On Emma Watson's Untouchable Perfection

This post goes out to the short-hair-haters and the people that dare to scoff at Emma Watson's new pixie cut. I am not pleased.

Though I understand the stereotype that accompanies a hair cut like this one, I think the change is fashion forward, chic, and smart--just like Emma herself.



Now a sophomore at Brown University, Emma has come a long way since she starred in the first Harry Potter movie. Let's all remember what that looked like



Of course. Even with no make-up on and her hair teased Emma still looks adorable. But nonetheless, Emma is a grown woman now. Let's remember, also, how incredibly unique and stylish this girl is. She has her own British clothing line, People Tree, served as a model for countless Burberry campaigns, and never fails to look amazing walking down the streets of London, New York, or wherever she happens to be.



Minutes after cutting her hair, Emma wrote: "Dear all, Cut my hair off a few days ago… Feels incredible. I love it. I’ve wanted to do this for years and years; it’s the most liberating thing ever. Hope you like. Big love from Emma"

So to make a long story short, this girl knows what she's doing. She's adorable and perfect and haters will always hate. But you will always be wrong.

I gots the Oxford connections..

I'm just stopping by to share a new online shoe outlet I found today. As most of my close friends know, I am unhealthily obsessed with Oxfords. I have three pairs right now and I'm still collecting for my college days when I will definitely have no money.

The site is called Osborn Handcrafted and they specialize in pimping Oxfords and booties with hand embroidered designs.

Basically this is my new homepage. Hello Christmas list.

Here are some of my favorites! It was really hard to choose..





This shoe addiction is going to be a problem..

Frank and April Wheeler and How They Changed My Life

I was ecstatic a few weeks ago when, in a sudden rush of joy, I realized that I had
1. Applied to college
2. Paid to apply to college
3. Finished my Physics homework
4. Asked to borrow a certain novel from a certain friend entitled: Revolutionary Road

Though I hate myself for it, I had to take a rather lengthy break from regular reading. Applying to ten colleges took me several weeks and eventually sent me into a downward spiral of self deprecation and exhaustion but..ENOUGH ABOUT ME! I am here to write about the book that pulled me out of my rut and simultaneously pulled itself to the top of my Literature Favorites list:

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates


April and Frank Wheeler live in a perfect suburb in the perfect state of New York. They are the parents of perfect children, the owners of perfect clothes, and the patrons of their perfect, 1950's inspired stereotypes. But April and Frank's marriage is far from the self deluded, cookie cutter of a perfect existence that they seem so fulfilled by. April thinks Frank never "found himself" when he was younger. Frank thinks April lacks the foundational discipline that a parent is supposed to instill in a young child. April thinks getting pregnant at a very young age kept her from being a famous actress. Frank thinks April cannot see anything outside of her own, overinflated head.

A truly honest story analyzing the emptiness of the American Dream, Revolutionary Road is startlingly realistic as millions of married Americans speak through the increasingly vulnerable characters. I am dangerously fond of this genre of strong literary humanism so, as of right now, I deem this novel my favorite.

A word on the author

Richard Yates was born in Yonkers, New York in 1926 and died in 1992. Revolutionary Road was Yates' first novel and a finalist for the National Book Award. He has been endorsed by authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Tennessee Williams. His parents divorced when he was only three and he spent most of his life as a nomad, moving to different residences. Yates taught a writing course at Columbia before his big break in 1961 when he published Revolutionary Road.

For those who enjoyed..
The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman




What do yoooouuuuuu think I should put on my list? Tell me! (Comment on my page, guyz)

P-P-P-Poetry

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. So I am bereft of current event, fashion, or even literary inspiration tonight. But I realized that I haven't shared poetry in awhile.

Here are two poems I wrote a couple of weeks ago.


--En Medias Res--

En medias res, at medium’s best

I talk too fast, I hit too hard

I see the ground, I hit it running

Before considering walking

En medias res, my medium’s test

I try to see what’s below me, not before me

I take the world and mold it, never thinking to behold it

To take it for what it is

En medias res, the truths I professed

Never did seem to have meaning

For I ignored so much, appreciated so little

Paid no attention to the world I was careening



--Walls--

We cling so desperately to the writings on walls

To the trough of a wave, never its peak

Clouds crystallize, becoming one with the weather

Even letters come together to make all the words sound better

While we stand, transfixed, in front of the wall

As nature forms a circle, showing us its power and unity

We won’t lift our eyes from the wall, lift our eyes toward each other

And as objects find the time to sync, the people don’t take time to blink

Enchanted, as always, by the walls

Paramount, pivotal, provocative, but oh so petty are the things we’ve written on these walls

For as every person lives and as every person fights, there exists a space to occupy it all

The walls tell our story, of our pride and reluctant downfalls

The narratives number by the thousands

But you can only see your own handwriting

Drop a comment if you like. Let me know what you think!

Hairstyles are Dresses Now?

So I'll keep things short this week because it's HOMECOMING WEEK ZOMG!

But I saw some truly disturbing pictures of celebrities sporting "Mullet Dresses"
Before I even looked at these pictures I had to ask myself who came up with that fabulous name!? At that point, I didn't even care what the dresses looked like--mullets went out for a reason.

To prove my point, I'll just showcase some special failures involving mullet dresses.

First, we have Victoria Beckham (POSH Spice! Come on!) in a mullet dress that looks almost like lingerie.. On the red carpet at a MET Gala, too!



That's just disappointing.

As we move on to the biggest failure I saw, I challenge everyone to simply google "mullet dress". This picture will come up INSTANTLY because of how horrible it is.

This is Elizabeth Banks. B-list actress. Definitely Maybe, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and other Oscar-worthy films. At a film festival in Cannes.



So now that we've seen these fashion failures, let's remind ourselves that there are some celebrities out there that can pull off ANYTHING. Let's redeem the mullet dress. Carey Mulligan and Anne Hathaway know what they're doing.

Carey Mulligan being beautiful and flawless as always. Wearing Prada.



And, to conclude my quick little fashion post, I will unveil one of the most gorgeous pictures I've ever seen of Anne Hathaway. WHY CAN'T I BE HER? At the premiere of Rachel Getting Married (which I love).



Have you seen any fashion fails lately? Let me know about them. They make me laugh.

Things Finally Get Political...

As we near what could possibly be the most stressful and exhausting week of my life, I've decided to share an essay I wrote in response to a question on the George Washington University Supplement. Of course a college in D.C. asks me to "Write about a political belief you stand by. Defend it and elaborate on it". ....If you say so!

Normally, I steer clear of politics in my writing because, let's be honest, no other topic gets under peoples' skin as quickly as political opinion. I'll say right now that if you disagree with my opinion, or anything in my essay, you are more than forgiven for closing the window and moving on with your life. But please, for both of our sakes, don't vomit your caps-lock, exclamation-point-ridden opinion on my page.

I chose to write about one of the more humanitarian political issues--No, not health care, the war, or where we should build mosques. I believe in the respect and dignity that all humans deserve. I believe in gay rights.

I now pronounce you man and wife. I used to take joy in this statement, weep for a family member that had found their soul mate and could publicly profess their love. This was before I knew about the heinous movement to deny rights to gay and lesbian individuals, ignoring their love just because they were different. I am disgusted by the fact that discrimination of this caliber still exists in our society. We live in America, home of the brave and the homophobic.

One of my favorite movies of all time is a documentary by Reed Cowan entitled 8: The Mormon Proposition. I had always supported gay marriage, but seeing this powerful and disturbing documentary only strengthened my feelings on the issue. Delving deeply into the motives of anti-gay activists, the documentary explores the clash of California’s gay and lesbian community and the Mormon agenda, namely to ban same-sex marriage for good. The beginning of the film showcases thousands of overjoyed gay and lesbian people as they line up outside city hall to receive a marriage license. Only moments after the decision was broadcast to California residents, the Mormon “prophets” started devising a plan to overturn the decision. From that day forward, the Mormon Church donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the campaign for Proposition 8 and forever became infamous for their overwhelming disapproval of gay marriage. A considerable chunk of that cash came from cornered members of the church, forced by their superiors to either get their checkbooks out, or leave the church forever. How do people so hateful and discriminatory still exist?

The Mormon Church is not the only assembly responsible for the plight of the gay community. Everyday people judge the same sex couples walking down the street holding hands, and especially the same-sex couples that fight for the right to express their love publicly in the act of marriage, how dare they? The opposition profusely claims the marriage is a sacred institution and that same sex marriage skews God’s vision of the family. In my opinion, divorce skews the vision of all families, yet fifty percent of the population thinks that’s perfectly fine. And if same sex marriage is such a divine gift, why are groups like the Unitarians and Presbyterians coming out of the woodwork and accepting gay marriage? It seems to me that only certain groups of people in certain divine institutions have decided that same sex marriage is out of the question, but where does that leave those of us that want to see change?

I was overjoyed when I saw this headline in the paper: Proposition 8 Overturned: Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional. I was immensely proud of California’s government for coming back to justice with this decision. Finally, a judge saw the despicable flaws in this proposition and deemed it unconstitutional. How far have we really come from slavery, discriminating against Mexican Americans, and denying voting rights for women? I would like to believe in a country that can stop this vastly degrading discrimination before it reaches the White House.

In what world is this acceptable? In whose mind is this blatant hatred and disrespect just? Are we much better, the silent bystanders? An entire demographic of people live their lives in a society fueled by discrimination, disrespect, and a complete absence of morality.


I, for one, will not tolerate it.












If you want to learn more about Reed Cowan's documentary, 8: The Mormon Proposition, go to:

http://www.mormonproposition.com/

America-Conscious and American Apparel

This past week I decided to mix up my reading pattern with a nonfiction selection. Okay well, it's more of a political commentary.

RADICAL CONSERVATIVES--CLOSE OUT OF THIS PAGE NOW!
For this book was written by none other than esteemed film maker, Michael Moore.



With chapter titles like "Kill Whitey" and "Idiot Nation", Moore's tone is blatantly obvious from the start. The book opens with a small foreword by Moore in which he explains the year long battle he had to fight with his publishers to get this book on shelves. Ironically enough, the battle began on September 11th. Moore wrote Stupid White Men in the sheer DAYS leading up to the memorable attack. His book was scheduled to be on the shelves by the 11th. Needless to say, Moore's publishers weren't too keen on the idea of releasing a harsh political commentary of America right after such a horrible tragedy.

They told Moore to rewrite the book. He refused.

Because he stuck to his guns, we have one of the most successful nonfiction books in the past two decades. Days after 9/11, people were barging into bookstores hungry for some tough love. They got what they ordered.

The first chapter, A Very American Coup, is a play-by-play of the Bush vs. Gore election--and how America was cheated. From Florida's mistaken ineligibility list, to Florida's governor, one of the lead conspirators, relative Jeb Bush--Moore has the facts, and he spits them like venom to wake everyone up.

Beyond the startling first chapter, Moore never ceases to shock but also comfort as his sarcastic sense of humor fills the pages. With full chapters devoted to the sorry racism of white men, and the possible end of the male race, Stupid White Men is entertaining from beginning to end.

*Deep breath* Now on to...



Anyone that's been shopping with me knows that I'm obsessed. I counted in my head today and I think it comes out to about 25 American Apparel pieces in my wardrobe. That means that just about every outfit I put together has something from American Apparel thrown in.

But more specifically I wanted to write about a trend I finally picked up on this afternoon, harem pants. Looking at them, one usually wonders "Are they supposed to look like that?". So floppy, so saggy, so awesome. With the help of a girl working in the store, I tried on some comfortable, 90's reminiscent, black and white harem pants today.



Just a visual aid for those that haven't seen these before. Mine are exactly like this, except black and white.

They're extremely comfortable, extremely trendy, and I hope to see more this fall/winter.

Thanks for reading!