Obviously you want Pacific Rim-themed Valentine’s Day cards.
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Aziza Ahmed, on why zero-tolerance policies are bad news for sex workers and reformers (or reformers who also happen to be sex workers.
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Here is a nonsense garbage decision by a fashion magazine, and it has nothing to do with Lena Dunham.
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In keeping with my longstanding policy “if you are on the road and don’t have time to form an opinion on a breaking story, ask Roxane Gay,” here is her take on Sasheer Zamata’s first night on SNL:
In the coming days, there will be frenzied discussion about how Sasheer Zamata performed in her debut. We know two things for sure — she rose to the occasion with confidence and grace, and she never should have had to.
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The 5K word piece on She’s All That you’ve been waiting for since She’s All That:
A quick word on the cast. Did you know that Lil’ Kim is in this movie? Lil’ Kim! And so’s Gabrielle Union? And Anna Paquin. Even Usher is in this, in a role so unnecessary I can only conclude the casting was some sort of deal made between Miramax and whatever record company he was signed to at the time. Perhaps he was to be the new crossover star – who knows. Also in this movie: Matthew Lillard, still kind of hot from Scream (“I’m feeling a little woozy here!”) and Kieran Culkin (never not good). Looking at this movie from the vantage point of 2014, okay, some have done better than others, but this is a cast that won.
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Her trailer, recast.
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Your favourite novel isn’t just in your head, it’s actually IN YOUR HEAD. (Thanks, Angharad, whose name should have something like “The Just” after it.)
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Ideally, yesterday, you already read this, but if you didn’t, here is a blistering piece in Daily Kos about the actual legacy of MLK, which I think we’ll close with:
That is what Dr. King did—not march, not give good speeches. He crisscrossed the south organizing people, helping them not be afraid, and encouraging them, like Gandhi did in India, to take the beating that they had been trying to avoid all their lives.
Once the beating was over, we were free.
It wasn’t the Civil Rights Act, or the Voting Rights Act or the Fair Housing Act that freed us. It was taking the beating and thereafter not being afraid. So, sorry Mrs. Clinton, as much as I admire you, you were wrong on this one. Our people freed ourselves and those Acts, as important as they were, were only white people officially recognizing what we had done.
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Tags: feminism, link roundup, the internet
Clearly it is impossible to pick a favorite Pacific Rim valentine, but if I had to, this one might be it:
…or this one:
I NEED A PACK OF ALL OF THEM SO I CAN SEND THEM OUT. IMMEDIATELY. IMMEEEEEEEEEDIATELY.
My lucky partner this got for vday last year. Pacific Rim may win though…
https://www.etsy.com/listing/91811524/star-wars-l…
I obviously want all of these Valentine’s cards, and will be sending them all to the boyfriend who went to see Pacific Rim in theatres three times.
OH HOLY WTF RE: BONDAGE CHAIR
Clicked and my eyes went from o.o to O.O
SAME, plus mouth from — to 0
I… just… fuuuuuuck.
First, I can’t wrap my brain around the point of manufacturing those chairs in the first place. They took something that is consensual role play between human beings and literally made objects out of half the people who participate in such role play. How is that not supremely fucked up and also totally missing the point why would anyone think that is okay.
Second, white business woman actually sitting upon hyper-sexualized, hyper-objectified black woman holy fucking shit. If that isn’t the worst kind of symbolic of all the ways misogynoir manifests within feminism then I don’t even. Again with how is that not supremely fucked up and why would anyone think that is okay.
*rageflail*
But.. but she’s Russian! She doesn’t know that you shouldn’t treat representation of other human beings in undignified ways! Especially black people! Russians just aren’t good at dealing with racial issues.
Seriously, that is what the first comment says. I do appreciate the other commenters calling that commenter out on BS.
a) I believe She’s All That is currently available on Netflix streaming; you’re welcome.
b) “We’re going to do that dance I taught you! And I know you’ve been practicing!” (I never received the dance steps for my own prom, so I didn’t go.)
c) Hack. E. Sack. Never. Let it. Drop.
With regard to item c): HAHAHAHA!
I showed that scene to my artist husband to give him an idea of how the world views artists. He was super impressed.
I read “IN YOUR HEAD” and thought “IN YOUR HEEEEEAD, ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE-BIE-BIE-BIE”
“as we read, we believe we are experiencing what is happening to the characters”
Hm. Maybe I need to stop reading Clive Barker.
Yeeeah, if that’s true, why do I like nothing better than reading a quick chapter of unearthly horror as I drift off to sleep?
My main grudge with She’s All That was that Rachel Leigh Cook was never not pretty!
However I did really enjoy reading a 5,000 word analysis on 90’s teen movies. This is my kinda lady.
Gosh wouldn’t it be nice if at least the articles about sex work that have good ideas could abstain from the use of images of women with the faces cropped out?
You should recruit the blogger who did the She’s All That essay. I have only the vaguest recollections of the movie itself, but the piece was fantastic and I was disappointed to find that she hadn’t written about other 90s teen movies, as far as I can tell. (It should be a series! What about Clueless? 10 Things I Hate About You? Bring It On–which I know is technically 2000, shhh.)
Bim is talking on Twitter about doing a series. I am excited for this.
I’m a Toast Reader, and I approve this message.
I will read EVERYTHING about 10 Things I Hate About You.
Drive Me Crazy and Never Been Kissed for me, please! 🙂
Who wants to talk about how great Northanger Abbey is with me? Anybody?
The scene where she’s talking about the new book and her friend thinks she’s talking about coming war! The chest! The secret passage!
It seems like a truly modern book – in the ways young ladies avoid men who are truly awful, and get obsessed with things and communicate badly.
GUYSSSS OMG I heard back from a job that I applied for over 2 months ago!!! I thought it was a lost cause but I have a phone interview with them tomorrow! I’m freaking out a little over how I’m gonna be able to skip out from work for half an hour (since I don’t think I can do it in my office even with the door closed; they don’t know I’m applying for other jobs) – but I’m feeling really good that I actually got an interested response for the first new job I applied for! Terrified/happy right now….
Go you!
Does anyone know if the RedheadWithGlasses that posted frequently at Carolyn Hax’s column is the same Redhead we had sometimes here and sometimes at the ‘Pin? Because if it is, there is bad news in the comments here, and I am worried and sad.
We have redheadedandcrazy, who is definitely not her (we met IRL.) I don’t remember RedheadWithGlasses.
Ahhh, I may have crossed the names in a bit of worry flurry. Still sad to hear of someone’s passing, of course, but also glad that we haven’t lost a Toastie.
…I feel like that sounds crass, I certainly don’t intend to be crass.
No, I actually think a lot (because I’m morbid) about how we’re just all going to gradually die and stop showing up to talk about whatever Benedict Cumberbatch’s latest project is in 2075. It’s weird that we know people we don’t really know, now, and that means that ceasing to know them will be sad and strange.
Aziza Ahmed article is behind a paywall. 🙁
It wasn’t yesterday, that’s a shame!
Ohhhh maybe I can access it by searching for a cache or something? I’ll report back if I end up being able to get to it!
Danke!
YES that piece about MLK is a must-read. Frightening to think some of our (us=Toasties) grandparents lived in constant fear, under constant threat. I just mean, that history is THAT close.
Jaysus, that chair! What the hell?
Also I saw this on Twitter today and it made me think of The Toast’s lists but this was a real thing in history, reasons for admission into an asylum: https://twitter.com/tomhayes1983/status/425675942…
also, watch that Her trailer, because EXACTLY.
I just watched Her last night, and I’m dying at the trailer.
Ahahahaha, that was so perfect. I want to see the whole movie redone with that voice.