Dressing to Succeed?

     So the self-proclaimed "hottest sports reporter in Mexico," Ines Sainz, is back in the news today with the same old news of the New York Jets making her feel uncomfortable with their crude behavior. When I first read about the story on Monday I thought, "Wow what Neanderthals these guys are. Can't a beautiful woman just be left alone and not have to endure catcalls and shameless come-ons?" Well today I read another article that made me think twice about my initial opinion. 

     The New York Post began its coverage of Ines by describing what she wore to work after complaining about Jets players and their locker room antics. "Sexy TV sports reporter Ines Sainz slinked into last night's Jet game in a black minidress with a plunging neckline and matching black stilettos." Really? This is what you wear to report on a football game? I'm all for women being able to wear whatever they want without being subjected to the perverted comments that some men just feel the need to make. But at some point you have to take responsibility for it. You just can't change some men. Some men will always be crude. I just think they refuse to learn any better. It's like something ingrained into their personalities that hopefully evolution will eventually weed out. But until then women like Ines have some responsibility. First of,  before I even get into the irrationality of wearing a sexy outfit to cover a football game just a day after complaining about the players' reactions to your looks, I have to cover the professional aspect of it. So just because Ines isn't working in an office at the moment does all professionalism have to fly out the window? She's a sports reporter (one of industries where women have to fight for respect) so she needs to maintain some professionalism for her job no matter where she is covering a story. So since when does dressing as if you're going to a cocktail party constitute as professional work wear? And even if you forget about dressing professionally, how much sense does it make to wear a mini black dress and stilettos to a football game? 

     As if that wasn't enough, after reading the Post's Andrea Peyser's column  on Ines, my opinion of  "the hottest sports reporter in Mexico" was further cemented. The woman has obviously made a career of her looks and enjoys the attention. She competed in the Miss Universe pageant and posed nude. And according to Peyser, Ines's Myspace page is covered in bikini shots. Hey it's her right to do all that and not be judged. But if she's making it obvious that she's using her looks and her statement on being Mexico's hottest reporter doesn't exactly refute that assumption, and she shows up to cover a game wearing clothes fit for a night out, she can't really turn around and complain about the negative attention she gets while doing her job and then show up the next day for work in an even sexier outfit. As heartless as this might sound, if you don't want the attention don't ask for it. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into. 

I'm sure lots of people will disagree with me but it's just my rambling. And for those women who know when to dress for different occasions, I hope they'll see at least part of my point.

Where's the Beef? America's Next Top Model cycle 15

          This is about a week late but before episode 2 of America's Next Top Model airs this Wednesday I need to rant about a few things. So Tyra decided to step things up a notch and actually try to get the winners to become big name models. Why it took her 15 cycles to come up with this, I don't know. But she's finally realized that the winner of a modeling competition should actually become a model, not a reality T.V. star who ends up in rehab like cycle one winner, Adrienne Curry. So this season's winner gets a spread in Italian Vogue and a contract with IMG, a modeling agency that reps some of the biggest names in the modeling industry. Alas, they do still get the same old contract with Covergirl Cosmetics. Which reminds me, has anyone actually ever seen a Covergirl commercial that features the winning model? You'd think that if they spend so much time drilling lines into that poor girl's head, the commercial could air at least once.
          But getting back to the point here. I find it quite ironic that in the cycle Tyra decides to take ANTM to new heights, there is not one plus size model. Forget the fact that there aren't any plus size models who made it as finalists. There was not one plus size model shown during the auditions process. Did all the plus size models just decide not to audition this cycle? I think not. Instead the majority of the models shown looked as if they'd fall over if you breathe on them. Not that I have anything against girls that are super skinny. A lot of them just can't help it and shouldn't be criticized for it. But I think it's hypocritical of Tyra to proclaim she wants women to embrace their bodies and she wants to bring modeling to the masses. Because as soon as she has the opportunity to feature the winner in a high fashion magazine, not one of the 14 finalists is even close to looking plus sized is among the contestants. So I guess she isn't ready to break the status quo in high fashion. Or maybe she's taking baby steps. Instead of having a plus size contestant she's got a contestant with a plus size chest. 30G! I didn't know they go up that high naturally. But I gotta hand to Esther, the girl with the biggest cup size in ANTM history. She can work it in a sample size dress. So maybe designers can take note of that and start hiring models who are blessed with having more up top.
           One other thing also got under my skin as I was watching the premiere episode. Wannabe model Jordan (the one with the pixie cut blond hair whom everyone thought didn't belong because she might have said she doesn't want to be there) kept going on and on and on about how she won't conform to pop culture and that's why she's auditioning for the show. Huh??? Since when does trying to be a model mean you're not conforming? Maybe if Jordan really doesn't want to conform she can put on a potato sack, gorge on anything she can get her hands on till she reaches 300lbs, stop styling her hair and  stop doing her makeup. And then try to become a model. That's the ultimate way saying fuck it to the world, I don't care about what you think is beautiful, I'm gonna do it my way. Seriously, the whole "oh I'm so different, I don't fit in because I'm so weird and I don't care what everyone things and I'm better than the mindless masses who just follow the trends," mentality is overplayed.Doesn't Lady Gaga brand herself on being different and weird? And can you get any more pop culture than Lady Gaga? Nah, I didn't think so.  Instead of following what she calls pop culture, Jordan is just following another trend set by people who try so hard to be different that they end up looking like everyone else who claims to be so different. So how unique is she really? Word of advice to Jordan; Next time you want to whine about how much you hate pop culture and how you're so different from everyone else, just take a moment to think and zip it. It's really not that cool to keep saying how different you are especially when you're auditioning for a MODELING COMPETITION!!!! The people that are unique and different don't have to say so. They just are.

So even though Tyra is trying take things to the next level this season I'm still expecting (and looking forward to) the catfights, insanity, stupidity that the wannabe models bring each season. Oh and the pictures that somehow manage to make every girl look better than she does in person.

Adult Birthdays

I remember there was a time when I looked forward to my birthdays. Birthdays are so cool as a kid. You get cake and presents and everyone makes a big deal out of you turning one year older. All attention is on you. As soon as your birthday is over you look forward to the next one. Now I've had some mixed feelings about my birthday. See as a kid, if you birthday is towards the end of the summer and you look forward to it, you're technically looking forward to the first day of school. Not fun. But nonetheless I did look forward to my birthday. I'd get to go to the amusement park, which was a real treat when I was a kid. As a teenager I still looked forward to my birthday even if I didn't have that same giddy feeling I did when I was in the single digits. As a teenager you have milestones to look forward to. First there's age 13 because that's when you're officially a teenager. Then there's age 16 which is supposedly your sweet 16 although I have had that kind of party. Then there's age 18 when you're finally considered an adult, although you probably still have pretty much the same mentality as a teenager. Age 21 is the really big one, unless you've already found places where you can drink underage but still being 21 gives you way more options.  Bur for me age 19 was a birthday to really look forward to. That was the start of a new and serious relationship and really the first time I had a boy  treat me like a princess. I couldn't wait to see what my boyfriend did. And he didn't disappoint. I still remember the enormous arrangement of flowers he bought for me. Even though I'm not a fan of flowers, I still think of those. The thought behind them was so sweet.Nothing has come close to have the meaning that flowers do. In fact the thought behind everything was sweet. He planned everything so carefully to impress me, his new girlfriend. No birthday has really come close to that one.  Somewhere after that big milestone of turning 21 birthdays just don't feel the same. Even though you no there is no logical reason to celebrate a birthday you still want that feeling you had as a kid. But it's just not there. Maybe it's me or maybe it's everyone as they get older. There's not much to look forward to as your mind begins to fill with thoughts of aging and you realize how fast time goes by. There's no rush to grow up anymore. You're already grown and with the responsibilities of being an adult you don't have the time to savor each moment of the year you're in. But the birthdays themselves have lost their magic. When you're a kid everyone makes a big deal about you on your birthday. But as you get older it's not so much of a big deal. No more surprises unless you're lucky to have someone to plan one for you. If you want to celebrate your birthday you plan it. And there's no excitement in planning your own birthday. And it's even worse when your birthday falls out on a weekday. Nothing dulls a birthday quite like having to go to work.  And celebrating it another day just isn't the same. The magic is on the anniversary of your birth and a bit of that magic disappears when it's celebrated on another day.

So when I have my own kids I vow to make their birthdays as special as I can because there's only a limited number of birthdays that have that magic and excitement attached to them.

Letting Go

Can your love for a person be measured by your willingness to let that person go for the sake of his/her well being and happiness? I thought about that while watching the movie, My Sister's Keeper, which by the way is an incredibly beautiful and touching  film. The plot is what got me thinking about that question. Anna is an 11- year old girl who was conceived by in vitro fertilization to donate blood, bone marrow and eventually a kidney to her older sister, Kate who suffers from a rare form of leukemia. As the film builds up momentum and Kate reaches her sickest point, Anna goes to a lawyer to seek medical emancipation from her parents so that they cannot force her to donate her kidney to her sister. She claims to want control of her own body. But the twist is that Kate asks her to do all of that because she knows will die anyway even with the surgery but their mother, Sara, refuses to acknowledge. Sara does everything she can to keep Kate alive but she cannot grant Kate her only wish; to let her go. And although at times in the film Sara is portrayed as a stubborn woman who believes she knows what's best and doesn't listen to anyone else even if their advice is in Kate's best interest. She freaks out when Kate asks to leave the hospital to go to the beach for a few hours. But Sara isn't an inconsiderate person. She does all of that out of love. She loves her daughter too much to be able to fathom what life would be like without her. That's why she can't let her go. She has to make sure Kate gets a kidney transplant because she has to know that she did everything she could, that she went to the last possible resort to ensure that Kate lived. Letting her go would admit failure and powerlessness. And the pain of losing her would be unbearable. But that made me think. What about Kate's pain?  She spent almost her entire life, almost all 15 years of it, fighting cancer. Going through ups and downs and never getting the chance to live a normal life. Why did she have to keep fighting if she knew this was the end for her? Was Sara selfish because she didn't want to let Kate go? Or can we say she just loved her too much? But then again we've all heard that cliche saying "If you love something let it go." If Kate felt she was dying and nothing could save her should Sara have just let her die peacefully without making her body fight to live? Because after all if you love something you have to let it go when it's time for it go. So then we can say that Sara was selfish. She wanted Kate to live because she knew how miserable life would be without her. A part of her would die too. Because when you let something you love go a part of you goes with it. And that part might never come back. I don't the clear cut answer to all of this. The same question could be applied to so many other situations in life. In a relationship if one person is unhappy and you truly love that person will you let him/her go even if that means you'll be miserable? Or do you do everything you can to try to make that person stay for the sake of your own happiness as selfish as it may be?

 It's tricky when it comes to love. Do you fight or let go?

Nothing like a KoRn Concert \m/

Monday night reminded me why I love going to concerts. And not the kind of concerts where you get to sit in a seat and a relax. I'm talking about the kind of concert where you fight to keep your spot on the floor in middle of a huge swelling crowd of fans while you're headbanging to the heavy riffs and breakdowns and throwing your hands up in the air, fingers forming the horns universally known as the symbol for rock music. You're half singing half screaming the lyrics to songs that you've listened to almost obsessively because in some way you can relate to those words. And as you're singing/screaming the singer makes his way to the side of the stage you're standing at and you hope that maybe out of all the other faces in the crowd he sees yours. He sees the passion on your face as you rock out to the song he helped create. That's your moment. And that's why I love those types of the concerts. Even in a large space filled with hundreds of people you can feel the intimacy of the concert because you can see the band (if you're lucky enough to be somewhere near the front) and you believe that they can see you. 
Two nights ago I went to my first concert since August to see KoRn play with Mutiny Within and 2 Cents at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. All the bands were incredible but KoRn blew me away!The crowd went wild for KoRn. I've listened to them for so many years, since high school, but this was the first time I saw them in concert. And I can't wait to see them again. The energy they gave off was amazing. Seeing Fieldy slap  his bass while in a trance-like state almost gave me chills. I've never seen it played like that live. It was awesome. And then having Munky come over to the side of stage I was standing at to throw guitar picks was one of those moments where you feel some sort of connection with the band. You shout and jump up and down hoping that he notices you. (Too bad I didn't catch any guitar picks, though) And then there's Jonathan Davis. The guy can get away with wearing kilts and Adidas sweat suits and make them look cool. And he's so consistent. His image hasn't changed since the band began.There is nothing like seeing him perform in person holding onto KoRn's iconic microphone stand while headbanging to the heavy bass and drum beats with his long dreads swinging back and forth. He emitted so much great energy while performing that you couldn't help but feel energized yourself not matter how tired or beaten up you felt. And that is the best thing about seeing one of your favorite bands perform live. Nothing can top the energy you feel at the show. It's contagious. I go for that energy. I don't go to concerts to jump into the mosh pits or start fighting with the person next to me (although sometimes I can't deny feeling that aggression) The music is all the energy I need. And maybe I'm showing my age but I just don't understand how some people can enjoy the performances while pushing and fighting with each other. I don't need any of that childish crap. Hard rock and metal runs through my veins. That's all I need to feel alive. 

No Room for Patriotism Anymore

While I never really meant to comment about anything vaguely political in this blog, I just can't help myself after reading an article on MSN.com about 5 teenagers who were sent home because they wore clothing decorated with the American flag. I actually reread the first line of the article because I couldn't believe that a public school in America would punish students for having the American flag displayed on their clothing. I mean seriously, what has the country come to? Students are being punished for patriotism! But the real kicker is the reason why the principal sent the boys home. The boys wore their American flag bandannas and t-shirts on May 5. Or as we've all come to know it, Cinco de Mayo. The principal felt that since it was a Mexican holiday the boys should be sensitive enough not to display the American flag in a school that has a large Mexican-American  population. According to the article the school's administrators called the clothes "incendiary" and said they would incite fights on school grounds.  The teens were given two choices: Turn the shirts inside out or get suspended. They went home to avoid suspension.  One Mexican-American student was quoted saying, "I think they should apologize because it is a Mexican Heritage Day. We don't deserve to get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on the Fourth of July." Well for starters I find it offensive and disturbing that someone who lives in the United States is offended by the nation's flag. It shouldn't matter that these boys wore t-shirts decorated with the American flag on Cinco de Mayo. I don't know if the boys decided to wear these t-shirts on May 5th to make a point or to start something. That's besides the point.  As Americans they have right to wear the t-shirts whenever they want to. But their rights were stifled by extreme political correctness. There is nothing wrong with ethnic groups having their cultural days to celebrate here. That is the beauty of this country. Everyone is allowed to celebrate their cultures freely. The ugliness here lies in the fact that American patriotism was not allowed. To facilitate other ethnic groups and cultures, Americans have to be extra sensitive to the point where it crosses a line. It crosses the line of freedom of speech and expression. And let's not forget we are all Americans here anyway. No matter what country you came from if you are living here as a citizen you are an American. I am the child of immigrants and my parents strongly and proudly identify themselves as Americans. Partly because they came here to escape a country that was persecuting them and didn't allow for the opportunities that we have here. That's a huge reason why many people come to this country. Partaking in the American Dream should also involve having pride and patriotism for the country that has accepted you and has given you opportunities.  Patriotism and pride is what unifies everyone who lives here. If we don't have that unifying factor to unite us and give us common ground then what will happen to the strength of our country? It'll get weaker as I fear it already is. 
Even after reading the article a few times I still could not wrap my head around the reason why the boys' clothing was so offensive to the Mexican-Americans in the school. The statement from one girl comparing Cinco de Mayo to the Fourth of July also confused me. July 4th is Independence Day. It is the day that we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. So I did some research on what Cinco de Mayo celebrates. It commemorates the unlikely victory of the Mexican army over the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  So while it is a patriotic holiday for Mexicans and a day of celebration and pride it is not Mexico's day of Independence. That day is in September.  So no comparison could be made to the Fourth of July. And while I understand that Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated here and in some way has become a pop culture thing, it is still a Mexican national holiday. That being said, those boys should not have been punished for wearing the American flag on American soil. Now if they showed up wearing the French flag on their t-shirts I might understand why the Mexican-American students would get offended. 




Oh and while we're talking about political correctness here's another interesting tidbit. Comedy Central is working on a cartoon about Jesus that depicts him as "a regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow." Funny that Comedy Central could possibly air a cartoon about Jesus that will probably ridicule him and offend many Christians but they can't air Muhammad in a bear suit. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?


Here's the link to the Comedy Central article.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gxnZK5i67vuSLHEv_p8Db2L9mCAgD9FHICJO0

Feeling Good from the Blindside

I just finished watching The Blindside and the one word that came to mind as the ending credits rolled was "wow." Knowing that the movie is based on a true story makes it even more amazing. Watching this movie and witnessing how one woman changed a boy's life so drastically can make nearly anyone feel good and want to do good. I know it sounds kind of sappy but I don't know how else to describe it. I wonder what would have happened to Michael Oher if Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family never took him in. No one else paid much attention to him even though he was hard to miss. This makes me wonder how many people like Michael Oher fall through the cracks of the foster system? How many children have potential and want to do something with their lives but never have anyone to care for them and guide them in the right direction? It's really disheartening to think about it but that's the reality of the situation. I'm sure hundreds of children never get the chance to reach their potential because they were unfortunate to be born to parents who can't even take care of themselves. And then many of them get placed with foster parents who are just in it for the government money. I've never really been the kind of person to think about these things. I'm more like the person who can read a sad story in the newspaper and think to myself how horrible that is and feel bad for a moment but then  flip to the next page and never look back. But this movie made me think. And maybe that's the purpose it served for many people who saw it. Many people who are like me and need to see a portrayal of one of those sad stories to really feel the impact of it. And on the other hand maybe we need to see the actions of a kind hearted person like Leigh Anne who took it upon herself to change a young man's life and give him the family  he's never had. Seeing how someone can open her heart up so much to a stranger can make you wonder what you can do. It makes me wonder what I can do. What the Tuohy family did was extreme and is not realistic for most people. But there are smaller things that people can do. Whether it's through charity, volunteer work or pursuing and becoming dedicated to a career that allows you to help people. And while I'm still finding myself I have added another item to my list. Finding some way that I can make a difference. Maybe I should have pursued a career as  a teacher. It must be amazing be an amazing feeling to know that you were that one teacher that made a difference in a student's life that he or she will never forget. But either way I do feel inspired by this movie to try and find my way to do something good. So maybe The Blindside isn't just purely entertainment. Maybe it can inspire everyone to try and find a way to their part.