Erm, You Sure You Want To Be On Film With That?

You know, Teen Starlets who have nude photo scandals probably shouldn't do commercials like these:



That said, I though Vanessa Hudgens had nothing to be ashamed of or to apologize for. I just wish I could have been there for this pitch meeting...

You Stay Classy

BWE knocks it out of the park...again.

The title of the piece is "let's all try to be classy about this." And it's a letter, honest to God, pleading with the media, its/their mother's milk, to be respectful about Heath Ledger's death.

Way to go, BWE. I fucking love you guys.

It's Called *Comic* Con.

Here's an article about how the Writer's Strike could hurt Comic-Con. (via The Comics Reporter)

Up front: I hope the Writer's Strike is resolved soon. An unbelievable amount of people and businesses are suffering financially because of it. Entire related industries are drying up because movies and shows aren't being produced. This is a serious economic problem.

That being said...

If the Strike affects numbers at Comic Con, I won't be disappointed. I'm not one of the people who feels that Hollywood is "ruining" Comic Con--I've only been to two of them, I'm really unqualified to make that assertion. However, my informal opinion is that having a lesser presence will improve several Con problems.

1. Congestion. The heaviest congestion day on the main floor, from what I saw, was Sunday. Why? Because Thursday through Saturday, you had several thousand people off the floor at all times. You had huge numbers in the big ballrooms, and you had equal, if not greater numbers of people waiting in lines to get into the next panel in those same rooms. This cleared up the floor considerably. None of the big panels were held on Sunday, so all of those people went to the floor--many for the first time all weekend, I'd conjecture.

2. Sales. This is really just conjecture on my part, but go with me on it for a second: If more people at the con are there for comics-related things, more comics-related things will be purchased. Additionally, because fewer people there for Hollywood will buy memberships, there will be more memberships available for comics-oriented attendees.

3. Tone. As I said above, I've only been to two Comic Cons. The difference between the two, though, was palpable. That may have as much to do with the upsurge in genre movies and television shows between 2006 and 2007, but the result was the same: so much more attention being paid to the shows and movies, less to the comics.

4. Hotel Room Availability & Price. This is the big one, kids. The cost of going to Con has skyrocketed. In 2006, my boyfriend and I stayed in The Days Inn Gaslamp. The sign on the door said our room--a very small smoking room whose promised wireless didn't work--was $99 a night. The other night, I called to book a room there again, just as a backup, in case the rush to book rooms totally fouls up this year. The room, the same room, was $400 a night. That's a 400% increase! In two years! That's absurd. And even though more hotels go up each year, this is a situation that will only ever get worse as Comic Con grows.

Once again, I'd like to see the Strike resolved as quickly and amicably as possible. But I also can't help but hope that if it does continue, it makes it a little easier and less expensive to go to San Diego this July.

Depila-story

Australian Backlash Against Brazilian Waxing Marketed to The Tween Set.

Um, yeah. I'd hope so!

God love (or hate) you if you even had pubes at ten. No, really.

And I say this as a person who shaved their legs incredibly early. I Nair'd for the first time at 10. Too young, you say?

Consider this: My legs looked like those of a chimp. Why? Because I'd had major surgery, and was in a body cast for three months. My mom got vitamin E strips to place on the scars, but they had to be stuck on with bandaids. I still can't listen to the Unplugged version of "Layla" and not think of that morning, wincing as I pulled each bandaid off, trying not to scream as all those hairs were pulled with them. (That song was on heavy rotation on the radio that year.)

The following March, we were going to Florida for spring break. Yeah, as a ten year old, no one would be looking at my legs. But I was still a blonde with thick black hair and stubble on my legs, and I was really self conscious about it. Moreso than the scars, to be perfectly honest.

A friend of my grandmother's was scandalized, even when she heard the reason. My mom shrugged her off. (Note: My mom also let me use an excessive amount of Sun-In right before I'd had the surgery. I was pretty indulged that year. I also looked like a raccoon two months later.)

But really, bikini area depilation? Before 14? Aw, hell no. Once you've got 'em, do whatever you want with 'em. I know I was more concerned about stray hairs and bathing suits long before I was concerned about what an "activity" partner thought.

Of course, you have to wax if you're going to wear your A&F tween thong, right?

Politicikin'

And so, it has begun. Red, blue, liberal, conservative, neo-con, paleo-con (thanks, Todd!), et al.

Actually, it really began about a year ago, but now it's on like Donkey Kong.

I've been really enjoying James Grant's hyper aggressive (I mean this in a good way!) efforts to educate people. He just posted an excellent link, and I'm going to share it with you all.

http://ontheissues.org/default.htm

Simple, elegant, and informative.

USE IT OR LOSE IT, PEOPLE.

I haven't decided who I want to vote for yet. I'm just enjoying the madness for now.