Tonight's Show: Feminism & Art

Tonight we're discussing feminism and art - two wonderful things that go together so well. We'll be interviewing local artist and feminist, Teresa Posyniak, whose art often features the female body. Her art also reflects her interest in women's issues such as domestic violence.

We'll also be discussing the upcoming feminist art show BODY / IMAGE. The show features art by local folks who explore issues of womanhood, the female body, body image, etc. in their work. The opening night of BODY / IMAGE is Thursday February 3 (7 - 9:30 p.m.) at the Marquee Room, and will feature performances by burlesque dancers, a drag king troupe, and spoken word artists. Admission is only $4 and all proceeds go to Take Back the Night - a grassroots feminist organization that raises awareness about violence against women.

Quote of the Day: January 31

"Thank you, belts, for always being in the loop."

—Jimmy Fallon, actor/comedian, on accessories (/what he's thankful for) during "Thank You Notes" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

VIMwatch: 2011 SAG Awards

Ladies

Black Swan's Mila Kunis totally rocked her jewel tone Alexander McQueen gown and looked awesome. To add a little something more, Kunis chose a cinched belt and Cartier bracelet.

Actress Dianna Agron, of television's Glee, looked lovely in her Chanel Haute Couture dress. The multi-talented starlet also wore jewelry by Fred Leighton.



Gents

Taye Diggs broke the mold tonight by sporting a bow tie rather than standard and we think it works perfectly. We also appreciate his addition of color through the tie to spice up his look.

Soon-to-be (and currently filming) Spiderman, Andrew Garfield, looked dapper in his shiny, navy Burberry suit (and we love the turtle, brown-colored footwear).

Unbelievable!

After my initial excitement at seeing the US Weekly magazine cover with Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and their baby Zachary, i came across this image; Arkansas Grocery store chain Harps has censored the cover to 'protect young Harps shoppers.' I bet they don't censor all the images of nearly naked celeb magazine covers that we're exposed to on a daily basis. Completely disgraceful!

Photography Spotlight: Adam Secore

This past November, the beloved (or hated—we're not sure) Lindsay Lohan was given leave from rehab to do a photo shoot with fashion photographer, Adam Secore. The final images are gorgeous, so we've put together our faves below.

British ad promotes marriage

This ad campaign was created "to make people reappraise marriage as the number of British people marrying drops to its lowest level since 1862."



Does anyone else think it's weird to advertise marriage?! It's not a product or service! (Although, the wedding industry is worth billions).



More info about the ad campaign at Copyranter.

3rd Annual Middle of the Mitten This Saturday!

The 3rd Annual Middle of the Mitten is a local talent showcase held by The Record Lounge, 503 E. Grand River Ave., and commemorates the opening of the store itself in 2008.

The Record Lounge founded its business with a priority being to showcase local, independent talent (as well as great vinyls). As a result, Record Lounge employee and MSU professional writing student Joel Heckaman has worked with the shop for the past three years to put together this fantastic event showcasing local-area and independent musical talent.

Starting at 6 p.m., this year's showcase is happening on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Lansing's The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., and will feature such acts as: Versus The Ocean, Life Size Ghost, Frank And Earnest and Adam Dahl (for the entire list click here).

Tickets: $5 presale (available from bands or at The Record Lounge), $7 at the door.

Movie Review: No Strings Attached

Though the second scene of the film involves a frat party at University of Michigan and features one of the stars entirely clad in U-M gear, we absolutely adored No Strings Attached. Sure, it has that certain predictable quality of all romantic comedies in that it involves a meet-cute and “happily ever after” ending. At the same time, Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are so charming and hilarious in their roles and the jokes are so outrageous and unpredictable that this friends-with-benefits story is made worthwhile for those in the mood for something lighthearted. We would like to point out, however, that the plot is similar to November’s Love and Other Drugs (starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway) and this summer’s Friends With Benefits (starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis).
Best on-screen moment: Emma (Portman) gets drunk and flips out—hilariously—on two girl’s at Adam’s (Kutcher) place.

Best Flicks of 2010

Two things we don't understand about this year's Oscars:
1. As was the case last year, ten films are up for best picture. Ten.
2. Christopher Nolan got ignored in the best director category. Come on, Inception?

Anyway, since we asked your opinion on the ultimate worst film of 2010, now we want the same thing for the best. Comment and share your thoughts.

Best Picture Nominations
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

For the full list of nominations, click here.

Quote of the Day: January 25

"I choose things that are so overly ambitious, and if I can’t do stuff like that, I don’t want to be doing this."

—Kristen Stewart, actress, on her career to Vogue Magazine

Bandage Tights

New trend? Maybe. We have all heard of—and seen—multiple versions of the bandage dress (thanks to Herve Ledger). Now, lo and behold, there exists bandage tights for those of us interested in trying the style in a different way (thanks to Net-a-Porter).

Though a little bit wacky, we think the ribbon effect just might work if the wearer can find the perfect outfit. Send us pics if you decided to try it out!

$65, Net-a-Porter.com

Tonight's Show: Feminist News & Views

Tonight we discuss the following recent events:

• The B.C. inquiry into missing women was opened last week.
  
  
• Saskatchewan's government has decided that marriage officials can't opt-out of marrying gay or lesbian couples.
  
  
• January 21st marked the 38th anniversary of Roe V. Wade - the historic Supreme Court decision to make abortion legal in the United States.
  
  
• Republican leaders are introducing legislation that would permanently bar any taxpayer subsidies for abortion - a.k.a. the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."
  
  
• In the Bountiful, B.C. case, pro-polygamy women are set to testify in court. The testimony will offer a rare glimpse into the life of polygamous women.

Worst Flicks of 2010

The 31st Annual RAZZIE nominations have just been released. Among them The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender received the most nods; that said, we want to know which flick you think should win this year's ultimate diss: Worst Picture (comment and share your pick!).

Nominees for Worst Picture of 2010
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Last Airbender
Vampires Suck
Sex & the City 2
The Bounty Hunter

For the full list of nominations, click here.

Fun & Functional Design Idea

Documenting memories, to-do lists, and things to remember can usually end up looking like a jumbled mess. It's hard to find bulletin boards that have much character and ones that don’t require a hammer and nail to install. The new alternative to this is found in either white board or chalkboard paint. Both are cool alternatives to display random artwork, memories and quick notes. Both are reasonably priced and can be applied to any clean wall. Be creative and paint them in different shapes or class them up by adding a surrounding frame.

Both products can be purchased at most hardware stores and only require regular painting supplies for application. Prices starting at $10

Photography Spotlight: Interview Magazine

In November (2010), Steve Carell interviewed Ryan Gosling for Interview Magazine. Though the interview itself is fabulous, Mikael Jansson's photography is what really caught our eye. Check out the delicious photos below.

Quote of the Day: January 22

"The idea that you can get everything you want in one person is destructive, and maybe when you accept that, the number is closer to 50 or 60 or 70 percent..."

—Michelle Willams, actress, on love to Marie Claire

Erotic talk workshop - just in time for Valentine's!

Venus Envy and the Calgary Sexual Health Centre bring you a 90 minute workshop on talking dirty - just in time for Valentine's day!

Workshop description: Know what you want, but not sure how to get it? Whether you're not sure what words to use, or how to start spilling them out of your mouth, this workshop will give you ideas on how to make talking about sex just as great as doing it.

Date: Friday, February 11
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: $20.00 per person
Note: This workshop is for women only
For more info click here or visit the Venus Envy Facebook page

MSU Competes in 2011 RecycleMania

This year, Michigan State University will be competing against over 600 other schools in the 2011 RecycleMania Tournament.

To help our university triumph, simply recycle all your cardboard, boxboard, plastics, etc. in any of the numerous bins throughout campus between Feb. 6 and April 2.

For a full list of materials that may be recycled and to track MSU's progress from week to week visit the MSU Recycling website HERE.

Gwen for L'Oreal

At 41-years-old, Gwen Stefani is looking positively fierce in the commercial for her debut as the new face of L'Oreal Paris. Excellent choice. Cool commercial. Hot mama.

So let's open this up for discussion, anyone think the lip wear actually lasts 10 hours?

Make Your Toast Truly 'French'

No matter how you slice it, this product from Fred Flare is just too fun to pass up.

French-ify your breakfast with the French Toast Stamp. Hurry, though, they're quickly running out of stock!

Purchase for just $6 HERE.

VIM up for 'Top of the Town' Award!

VIM Magazine is up for the Best Student Publication award in this year's Top of the Town Awards brought to you by Lansing City Pulse and WLNS TV 6.

VOTE HERE (in the "...WHATEVER" category)

Winners will be announced March 9!

A Comfy Way to Remember 2010

This topical pillow is the perfect way to both remember the past year and start 2011 anew. Not to mention, it's a great conversation piece for any room.

You can purchase different versions of these fun pillows through Etsy's website.

VIMwatch: 2011 Golden Globes

This year's Golden Globes saw many fabulous fashion moments...and a few flops--Helena Bonham Carter anyone? Though it was tough, we've chosen our favorites below.

Ladies

Olivia Wilde, of Tron, owned the night in her lovely, princess-inspired Marchesa gown. Perhaps the best, and smartest, aspect of Wilde's look is her all around minimalism on everything but the dress. It must also be said that she looks awesome with bangs.

Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester worked last night's red carpet in not one but two major trends of the evening (neutral shades and long-sleeves) and, though many may not agree, we think she pulled them off the best. From her hair and makeup down to her shoes, Meester managed to make her untraditional Burberry dress truly stand out and looked absolutely beautiful.

Gents

Robert Pattinson rocked a gorgeous, midnight navy Gucci tuxedo. Not to mention we are loving (!) his new, shorter hair. Can you say swoon?

Though we think Johnny Depp looked great in his tuxedo-sans-tie, we're going with The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg as our other best dressed male of the Globes. Eisenberg wore a wide peak, Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo--a vast improvement from his Mark Zuckerberg wardrobe.

Wallet Strong

Paperwallet has developed, perhaps, the strongest wallet you may ever behold.

The wallets are crafted out of a material called Tyvek, a combination of tear-resistant and elastic fibers. Further, they are paper thin and 100 percent recyclable (yay for green products!).


Priced at approximately $15, these wallets are quite the find.

VIMwatch: 2011 Critics' Choice Movie Awards

Ladies

Not only did the hilarious Emma Stone walk away last night a winner (for Best Comedy--Easy A) but she absolutely stunned on the red carpet. Stone wore a gorgeous, mesh Balenciaga halter dress. It can't be easy to pull of that much silver, but girlfriend worked it.

Our second choice for the evening is Miss Natalie Portman, who is nearly impossible not to love and also walked away a winner (for Best Actress...dare we say she has an Oscar in her near future?). Portman has been repeatedly attempting to hide her baby bump this awards season and we think this is her best look yet. For the evening she wore a simple, black-and-white Gianfranco Ferre column dress.

[Sidenote: This has us all giddy for Golden Globe/Oscar fashion. Eek!]

Gents

Oh, Ryan Gosling, how we love you AND your style. Gosling broke out the big guns last night in a purple Ferragamo brocade jacket with velvet collar. Needless to say, we think he totally rocked it. While Blue Valentine didn't pick up an award for the evening, we still have hope.

Another stylish male, John Legend, stepped up his fashion game in a shiny Gucci suit with patterned tie. Impressive showing, gents. Very impressive.

Photography Spotlight: Best Performances of 2010

We've already established that we just love W Mag's photography and they've done it again with their "Best Performances of 2010" spread in the newest issue. We've featured a few of our favorites below.



For the complete gallery click HERE.

One of the most offensive ads I've ever seen

Click ad to enlarge image

Shape Liquid & Powder ad from 1970

Thanks to Vintage Ads for posting this

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that advertising is one of my niche areas of interest within feminism. I spend a lot of time looking at advertisements - both vintage and current - trying to dissect the meaning of ads and figure out what the company is trying to tell us and sell us. I've seen some pretty horrific ads in my time - but this one is right up there with the worst. When an ad is this offensive, I've gotta get my rant on! Below are the three worst sentences/paragraphs from this ad, and why they piss me off.





“Beneath that floppy sweatshirt she’s a little overweight. You knew that. Because right now, you’re a little over weight, too. That’s bad. This year’s bathing suits hide nothing. Unless you start losing some, you may spend your summer in a sweatshirt, too. Face it, you’ve got to stop eating.”

• The girl in the shirt IS NOT OVERWEIGHT. Not even close. By stating that she is, the advertisers are planting a seed of doubt in every reader's mind that she too is overweight. If a young, slim girl like that is “a little over weight,” then almost every woman is.
• Being overweight is “bad”? And they've already implied that almost every woman is overweight… so now they’ve got 95% of the female readership feeling like bad people. This is a common advertising technique; advertisers make you feel insecure about something, then offer their product to fix your problem. In most cases, the “problem” is something completely natural, like grey hair, cellulite or winkles, but we’re made to feel so ugly/guilty/old/fat that we are desperate to fix it… and we’ll try any product that “guarantees” results.
  
  
• “Face it, you’ve got to stop eating.” Wow. Really? That's a pretty blatant promotion of eating disorders.
  
  

“… you can substitute Shape for one or two meals a day. Or, if you’re really serious, four Shape meals a day for a while. And no other food.”

• Are you fucking kidding me? This promotes unhealthy eating habits and essentially tells women who are “serious” about losing weight (and who wouldn’t be serious about it after you’ve already called us fat and told us that's bad?) that they shouldn’t eat.
  
  
• What the hell does "four Shape meals a day for a while" mean? That's a pretty unspecific amount of time. If I consumed Shape four times a day and ate nothing else, how long do you think it would take before I'd collapse from lack of energy or some other ailment? Not to mention it would fuck with my digestive system.
  
  
  
  

“If we made Shape taste any better, you might start sneaking it now and then, and you would get fat on it.”

• WTF. Terrible copywriting, just terrible. If you’re advertising a product that’s supposed to make women slim, why would you then state that having too much of it will make you fat? This sentence is just bizarre to me, and confirms the fact that the people who developed this ad were complete fucking idiots.

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