Artist Ray Caesar begins his biography with this:
I was born in London, England on October 26 1958, the youngest of four and much to my parent’s surprise, I was born a dog.
I just discovered him tonight. Nobody ever tells me anything!
I looked around and found this wonderful interview with him here.
I love him!
I know, you thought it was two shoes but it isn’t. Here is the explanation at Solestruck:
“Can you handle the insane amount of ferocity in this Jeffrey Campbell XXL?? There is so much going on, it’s hard to focus on anything except how KILLER this shoe is! Futuristic, animalistic, and over-the-top hot, this one is for all the wild cards out there! Featuring leather upper, suede cutouts, cheetah print, and a mirrored architectural mirrored wedge heel. Pick yourself off the floor and get this shoe before it’s gone for good! 4 3/4″ heel, 1 1/2″ platform. Leather upper and man made sole.”
God. Now what??
“The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain.” Karl Marx
Many years ago, I got my nose pierced. I think I was going through a rough period, because I remember my husband barging into the tattoo parlor to finish an argument with me.
Just recently, I decided to change the gold stud for a hoop. I think I was hoping for a jolt of pain, and I was not disappointed. But the cheap steel nose ring I bought wasn’t very pretty. I wanted a gold one, to match my earrings.
After a few weeks, I found the gold nose ring that my brother gave me, back when he decided to stop wearing shit in his nose. I knew I’d have trouble changing the rings, so I went to a piercing place just down the street from my house. A nice young hipster changed the nose rings. He had the assured but delicate touch of a brain surgeon.
Naturally, my brother’s nose ring was much too big and looked stupid. It bothered me all the time. I cry so often that I’m constantly blowing my nose. So I found a cheap gold ring that I hoped would be the right size.
Today, craving more pain, I waked down the street to see the nice young piercer. I learned that he was out of town, but another piercer would help me. An older , battered looking guy with a million faded tattoos led me to the piercing station and told me to lay down on the table.
His hands hovered above my nose, shaking badly. He attempted to get hold of my nose ring. I tried to conceal my fear as I asked, “Why are your hands shaking?” The hands started shaking wildly as he made another swipe at my nose.
I said. “That’s it, stop!” He backed away as I sat up. I don’t know who was more embarrassed but I wasn’t going to let some fucker rip my nose. He looked at me with a resentful expression and announced: “Hypoglycemia.”
I walked out as fast as I could. I walked a few blocks to another tattoo parlor. I explained what had happened to a dwarfish young guy with gigantic holes in his earlobes. He led me to a chair and replaced the big ring with the smaller one, warning that I would feel some “pressure.” The pain was a solid nine on a scale of one to ten. Hours later, my nose still hurts.
Of course, the new ring is too small.
A young child might look at this photo and say, “Oh, look, clowns!” But we know better.
Our next reader challenge is Fashion Editor Style. Can you look effortlessly crazy, chic, snooty, and age-inappropriate? Then get someone to take your picture and send it to sisterwolf666@gmail.com.
(TheShoeGirl and Rosie, that means you.)
Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi knows how to rock several different looks without missing a trick. As far as I’m concerned, we can take our style cues from him instead of Daphne Guinness, .
From left to right:
1. The trendy Military look, rocked to perfection!
2. The classic Saturday Night Fever disco look, with a slight Michael Jackson thing going on.
3. The It-Look of the season, with distressed shearling leather jacket and a fabulous fur Trapper hat.
4. The opulent monotone look for evening, in deep blue taffeta.
For more stylish Dictator fashion, go to foreignpolicy.com*, where I also learned that the President of Nigeria is named Goodluck Jonathan! It doesn’t get much better than that, am I right?
*Thanks, JK!
I LOVE the text at Stylebop.com, a high-end shopping site based in Germany. Maybe it’s the person who does the English translation, or maybe it’s silly in German too. There is always something to delight. For example:
“no worries, this black leather top looks luxurious, expensive and noble and by no means cheap or slutty”
At $965, I should hope not!
The poor boy who jumped off a bridge has captured the public imagination, and it’s easy to see why. For me, it has triggered symptoms of PTSD that are never far from the surface at the best of times.
The one thing that no one wants to address is the use of this boy’s death for political purposes.
A young man who so dreaded being outed to his family that he chose death instead, would NEVER want to become the poster boy for gay suicide. He clearly wasn’t ready to self-identify as gay. Never mind the ordeal for his family, seeing their dead son’s photo plastered everywhere as a symbol of martyrdom.
The GLBT community is understandably shaken, and sincere in its outrage at this boy’s death. But no one cares that the family has asked for privacy. No one cares what the boy would want to be remembered for. If it draws attention to societal prejudice and helps to implement change, then tough shit for the kid and his family.
Poor unwilling martyr! My heart aches for him. It aches for every kid who is bullied about being different. For every person who views their depression as a life sentence. For every son or daughter or mother or father who somehow lost that thread of connectedness that keeps us in this world to fight on for another day.
I just wish we could address a social problem without putting a face on it.
The shoes at Saks.com are like a festival of roadkill.
I’ve always loved fur but something about this footwear trend is making me gag. I wonder how dogs react when they see these things approaching? I’ve tried to decide which pair above is the ugliest, but it hurts to dwell upon them.
On a related note, I am stuck with my Kate Moss Groupie Coat, since no one on ebay was astute enough to buy it from me.
There is no fucking way I’m going to wear this coat and look like a Chanel Yeti or anything of that ilk. I bought it last year in a moment of delirium.
What can I do to make this coat better? I’m thinking of cutting it off to make a short jacket. Is this good or not good? Would I need to hem it? Because I can’t handle that.
Should I add some color with paint or sharpies or something?
I could run a huge contest called “Fuck Up My Coat” and post all your ideas on Flickr, but no, that’s not how I roll. Just let me know if you have a suggestion.
Some helpful readers have alerted me to the Gala Darling wish list at Amazon.com, and it has been a revelation. Here I thought those wish lists were for books you wanted to read.
The list of 348 items that Gala wants is as brazen as Gala herself. It includes cosmetics, chocolate, a personal laser hair remover ($448), magazine subscriptions, soda, and oddly enough, books.
The books are deeply offensive to a literary snob like myself, so don’t make me list them. Let me just say that I’m tempted to fulfill her wish for a copy of “The Haunted Vagina” but I can’t justify spending $7.95 for a moment of perverse satisfaction.
I still can’t understand the appeal of this Gala person, aside from reveling in her awfulness. She makes me feel squeamish. The wish list business suggests a new level of shamelessness that I hesitate to even explore.
But if wish lists are okay for bloggers, I want one too. Here are the preferred items:
1. New roof (somewhere between $4000 and $7,000) Nice to have before the next rainfall!
2. Pay my medical bills from hip fracture, $2,200
3. Pay my auto insurance and gas bills.
4. Nordstrom bill minimum payment $35
5. Facial filler $600 +
Oh god, this list is no fun, no wonder I’m never invited to blogger conferences!
Gala may not want your comments but she wants a shitload of merchandise. Feel empowered to leave her a comment here. I will go first:
Dear Gala Darling, What the hell is your deal?! Why all the icky self-help books when I thought you were a self-help guru yourself? Why the hair-removal? Why the pink? And what’s up with the Nubby Twiglet? No offense, but don’t you guys have mirrors? Sorry about all the questions, just ignore them if you want, cuz I’m not gonna buy you anything, ever. Love, SW
“Suicide is not a rational act. It is an act of desperation, carried out after a monumental struggle.“
If only we could all form a safety net for those who can’t see a way out of their suffering! Please Don’t Jump is a FB page dedicated to just that effort. The gallery of photos is a monument to human compassion.
Read about how media can help prevent “copycat” suicide by responsible reporting.
Death should never be romanticized. People who jump are not in their right mind. When you jump, you take the rest of us with you. It’s not a solution. It is endless trauma. It’s not a gay issue or a bullying issue, it’s depression and hopelessness. We need to stop talking about cyberbullying and start talking about support for those who are vulnerable.
Some organizations were calling for a moment of silence tonight, to mourn the recent spate of suicides. Silence won’t help. I’m calling for a vow to reach out to a troubled friend, family member, loved one or stranger. Remind them how much they are needed. You might not be able to help, but it will never be a waste of time.
