Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My New Hero

I don't know Roann Mathias, but I would bow down to her if she walked into the room right now. I absolutely love her calligraphic style. Here is a video she posted on her web site. She says, "This is my first "music video" featuring calligraphy from various journals and the song by Norah Jones called "Those sweet words."

View it and be thusly inspired.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Not a Cover Girl

The following was posted on XX Factor yesterday by Abby Callard.

On Wednesday, Fox News aired a segment in which it berated Newsweek for not retouching a photo of Sarah Palin that ran on its Oct. 13 cover. (You can see a good close-up here.)

The photo is clearly untouched: stray eyebrow hair, large pores, and wrinkles are all visible on her face. The headline reads "She's One of The Folks (And that's the problem)." But the outrage isn't about the headline at all; it's about the photo. When did untouched become "unfair," as a Republican media consultant claims during the segment? And when did it become a requirement to retouch photos in news magazines rather than fashion ones?

The consultant went on to claim that the photo was "mortifying." Maybe the photo is a little unflattering--who can expect to look great that close up--but mortifying? It's also ridiculous that the three women on the segment prefaced their statements by some form of "Sarah Palin is a beautiful woman." We get it.

If I were Palin, I would upset. Not at the magazine, but at these women who can only talk about her as a "beautiful woman."

And this isn't sexist treatment?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

My Oh My Oh My

Although this reads like an SNL script, it is the actual transcript of a Couric/Palin segment. So sad.

COURIC: What other Supreme Court decisions [than Roe v. Wade] do you disagree with?

PALIN: Well, let's see. There's --of course --in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are--those issues, again, like Roe v Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know--going through the history of America, there would be others but--

COURIC: Can you think of any?

PALIN: Well, I could think of--of any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a Vice President, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.