Adele: A Role Model Worth Her Weight In Everything (Pun Intended)

     By this point, I am sure a lot of you have heard about Karl Lagerfeld and his demeaning comments (and the subsequent apology he issued) to Adele ...
     But still, I have one question for Karl Lagerfeld, the man behind the Adele is an amazing singer but she's just "a little too fat" comments ... Have you looked in the mirror lately??!!? Because you are one hella ugly, old-ass dude, who has no business commenting on others looks.

     Adele on the other hand is a talented, strong, beautiful woman who represents the majority of women in this country ... And she owns it.

     She apparently told People magazine, "Weight has nothing to do with my career. Even when I was signing, most of the industry knew if anyone ever dared say [lose weight] to me, they wouldn't be working with me."

     It is refreshing to see a woman in the entertainment industry speak out like that and own her body for what it is ... Because far too often we see women beating themselves up and attempting to fit into the Hollywood ideal of perfection.

Nicole Richie

Victoria "Posh" Beckham

Kiera Knightley

     Adele seems to go against the grain and own her body for what it is, and not let others try to put her in a category. I was ecstatic when I saw her on the December 2011 cover of Cosmopolitan magazine because, 1) its nice to see someone on the cover who looks ever so slightly maybe more like me than the usual cover girls, and 2) Cosmopolitan did not use a head shot of her, as magazines will often do when the cover model is anything above a size 4 (OMG! God FORBID!).

     I just hope Adele is able to keep up her kick-ass, give-'em-hell attitude when it comes to her image as she becomes increasingly famous, and is in the spotlight more and more, because there are hundreds of thousands of little girls out there who need a role model like her.

     I know I could have used one growing up.

You don't own me. Don't try to change me in any way. You don't own me. Don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay. I don't tell you what to say. I don't tell you what to do. So just let me be myself. That's all I ask of you. I'm young and I love to be young. I'm free and I love to be free - to live my life the way I want, to say and do whatever I please. (You Don't Own Me, Lesley Gore)

This Class ... Best Thing I Never Had.

     When I went to Rutgers back in the day (yes, I consider myself old enough to say that even though I only graduated 2 years ago) and I wanted to take a bullshit class, I signed up for Rocks for Jocks or Dinosaurs (yes, that existed and it was the hardest class I took in 4 years - don't laugh) ... Now these spoiled kids can take a class called Politicizing Beyonce. 
     WTF does that mean?
     Apparently Lady B is pushing the boundaries of race, gender, and sex. I can give you a list of people in Hollywood who do that ... who DID that. I want to take a class on MJ. That would be freakin' interesting.
     But, I mean, who cares, right? If Rutgers wants to pay this doctoral student to teach a bunch of undergrads about how Beyonce tells us that girls run the world while being single ladies, while never once worrying if she were a boy, then so be it, because she does it all while being loud and proud and hella bootylicious ...

     For the record, if I were gonna name this class, I'd call it ... How Beyonce Backs That Thang Up ... And Changes The World. Just a thought for next semester.

Her voice is echoed in my mind. I count the days 'til she is mine. Can't tell my friends 'cuz they will laugh. I love a member of the staff and I fight my way to the front of the class to get the best view of her ass. I drop a pencil on the floor. She bends down and shows me more. That's what I go to school for even though it is a real bore. You can call me crazy. I know that she craves me. That's what I go to school for. (That's What I Go To School For, Busted)

NoBODY Is Perfect ... Unless The Media Says So.

     This week I have just been slapped in the face with media representation issues ... and since it's kind of my thing ... I guess I should probably say a little something (or more than a little something) about one of the giant problems that lie within the media.

     I recently attended the National Communication Association Conference in New Orleans and attended a seminar about magazines. One of the speakers mentioned that the current stats say that 68 million women read magazines each month without fail. 

     This statistic scares me considering what I have observed about the messages that magazines (and media in general) send to its female consumers - and males too in certain cases, just to be fair! Just in scanning through a few of the more popular women's magazines, you notice what the media considers the "perfect" and "ideal" woman - both in the pages of its content and in its advertisements. For example, in the most current issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, there are 62 ads which feature front-facing females. Only one of those women are depicted as having a position of power (I think it was an Orajel ad) and from what I can remember counting - only 20-somewhat ads featured women of color. None featured plus-size women. 

     What is Cosmopolitan telling women about themselves simply through the ads they choose to accept and run, let alone through their actual content? (By the way, all that counting was done for preliminary research for possible thesis topics! ... OH YEAH. I can never get away from grad school which is why I have been so MIA on the blog posts lately).

  

     Considering the state of the media today and the ways in which it is treating its women, we are the only ones who can change it. We need to stand up to the media (and the fashion industry - we can't forget them!) and say that we aren't scared of not seeing size 0 models on our runways and in our magazines. We need to see more women of color and of differing body types on our TV stations. We also need to be the ones working in the media. Today I was appalled to hear someone make a bulimia joke in a media setting and I didn't even know what to say as I was so shocked - especially when you consider the facts like the ones presented here:

     All those facts should stir a little something in you to want to make a change, and even if that change is just a personal one to accept yourself and give yourself a little slack when you look in the mirror and to love yourself for who you are ... then that's enough. But if it stirs a little more in you to make more changes like contacting fashion designers and magazine publishers/editors, then more power to you! Hopefully we can help change the world before a new generation of girls are hurt by the media messages they are fed every day.

I want to be beautiful. Make you stand in awe. Look inside my heart and be amazed. I want to hear you say who I am is quite enough. Just want to be worthy of love and beautiful. Sometimes I wish I was someone other than me, fighting to make the mirror happy - trying to find whatever is missing. Won't you help me back to glory. (Beautiful, Bethany Dillon)

I (Still) Love Lucy ... And The Top 5 Reasons You Should Too.

     If everyone's favorite ginger, Lucille Ball, was alive today - it would be her 100th birthday ... and I am sure she would be up on a stage somewhere making people laugh because that is what she did best.

     Before "I Love Lucy," Ball starred in several B-movies as well in some stage shows. She also met and eloped with Desi Arnaz, her "I Love Lucy" husband, before the show was even conceived. 

     After Ball was cast as a cooky wife on a radio show and its popularity seemed to grow, the "I Love Lucy" idea was brought about ... Lucy - always her own woman - insisted she wanted to work with her husband. Although CBS did not like the idea of a mixed couple on TV, because they did not think the American couple would take it well, they agreed ... and after a couple of bumps in the road "I Love Lucy" made it into CBS's line-up and the public loved it! And still does. In the 60 years since it has aired, "I Love Lucy" has practically never been off the air, and it has been translated into dozens of languages and seen all over the world.

Top Five Reasons You Should Love Lucy

5) She paved the way for women in the television business. She was the first woman to head a production company - Desilu - which she started with her husband. After they were divorced, she did what any smart woman would do ... she bought his share of the studio and ran it successfully until it was bought in 1967 and renamed Paramount Television. 

4) Even if her first marriage didn't work out, you have to admit - Lucy snagged herself a (younger) hottie. She met Desi Arnaz in 1940 and eloped the same year. He was six years younger than her. Although a divorce was originally filed for in 1944, before "I Love Lucy" even aired, the couple did not actually divorce until 1960 - and they remained close friends even after the divorce.

3) She was one hot mama. In true Lucy fashion, when she was pregnant with her second child she insisted that her pregnancy be written into the "I Love Lucy" story line because the show was having top ratings at the time and most episodes were filmed live. CBS refused at first, saying that a pregnant woman could not be on television and the word "pregnant" could not be used either. But she wasn't going to have it ... so she continued to fight ... and she won, so her pregnancy was put into the story line ... but the word "expecting" was used throughout the show, as opposed to "pregnant."

2) Despite her antics, you can identify with her character. Although Lucy was always up to some crazy scheme in order to end up in a movie, or get a job, or cross a border ... her perseverance and work ethic is something that I think (or hope) everyone can relate to. If we all went that extra mile, or put that extra thought, into our everyday lives ... I think the world would be a better place (or a funnier one, at best).

1) She was just plain funny. Lucy's humor still resonates today. I dare anyone to watch an episode of "I Love Lucy" or "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" or anything she was in ... and not laugh. Whether she was shoving chocolate down her shirt or pressing grapes with her feet or herding baby chickens back into their boxes, she was the Queen of Comedy in the '50s and '60s ... and she still is today. She knew how to be funny across cultures, ages, and time ... and that's what made her so successful.

Here are some classic Lucy moments for you to enjoy ... As well as some of my favorites.

Lucy's in London. Bridges are falling down. People are runnin' 'round and the town's upside down. With her mini-skirt on, she got in with the mod and she really became top-gear. With her motorcycle and her sunglasses and her long bright red hair ... It was Lucy runnin' wild. (Lucy In London)

Mo Rocca ... Is Out.

Not a surprise to me ... But apparently it is to a lot of other people.

Good for him. He's 42 and finally telling the world ... and himself. 

He came out on The Six Pack ... and the story made Perez Hilton earlier today. 

The worst thing about this decision is that, according to him, he is getting rid of the glasses because he says he's been "hiding behind" them. 

Long live the glasses, Mo. We will miss them.

You can count on me to always be beside you everyday to tell you, "It's okay, you were just born that way and as they say, it's in your DNA, you're gay!" (If You Were Gay, Avenue Q Soundtrack)

Hooked On The Ice Cold Cool Hoff

     "Baywatch" hunk. "Knight Rider" hottie. "Spongebob" human. (And of course, who can forget German pop star.) David Hasselhoff is a lot of things ... and soon he will be coming to a freezer near you, if he hasn't already. And I cannot wait to lick that popsicle.
     Del Monte Iced Refreshment released a Hoff-inspired icicle called the Hoffsicle to celebrate National Ice Cream Week after the Hoff was named 2011's smoothest TV star.
     And in case anyone is wondering, TODAY is National Ice Cream Day and, for you ice cream lovers, there are some great deals. Carvel is offering one free kid's cup or cone with any adult purchase ... and Baskin Robbins is offering one cone for $0.99 when you buy any other cone! ... I just wish I could be served those cups and cones by the Hoff himself!

     I am not ashamed to admit that I have some strange, unhealthy celebrity crush on the Hoff and that no food has potentially given me this much excitement since people discovered that Menthos and Diet Coke can form rockets.

     I also cannot wait to go out to my local grocery store and buy these "ice lollies." I have not seen them yet, but if you happen to see them at your local store, leave a comment and let me know where because will be eternally grateful ... and I might even bake you some cupcakes.

I'm hooked on a feeling and I'm high on believing that you're in love with me. Lips as sweet as candy, your taste is on my mind. Girl, you got me thirsty for another cup of wine. Got a bug from you girl but I don't need no cure. I'll just stay affected if I can't be sure. All the good love, when we're all alone. Keep it up girl, yeah, you turn me on. I'm hooked on a feeling! (Hooked on a Feeling, David Hasselhoff) 

Samuel L. Jackson Tells One Bad Ass Bed Time Story

     I am 8 years older than my younger brother and I watched my parents try to put him to bed multiple times throughout his infancy and his terrible two's and feisty fours and his son-of-bleep sixes ... and my brother never enjoyed bedtime. By the time he was a year and a half old, he had learned how to un-latch his crib and climb out of it! My parents always thought I was taking him out every day and letting him crawl about the house unattended. NOPE. That little devil was escaping himself. Frickin' Tommy Pickles up in there.

     At some point during my brother's younger years, I also was enlisted in the nightly bedtime rituals ... and let me tell you, putting a child to bed is one of the worst things ever. It seriously makes you want to never have kids ever. When I substitute for the little ones, I see it also ... Nap times is the worst times!
     It's always something.
     "Can I get a drink?" ... "I need a different blanket." ... "I'm not comfortable." ... "There's something under the bed!"
     It's enough to make you want to throw a child out a window and scream, "GO THE F**K TO SLEEP."
     Well, parents and educators alike can rest assured that they can now do it under the guise of realistic parenting ... and bedtime stories.
     I commend writer Adam Mansbach for writing an absolute true book because how many people would just love to curse off their kids and tell them to get the F in their beds, but yet, they know they are not actually mad at their kids? This book lets them do just that.
     And, Samuel L. Jackson? Love his reading of it. So manly. So wonderful. So full of pent-up passion and rage ... that he didn't actually let out at his kids when they wouldn't sleep.

     This book is available on Amazon for $8.22 ... I am seriously considering buying it, just to make sure I have it for when my hypothetical children are born.

I'm having trouble sleeping. You're jumping in my bed. Twisting in my head. Leave me. (Trouble Sleeping, The Perishers)

... Somewhere Out There Is A Lady Who I Think Will Never Be A Nun ... And I'm One Of Them.

46 years ago this week, Fox Home Video released a movie which changed generations of movie lovers ...

I remember being a little girl, not only amazed at the fact that the movie was SOOO long that it needed to be recorded on 2 VHS's, but also amazed at the beautiful opening scene that caught my eyes and ears every time I saw it.

I would say the first time I remember watching The Sound of Music, I was probably four or five, and I fell in love with it. The songs and the story captivate from the moment the bells ring to the moment the Von Trapps begin their long journey over the hills. As I got older, the love stories began to captivate me ... and they still do. You have the story of Leisl and Rolfe. I remember needing a box of tissues all through middle school every time Leisl would ask Maria, "What happens when a person stops loving you?" and Motherly Maria says, "Oh, you cry a little and then you wait for the sun to come out. It always does."

And then there are two lines which I will never forget ... One spoken by Kurt who tells (I believe Maria) "Only grown-up men are scared of women!" ... And I am not sure if a truer line has ever been spoken in a film. And another which is spoken by the Baroness to Maria when she says, "There's nothing more irresistible to a man than a woman who's in love with him" ::sigh:: which leads to this unforgettable moment. I do believe that this is one of the best love stories ever ... and I know people will fight this but I don't care.

This film makes me laugh and cry. It gives me hope and confidence ... and it just makes me smile. I wish I could post some video from the movie here but they are far and few between on youtube so I will leave you with this ... It is a video of Carrie Underwood performing the "Sound of Music" from 2007 "Movie Rocks" which focuses on music's role in shaping the film industry.

911, What's Your Emergency?

Can I please have an ambulance? I think I may be OD-ing on a drug ... and it's called ...

CHARLIE SHEEN!

But, please excuse me for a minute while I go and brush my teeth. It seems as if "My fangs are dripping tiger blood."