Hey bikepirates,

What's the longest bike commute you've ever regularly ridden for any extended period of time? Did you have the option of driving or taking public transportation if you wussed out? How hard was it? What's the longest commute you think you could handle?

Hope this isn't TL;DR! I came across a really interesting post on Tumblr today and thought i would share/put its subject matter up for discussion. The post talks about a recent interview with Lady Gaga in the LA Times. Here's a couple of extracts from the story:

Her new songs address serious themes like women's shame about their bodies and the need for open communication in relationships; her often physically distorting costumes show that the pursuit of the feminine ideal is far from natural. Her commitment to confront the changing notion of what's "natural" puts Gaga on the same road traveled by artists she admires, such as the photographer Cindy Sherman. Her frank talk about how female artists aren't expected to write their own songs or about how young women are afraid to ask for what they need from their sexual partners inches her toward a new articulation of feminism.

..."The great thing about Gaga is she always want to push for the most extreme option," Card said. "She's brave enough to let herself be a canvas for a designer to go and really express themselves. Nothing is off limits! With Rihanna and Beyoncé there is an end result of desirability and unattainable sexiness, whereas Gaga is a really interesting bridge between the desirable and the grotesque. She's not at all worried about looking ridiculous or hideous; actually, I think she thrives off it."

And here's a couple of extracts from the brilliant post on Tumblr:

i feel like there are limits, maybe, to how “hideous” an extremely skinny blonde white girl can be considered...to put it another way: picture a fat woman, or a black woman, or a Latina woman, or a fat black Latina woman, doing ANYTHING that lady gaga has ever done, and tell me people would still be talking about her as some kind of subversive artiste...tell me 95% of the commentary about her outside maybe the feminist blogosphere wouldn’t be ridicule or disgust.

...or to put it another way: white skinny bodies are allowed to be art. you see this all the fucking time in the twee/hipster zones of the world/internet, soft-focus photos in sepia tones with size 2 AT MOST people standing in for melancholy, or wistfulness, or love, or whatever. you don’t see fat girls lying in a field of daisies wearing fishnets and reading haruki murakami next to a picnic spread under a parasol. because then the viewer, it’s assumed, would get distracted by their fatness. skinny bodies (& white bodies) are allowed to turn themselves into things because they are presumed to be blank slates. they’re neutral. fatness already symbolizes things in our culture - laziness, sloth, greed - so it’s not allowed to symbolize other things.

or another way: lady gaga is allowed to play at being grotesque because it’s understood that she is making a choice to be grotesque; fat, non-white, or otherwise atypical bodies already belong to the realm of the grotesque. the choice is made for them. whether it’s as unfuckable (fat women, women with visible disabilities) or inherently sexualized (black and Latina women) or some weird combination of fuckable but not sexual (asian women) or just grotesque and unworthy (trans women).

I think the critique on Tumblr brings up some really interesting and valid points with particular reference to the way we see things on the internet in terms of body types/ethnicities represented in the art and photography we post on our journals, or write about in our blogs, or favourite on Tumblr.

So discuss if you wish: Lady Gaga and her image, representations of 'controversial' women in pop culture, white/thin bodies v everyone else.

I just made a post on my own journal about the Reader's Digest Homemade book I just got. I've got a couple questions on it from people who have the book and tried things from it. I saw the book mentioned in the comments of another post as being really useful. It turned out to be the kind of book I've been hunting for, and I bought it. I think it looks like a marvelous book and has all sorts of things that I'd like to try, but I'm not sure how well everything works.

• How are the recipes themselves? Do they taste good or are they mediocre and need experimenting with? 
• How are the household/personal items? Do they work well or is it better to get some things than make them out of the books? Or does it depend on circumstances?
• If you didn't like the book that much, can you say why? I'm just interested in getting a full spectrum of information, and I wholly understand why people would not like that half of it's cook book.

I just really like the book, and I have plans to use it to pieces--literally. I tried to check through the memories, but I didn't see anything.

Is Walkers French Fries (ready salted) healthy? it says cooked with real sunflower oil on the package.

How about The Coffee Bean Iced blended drinks? It is mentioned in their website that the ones with NSA still contain sugar. Is it like natural sugar or what? Does anyone know?

( Read the rest of this entry » )
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Crosspost from KARAGODIN.COM

I like to buy things off of Craigslist and get things off of Freecycle but I'm a bit worried about bringing in bugs. I really, really can't afford a bug infestation and, until now, have only gotten things that are easily treated or washed before being allowed in the house (closed in a plastic bag before hand, like clothes). I am looking for a little comfy chair for my nephew who lives with me and was wondering about how to make sure bugs don't get into my home. I really like the idea of buying used and reusing things but...yeah. I can't afford a bug infestation.

I'm sorry if i sound kind of paranoid. We had a roach infestation at my job (DV Shelter) because of a radio someone brought in a few years ago. We now close up all electronics in a plastic bag, spray bug spray into it, seal it and leave it in our cellar for 48 hours before allowing it up to people's rooms. I REALLY...can't afford a bug infestation at home (esp. bed bugs or fleas because of kidlet and cats...)

ETA: The chair is a soft chair without any hard pieces to it and a removable washable cover that is just plush fabric. I'm concerned that bugs may be able to get into the interior of the chair.

 Does anyone drink Kava tea? Is it really as dangerous as the Internet makes it out to be? 

I've been no-poo since November and I'm mostly happy. Every third or fourth day, I wash my hair with a baking soda mix. In between, I do hair rinses (I'm actually prepping a fresh chamomile one right now, but normally I stick with apple cider vinegar and rosemary rinses). If I'm feeling extra special, I make myself some homemade conditioning (like honey and oil).

My only problem is that I hate how my hair feels right after the baking soda wash. It seems very harsh. I only wash after there's a build up of oil (short hair shows it) and afterward, my hair isn't exactly happy. I've tried to find alternatives to baking soda online, but they mostly call for baby shampoo or castile soap or soap flakes and that's what I'm trying to move away from.

Any suggestions for making no 'poo less harsh on my poor head?

Hello. I have been on the Nuva Ring (birth control) for 5+ years and am planning on going off of it later this month. It's going to be a huge change for me, but it really bothers me to be loading my body with all those hormones. I've ordered "Taking Charge of your Fertility" to use as a guide and plan on using backup protection until I have learned more. Has anyone been through this? Any advice? Thanks so much.

My girlfriend made this for my sister for Christmas, I just got around to posting this photo of it. I made the pattern for it, and she did the rest.

I can't say I check my local 'zines regularly, but I was bored at work and checked one of my favorites to find an article about a cellist who tours entirely by bike! He does respond to Facebook messages if you want to grill him with questions (I know I did) and I learned about a really cool cause that helps both people and the earth. :D

I missed out on seeing him when he was in my 'hood, but I hope he comes back!

Hi guys,
I've browsed the entries with the vitamin tag and haven't found anything that really makes it clear for me.

I've read that the main critique of multi-vitamins is problems with absorption, as some vitamins can inhibit the absorption of others. So it seems logical to take separate vitamin complexes at different times of day instead of a single multi-vitamin pill. However, I only know of the B-Complex and Calcium-D-Magnesium combinations that are sold as such. Does anybody know any other complexes that combined, could provide the same intake as a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral?

Also, I am wondering about the need to take vitamins in the first place. Technically, a healthy, balanced and varied diet is supposed to provide us with everything we need. But what concerns me ( more... )

para-para-para parañaque!!!!!!!

third world love <3

LET'S FACE OFF!!!!!!