Ava Duvernay Barbie Doll

CHARITY: Project for Awesome

 Every year the Vlogbrothers take over youtube for a weekend of charity. They raise money through crowdfunding, then split the funds amongst the highest voted charities (VOTE HERE). Through Tues Dec 15, you can still donate to the indiegogo campaign. P4A is one of my favorite things on youtube. It’s a lovely reminder of how strong and diverse the community is. It also uses the platform and our voices for good. As of writing this, over $1.4million has been raised. Above is one of my favorite charity videos this year, however there are tons and tons more to see. 

OTHER: Ava Duvernay Barbie Doll

Image courtesy of financialjuneteenth.com

Growing up my parents always tried to buy toys diversely and show me media with a diverse cast. I didn’t realize how important that is until I was older. Mattel made an Ava Duvernay Barbie doll that immediately sold out. Ava Duvernay is a film director that broke down many barriers. She was the first black female director to have a film nominated for best picture at the Oscars. Her most well known film to date is Selma, the historical drama about Martin Luther King Jr. She was the first director I ever knew of that looked like me. #RepresentationMatters

READ: Broke Vs Poor

I’ve been thinking about money and capitalism quite a bit. I read an interesting long form essay by Katie Klabusich. She described being poor as being stuck on a merry-go-round. I don’t consider myself poor however I relate to the feeling of instability. The nature of my work is that I jump from gig to gig and the fear is that the gigs will stop. So far that hasn’t happened but I’m always aware that it could. Katie also gave an interview at The Billfold discussing being broke versus being poor.

WATCHED: Being “The Pretty Girl” Isn’t Always So Pretty In Hollywood: Caitlin Stasey

“As a woman and as a white woman, I can turn on the television, I can see my physical self represented. I can see many many women like me but the forms I find them in are so often contrived, they’re so sexualised. Some of the greatest female heroines have been born in the hearts and minds of men. That’s my difficulty, is watching old white men write for young women or write for any marginalized individual because they just have no fucking idea what they’re talking about.”

OTHER: f.lux

Along with florescent lights backlit screens really strain my eyes. I found f.lux, which allows you to change the color temperature of your computer screen.

Pickle Train Conducters

I was early with last weeks post and late with this week's post. That's just how life goes. This week I want to mention that I am participating in Vlogmas on my youtube channel (more info below). A few months ago, I started working with InconnuMag as an editorial assistant. I'm in their article Q&A: The Cult of Inconnu.

READ: Gas Company Basically wants to Febreeze the Enormous Methane Leak in the Valley

In the Gilmore Girls episode, The Great Stink, a pickle train is derailed and its contents start rotting, causing the whole town to smell. An enormous natural gas leak in Porter Ranch, CA is stinking up the place and the gas company has been struggling to solve the problem. Their temporary solution is to use a "deodorizing mist" to clear up some of the smell while they continue working. In short, a gas company is febreezing the city because it smells of pickles (note: this is my humorous interpretation of the situation). The above clip is the scene when they discuss the pickle train.

READ: Why Consensual Sex Can Still Be Bad
The Cut published an article discussing the need for more nuanced discussions surrounding sex. I pulled out my favorite quote from the article.

“What I want is not for me to have that burden. I want one of my male partners, who are wonderful men who care about me, to have just once been like, ‘No, this is unacceptable to me. I’m not going to continue to have sex with you when you’re not getting off!’ And I can’t imagine that happening.”

PHOTOS: Jenny Holzer's Inflammatory Essays 1979-1982

 

Art Basel Miami has a collection of Jenny Holzer's Inflammatory Essays 1979-1982 plastered all over the walls. I found out about this exhibit via tumblr and it really hit a nerve. The tumblr post has more photos but this one was my favorite. The gif by Cecile Dormeau perfectly fits with the quote.

WATCHING: Vlogmas

In the days leading up to Christmas many people on youtube participate in Vlogmas by uploading a video a day. 

 

Here is my first week's playlist of videos. I'm using Vlogmas to kick myself into making content again and editing my enormous backlog of footage. And by enormous I mean that many of the videos were filmed in 2013.  

Rosianna Halse Rojas, one of my favorite youtubers is also participating. Her videos range from book reviews to travel logs to deep discussion videos. 

 

Booktuber Jean of BookishThoughts is also participating in Vlogmas. Her channel is all about books.