A Girl With A Blog

Dear Tina Fey,

* I had to go to Perez Hilton/A.P. for this too but at least he gives T Fey some love!

Tilda scares the hell out of me, her and Agyness Dehn should invest in spray tan!

Whoopi in a dress?? 

There was such a big deal about Jennifer Aniston walking the red carpet tonight at the same time as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie but where was she?

My favorite part of all award shows is the red carpet arrivals so let's get in to it!

SEXY PEOPLE

I haven’t decided if I totally agree with this article, mostly cause I really looked up to Jesse Spano as a kid... I also admired Zee Zee from Salut Your Shorts, Dana from Step By Step, Daria and that girl who lived with Eric Matthews and Matthew Laurence in the later episodes of Boy Meets World. I loved seeing these smart girls get the guy and keep him in his place. That said, I totally thought of myself as a Kelly. From Good Magazine and references to Jezebel, check it.

Did Jessie Spano Doom an Entire Generation of Feminism?
Posted by: Patrick James on February 16, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Maybe it had something to do with how often—and on how many networks—the show seemed to air, but Saved by the Bell was one of the cornerstones of my generation. It was by all accounts a terribly acted and horrifically written television production, yet I love it. But behind its bubbly charm lies some tacitly damning social commentary—none more dubious than with the environmentally-minded feminist character of Jessie Spano. Jezebel and a few other blogs want to know: Did Jessie Spano Ruin Feminism?

A friend of mine and I recently had a long discussion regarding “The Jessie Spano Effect,” which we deemed “the unwillingness to call oneself a feminist for fear of being labeled an uptight, neurotic bitch.” For every stance Jessie took, be it against being called “a chick,” standing up for the environment, or taking a anti-sexism stance on not one, but two beauty pageants, she is shown to the audience to be uptight, lame, and stuck-up. She’s not the pretty girl like Kelly, nor is she the cool girl like Lisa. Jessie Spano is the girl that everyone should be, but nobody wants to be.

The Jezebel piece goes on to bemoan the fact that the actress who played her, Elizabeth Berkeley (pictured above beside her onscreen chauvinist boyfriend, A.C. Slater), needed “to play a Vegas showgirl to distance herself from Spano,” which “speaks volumes, as well. Because god forbid anyone get typecast as a feminist! Heavens, no! Now off with those pants, lady friend!”

But if Spano did a disservice to feminism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she wasn’t the only youth culture culprit (consider every teen make-over movie ever). The character type is one forged over and over again in fictional high school stories: the annoying, nerdy, environmentally conscious, book-reading shrew. Here a few more stock feminists from the era.

“Natalie Anderson” (Nina Siemaszko): Corey Haim’s twin sister in License to Drive, she dates a Kant- and Zimm-reading boyfriend and she, unlike Haim, is able to study for and pass her driver’s test. How lame!

“Jeanie Bueller” (Jennifer Grey): Matthew Broderick’s rule-abiding older sister in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off grows so resentful of her brother’s feckless (and consequence-free) fun, that she ends up melting down and making out with a drug-dealing Charley Sheen (after being arrested for “prank calling” the cops).

Just about every woman in PCU is a man-hating, boot-wearing, militant feminist. While these misogynistic depictions are both satirical and hilarious, they don’t leave women a lot of options in terms of self-construction.

The latest Mills Bills and Tendercakes

I just checked out Nylon's gallery of Marc by Marc Jacobs from fashion week and I am in love. Hopefully my favorite store (despite the possible underpaid chid labor thing) Forever 21, will copy like it's hot and I can get the same look. I love seeing belts with dresses, layers, short flirty skirts, tights with socks and boots. It gives me a second chance to perfect the Clarissa Explains It All meets Winnona Ryder in Reality Bites meets current style. Everything about this collection makes me swoon like a 12 year-old at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Check out my favorites!

Sometimes there a weeks that don't go your way and then there are weeks that are so ridiculous it is unbelievable it must be shared.

Day 1
3AAA Sections
-bus was late and didn't know how to get to the school
-one dancer was pulled last minute
-coaches room only had bagels
-teen girls and their attitudes
-late bus in the cold
- got lost on the way home
Movie- The Reader
Migraine

Day 2
Migraine continued
Day-Long Text Argument
Saw a body removed from an apartment complex
Ice Cream
Movie- A secrecy pact keeps me from telling the title

Day 3
Still no word from jobs I have applied to
Dance
- Fought with the dancers over unimportant details
- Got really lost on the way home
- Showed up 40 minutes early to class
- Realized I am the slowest learner in the group
- I also have the lowest level of endurance possible
- Choreographer copied my competition music for our hip hop routine

Day 4
Still no word from jobs I have applied to
Dance
- Fought with the dancers over unimportant details
- hobbled around on a pulled hamstring
Stayed up late writing a paper with my brother

Day 5
Still no word from jobs I have applied to
Went to work for the agency
- spent time on an old client video
-returned keys
-got a parking ticket
-went home to find I returned my house key by accident
-drove back to get it and learned the video wasn't fully uploading
Dance
- got a call that my dancers used the extra studio keys in the middle of the day and were caught by the athletic director and I needed to go in and speak with the a.d. the next day... great.
Drank way to much with younger brother and decided to brainstorm ideas for a youtube channel... yikes.
Missed a friend's birthday party

Day 6
Still no word from jobs I have applied to
Spent all day trying to fix a video. Nothing worked
Dance
- walked in to get the keys and was approached by my A.D. who said '' I should fire you.'' It turns out my dancers told him that I A. gave them the keys and B. knew they were in there. None of which was true. Also one of these keys was a copy, something I also knew nothing about.
-Argued with my dancers
Got lost on the way to friends' apartment
Went to dinner and miraculously avoided a horrible accident. Why someone would decide to turn on to a one way from the middle lane of traffic and attempt to cut off the person in the turn lane is way beyond me.
Walked in to the wrong restaurant with partner in crime

Day 7
Still no word from jobs I have applied to
Was stood up by a friend to get some work done but secretly really happy to sleep in
Deciding on going to State to watch AAA Jazz finals with the same girls responsible for the key incident
Ready to be a third-wheel at Bev's Wine Bar... it will be a lot of fun, I'm pumped for it!

(CNN) -- Saudi King Abdullah has appointed a woman to the council of ministers for the first time as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, networks including Saudi state-run Channel One reported Saturday.


Saudi King Abdullah has appointed a woman to his council of ministers for the first time.

King Abdullah announced a new supreme court chief, minister of health, justice minister and information minister as part of the reshuffling, according to Channel One.

King Abdullah appointed Noor Al-Fayez to the Saudi Council of Ministers. She will serve in a new position as deputy minister for women's education.

"People are very excited about this," said Khaled Al-Maeena, editor-in-chief of Arab News, an English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia. "This sends a clear signal that the King means business. Instead of appointing some bureaucrat, he appointed a woman."

Jamal Khashoggi, editor-in-chief of Al-Watan Daily newspaper, told CNN the reshuffle signals a major change in his country.

"This is a huge step forward, in education, women's place in society," said Khashoggi.

The new appointments are the largest council shakeup since King Abdullah took power in 2005.

Maeena also said the other new appointments by King Abdullah were very "progressive" moves.

Sections are done and the season is almost over for the SHDT. I can't believe we made it out alive and only have a talent show and a few basketball games to go. I decided that, despite the ups and downs, I will be back next year in some way. I don't think it will be as an assistant coach but hopefully a more creative role with a focus on workshops, competition days and choreography.