America the Beautiful

I just finished watching the most disturbing documentary - disturbing in a good way. It's called America the Beautiful and it's about America's beauty obsession. Some things I learned:

- The FDA doesn't really protect you from unsafe beauty products. It's banned seven ingredients, the EU's administration has banned 450.

- Plastic surgery=scary! So, in 1977, Congress passed a law saying that anyone with an MD could call him/herself a plastic surgeon. Many of the plastic surgeons today, aren't actually board certified and were trained as Obgyns or something. Additionally, most people who die from plastic surgery, don't actually die from the surgery, but from anesthesia.

- Model sizes really aren't normal. Like, really, they aren't. One of the reasons designers want them so skinny, is so they don't waste expensive fabric. A size four, is way cheaper to produce than a size 10 when you're dealing with high-price lace and cashmere.

- Women learn from their mothers. Never insult or complain about your body in front of your daughters.

- America's beauty ideals are seriously messed. We all know this, but now, I really know it. Yet, we're caught in this viscous cycle. Men see beauty ads/porn/whatever, expect women to look like that. Women want to be wanted by men -- not only by men -- but other women, so we spend and do all we can to conform. We get suckered in by those stupid mascara ads that promise to ad worth to our lives by adding length to our lashes.

- In a completely non-egotistical way, my body is great as is. I have recently been lamenting about gaining a few pounds and perhaps a size. But, now, I am asking, why? What's so great about a size two? A size two isn't normal if you're 5'7. I am normal and unique and normal and unique is great. And every woman I know is beautiful so don't get plastic surgery, because after watching this video it's clear if you do, you just might die...(da da duuunnn).

I realize this post got a little cheesy there in the end, but I'm feeling a bit emotional after watching the disturbing ideologies presented on my screen. It's a good film. Everyone should definitely check it out. Until then, don't go on any unhealthy diets. Good advice from me, once again:).

Money, Sex and Happiness

I think my blog's content is going to consist more and more of random things I find online --- since I'm being a lazy writer lately. I read this blog by Penelope Trunk, and the latest post I read was about money and happiness. Apparently, once your basic needs are met, researchers have found that more money does not make you happy. Social relations, on the other hand, are key determinants to happiness. Here I will begin the P. Trunk quote:

"And by social relations, most researchers mean sex – with one, consistent partner. So consider giving your career aspirations a little less weight than you give your aspirations for sex. For those of you who like a tangible goal, David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College says, 'Going from sex once a month to sex once a week creates a big jump in happiness. And then the diminishing returns begin to set in." He adds, to the joy of all who are underemployed, 'It’s true that money impacts which person you marry, but money doesn’t impact the amount of sex you have.'"

Interesting. I am particularly intrigued by the "one, consistent partner" part.

The things you learn.

Back to my book review presentation.

Redeeming Love

My friend who worked at HEAL Africa in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo just sent me this story. I thought it was heartwarming thus, wanted to post it. Ta da:

This is the picture that gave me most joy today! She is one of our patients from Masisi territory from 2004. I remember finding her one evening in that horrible UNICEF tent you may remember. She had just arrived after walking for days and then riding on a rotten road from Masisi to Goma. She was far from term, with a baby conceived in terror and violence. Not surprisingly, she had gone into labour that evening. She nursed her baby in the incubator for 6 weeks. This is the baby! What else is this but redeeming love?

Ishara Lyn and her mother (Ishara means Miracle).

Darfur Relief Beads

So I haven't been blogging lately because I've been lazy, but I wanted to give Darfur Relief Beads a quick shout out. My roommate showed me these bracelets she bought from Patina. Apparently, the purchase of one bracelet provides two months of education for a child ($13), and the purchase of five can save the life of a malnourished child. So if any of you are looking for stocking stuffers, you might want to check them out. Here they are at Patina:

On an unrelated note, did I mention I'm going to India in January?! Yeah! Look forward to some killer blogging from Spice country.

Ma Salaam.

Poor Grad Student Shares Money Saving Secrets

Though I do have a pretty good tuition deal, as a graduate student, I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. As a result, I make it a point to dig for deals in any and all of my purchases.

Apparently, my reputation for garnering good deals proceeds me. There have been several requests for me to post some of my money-saving tips on my blog (ok, maybe more like one request, but there should have been several:). So if you want to save some money, read up! Here are some of my favorite sites for the thrifty-at-heart.

The best site ever was recently brought to my attention by Anne, my internet informant. Seriously, it's awesome. www.gomusicnow.com is a Russian music site (in English!) that sells entire albums for around $1.50, and single songs for 9 cents. Take that iTunes! I'm not paying $1.29 for a single song. You can pretty much find any album you want on this site. PLUS, albums are released a week earlier on this site than they are in the U.S. The only catch (which is not really a catch) is that you have to put $25 on your account at first. Then, the site acts like a debit card, subtracting from you account as you purchase albums. As soon as songs are downloaded, they go directly to you iTunes player. Anyone who doesn't take advantage of this site is kind of weird.

Speaking of music, another great way to save money on music (without downloading from those illegal sites) is to share music with friends through Dropbox.com. You can just create a folder with a friend, and share music by dropping your mp3s in the dropbox, and downloading ones that were dropped for you.

When it comes to more tangible products, such as makeup, all I can say is ebay, ebay, ebay!!! Seriously people, NEVER pay full price for makeup. Whenever I need something, I head straight for ebay and usually get it for at the very least, 25% retail prices. My latest steal was six pigment eyeshadows from L'oreal, that retail at about $10 each. What did I pay for them? $8 for ALL. Score. Usually, these deals are possible because individuals will sell items on ebay at wholesale prices. Other things I usually nab on that site are lotions, Crest white strips, and just recently a North Face jacket for $70 off. It's sweet.

OK I have to start working on my homework. I don't want to. Go save some money!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE

That's all. I hope your six-year anniversary of 21 is fun.

Belated Halloween Post: Blackface. Halloween Fail.

It continues to amaze me that people don’t get that dressing up in blackface for Halloween is not okay. Most white people my age, they have never even heard of blackface, so when I suggest that it’s highly offensive, they are often like, “yeah, whatever.

Hey, I didn’t make the rules – and neither did you. You can’t just say it’s not offensive, and then expect no one to be offended by it. Unless you want to go back and chnge historyand I haven’t met anyone with those capabilities yet. It is arrogant to assume that you, a white person, can decide that something doesn’t matter anymore. That’s as arrogant as the white people who decided to play blackface in the first place – because blacks weren't good enough to represent themselves.

Now I know many people just don’t know about the history of blackface. If you don't, Wikipedia it. Wikipedia=the answer to everything. Anyway, I found out about blackface my junior year of high school. We were in a Native American unit in history class, and had to do some group project on Native Americans. I don't remember the point is us doing this, but our group decided to make a video portraying stereotypes of Native Americans. So, some of the guys painted their faces red/brown, and pretended to drink a lot of beer.

I look back and wince. Needless to say, our history teacher was quick to gently point out the inappropriateness of our portrayal --- and the reason behind it.

In conclusion, if you still don't believe me that blackface is offensive, google how many news stories there are about some witless white person donning it on Halloween and creating a ruckus. This year, the ruckus was centered on a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, who decided to be Lil' Wayne. It didn't work out too well for her, as you can imagine.

The end.