.  I'd let her stab me 27 times and shove me in a shower stall IFYOUKNOWWHATI'MSAYIN!

Damn. I’d let her stab me 27 times and shove me in a shower stall IFYOUKNOWWHATI’MSAYIN!





Before Jodi Arias it was Casey Anthony –



I'd let her drown me in a swimming pool IFYOUKNOWWHATI'MSAYING

I’d let her drown me in a swimming pool IFYOUKNOWWHATI’MSAYING





Before that (and I guess it’s in the news again for some reason) was the Amanda Knox trial –



I'd let her stab me in the throat in my apartment in Italy IFYOUKNOWWHATI'MSAYIN!

I’d let her stab me in the throat in my apartment in Italy IFYOUKNOWWHATI’MSAYIN!





Think about it. Would everybody care nearly as much if these girls weren’t seriously hot? I think this country just likes seeing a pretty white girl get raked through the coals every once in a while. Don’t get me wrong, the crimes they’re accused of are really fucked up and, at least for Knox and Arias, there’s a bunch of weird sexual intrigue going on but there’s plenty of weird sex crimes going on all the time in this country and we don’t look at them twice. For example –



Dawn Peel awoke her boyfriend with a kiss one late night in October and asked him “do you love me?” He said “yes” and then she started sawing at his throat with a fucking chef’s knife. She apparently thought he was cheating on her and was living up to an earlier promise to get revenge on him in his sleep.



This story didn’t make it past a couple city pages articles though. Was it because the victim survived the attack or was it because she looked like this –



dawn peel



She doesn’t look that bad for 50, I just doubt she’s going to get any offers from Vivid once she gets out of prison.


Fuck Off Friday: Blasphemy

I am a Christian, and most people would say I am smarter than you.

I don’t mean that I know more than you do, or that I actually have more intelligence, or that I put it into practice more often. I probably don’t even make better decisions than you. One time, I did drunk DDR with a guy who managed to break both of his legs within the same year in two fairly non-leg breaking activities. And I plan to repeat the activity. I guarantee you that you make better decisions than I do.

No, what I mean is that my IQ is probably higher. Which is a silly thing to judge a person on, but it happens all the time… that fucking number. It means dick-all. I tell my son repeatedly that it doesn’t matter how smart you are, or what you’re capable of. What matters is what you do with those abilities.

But so many people put stock in that number. If I told you what it was, you’d be all “shit, son! You’se smart.” And I wouldn’t even correct your grammar, because that’s a dick thing to do.

I bring up intelligence because it comes up ALL THE TIME around me. There is a stereotype that Christians are dumb. I have been told point blank that I am stupid because I choose to believe in a God. I’ve been told that I’m too smart to be a Christian. There’s a pervasive idea that people have to choose to either accept God or accept science. That the two can’t exist in the same space, and the idea is promoted by activists on both sides of the divide, which wouldn’t exist at all if people didn’t keep creating the damned thing. The concept does a disservice to both.

It is illogical to have a faith, therefore the person with faith must be illogical. Now, I will agree that faith is an illogical thing. If I applied logic to my faith, 2 things would happen. First, I wouldn’t be a Christian. It’s probably the most ridiculous of all the beliefs still practiced, the idea that the son of God was killed and then came back to life. WHAT ABOUT DECAY? He wasn’t even a zombie. Second, if I applied logic to faith, IT WOULDN’T BE FAITH!!!

I bring up all of this because today’s theme for Fuck Off Friday is Blasphemy. I was wandering the internet, and I stumbled across jesuschristarcade.com, and my first thought was not OMG THOSE HEATHEN FREAKS ARE ALL GOING TO HELL. No, it was “huh, I wonder if it’s Jesus bashing or satire.”

And the lovely answer is that though there are bits of both on this site, but mostly, it’s just Jesus themed silliness. Though I disagree with Jesus having to dodge science books to shoot down airplanes taken over by terrorists with laser beams that shoot out of his eyes before the world trade center collapse, my major complaint is that the science books perpetuate a stereotype. And it’s an issue because it’s the one *I* have to deal with all the time.

But fuck is Super Jesus fun.

Another favorite Jesus flash game is Run Jesus Run: aka the 10 second gospel you have 10 seconds to beat the game by moving with arrows and clicking the spacebar to “do Jesus things.”

Flash games not your thing? There’s a LOL Jesus meme out there. I went to Know Your Meme to get the best ones. Click the image to go to that page and browse the blasphemous goodness:

a79

And to close on a high note, Adam and Eve in Epic Rap Battles of History:

I hope you all have a good Friday. Not a Religious Good Friday. Just a pleasant closing to the week.