That's Why Her Hair Is So Big It's Full of SECRETS

"When white colonizers and imperialists wreak havoc on our lands, resources and civilizations, its..."

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:44:27 -0400

“When white colonizers and imperialists wreak havoc on our lands, resources and civilizations, its written as “human nature” and an innate weakness of “mankind”. That’s how the media always portrays it. Only white people are given this realm of being described as “mankind” when they terrorize “the other”. Their race is never scrutinized. When brown or black people do anything unsightly, its by the virtue of our skin and something wired in our societies. Our biology destined us to be that way. I keep my children away from western television for this exact reason. I don’t need this type of double-standarded, dehumanizing sub-par filth media infiltrating my home.”

- So my uncle in Eritrea tells me he disconnected the cable from his home, I ask him why and this is his response. (via maarnayeri)

"Reality is incredibly larger, infinitely more exciting, than the flesh and blood vehicle we travel..."

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:40:59 -0400

“Reality is incredibly larger, infinitely more exciting, than the flesh and blood vehicle we travel in here. If you read science fiction, the more you read it the more you realize that you and the universe are part of the same thing. Science knows still practically nothing about the real nature of matter, energy, dimension, or time; and even less about those remarkable things called life and thought. But whatever the meaning and purpose of this universe, you are a legitimate part of it. And since you are part of the all that is, part of its purpose, there is more to you than just this brief speck of existence. You are just a visitor here in this time and this place, a traveler through it.”

- Gene Roddenberry (via azspot)

"in time of daffodils(who know the goal of living is to grow) forgetting why,remember how in time of..."

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:52:38 -0400

“

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me

”

- E.E. Cummings (via fernsandmoss)

journalofajournalist: Truth: Sometimes I listen to BBC documentaries just so I can hear lines like...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:50:47 -0400

journalofajournalist:

Truth: Sometimes I listen to BBC documentaries just so I can hear lines like “Scritti Politti, a rock group composed of communist intellectuals…”

tobiasfunkes: what to wear when…she’s too much, they say. she...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:46:44 -0400

tobiasfunkes:

what to wear when…she’s too much, they say. she eats too much, drinks too much, sleeps too much, fucks too much. she delights in her body too much, sequins on her eyes and hands between her thighs. she avenges too viciously and loves too unconditionally. she enjoys life too shamelessly, brimming with sin, picking strips of succulent meat from her teeth with her long, red fingernails. she aims too high, invites worship too freely, laughs too raucously. her hunger is too voracious, too brazen, too unbound by social graces and gendered limits. she demands too much from this life and makes too much happen. she takes up too much space with her rolling curves and unspanxed flesh. they call her gluttonous, they call her evil, and she says yes! and licks her fingers clean with a slurp and a wink.

post 130 of an infinity-part series

itswalky: feminspire: alyssakorea: Tumbling over the past...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:41:42 -0400

itswalky:

feminspire:

alyssakorea:

Tumbling over the past year and a half has made me see the problems of gender roles that exist in media, but sometimes it gets to the point where I over analyze every single piece of television or film that I come across. (However this in no way means that I think feminist media criticism is wrong, or should be avoided!) Mostly I just over think everything.

This is awesome!

baaaaasically

androphilia: The Man Too Handsome for Saudi Arabia Who Wasn’t |...

Sat, 04 May 2013 08:08:53 -0400

androphilia:

The Man Too Handsome for Saudi Arabia Who Wasn’t | islawmix

May 3, 2013

Saudi Arabia often makes US (and international) headlines for its laws (legal mishaps?) regarding women, sex and religious minorities. Some of these stories undoubtedly belong there, but a surprising number gain traction thanks to a small amount of research and suspension of critical engagement. It seems that when it comes to Saudi Arabia (and sometimes her theocratic counterpart Iran, albeit less so), the more bizarre the story may seem – in that way only the Saudi Arabia of our perception could normalize – the more believable it is.

News and blog media have a particular penchant for covering ridiculous, often inaccurate and even false fatwas (here’s our quick definition and a more nuanced discussion on it). And in August 2012, the internet went into a bit of an uproar over the alleged building of an all-female city to promote women’s participation in the workforce. Unfortunately, the dreams of the impending matriarchy were dashed when it was eventually revealed that the city was for both men and women, but created facilities specific for women to encourage their participation.

So, what’s the latest Saudi Arabia headline wreaking havoc across the internet?

You have most probably heard by now that three Emirati men were allegedly thrown out of a cultural Janadriyah Festival by the Saudi religious police (pl. mutawaeen) for “being too handsome.” Most reports, however, have claimed the three men were actually deported from the Kingdom, itself, for their ‘seductive’ lure that was apparently going to send the attending women into an incontrollable hormonal flux. Fementertainment blog, Jezebel, was amongst the first to reveal the identity of one of the alleged Emirati men, Omar Borkan Al Gala – a photographer, model, actor and poet. The internet went into self-fanning mode as several images of the young man went viral and thousands clamored to follow him on social media websites.

Unfortunately, no one in the English press bothered to actually fact check the story.

As it turns out, three men were not, in fact, deported from Saudi Arabia. Actually, no one was deported from Saudi Arabia and certainly not for being too handsome. And, actually, no one was even kicked out of the heritage and cultural festival except for a member of the religious police for protesting against the presence of a Gulf female singer. According to UK’s Al-Arab:

A member of the Saudi feared religious police, known as Mutawa, stormed the UAE pavilion at National Festival for Heritage and Culture, also known as Al Janadriyah, but was forced out by the Gulf Kingdom’s national guards.

The incident took place when the Mutawa member objected to the presence of the Emirati singer Aryam in her country’s pavilion.

A brief U-Tube film showed several guards surround the member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice before they escorted him out of the pavilion at the annual festival in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

And that’s it.

There was, indeed, an incident involving Al Gala (and apparently him alone): according to the head of the mutawaeen, Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Sheikh (Arabic source), Al Gala had made his way into the family section of the event and was dancing inappropriately. Several complaints were made against him and he was taken aside by members of the national guard, questioned and that was it. He was not asked to leave the event, let alone the country. It turns out his uncomfortable dancing and not his uncomfortably good looks were the reason for some cause for concern and discomfort at the festival.

Al Gala has yet to deny the story and would probably find little reason to do so considering the amount of fame he is now enjoying as The Man Too Handsome for Saudi Arabia, which has helped boost his online personality as well as his career. It should also be noted that some of the sources who were the first to report, in Arabic, that three men were removed from the festival/deported from Saudi Arabia are no longer found online.

While the laughs and light-hearted news from the oil lands of strife are being welcomed by news readers and makers as a nice departure from the usual headlines, this sort of misreporting is not only common but feeds into dangerous and reductionist stereotypes of Muslims and Muslim countries, especially as these stereotypes relate to gender and sexuality’s interplay with Islamic law. Somewhere the story of an awkward dancer making families uncomfortable and the story of a member of the religious police being removed from the same festival crossed paths to create a ‘sexy’ news story that just made sense enough for the imagined Saudi Arabia.

The common tendency to take stories about incidents in Muslim countries at face value, without much (easy) fact checking (language need not be a barrier with the glory that is Google Translate), offers coverage that only fuels mischaracterizations of the role of religion in the public and legal spheres. Additionally, in these stories and the ensuing commentaries, Muslims cease to exist outside political and social caricatures and are made to fit neat cookie-cutter ideas and images.

In an era of fast-paced news where there is a tendency for any story to go viral within minutes across millions of blue screens, the responsibility for factual, non-gullible news has become dire. This is especially the case when it comes to stories about Muslims, Muslim countries and Muslim and Islamic law.

Photo

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:55:47 -0400

pubhealth: Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (1985-2010...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:35:39 -0400

pubhealth:

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (1985-2010 Animated Map)

25 brief, delicious year.

(From The Atlantic)

"When you go back and you look at the actual documents, many people have said since then that it was..."

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:33:55 -0400

“When you go back and you look at the actual documents, many people have said since then that it was about states’ rights, but really the only significant state right that people were arguing about in 1860 was the right to own what was known as slave property — property and slaves unimpeded — and to be able to travel with that property anywhere that you wanted to. So it’s clear that this was really about slavery in almost every significant way, but we’ve sort of pushed that to the side because of course we want to believe that our country is a country that’s always stood for freedom. And … certainly it’s difficult for some Southern Americans to accept that their ancestors fought a war on behalf of slavery. And I think that Northerners really, for the cause of national reconciliation, decided to push that aside — decided to accept Southerners’ denials or demurrals.”

- Adam Goodheart on why people still argue over the cause of the Civil War. The war began 152 years ago today, on April 12, 1861. (via nprfreshair)

bbook: Keith Haring’s art is like a visual punch in the face....

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:26:17 -0400

bbook:

Keith Haring’s art is like a visual punch in the face. A true trailblazer during New York City’s street culture movement in the 1980s, the inimitable graffiti virtuoso’s playfully subversive imagery slapped society with a unique call-to-action that cleverly commanded open and direct discussions about sex, racism, war, power and violence. Following his untimely death in 1990 at the age of 31, the artist’s signature silhouettes, iconic bold lines, and legendary phrases live on through thoughtful brand collaborations managed by the Keith Haring Foundation, as well as exclusive exhibitions at major museums across the globe.

A social activist at heart, Haring’s powerful political messages are as impactful today as they were at the height of his career. To celebrate his legacy, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris) and Le CENTQUATRE present one of the artist’s largest retrospectives to date. The Political Line runs from April 19 through August 18and boasts nearly 250 striking images on canvas, subway walls and tarpaulins, including such works as A Pile of Crowns, For Jean-Michel Basquiat (1988), Brazil (1989), and Andy Mouse – New Coke (1985), a tribute to Haring’s close friend and mentor, Andy Warhol. The CENTQUATRE art space will showcase 20 large-format works, most notably The Ten Commandments (1985), which is a mighty set of 25-foot panels that cleverly merge Biblical references with socio-political iconography. In short, it’s bucket list-worthy for Haring diehards.

Keith Haring’s Humanity Heads to Paris

nprglobalhealth: Will Some Tiny — But Potent— Foes Benefit From...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 11:46:19 -0500

nprglobalhealth:

Will Some Tiny — But Potent— Foes Benefit From Sequestration?

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about how the U.S. sequestration will impact funding for public health, both here in the U.S. and worldwide.

The Washington Post’s World Views blog speculated on how “people living with TB, AIDS and malaria in developing countries would be impacted by the 5.3 percent across-the-board funding cut:”

HIV/AIDS treatment for 171,900 people would not be available, potentially leading to 39,200 more AIDS-related deaths

1.2 million fewer insecticide-treated mosquito nets would be procured; 2 million fewer people would receive treatment.

37,400 fewer people with TB would receive treatment, 200 fewer people with multidrug-resistant TB would get treatment.

836,800 fewer pentavalent vaccines for children would be available, potentially leading to 8,900 more deaths from preventable diseases.

To bring attention to this issue, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Davies recently drew a cartoon, titled “Sick,” in collaboration with the non-profit The ONE Campaign,

Here’s what Davies said motivated him to create the cartoon:

A decade of genuine progress in preventing and controlling the proliferation of preventable, lethal diseases among the most vulnerable populations within developing nations (aka: women and children) will literally be devastated by across-the-board budget sequestration. Not many people know that.

Cartoon courtesy of Matt Davies.

slachtafval: Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavian-born performance...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:04:15 -0500

slachtafval:

Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavian-born performance artist, known for her boundary-shattering, provoking and experimental performances where she often explore the nature of the audience, the limitations of body and mind, and the willpower of the human being.

This photography was taken right after her “Rhythm 0” performance in 1974, where she further tested the limits of the relationship between performer and audience. “Rhythm 0” is arguably her most (in)famous and most talked about performance, where she assigned herself a very passive role in relationship to the audience, which were given total power to act upon her physically passive body as they pleased.

Abramovic lied down upon a table and placed 72 objects in front of her that people were allowed to use on her. Some of these were objects that would bring pleasure, while others would cause harm, or even potential death. Some of the things she put on the table was a rose, a feather, a whip, scissors, a scalpel, and a gun with one single bullet, among various other things.

Initially, members of the audience reacted with caution and modesty, but as time passed (and the artist remained impassive) people began to act more aggressively. As Abramović described it later:

“What I learned was that… if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you.” … “I felt really violated: they cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation.”

youmightfindyourself: “Moments of the Human Condition” by Peter...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:00:46 -0500

youmightfindyourself:

“Moments of the Human Condition” by Peter Turnley

metaconscious: Fall in NYC This gorgeous time-lapse by...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 22:58:13 -0500

metaconscious:

Fall in NYC

This gorgeous time-lapse by filmmaker Jamie Scott starts off like any other video capturing the change of the seasons with the movement of the sun, but then around :30 something pretty remarkable happens. To create the effect Scott filmed in 15 locations around New York City’s Central Park, two times a week, for six months using the exact same tripod and camera lens settings resulting in the footage you see here.

mideastcuts: Ghada Karmi and Ellen Siegel, in 1973, 1992 and...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:12:00 -0500

mideastcuts:

Ghada Karmi and Ellen Siegel, in 1973, 1992 and 2001. Photos by Francis Khoo (1, 2) and Jean-Pascal Deillon (3)

basedalthusser: Alcohol, discovered by Prohibition agents...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:22:51 -0400

basedalthusser:

Alcohol, discovered by Prohibition agents during a raid on an illegal distillery, pours out of upper windows of three-story storefront in Detroit during Prohibition, 1929

i’d be under that with my mouth open

Entertainment Weekly’s Clueless Reunion

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:15:08 -0400

Entertainment Weekly’s Clueless Reunion

braverenegades: Made a diagram two years ago about banned books...

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 10:12:02 -0400

braverenegades:

Made a diagram two years ago about banned books for the worst art class ever. Seriously that class was a nightmare. All info given from ala.org.

ventriloquistic: “Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:57:56 -0400

ventriloquistic:

“Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.”

Sarah Kay, If I should have a daughter