What's my motivation?

So, I'm thinking I need to work out some kind of daily/weekly themed post idea to keep me motivated and full of ideas for posting on here, so it's not so random and weird. Yeah? Or maybe you all don't care, but I'd like to try and get things going/organized/whatever. Twitter and several of the blogs I read have a theme/post idea for each day and I'm using those as my starting off points. Feel free to yay/nay any and all of them, and throw me some ideas of your own...

Music Monday- Share a band, video, song, etc. I used to do this.
Meatless Mondy- Share a veggie/vegan recipe.
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Trans Tuesday- I've been collecting articles and links for a while with the idea of writing an essay about the truths and misconceptions of the trans community, because they are the most overlooked and margiinalized part of the LGBT community. I just can't seem to punch anything out. So instead I think I can do a weekly feature of a different trans actor/actress, musician, comedian/comedienne, etc. with some article commentary in between.
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Writer/Writing Wednesday- Perhaps I can kick my creative writing butt back into gear by occasionally posting poetry and essays (again), whether they are old or new.
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? Thursday- I got nothing. Help.
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? Friday- Ditto.
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Same-Sex/Sapphic Saturday/Sunday- A weekend post highlighting something/anything lady-oriented-queer. Movie clips, photos, book reviews, etc.

I can't promise that I will follow each of these every week (esp Thurs/Fri since I have no ideas yet) but hopefully it will help me post more than once every blue moon. And I reserve the right to post something off theme/topic whenever I want, obvs ;)

Namaste, Chini

I was going to write a post about coming out to my mom via text and about the thwarted trip to DC for the National Equality March... but after browsing through my celeb pics file and learning that Padma Lakshmi is preggers, I'm going to do a picture post of gorgeous Indian ladies instead.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me in real life that growing up in the Little India neighborhood of Chicago had a big impact on me. Even as a four-year-old, according to my mother, I was mesmerized by the window displays of saris and jewels and such on Devon Avenue. Right now I have saris for curtains and table cloths, incense & elephants everywhere in my apartment, Sanskrit and Ganesha tattoos, etc. I used to wear bindis and have henna/mendhi done in high school. When Gwen Stefani went through her Indo-glam phase, I was so excited! I used to wear bangles and harem beads all the time. I just love the colors, the textures, the richness, the history, the stories... I often lament that I was born on the wrong continent. But I know that had I been born in India my life would be a lot different. And I couldn't be gay. At least not easily and openly. So I guess living here allowed me the opportunity to experience the good without the bad. So, on to the pictures!

Shelley Conn- An Indian woman with an English accent. Be still my heart. Plus she makes out with Laura Fraser in Nina's Heavenly Delights and Anna Torv in Mistresses. Swoon.




Freida Pinto, another Indian lady with an English accent. And she is heartbreakingly gorgeous. Who *didn't* fall in love with her in Slumdog Millionaire? She also looks just like a girl I used to work with back in high school.




Oh Janina Gavankar. How we loved you as Papi. Too bad you had to play a Latina woman and not, um, an Indian woman. IRL Janina is such a geek, and seems so down-to-earth. She has even messaged me back on twitter a few times :D




Padma Lakshmi. I would never ask you to 'pack your knives and go'.




Parminder Nagra. Loved her on ER and in Bend It Like Beckham. Too bad you guys weren't a couple like was originally intended.




Aishwarya Rai. The classic beauty. Look at those eyes. Then go watch Bride and Prejudice.




Tilotama Shome. If you haven't seen Monsoon Wedding, go now.




Since I'm spending today avoiding homework/midterms I think I'll watch Bend It Like Beckham, Nina's Heavenly Delights, Bride and Prejudice, Monsoon Wedding, Slumdog Millionaire and a few episodes of Mistresses. Sorry Janina, I don't think I can handle any L Word today. Maybe I'll watch your episode of Dollhouse. (Yes, I own all of these movies/shows on dvd. Except Mistresses, but I have it on my computer...) And Top Chef is on tonight. Hm, I don't have time for all those today. Maybe just the highlights on youtube then ;)

WHIP IT real good!

I'm about to go see Whip It. By myself (because everyone else seems to be sick or working right now, as usual). But I've been so excited for this movie since I first caught wind of it months and moons and eons ago. And Roger Ebert gave it a great review and 3.5 stars. And 'Grace Fox' gave it a fun and interesting breakdown/review. And really, who wouldn't want to see some of this, even if it is all subtext and fantasy:






I've been a sort of fan of the derby for a while, but oddly enough have never made it to a bout/match. I know girls from high school/my tattoo parlor/my hair salon who are derby girls. In Chicago we have 2 leagues, the Windy City Rollers and The Chicago Outfit. Both flat track. I even went on a date with a derby girl once (it was awkward and we didn't see each other again). BUT I'm almost certainly going to make it to the Windy City Rollers All-Star match later this month! I'm so excited!

To prepare myself for Whip It I went and made myself some possible derby names. You can never be too prepared, right? And using different combos of my first name, nickname, last name, online/twitter name, & positions (blocker, jammer, pivot) it gave me these suggestions:

-Belle Broadsword
-Bertha Broadsword
-Amelia BasHer (gave me this one twice)
-Beelza-Babe Brawl
-Allie Brawl
-Amelia VaudeVillian
-Belle Bellicose
-Allie Bombshell

I'm not 100% sold on any of them, but they aren't bad. And none of them seem to be taken yet. Now I just need to be able to skate without running into walls or getting things stuck under my wheels. AND...



Yes, please.


ps- Ok, it's a few days later now and everyone in my internet world has been talking about the awesomeness of Whip It and how gay Ellen Page is, etc etc etc (except Whip It could have/should have been so much gayer!). I think that Ellen, Kristen Wiig and Juliette Lewis made the movie, they were brilliant. Zoe Bell (and her beautiful accent!) was under utilized. Ari Graynor (the drunk best friend from Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist) was the barely there minor character who, as far as we can tell, was supposed to be a lesbian. It was a nice little nod to us, but it should have been a bigger part. It was great that the girls did 90% of their own skating/stunts because it made the derby scenes so much more amazing and realistic to watch. Great soundtrack to boot. And since I saw one of the first showings in Chicago, I filled out a little survey at the end and got a free Whip It tshirt. It's cute. And I've been thinking about derby names again. Like using a Dykon to make a good name. First thought was Melissa Etheridge, because how awesome would Melissa Deatheridge be as a derby name. So awesome, in fact, that it's already taken. Sob. So is Militia Etheridge. So next I checked some names using Ellen Degeneres. Ellen De Generate and Felon Dejenerate are taken. Hrm. Back to the drawing board. Not that I need an actual derby name because I'm not actually joining the derby... I can barely stand/walk as it is. But don't think that I wouldn't join in a second otherwise!

Sometimes I... wear makeup?

I could probably count on one hand the times I've worn makeup. I don't mean like Halloween or Zombie Pub Crawl caked-on and covered in blood makeup. I've done that sort of thing many times. I mean like, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush, mascara. I've pretty well failed in that department. Growing up with a crazy punk rock mom who does hair, nails and makeup pushes you in different directions and/or spoils you, I guess.

I never had to worry about paying to get my hair cut or dyed until recently. I've always been a nail biter (even my toe nails when I was a baby, apparently). And I've avoided makeup like the plague. Not sure why. It's just mostly never really felt natural to me. Before dances in jr. high and high school my mom would do my hair, 'tsk-tsk' at my nails, and then attack me with the blush brush and nearly poke my eyes out with the mascara wand. And then people would ask if I had on fake lashes (my eyelashes are naturally insanely long and always getting tangled together) and I felt like an impostor. It's not that I was so 'butch' that it didn't fit- I had long hair and sometimes wore long skirts, but I was more of a... of an androgynous, tomboy type. Sometimes I did my hair and wore lip gloss. My short nails were usually polished different weird colors. I almost always had glitter on my face (and in my hair...) I always had on pins, necklaces and all manner of 'accessories'. Doing the whole face makeup thing didn't do it for me.

So this weekend my friends had a Rock Star party to celebrate a few birthdays. The plan came about from wanting to wear a lot of eyeliner, drink beer and play Rockband. Everyone was to come dressed as their favorite rock star (or a generic one, if you couldn't think of anything.) There was no way I was pulling off Tegan (or Sara) or Amanda Fucking Palmer. Especially not with my new red-brown mohawk. So I asked for suggestions. And was told Annie Lennox, Sid Vicious or Flea. Not too helpful, although Annie Lennox wasn't far from doable. So I started looking at pictures of her and of 80s stuff and glam makeup. And then Adam Lambert (aka Glambert) popped into my head. Hrm. I was on to something. I could do 80s glam eye makeup. I had collared shirts and ties (and a tshirt that looks like a collared shirt and tie) and black pants. So I dreamt up this hybrid bastard glam-baby called Annie Glambert and went to Target to buy blush and charcoal eyeshadow. I already had a nice eyeliner and mascara (I think from Halloween?) And I think I did a decent job, especially considering I've never really applied my own eye makeup. And I did it in one try. But the camera flash seems to have washed out my face in the pictures. Trust me, I had on more makeup that it seems. I was glam-tabulous.

(click any to enlarge)
Pre 'outfit'... I think it's the flash that made me sort of blink and look like I was already drunk. I wasn't. I had zero drinks at that point:


I wore the tshirt that has a graphic tie, black pants and a black hoodie. My nails were also painted black.


















btw- I dyed my hair myself, and my mom and I did my original mohawk, but Monica at Milios cut and trimmed and shaped it in nicely for me this past Friday (day before the party) and it is an excellent haircut!

Aight folks, enough talk about my hair and illnesses, we got some serious bidness to attend to! (no, really, I promise, ixnay on the airhay) As you know I intern over at the faboosh 'girl-on-girl culture' website, Autostraddle. We are just a fledgling site, but we are about to molt our last baby feathers with a brilliant redesign! And to help us get the word out there, we need your help. We need your support. Aaaand we need your cash. But we wouldn't just ask you for money without making it fun and worthwhile, would we? Even though helping out the awesome site IS a very worthwhile cause. So:

"Please check out our Fall Fundraising Drive and consider supporting Autostraddle by buying a snazzy AS sticker or donating — everyone who does will be entered to win a prize from 410BC’s new fall collection and big donors will get their very own AUTOSTRADDLE T-SHIRT. So we want this to be fun for you too!"

AND

"In addition to the standard operating funds to function as is, Autostraddle presently requires the full-time work of a four-person core management team as well as the assistance of our seven contributing writers, photographer and editors and our 15-strong intrepid intern army."


So please consider supporting Autostraddle (and all Independent Media, really!) by donating and getting a raffle entry! It will be worth it. Then you should stick around and look at the all the pictures of Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore being adorable together. And Lady Gaga wearing things that aren't clothes. If you haven't looked at them already, of course! :D

I'm baaack

I have returned from the land of respiratory ailments AND I got my hair recut. And I dyed it. I probs used a tad too much 30 volume peroxide and red dye in the 'mahogany'... but I like it overall nonetheless! :D

SO this is what my hair looked like back in June. About 2 weeks before I chopped it off for charity and then got an #alternativelifestylehaircut:


This is what my haircut first looked like on July 6th:


This is what my hair looked like on August 10th (how it looked when I left it sort of down):


This is how my hair looked on August 27th, with it all up and 'spikey':




And this is how it looks now today:






It still needs to be trimmed in a bit and refined (on Tuesday before class, if my mom is up to it) but overall I rather enjoy it. And I can't wait until it grows out a little more in the back so you can actually see the full mohawk! ;)