Marilyn Wann is an amazing woman.  Not only has she been one of the most recognizable figureheads of the fat-acceptance/love movement, but she spearheads a website, wrote a book, and now, she’s making scales.

The good kind!  Whenever you step on the Yay! Scale, not only are you treated to the squish of funfur, but you’ll see a positive affirmation of your awesomeness spin into place before you.

What are you waiting for?!  Bop on over and check it out.

And as an administrative note, I’ll be out of town December 20th – January 5th, so there won’t be any roundups until the second full week of the new year. I know, I know, you’re all heartbroken. But I promise great pictures of Baja when I get back.

Arts & Entertainment

• Agent Lover: Late Night Feelings – An Interview with Nathan Appel Talking with a contributor to a new erotic photography site, FLNGS
• BoingBoing (Lisa Katayama): Why it’s Time to Lighten up About “Weird” Japan Why do so many love to gawk at this mysterious, foreign “other” that is Japanese culture?
• The Daily Beast (Taffy Brodesser-Akner) Who’s Killing the Soaps? With the cancellation of As the World Turns, a former soap-opera magazine editor dishes on daytime’s dwindling world
• Manolo for the Big Girl: Big Girls in Art – Les Toil’s Pinup Art Loving, joyous, and vivid pin-up images of large women, and only large women
• M.I.S.S.: Fashion Meets Music – Francoise Hardy One of France’s Yé-yé girls produces both signature music and style
• Poetic & Chic: Amish Abstractions at the de Young An exhibition of Amish bedding the abstract designs that pre-date Abstract Expressionism and Op-Art

DIY

• Blogher (Karen Walrond): How to Use Photoshop to Enhance Your Best Images Not to give people alien-looking waist/thighs
• DIY Life: Make a Sweater Wreath Got a boatload of old winter clothes you need to get rid of? Make festive decorations!
• M.I.S.S.: She’s Crafty – DIY Multi-Chain and Ribbon Necklace Use your old chains to create a bold statement piece on the cheap

Education

• Blogher (sassymonkey): Publishing Wars – Hardcovers versus E-books The debate between a book in the hand and a book on the drive continues
• BoingBoing (Ned Sublette): Principles of Postmamboism A portable theory that places music at the center of understanding and uses music to interrogate other fields of study
• The Daily Beast (Douglas Rushkoff): The Decade Google Made You Stupid Technology has changed your brain over the past ten years, mostly for the worse
• Discover: With a Blood Sample & 20 Minutes, Nanosensors Could Detect Cancer The next leap in eradicating cancer is happening now
• Neatorama (Stacy): 43 Facts about 44 Presidents Fun factoids for every US leader (remember: Grover Cleveland counts for two)
• New York University, Office of Public Affairs: NYU Researchers Develop Non-invasive Technique to Rewrite Fear Memories Reactivating fear memories in humans allows them to be updated with non-fearful information

Fashion

• Bonne Vie: The Rebirth of – The Hat Love ‘em or hate ‘em, hats are back!
• Cupcakes and Mace: 5 Style Trends of the Decade – The Great and the Ghastly A personal look at styles to love and love to hate
• The Everyday Minimalist: How the French Keep it Simple and Obtain that Fabulous “je ne sais quoi” We could learn a thing or two from the French
• Retro Chick: An Evening of Vintage Hair Styling Styling demonstrations by Flamingo Amy in Norwich hair salon Flint followed by some live music in Lady Luck’s Boutique
• The Skinny: 4 Ways to Achieve Mixmaster Status Mixing prints may be risky, but it’s one of the easiest ways to rework your favorite garments and get more mileage out of your wardrobe

Food

• Closet Cooking: Candied Bacon That’s right. Candied bacon.
• The Daily Beast (Rachel Syme): How Top Chefs Stay Thin Yep – eat healthy, exercise, and indulge occasionally. Sound advice, I think.
• DIY Life: How to Hold a Wine Glass By the stem? Cupped in your hand? What’s correct?!
• EcoSalon: Got Mortar? Along with the Pestle it Makes the Kitchen Grind Greener An old-fashioned tool makes cooking greener and more satisfying
• EcoSalon: Test Tube Steak – It’s What’s for Dinner If test tube meat was made tasty, affordable, and cruelty free, would you willingly buy it?
• Gwen Bell: 5 Teas to Taste Even if you’re not a tea drinker, these picks sound perfect for chilly winter days
• Serious Eats (Chichi Wang): The Nasty Bits – Pork Neck Posole New Mexico can churn out some interesting and spicy food (and culture)
• Zested: Christmas Croquembouche Croquembouche, a spun sugar tower of cream puffs, is French for “crunch in the mouth.”

Positive Life

• In the Library with the Lead Pipe: How do You Say No? The abil­ity to say no to tak­ing on a new project is directly related to men­tal well­ness and a healthy work/life bal­ance
• Positively Present: The Best Ways to Embrace Solitude When we have the opportunity to spend time by ourselves, we should embrace it and realize that solitude is a gift
• Sexgenderbody (Millie Jackson): Something for Every Body – Well into the New Year Positively reframing our goals make them easier and healthier to achieve
• Through the Illusion: Stop Apologizing and Start Rocking Your Self-Esteem! Combating that evil voice in your head that tells you you’re bad

Sexuality

• Blowfish Blog: Why Did Gayness Evolve? A discussion of the evoluntionary benefits of homosexuality
• Psychology Today (Nigel Barber): Ladies in Heat? Scholars argue that women have estrus, or sexual heat
• Sexis (KalCobalt): Your Kiss, Your Fist What is it about fisting that captures the minds of its devotees?
• Tranifesto: Sexualized or Sexy – The Fine Line The fetishization of transpeople tends to erase “sexy” from the board
• Violet Blue: A Visit to the Musee d’Erotisme in Paris (NSFW) A visual tour of erotic artwork

Travel

• Almost Fearless: What Redesigning Your Life and Traveling the World Really Means The hard part? Giving yourself permission to be wildly, irresponsibly happy
• Blogher (Pam): Sleeping Well While Traveling Tips and tricks for getting the rest you need while you’re on the road
• Just a Titch: San Fransciso Re-Cap Amy’s weekend in that city full of hills (and tasty coffee, apparently!)

Work, Money & Organization

• Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist: Underrated Career Skill – Asking Questions How to ask the best questions in order to get the best answers
• Wisebread: Hold that Resume! 5 Red Flags in Online Job Listings What to watch out for when looking for work online

Arts & Entertainment

• Chinashop: The Bunny Museum – A Strange Brew of Rabbit Stew Like a foam pit you used to see in gymnastics or P.E., except it is FILLED WITH THOUSANDS OF BUNNIES
• The Daily Beast: The New Italian Renaissance (Rachel Wolff) A controversial show celebrate 40 years of sex, death, and Arte Povera
  
• Gala Darling: John Lennon A tribute to the famous Beatle on the anniversary of his assassination
• The Sassy Minx: Inspiro – Gemma Correll Interviewing the felt-tip pen illustrator about her love of pugs (and her drawings)
• We Love DC: We Love Arts – Dana Ellyn, Divinely Irreverent An overview of the artist’s insightful paintings

Body Talk

• Body Impolitic: Body Image Language – The Interpreter’s Task A mother’s struggle to impress body-positive language on her daughters
• The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living: The Fat Girl’s Guide to Ice Skating Being queen-of-the-ice doesn’t require a svelt body…but you might get one

DIY

• The Art of Manliness: How to Rotate Your Car Tires Never run on cupped wheels again
• Instructables: DIY Vinyl Wall Art Get huge Tim Burton swirls on your ceiling for about $50

Education

• Discover: Does Testosterone Cause Greedy Behaviour or Do We Just Think it Does? (Self-explanatory title, I think)
• Don’t Feed the Animals: Playing with Probability What are the odds?
• Life: Ethiopia’s Vanishing Tribes A photo essay illustrating the beauty of disappearing African culture
• Neatorama: Getting to Know Nostradamus (Jill Harness) The myths, hoaxes, and truths about the (in)famous prophet
• New Scientist: Homosexual Selection – The Power of Same-Sex Liasons Is homosexual behaviour evolutionarily beneficial?
• Psychology Today: Body Language Myths The prevailing myths about nonverbal communication
• Psychology Today: Unlocking the Mystery of the Artistic Mind Science is using art to learn about the mind, but great artists turn out to be the world’s first neuroscientists

Fashion

• Already Pretty: Button-Downs – Why, How, Where The all-purpose, yet hated, button-down explained and vindicated
• Dramatis Personae: High Fashion & High Art – Two Worlds Apart? Examining the difference between a knockoff and the genuine article in terms of art and licensing
• Frock ‘n’ Roll: Storage Solutions – Accessories Where to put all those dangly, sparkly, shiny things we love
• Nubby Twiglet: Shoe Care Secrets How to take care of your beloved footwear
• Poetic & Chic: Beautiful Biba An in-depth retrospective on a famous 60s brand that is often referenced today
• Style on a String: Leggings vs. Tights These things are not pants

Feminism

• Guardian: Feminist Books for Five-Year-Olds Reading lists of subversive gender-role books for young kids

Food

• CBS4 Denver: First Gourmet Marijuana Restaurant Opens in Denver A medical marijuana dispensary idecided to get creative and make the business into a full-service restaurant
• The Cooking Photographer: Rolled Gingerbread Cookies, a Very Old Recipe A holiday favourite, old-school style
• The Daily Beast: Cookin’ with Coolio (Rachel Syme) The legendary rapper produces his own fusion cuisine in a bestselling cookbook
• Irreference: DIY Peppermint Bark for the Holidays The great equalizer: Candy
• The Kitchn: Fancy Flavors – How to Infuse Olive Oil Put any delicious flavour into your cooking by adding a few simple ingredients to your oil
• M.I.S.S.: Healthy Bites – Freshman 15? Forget about It! Avoiding those extra college pounds by minding your eating
• Serious Eats: The Nasty Bits – Rabbit and Garlic Soup Many eaters are discouraged by the idea of cooking that which you can buy at a pet store
• Wisebread: 6 Questions to Ask Before You Buy Ground Beef Think about where that hamburger comes from

Health & Beauty

• Destructo Deviations: Toxic Beauty – The Toxic 12 List There are hidden things lurking on your bathroom counter that could harm you

Positive Life

• Already Pretty: Loving Your Inner Self How do you move away from feeling inferior and when is it okay to change?
• Positively Present: When You Want to Cry, Laugh Instead If you want to wake up laughing, to see the good in even the worst situations, you have to work at it
• Productive Flourishing: Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth Don’t “yeah, but” your way out of greatness
• Rabbit Write: Rabbit’s Guide to Therapy An experiential and researched guide to going, being there, and leaving
• Simple Marriage: Expectations…The Path to an Unhappy Marriage Grow your happiness by lowering your expectations and growing your gratefulness

Sexuality

• Bitchbuzz: Violet Blue and “The Future of Sex” It’s digital. It’s mechanical, pumped with AI and completely uninhibited.
• Genderfork: Detransition, Retransition What are the reasons for reversing or stopping gender transition?
• Sexis: Knife Play (KalCobalt) Bringing blades into the bedroom
• Sexgenderbody: GFE vs PFE – Definitions of a Sexual Encounter Know your escort acronyms in order to get the experience you’re looking for

Social Issues

• Racialicious: The Melting Pot 2009 – Job Applicants Choose Assimilation as Means of Economic Survival Black Americans are increasingly forced to delete signs of their race to find employment
• What Tami Said: When Allies Fail, Part 2 The responsibilities of marginalized people who want to work with allies

Travel

• The Coveted: Heart and Seoul The long-awaited post on Jennine’s trip to Korea (only slightly marred by getting sick)
• Gawker: How not to get Arrested While You’re Abroad – A Foxy Knoxy-Inspired Guide How not to be that guy gal when you’re in a foreign country

Work, Money & Organization

• Compound Thinking: Things I’ve Learned about Time Management Don’t do it, avoid thrashing, and how saying “no” lets you say “yes”
• Stratejoy: A Restless Generation Generation Y’s desire to work to be happy instead of work to live is a result of its upbringing
• White Hot Truth: Kissing Ass, Quantum Leaps, and the Power of Being Unqualified Getting the job when you have zero training in the field
• Wisebread: The Joy of Buying a New Car – 7 Car Buying Tips In the vast confusing world of automotive retail, what should you know before you buy?
• Wisebread: The Best Online Swap Sites Buying new is so pre-recession and there’s no excuse not to get out there and start trading.

Arts and Entertainment this week has Danielle Meder’s Toronto-fashion paper doll book and a review of Influence – because the Olsen Twins have been frickin’ adorable since they were tiny tv tots.  There’s also some fascinating thoughts on Gay Superheroes; an article that muses on the connection with superheroes, and how that opens doors for everyone – no more us vs. them.

Our Body Talk section asks you to look in the mirror to see who’s really there – it’s you, and you’ve got beauty in all the right places!

The Education section offer’s Simon Doonan’s view on Pauline Bonaparte and why she was such a babe.  There’s also some insight on loneliness – a common holiday affliction.  Learn you somethin’!

In Fashion, Ms Agent Loverrrrrr breaks down the Rodarte for Target line and Michelle at Wicked Whimsy talks about the practical quality of what you buy.

Since it’s the holidays, there’s a bajillion (or like 9) Food links.  We love food – can you blame us?!

Our Health and Beauty section weighs in on Pilates, Yoga and Vitamin E.  And for the ladies with light eyebrows, Zoetica has a fantastic tutorial for filling them in.  No more pencil for those brows – it’s all about the powder.

To beef up your Positivity, we fully believe in the “get from life what you put in” philosophy, and there’s a great article on that.  And Generation Meh wants you to know that “You can’t erase, but you CAN revise.”  That seems to be some of the best inspiration we’ve heard all day!

Our Sexuality articles offer some insights on how porn is overly demonized.  Also, are there gray areas of sexual consent?  I bet your answer is no… you should read on, to find out!

Social Issues this week explores the fat revolution (the Food Network is trying to slim people down!?).  Someone should email Christoper Kimball from Cooks Illustrated and tell him I need less butter in EVERYTHING in the Test Kitchen cookbook!  >_<

The Travel section has a bunch of beautiful places to visit.  Star went to New York, Zevs has creepy places to stay, and the Amazon Basin awaits.  Go forth, young one!  Be amazed!

In Work and Career we have a few talented minds weighing in on working for yourself, keeping up with your clients, and your career versus your need to bear offspring.

Arts & Entertainment

• Clutch: Gay Superheroes Defy Homophobia & the Down Low Phenomenon?
• Final Fashion: Paper Doll Book (& Photoshop Contest!)
• Instant Vintage: It’s a Long One
• M.I.S.S.: Reminisce with M.I.S.S. – Queen Latifah
• Stickers and Donuts: Interview with Minty Lewis – Part 1 and Part 2
• Worn Fashion Journal: Book Review – Influence

Body Talk

• Already Pretty: Mirror, Mirror
• Positively Present: Looking For Beauty in all the Right Places

Education

• The Daily Beast (Simon Doonan): Pauline Bonaparte – Dead Cool
• Livescince: Lonliness Spreads Like a Virus
• Orion Magazine: Ecological Inheritance

Fashion

• Agent Lover: Rodarte X Target
• Alixrose: Step out of Your Routine & Be in Living Color – Eyelids Style!
• Already Pretty: Reader Request – Accessory Balance
• Bonne Vie: The Case for a Knockoff
• Hijabtrendz: Hijabtrendz Exclusive – Sunglasses Modeled after the “Burqa”
• Racialicious: Shopping with Squaws – Irregular Choices Gives Itself a Bad Name
• Wicked Whimsy: Practical Quality

Food

• The Asian Pear: Baking as a Science
• BoingBoing (Lisa Katayama): Taste Test – Raw Eggs
• Cakespy: Instant Pleasure – Pumpkin Cake in a Mug from Coffee Mug Cake Cookbook
• Closet Cooking: Butter Pie Crust (Pate Brisee)
• Fabulously Broke in the City: Homemade Pita Bread and Hummus
• Gourmet Traveller: Whipped Brandy Butter
• The Kitchn: Eating Local – Would You Ever Hunt for Wild Game?
• Lemondrop: Climb Aboard My Gravy Yacht
• Serious Eats (Chichi Wang): The Nasty Bits – Frankenstein’s Frog, Stir-fried

Health & Beauty

• Astrocytoma Brain Cancer: Vitamin E
• Biorequiem: Blush Response 003 – The Prophesied Eyebrow Tutorial
• Lisa Johnson Fitness: Pilates vs Yoga

Positive Life

• Generation Meh: You Can’t Erase, But You Can Still Revise
• The Happiness Project: Eight Tips to Know if You’re Being Boring
• Psychology Today: Go Ahead, Say You’re Sorry
• Raptitude: The Things We Said Today
• Wisebread: A Superior Life – What You Put in is What You get Out

Sexuality

• Blogher (avflox): Like Water for Chocolate and Semen for Depression
• CNET News: New Research Suggests That Porn Is Overly Demonized
• Daily Dose of Queer: Labels on the Gender Spectrum
• Rabbit Write: Gray Areas of Sexual Consent

Social Issues

• The Daily Beast (Nina Simonds): Jamie Oliver’s Fat Revolution
• Foreign Policy: The Militarization of Sex
• FWD/Forward: Budget Cuts Work in Funny Ways

Travel

• Almost Fearless: 10 Tips for Traveling by Dugout Canoe in the Amazon Basin
• Timeidol: 8 Most Beautiful Bridges in the World
• Zevs: The World’s Creepiest Places to Stay a Night
• This Is Star: New York

Work, Money & Organization

• Blogher (paulag01): Staying Grounded in the Face of Big Clients or Big Money
• Give Me Back My Five Bucks: Who Spends More – Men or Women?
• Nubby Twiglet: Freelancing 101 for Graphic Designers
• Well-heeled, with a Mission: Maternity Leave & Career

• ChinaShop (Dustin Downing): Reverend Butter
• Clutch: Matrix & Terminator Creator Sophia Stewart Won Landmark Trial
• Hijabtrendz: Hijabtrendz Exclusive – iCover
• Nothing Elegant: Winter Muse – Geraldine Chaplin

Body Talk

• Already Pretty: The Story of Your Body
• sexgenderbody (Millie Jackson): Something for Every Body: Happy Thanks-giving
• We Are The Real Deal: The “Exposed” Trail of Fame

DIY

• Already Pretty: Video Tutorial – The Zipper Flower
• Love, Maegan: Marabou Feather Vest DIY

Fashion

• Awakened Aethestic: Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers Part II
• The Daily Beast: The 10 Most Valuable Models
• The Demoiselles: Wing Tips – Finding a Tailor
• Denim Debutante: The Do Nots of Taking Care of Denim
• Dramatis Personae (by Michelle): The Hat’s out of the Bag!
• Gala Darling: Lovely Lavender Ladies

Feminism

• BlogHer (Suzanne Reisman): Do Working Moms Lose Child Custody in Divorces?
• BUST (Carmen Rodi): Smells Like Teen Spirit
• O Filthy Grandeur: Presentations of Violence and Gender in the Twilight novels

Food

• BoingBoing (Lisa Katayama): Taste Test – Natto, Gooey Fermented Soy Beans
• The Casual Art of Procrastination: Bitter and Dark – Chocolate
• Eco Salon (Anna Brones): The Complete Protein Dessert – Delicious Quinoa Spice Cake
• The Kitchn: Cookie Time – 9 Cookies We’d Like to Bake Soon
• Serious Eats (Chichi Wang): Seriously Asian – Thai Curries, Part Three
• Serious Eats (Erin Zimmer): Taste Test – Store-Bought Stuffing

Health & Beauty

• Clutch: Bleach, Nip, Tuck – The White Beauty Myth Part I and Part II
• The Daily Beast (Liesl Schillinger): The Great Mammogram Debate
• Frock ‘n’ Roll: Um, Can I Sniff You?!
• Sexis (Elizabeth): (Willful) Ignorance is Bliss

Positive Life

• Generation Meh: In Praise of Stopping the Clock
• Positively Present: Are the People in Your Life Positive?
• Raptitude: Same Same But Different
• Stratejoy: The Gutsy Girls’ Guide to Success

Science

• Discover: This Could be Last Call for Alcoholic Energy Drinks, Says FDA
• Eco Salon (Vanessa Barrington): A Global Analysis – Is Biotechnology Really the Only Way to Solve Hunger?
• Wired: Algae and Light Help Injured Mice Walk Again

Sexuality

• Cuntlove: What is Healthy Sex?
• FWD/Forward: Disabled Sexuality and Disempowerment Through Fetishization
• Reuters: Boehringer Drug Shown to Kindle Female Sex Drive
• Sexis (Kal Cobalt): The Kink Corner with Kal Cobalt – Predicament Bondage

Social Issues

• Pandagon: Looking at Releasing Dirty Pictures as a Form of Sexual Assault
• What Tami Said: When Allies Fail – Part One

Travel

• Almost Fearless: Traveling Pregnant – Hiking and Tubing the Jaguar Reserve
• The Art of Nonconformity: Midnight Train to Tbilisi, Georgia
• The Bloggess: Japan, Part 2(ish) – Tommy Lee Jones Needs to Mind his own Business
• Fabulously Broke in the City: Ne jamais ecraser le buste vers l’assiette
• Stickers and Donuts: What I Love About: Amsterdam

Work, Money & Organization

• The Everyday Minimalist: The Consumerist Minimalist
• Gwen Bell: The Hard Truth about Entrepreneurship
• Retro Housewife Goes Green: Lowering Your Bills by Going Green
• Wise Bread: What it Really Costs to Own a Home

Arts & Entertainment

• BlogHer (Nordette): Sapphire’s Push: Merciless Honesty
• BoingBoing (Cory Doctrow): Pratchett’s “Unseen Academicals” – A Gift to Discworld Lovers and an Argument for the Importance of Sport
• The Daily Beast (Rachel Kramer Bussel): American Striptease

Body Talk

• Already Pretty: Just Deserts
• Athena Magazine: Real Beauty
• The Coveted: Everyone is Beautiful

Fashion

• Awakened Aesthetic: Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers Part 1
• Broke and Beautiful: Be My Paper Doll with M641
• Chinashop (Gala Darling): Hopeless Hotel
• Dramatis Personae (by Birdie): A Girls’ Guide to Faux Eyelashes
• Denim Debutante: How to Easily Find the Right Denim Sizing for You
• Ginger Won’t Snap: Converse Sneak Pek + Flare 30th Anniversary
• Wicked Whimsy: Handbag Heaven – A Review

Food

• BlogHer (Alanna Kellogg): Three Vegetables to Cozy up to When the Weather Turns Cold
• Fabulously Broke in the City: Recipe – Vanilla Almond Pound Cake
• The Kitchn: Chez Pim’s Mix-on-the-Counter Flaky Pastry Dough
• Serious Eats (Maggie Hoffman): Seasonal Fresh-Hop Beers
• Well-Heeled, with a Mission: How to Host a Dinner Party for Less

Health & Beauty

• Clutch: Therapy in Black and White
• The Demoiselles: Inside Out – In this Skin
• Destructo Deviations: Miss Destructo’s Beauty Secrets
• We’re the Real Deal: The Breastfeeding Diet – Myths, Facts, and Mixed Emotions
• Wisebread: The Pros and Cons of Retail Clinics

Interviews

• Mademoiselle Robot: Mademoiselle Robot Still Loves You – Catching up with Steve Damstra
• The Sassy Minx: Are You Dating a Werewolf? (Francesca Lia Block)

Positive Life

• Hannah, Just Breathe…: The Art of Saying “No”
• Positively Present: It’s Okay to be Happy
• Psychology Today (Matthew Hudson): Magical Thinking
• Rabbit Write: Exploring What Intimacy Means
• The Sassy Minx: Dear Me…

Science

• Asylum (Dan Solomon): Paranoia Alert – Existence of Semen Allergies Verified by Doctor
• Discover: NASA’s Plan to Irradiate Monkeys Raises Cruelty Concerns
• Don’t Feed the Animals: Evolution and Our Thought Process

Sexuality

• Apricot Tea: Coitus – My Personal, Honest Married-Sex Story
• Asylum (Brian Fairbanks): The Best Playboy Covers of the 1970s
• Fast Company: A New Vibrator by Yves Behar Arouses our Interest
• Sexis (Mother May I): The Talk
• Sexgenderbody (arvan): Ins Kromminga: Gender Binary is Absurd

Social Issues

• FWD/Forward: In Which Homework is Assigned
• Psychology Today (Satoshi Kanazawa): Why Do Some Battered Women Stay?
• What Tami Said: Stuff Black Folks Don’t Do – Creating our own Oppression

Travel

• The Art of Manliness: Mountaineering 101
• Dream Sequins: Notes from Thailand (Part Four) – Phuket
• Nothing Elegant: An Okie Expedition – Bartlesville
• Sexis (The Bloggess): The Bloggess Does Japan – Rearranging the Furniture in a Sex Dungeon in Tokyo
• Wisebread: 8 Free (and 4 Cheap) Things to do in Auckland with a Toddler

Work, Money, & Organization

• Already Pretty: Grouping – An Easier Route to a Happier Closet
• BlogHer (Morra Aarons Mele): Cobbling Together Maternity Leave – What’s the Best Strategy?
• The Happiness Project: Eleven Myths of Decluttering
• Ittybiz: Deceptive Marketing Techniques – Which Ones Are You Using?

AND just in case you missed it, the Hive Mind here at Bonne Vie (that is – Jaka and the Bird!) had some excellent features on Media Literacy this week – so check them out!  The idea is extremely important when you’re reading these (and any!) articles.

So without further ado, on to the fun!

Arts & Entertainment

• BlogHer (Maria Niles): Will You Watch “What I Hate About Me”?
• ChinaShop (Shop Keeper): The Kids are Sick – The Studio’s Sicker

Body Talk

• Athena Magazine: Big Fat Revolution(s)
• BlogHer (Susan Wagner): Glamour’s Plus Size Photo Shoot – Real Change, or Trend?
• Psychology Today (You’d Be So Pretty If…): A Moment of Body “Thanksgiving”
• Yes and Yes: It’s all Good. No, Really. All of It.

DIY

• Love, Maegan: Leopard Belt, Chains, Accessories DIY
• Prom Mafia: Designer Scarves for $5

Fashion

• Already Pretty: Reader Request – The Side View
• ChinaShop (Gala Darling): Rodarte in Target
• Denim Debutante: How to Find Your Perfect Pair of Jeans
• Doe Deere Blogazine: My Beautiful Rocket with Audrey Kitching
• Dramatis Personae: Gilt – A Review
• Fashionably Marketing: Dispelling Illusions – The Reality of Fashion’s Night Out
• Final Fashion: Just a Thought – All the Rage
• Katie Senior: Mascara Reviews

Feminism

• The Daily Beast (Queen Rania Al Abdullah): Queen Rania – Stop Ignoring the Girls!
• O Filthy Grandeur!: Does “Lady Stupid” Exist?
• sexgenderbody (arvan): 2009 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development

Food

• The Amateur Gourmet: Where to Buy Ethical Meat?
• BlogHer (Beth Terry): Saving Money & the Planet with Baking Soda – How Many Uses Can Your Think Of?
• The Daily Beast (Keith Wallace): How Wine Became like Fast Food
• Sparkle and Glitter: Quick Post – Creamy Leek Sauce Recipe!

Interviews

• Agent Lover: Dear Menz – With Special Guest TNUC
• Clutch (Zettler Clay): Nia Long – Back by Popular Demand
• The Sassy Minx: Five Minutes with…Pearl Love

Positive Life

• Generation Meh: Anti-Adulthood-What’s Behind Generation Y’s Reluctance to Grow Up?
• Positively Present: Kicking Ass with Kindness
• Rabbit Write:  The Meaning Behind What You Wanted to be When You Grew Up
• Rapititude: What Five Days of Silence Taught Me

Science

• Don’t Feed the Animals: Dolphins Offer a Glimpse into Brain Evolution
• Through the Illusion: How to Deal with Dyslexia

Sexuality

• The Blowfish Blog: 101 Sexual Positions that Won’t Spice up Your Sex Life
• Consumer Reports: It’s Tough Being Perfect, but We Found 7 Condoms that Are
• SOVO: Officer Dani Lee Harris is First Intersex Person to Lead Pride Parade
• sexgenderbody (Annabelle River): Queering Heterosexuality
• The Three Muskequeers (Chavery): Quite Frankly…

Social Issues

• FWD/Forward: The International Symbol of Acceptance
• Racialicious (Thea Lim): Cheerleader Blackface-The Cultural Function of Pretend Shock
• sexgenderbody: The “Guardian Angel” of Gulf Transsexuals
• The Sexist: Write to Rape Victims – Sometimes, it’s too Late to Say No
• Sour Grapes: Implausible Deniability
• What Tami Said: Civil Rights, but Just for Me

Travel

• Almost Fearless:  This Place Exists – The Amazing Wild Buffalo in the Yukon
• Dream Sequins: Notes from Thailand (Part 3) – Chiang Mai
• Sexis (TheBloggess): The Bloggess Does Japan (Memoirs of a Geisha. Sort of.)

Work, Money & Organization

• BlogHer (wellheeledblog): Philosophy of Credit Card Use: A Method, not a Source
• Everyday Minimalist: Simplify Your Routines
• Financial Samurai: A Weak US Dollar Doesn’t Matter, Folks!
• WiseBread: Networking Basics for Regular People

The media literacy articles this week have been designed to open our collective eyes to the hidden messages in the information and ideas that we consume on a daily (even hourly) basis.  I sincerely hope that it’s been helpful.  I’d like to wrap up with a segueway and an extrapolation about the ways we choose to use what we learn from those messages.

I like to pretend that I’m a literary person; I’ve read both Brave New World and 1984. Both books impacted my worldview in lifelong ways. Yet, for some reason, I never thought to compare and contrast the ideas the authors present. Whose vision of our future is correct?  Thankfully, Stuart McMillen drew this incredible comic for simps like me.  I highly encourage you to take the time and read the entire thing, let it process, then think about what our society has become today.  Who was the better prophet?

Personally, I’m of two minds on this one.  Before, I would have automatically said that Orwell had it down, no question. But the more I delve into the instant messaging, instant news, instant update, instant viewing world of the internet and all it offers, the more I think I sway towards agreeing with Huxley.  As a first-world country, we have everything we could ever want to sate our impulses for food, sex, gossip, and general “feelgood” and we can get it in an instant.  Sometimes even for free.  I think that’s the real devil here – luxury and the overabundance of sensation, not a lack of information (which I do believe exists, but not to the point of destroying us on a personal level).

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The Bird response:  “I don’t necessarily think these two dystopian ideals are meant to be pitted against one another. Regulation of feel-good luxuries (even if they’re incredibly bad for you) spurns Orwellian societal response. Yet, in many dystopian tales, we see societies that overdose on pleasure or create the “perfect society” by removing pain and suffering, which leads to a placid and thoughtless society (watch the movie Equilibrium to understand this theory). We’re almost leaning towards Huxley’s dystopia today. I mean, Ford is coming out with these new “Smart Trucks” and every time I see those commercials, I envision HAL 9000 saying, “I’m sorry, Bird, I cannot open the drivers’ side door” as it flings us off a cliff. My thought: where one theory doesn’t get us, the other will.”

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Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  Bueller?

Image courtesy of msventura

So now that we know what media literacy is and why it’s important, what can we do to become more aware of what we’re taking in?  The next step is to take action.  In order to dissect and understand the messages our media are sending, we need a knowledge base and a method of operation for tackling what we’re consuming. Today, we’re going to talk about the two most common devices, as well as arm ourselves with seven easy questions to ask about any piece of media.

Roald Dahl’s notes for words in The BFG, courtesy of the BBC

Persuasive language is likely the single most-used method of getting across an author’s message.  Words are the currency that we deal in the most often; each one’s meaning can range from insignificant to world-changing, completely dependent on emphasis, placement, and context.  They easily trigger emotions with the faintest of effort and sway our opinions with careful diction.  All language has this ability, but there are special kinds of language and special ways of using it that produce astounding results.  Changing Minds has a fantastic list of ways that language can be tamed and formed around our intentions to send a particular message.  Any or all of these could be utilized in a single piece of writing, be it a newspaper article, scholarly research, song lyrics, or film dialogue, in order to sculpt our reactions and influence our thoughts.

• Final impact: Put the impact at the end of the sentence.
• Hidden commands: Burying commands in sentences.
• Intensifiers: increasing the emotional impact of a statement.
• Object focus: Focus on the object and let the subject slip by.
• Power words: Words that have special meaning.
• Pronoun language: I, you and so on add power.
• Sensory language: Language that evokes senses.
• Short sentences: Like this. That work. Of course.
• Temporal language: Changing time and hence meaning.
• Trivializing words: Deflating what others say.
• Using pauses: Adding power with very largely nothing.

Manipulating data in graphs is one of the most common ways we see facts and figures presented to fit a particular message.  The process is, at its core, simply the re-sorting and rearranging of research data without fundamentally changing it.  However, as any statistics student can tell you, it’s not always practical to start your axes at zero and create the chart from there; sometimes the numbers are too high or too low to show that way.  Many people use this gray area between exact representation of data and practicality to alter the way they present numbers.

For example, the graphs above show two very distinct ways of presenting the same numbers.  The chart on the left groups findings into categories, shows three fat bars, has wide ranges of MPG, and uses 5-digit increments on the y-axis, leading us to believe that there are lots of cars that get high gas mileage.  Yet, it starts its x-axis numbering at zero; this shows us no cars that have MPG ratings between zero and 19.  The chart on the right presents each MPG rating as an individual skinny bar marked along the x-axis (which starts at 25, rather than zero) and uses 2-digit increments on its y-axis.  This arrangement leads us to believe that there is a wide variety of MPG ratings, most falling on the “low” end of the scale, with only a scant few on the high end.

Both of these graphs present the exact same information, the difference being that details like using a range (versus individual bars) and the numbering of the x- and y-axes can greatly influence the way we perceive the data.  And, in addition to noting these discrepancies, we should also be looking for what is not there.  What size engine did these vehicles have?  In what year were they tested?  What condition were they in?  Under what environmental conditions were they tested?  All of these factors can sway the “meaning” of the raw data, so it’s vital that we know how to question what we’re seeing.

THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: Look out for persuasive language and data manipulation!

Questions to Ask:

• Who is the author and what is their affiliation (if any)?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the purpose of the message?
• What techniques are used to attract my attention?
• If there are tables, graphs, or charts, how is the data presented?
• How might other people understand this message differently?
• What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented/omitted?

Armed with this basic knowledge and these analytical questions, we can decipher any hidden information that may come our way.  While we generally trust that people say what they mean and that numbers never lie, both words and data are constantly undergoing a careful grooming process (whether intentionally or not) to help support the author’s ideas.  Again, this is not to say that any author of any work is out to get us or trying to “hurt” us.  We all send out messages in our writing, our photography, our videos; being media-literate is the key to mastering those messages and becoming aware of those trying to reach you.

Recommended Reading

• Beyond the Screen – John Pugente helps us analyze the messages in popular films
• Don’t Buy It – PBS Kids points out advertiser’s tricks and gives tips on how to avoid them
• History of Media Literacy in the USA – Decade by Decade
• How Journalism’s Changes are Changing Our Ways of Knowing

Image courtesy of Fiona Otway

This week in Canada is Media Literacy Week, November 2-8th; seven days focused on increasing awareness of the messages carefully constructed in the information we are constantly consuming.  While it may be a foreign holiday for most of our readers, we feel that it’s vitally important for people to have a grasp on the ideas and manipulations that can be hiding in anything from a book to an advertisement to a movie to charts/graphs to the news to a blog post.  In the ever-ready, up-to-the-minute-news world of the internet, it’s more important now than ever before that people are actively engaging their brains when they read/hear anything that’s been passed off as “factual”.

So, what exactly is media literacy?  What does it actually mean?

Very basically, it’s the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in both print and non-print sources.  It’s not about being right or wrong, but about learning to question the motivations of the producer (author, director, photographer, journalist,etc).  Are they reorganizing and reshaping data to look more favourable towards their cause?  Are they using manipulative language or literary devices to evoke a certain response?  Are they choosing to show some elements but not others in order to push us to agreeing?  Yet, this is not to say that there’s some mass diabolical, malicious scheme going on across all media everywhere (although some conspiracy nuts believe otherwise); all producers of media inevitably write from their own viewpoint and only a small percentage are intentionally designed to “hurt” you.  If we are questioning and evaluating the works themselves, we can learn more than what is outwardly presented and grow in our understanding of the world.

Here are some key concepts, courtesy of the MedicaLiteracyWeek.ca site:

1. Media are constructions: Media products are carefully constructed. They are created with a purpose and from a particular perspective, using specific forms and techniques. Media literacy works towards deconstructing these products, taking them apart to show how they are made and exploring the decisions and factors behind them.

2. Audiences negotiate meaning: We all bring our own life experience, knowledge and attitudes to the media we encounter. Each person makes sense of what he or she sees and hears in different ways. Media literacy encourages us to understand how individual factors, such as age, gender, race and social status affect our interpretations of media.

3. Media have commercial implications: Most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit. In addition, media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution. Questions of ownership and control are central because a relatively small number of individuals control what we watch, read and hear in the media.

4. Ideological messages underpin all media: Explicitly or implicitly, the mainstream media convey ideological messages and notions of values, power and authority. In media literacy, what or who is absent may be more important than what or who is included.

We’ll be talking about being media-literate, and what it means, today, tomorrow, and Thursday.  Our goal here is to encourage everyone to look more critically at what messages they’re consuming and how they may be inadvertently manipulated (for good or ill).  We’ve got to make sure that we can ask the right questions about the right topics in order to fully understand what we’re reading/viewing/hearing.  It’s vitally important that people take responsibility for their thoughts and not allow a fancy graph or cleverly-worded article to throw them off the truth.