Hi Fellas,
It's mid-week (in case you were wondering). I think I'm gonna aim for one solid blog per week-ish that I share on Facebook, Twitter, Smoke Signals, etc. I'll post some short random blogs in the mean time. Just to write. Because it's fun. That way you can kill 5 or 6 birds ("bird" = blog entry) with one stone per weekend, with at least one well thought out article. And I still get to write random stuff that doesn't suit itself to a full blog. Win win.
Sidebar: MY DOG IS DRIVING ME UP THE WALL. I will eventually do a "why my dog is cuter than your dog" blog, but right now, I would kill for puppy Ritalin.
I have some thoughts on Toddlers and Tiaras.
Who doesn't have some thoughts on Toddlers and Tiaras? This show is nuts. It's unhealthy. The parents on the show argue that pageants raise their kid's confidence. They probably do. But I think the collateral damage is worse.
What really gets me is their emphasis on facial beauty. It's a buzz word.
"It was a tie, so we broke it on facial beauty." "Facial beauty is worth 75% of their score." "My child has the best facial beauty."
OF COURSE your kid is the most beautiful. Beauty is subjective, and you're her mom. Duh. And how do you even judge facial beauty? Especially on kids! There are some beautiful people in this world who have nontraditional quirky faces. That's what makes them adorable! (see what I did there? I dodged the bullet of quoting a One Direction song. Well done self, well done). But seriously. How can you tell a three year old that she is more beautiful than another three year old? More importantly, how can you tell which three year old is more beautiful?! Beauty is genetic until you start taking meth or tanning too much.
Not only is beauty undefinable, but the emphasis parents put on it is crazy. Crazy Mom Quote of the Afternoon: "Facial beauty is the most important thing in a pageant, and really in life too. Beautiful people are the most successful." Full stop. I don't even feel the need to elaborate here.
What kind of effect would that have on a poor kid's self esteem? Puberty is rough enough when it's just your classmates judging you. They're putting their kids in front of a panel of adults. Unbelievable.
Some of the parents do it right. I don't see any harm in dressing your kid up and letting them strut around on stage. Even if it's a little too sexual. The kids are 10. It's going right over their heads. If you don't believe me, re-watch the spice girls movie. See, you turned out alright.
But still. How can we teach young girls that beauty counts for anything?! Everyone is beautiful (I tried so hard to avoid said cliché. Just lost that battle). It's not objective. And it shouldn't effect anything in life. In a perfect world.
I think this is what TLC intended when they put this show on the air. Even as I write this, I'm pretty confident most of you will agree with this blog. I hope this can be a catalyst away from crazy, old fashioned views of beauty. But in the mean time, I will definitely continue to watch, in horror.
True life.
Hope your weeks (collectively) are going well. Mine is pretty solid. Gonna walk my crazy dog now :)
Catch ya on the flip side (of what? I never really understood this)
Kaitlyn
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Stuff I'm Shamelessly Obsessed With
Aye there Buddies,
It's been another week of intense Catting. And by Catting I mean dancing my fanny off. I'm having a blast. I am so grateful to be part of such a dedicated, talented, hysterical cast this summer. I am also grateful for the icy-hot patches I have applied to my hamstrings for the weekend. I really should just get garbage bag pants.
With all my (not so) abundant free time I have this summer, I've found plenty of ways to bide my time until work starts. All of them, things I make fun of other people for. So I've decided to shame myself publicly.
Additionally, I'm gonna apologize for length here. I usually try to keep it short, sweet, and edited. But this is the list of stuff I'm so stuck on, I could probably give a 3 hour speech on each topic. I've organized it pretty nicely though I think. So take what you will.
Without further ado (is that how you spell that? I never know), allow me to present: My list of stuff that I love. Without Shame.
1. TLC Shows. Is it shameful? Yes. Can I literally feel my brain cells dying at every commercial break? Yes. This one is so unjustifiably good, it needs some sub-titles.
1A. Toddlers and Tiaras: Sickening? Cringe worthy? Kiddie Porn? Probably. 'nuff said.
1B. Sister Wives: I have never given polygamy much thought. But I think this is a workable system. I'm sure this show isn't the best representation of the polygamist community at large, but it looks like it works for them. I could never do it. But it's given me a new controversial issue to think about and pick your (collective) brains about. Mission accomplished.
1C. The Virgin Diaries: They only made 1 episode. And that is a shame. Feelin' crappy about your love life? There isn't a better downward comparison out there. I promise.
1D. Dance Moms: Like Toddlers and Tiaras. Only the kids are better dancers than me. Which inspires me to go on crash diets and stretch a lot. No harm done.
1E. All of the Wedding shows: Despite my vocal opposition to gender roles and feminism that boarders on philosophically extreme, I will have a classy wedding if it kills me. And I'm doing it for under $5,000. Mark my words.
2. "Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number. Call Me Maybe." I know it's a pop-y, overplayed, poorly written song. And I don't care. It's like my foot starts tapping before my brain can tell it to stop. There are few things better in this world that boppin' down the highway belting this bad boy out the car window.
3. Skins. This wouldn't be embarrassing if I hadn't watched seasons 3 and 4 a total of 5 times this summer. But I have. I'm sure the third gen is great, and the first gen was pretty solid, but this second one has engulfed all of my attention. Here's why:
3A. The parallels between Effie and Freddy's relationship and Hamlet. And how they point it out a season in advance. And how I just noticed it last night. Mind, blown.
3B. Naomily. No words. And my roommate Emily's analysis of the writing :) "Can we just sit here for a while. Yeah, for a while." God it's well done.
3C. Their accents.
3D. Pandora. "What do I want, surfing and turfing, when do I want it, now." Also, she doesn't look like a model. And she's so quirky. Again, well done.
3F. How the music changes each episode to fit the character.
3G. (Maybe Skins just deserves its own blog. Soon. I have some ends to tie up. Later this summer friends.) Ok, I love Cook's character as well. He's such an asshole. And this show made me care about him. Mission accomplished.
4. Cats. I have some explaining to do. When I first watched it on youtube, I bailed halfway through the second act for lack of plot. But after having to work on it, I'm hooked. This show has a CRAZY fan base. And cult fans are the best. These people have written thousands of descriptions for each cat's individual personality. I had just clumped them into a vague "grown adults pretending to be cats" category. Wrong. This show captures the crazy cat person's love of each cat as an individual. Seriously though, there's the fat cat song, the mischievous cat, kittens. An unexpected orgy. A series of cute, personal poems set to music. Clever. Original. Appreciated. I think I'm reading too much into this, and I think I'm becoming a super fan. And I will flaunt that. Cat's might have it's own blog entry too.
Well I think that basically covers the bases of "stuff we can't get Kaitlyn to shut up about this summer." At worst, my list of interests will make your list of interests look phenomenally intelligent. At best, you love all the shameful things I love and we can geek out about it together. Give me a call. Seriously though. Because I hold you captive and force you to watch seasons 3 and 4 of Skins in one sitting. Don't think I won't.
All of the love,
Kaitlyn
It's been another week of intense Catting. And by Catting I mean dancing my fanny off. I'm having a blast. I am so grateful to be part of such a dedicated, talented, hysterical cast this summer. I am also grateful for the icy-hot patches I have applied to my hamstrings for the weekend. I really should just get garbage bag pants.
With all my (not so) abundant free time I have this summer, I've found plenty of ways to bide my time until work starts. All of them, things I make fun of other people for. So I've decided to shame myself publicly.
Additionally, I'm gonna apologize for length here. I usually try to keep it short, sweet, and edited. But this is the list of stuff I'm so stuck on, I could probably give a 3 hour speech on each topic. I've organized it pretty nicely though I think. So take what you will.
Without further ado (is that how you spell that? I never know), allow me to present: My list of stuff that I love. Without Shame.
1. TLC Shows. Is it shameful? Yes. Can I literally feel my brain cells dying at every commercial break? Yes. This one is so unjustifiably good, it needs some sub-titles.
1A. Toddlers and Tiaras: Sickening? Cringe worthy? Kiddie Porn? Probably. 'nuff said.
1B. Sister Wives: I have never given polygamy much thought. But I think this is a workable system. I'm sure this show isn't the best representation of the polygamist community at large, but it looks like it works for them. I could never do it. But it's given me a new controversial issue to think about and pick your (collective) brains about. Mission accomplished.
1C. The Virgin Diaries: They only made 1 episode. And that is a shame. Feelin' crappy about your love life? There isn't a better downward comparison out there. I promise.
1D. Dance Moms: Like Toddlers and Tiaras. Only the kids are better dancers than me. Which inspires me to go on crash diets and stretch a lot. No harm done.
1E. All of the Wedding shows: Despite my vocal opposition to gender roles and feminism that boarders on philosophically extreme, I will have a classy wedding if it kills me. And I'm doing it for under $5,000. Mark my words.
2. "Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number. Call Me Maybe." I know it's a pop-y, overplayed, poorly written song. And I don't care. It's like my foot starts tapping before my brain can tell it to stop. There are few things better in this world that boppin' down the highway belting this bad boy out the car window.
3. Skins. This wouldn't be embarrassing if I hadn't watched seasons 3 and 4 a total of 5 times this summer. But I have. I'm sure the third gen is great, and the first gen was pretty solid, but this second one has engulfed all of my attention. Here's why:
3A. The parallels between Effie and Freddy's relationship and Hamlet. And how they point it out a season in advance. And how I just noticed it last night. Mind, blown.
3B. Naomily. No words. And my roommate Emily's analysis of the writing :) "Can we just sit here for a while. Yeah, for a while." God it's well done.
3C. Their accents.
3D. Pandora. "What do I want, surfing and turfing, when do I want it, now." Also, she doesn't look like a model. And she's so quirky. Again, well done.
3F. How the music changes each episode to fit the character.
3G. (Maybe Skins just deserves its own blog. Soon. I have some ends to tie up. Later this summer friends.) Ok, I love Cook's character as well. He's such an asshole. And this show made me care about him. Mission accomplished.
4. Cats. I have some explaining to do. When I first watched it on youtube, I bailed halfway through the second act for lack of plot. But after having to work on it, I'm hooked. This show has a CRAZY fan base. And cult fans are the best. These people have written thousands of descriptions for each cat's individual personality. I had just clumped them into a vague "grown adults pretending to be cats" category. Wrong. This show captures the crazy cat person's love of each cat as an individual. Seriously though, there's the fat cat song, the mischievous cat, kittens. An unexpected orgy. A series of cute, personal poems set to music. Clever. Original. Appreciated. I think I'm reading too much into this, and I think I'm becoming a super fan. And I will flaunt that. Cat's might have it's own blog entry too.
Well I think that basically covers the bases of "stuff we can't get Kaitlyn to shut up about this summer." At worst, my list of interests will make your list of interests look phenomenally intelligent. At best, you love all the shameful things I love and we can geek out about it together. Give me a call. Seriously though. Because I hold you captive and force you to watch seasons 3 and 4 of Skins in one sitting. Don't think I won't.
All of the love,
Kaitlyn
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