This makes me want to go to Spain

Seen on rednikki's twitter, Spain is mandating standardized clothing sized for women based on 3-D laser imagine of -GASP- real women. This of course comes after they banned super thin women from the runways and mannequins smaller than size 8 from shop windows.

http://www.sunherald.com/311/story/355567.html

On the one hand, maybe this is an example of the government meddling to much in the lives and business of its citizenry. On the other hand, I'd love to imagine what a world would be like where the images I saw in shop windows and magazines and television actually looked like the people that I see in my everyday life. Not to mention the joy I would experience at being able to enter a clothing store, rattle off my personal string of numbers/measurements, and actually get clothing that fits.

What would it be like if the simulacra we were encouraged to consume and emulate actually reflected humanity?

So -- spring break in Majorca -- any takers? Maybe Basque country?

(no subject)

I'm not sure I'm going to have the questioning Vday rant simmer up out of me this year. I have two more days to bring it up to a boil, and odds are I'll spend the time doing yoga and prepping for my class.

However, ame_chan pretty much said it for me:
http://ame-chan.livejournal.com/1645378.html?style=mine#cutid1

YEAH THAT!

and the highlight reel:

"I do not like the idea that it should be about Big Expensive Things. Having this obligation that you've gotta get all decked out in slutty lingerie you paid too much for at Vickie's Secret and ya gotta blow someone because they gave you a diamond? NOT FUN. Feeling like you have to give someone a diamond or feeling like THEY have to GIVE you the diamond or they just don't love you? NOT FUN. How about, all manner of WRONG. I mean come ON. It's a Wednesday. Or a Tuesday. Most years, it's a work night. You might be tired or have a headache and suddenly there's this whole expectation that you're gonna ante up a bunch of crap or put out and pay huge bundles of cash for a prix fixe dinner at a restaurant you normally wouldn't eat at, well that whole expectation puts me right in a crappy mood.

NOT FUN.

I'd rather go have a fancy dinner some night for no other reason than I wanted the fancy dinner right then in that moment.

I'm kind of about keeping it simple, really.

Forget the diamonds. Forget the slutty, overpriced lingerie. Forget feeling like you are obligated to make it bigger, better, more expensive. Unless these things make you authentically joyful, turned on and happy and you're not doing it out of some sense of obligation, in which case, hells YES make with all that stuff.

Forget feeling obligated to put out, because sex is never fun or nice or really great when you're doing it from the standpoint of the calendar, Hallmark and Madison Avenue all dictating you should. Sex it up because you really want to. Or not. It's okay. Let it be juicy and real and great because you are really happy to be there with each other, which may or may not be that particular calendar day. Seriously, it's okay. Don't do it just because they spent two months salary on a piece of rock so now you have to or you're ungrateful. Don't expect the best blow job of your life because you ponied up with the good stuff from Skip and Steve down at Robbin's Brothers.

These are crappy expectations to put on someone you love."

oh my, xkcd

This!

http://xkcd.com/383/