Assvertising

David Griner at AdFreak describes the point of this advert as: "Quiznos has foot-long meat tubes just waiting to be jammed in the hotbox for you." That pretty much sums it up.

I would have loved to be in the room while the ad team hashed out how to gender the oven and the Quiznos employee. "If we give the oven a chick voice, the suggestion that the oven is a vajayjay will be too obvious, and if we make the employee a chick, it will be too creepy, and if we make them both chicks it won't make any sense, so let's make 'em both dudez, I guess. It's kinda gay that way, but that just makes it funnier!"


[Full transcript below.]
Oven: Scott, I want you to do something.

Scott: Not doing that again. Got burned.

Oven: We both enjoyed that. Now I want you to introduce my greatest creation—the new toasty torpedo.

Scott: The new toasty torpedo?!

Oven: Yes, Scott. You make one.

Scott: Me?

Oven: Put it in me, Scott. [pause while Scott looks vaguely horrified] It's over a foot of Quiznos flavor on slim, sleek ciabatta for only four dollars. Say it, Scott.

Scott: Only four dollars?

Oven: Say it sexy.

Scott: [sexily?] Only four dollars.

Oven: Sexier.

Scott: [sexier?] Only four dollars.

Voiceover: Quiznos! Mm mm mm mm mm—toasty!
[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven.]

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Separation of Church and Taste

Hey, I've got nothing against you Christian types, what with your ancient rites and rituals and piety and stuff. I've fucked dated my share of Christians, including a (former) conventual friar. I like certain aspects of your religion. Thou shalt not kill, for example. That's solid. Some of the stuff I'm not so keen on. Your hatred of money isn't for me. And I am pretty sure i don't want to smell like myrrh.

But, let me tell you, if there is one thing I ain't gonna do is sprinkle my mashed potatoes with Christian salt. An atheist has to maintain his principles, after all.

Which is why I've* created Cthulhu's Atheist Salt:


It's just like regular salt, but without any of that "blessed by an Episcopal priest" nonsense. And I assure you no rabbis came anywhere near this stuff either. It's yummy, it's tasty and it won't burn your tongue simply for being a nonbeliever. Coming soon to a health foods store near you!


* When I say "I've created" what I mean, in fact, is "Liss created," but being an atheist, I'm not bound by that "thou shalt not lie" rule.

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Daily Kitteh



Shaker Kelley's gorgeous Cornish Rex Minka

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A Lesson in Survival

From the BBC:

Japan has certified a man aged 93 as the only known survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both hit by atomic bombs towards the end of World War II.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US plane dropped the first atomic bomb.

He suffered serious burns and spent a night there before returning to his home city of Nagasaki just before it was bombed on 9 August.

He said he hoped his experience held a lesson of peace for future generations.

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Wednesday Blogaround

Today's blogaround brought to you by ShaxCo, makers of Sartre's Biscuits.

Recommended Reading:

Renee: The Ebony Experiment: Is It Racist?

Sandy: "Defective premises tend to recur in new settings"

Andy: From the Vermont Senate Marriage Hearings, a Young Voice

Echidne: Did You Know...?

Tami: "Have the last 64 days been a relatively colorblind time?"

SB Gypsy: Border Violence

Leave your links in comments...

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That's Entertainment!

Back in February, I wrote about an upcoming film starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman called The Baster, based on a short story by Jeffrey Eugenides about a man who finds out his ex-girlfriend is going to artificially inseminate herself and secretly replaces the donor sperm with his own. And, yes, it's a comedy.

But wait—it gets better!

Shaker Lesley just emailed me about an online posting seeking extras for the film, which will, according to the posting, "feature some cruel humor." The extras being sought include:

• "heavy set women who is able to ride a bike and comfortable in provocative wardrobe who is comfortable having profanities shouted at her"

• "woman with a round face, small eyes, and upturned nose who is comfortable having profanities shouted out at her"

• "rail thin teen boy with bad skin, bad acne"

Sounds like a laugh riot.

Do Aniston and Bateman (and Jeff Goldblum, who's also in this piece of rubbish) really not have enough money? Because they're sure not doing this film on principle; in fact, it appears they're doing it despite its utter void of anything resembling any sort of principle that's ever existed in the same galaxy as common fucking decency.

I continue to be amazed that, in spite of its being an unceasingly vomitous font of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ablism, fat hatred, and other sundry bigotries and hostilities, and in spite of the consistent examples that its major players will exchange all reason and conscience for a big paycheck, and in spite of its ubiquitous thinly-veiled version of the conservative veneration of Teh Market, merely substituting ticket-buying filmgoers for marketeers with the same intractable insistence on ignoring the commentary provided by who isn't participating in their rigged game, and in spite of the plethoric evidence that films like Norma Rae* and Brokeback Mountain are huge and notable exceptions, not the rule, and for every Brokeback Mountain there are 10 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larrys, and for every Matt Damon there are 100 Dane Cooks, Hollywood is nonetheless yet regarded as a bastion of liberalism.

My fat, bike-riding, profanities-deflecting ass.

--------------------------

* Hello, that was made when I was five.

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Impossibly Beautiful

Shaker LibraryPrincess sent me a heads-up about this post at Gawker, about the discovery of an unretouched picture of Complex magazine's latest cover model, Kim Kardashian. I'm guessing no one will be surprised that, despite the fact Kardashian is famously curvy, she was still "too curvy" for publication—not to mention too dark-skinned and too "human-looking" with all her leg veins and everything.


Just a quick reminder about the nature and purpose of this series: It's called "Impossibly Beautiful" because it's meant to illustrate how no one can ever be beautiful enough, that no matter what you look like subtle "perfecting" would be done to your picture by an industry whose continued survival is contingent upon women (mostly, although they're coming for you, too, men) feeling never good enough.

And, to that end, comments that try to suss out what changes, exactly, were made, and even comments noting that, for example, the removal of laugh lines because they are ZOMG wrinkles actually robs a face of its character or humanity, are welcome. But lately many of these threads have turned into discussions of how "she looks prettier/hotter/better in the candid picture" and associated commentary that would certainly make me feel like shit if I were the person being discussed. So I really want to discourage that sort of thing and reboot this series back to its original intent, implicit in which is the question: If no one can ever be beautiful enough, then to what end is the pursuit of an elusive perfection?

[Impossibly Beautiful: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine.]

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Another Spoonful of Stupid

I've avoided writing about this for a while because A) I am lazy, and 2) I was waiting for this story to be debunked as a hoax. Clearly, this idea is so asinine, no one could be so stupid as to actually try this. Right? Because you'd have to be a right real fuckin' moron to get so pissed off about kosher salt that you'd try to market an alternative "Christian salt." But that's exactly what some douchebag is attempting.

Joe Godlewski says he was inspired by television chefs who repeatedly recommended kosher salt in recipes.

"I said, 'What the heck's the matter with Christian salt?'"
Newsflash, Godlewski: Putting kosher salt in your food doesn't make it more Jewish (and therefore, by extension, less Christian), it just makes it more salty. And this world has no need for a Christian alternative to kosher salt, the same way the world has no need for a Christian alternative to pop music. In fact, if that pop music analogy is any measure, your salt is gonna suck ass. Fortunately for you, it's pretty hard to fuck up salt.

Explaining himself, Godlewski said "This is about keeping Christianity in front of the public so that it doesn't die." Yeah, because you hardly ever hear about Christians anymore. Christianity is like the Jordache of religions, gone the way of the Triceratops (but not because of evolution, mind you).

If this this Christian salt thing takes off, Godlewski plans to branch out to other items, including "rye bread, bagels and pickles."

(Via Pam's House Blend, a couple weeks ago.)

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Thoughts and Prayers Needed

Shaker KathleenB has a request on behalf of her dad, who has metastatic small cell cancer, which started in his lungs and has spread to his brain and ribs. He's gone through chemo and radiation, and today he will find out how well the treatment has worked. So if all of us could spare a few healing thoughts or prayers, if you're the praying sort, for, as KathleenB asks, "my family, and everyone else who's
dealing with cancer," that would mean a lot to her (and me).

And please feel free to use this thread not only for well-wishing, but to make your own request, if you need some good energy from the community for any reason.

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USA: Beacon of Stupid (C-Span Edition)

During this morning's Washington Journal, a nimrod called in to express her support of Eric Cantor and Michele Bachmann (!), followed by an interesting tirade:

The people that drink from the kool-aid seem to think that there is a magical tree of money behind Washington and their theory is that if you want to go on a diet, you should eat more cakes and steaks. And if you want to stop drinking, you should fill your house with alcohol. I mean it's insanity. But what really is scaring the rest of us, the other half of us, is the fascism. I mean the true fascism that is happening in this country today. […] The belligerent takeover of a one-party system.
This caller seems to suffer from the classic can't-remember-anything-before-the-last-five-minutes syndrome. Had she not been afflicted with this terrible disease, she just might remember her hero's advice on how Americans should sacrifice during times of war and (at the time) an imminent recession: Go shopping. But no, that's not insanity in her world. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

And then there's her fascination with the word "fascism." Like plenty of other words in the English language, this is one that is thrown around quite a bit without realizing what it even means. So, as a service to someone who is clearly afflicted, I'll provide a summary of the term, care of Wikipedia:
Fascism is a radical, authoritarian nationalist ideology that aims to create a single-party state with a government led by a dictator who seeks national unity and development by requiring individuals to subordinate self-interest to the collective interest of the nation or race. Fascist movements promote violence between nations, political factions, and races as part of a social Darwinist and militarist stance that views violence between these groups as a natural and positive part of evolution. In the view of these groups being in perpetual conflict, fascists believe only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and have an aggressive warrior mentality by conquering, dominating, and eventually eliminating people deemed weak and degenerate.
Now, does this sound more like the current administration and its supporters or the administration and accompanying sheep from the last eight years? Thought so. Funny how it's never a one-party takeover when your party is the "winning team." Eric Cantor's response to the caller's babbling is just as amusing:
Now as far as a one-party government in here, I think what the public is doing they're finally waking up and everybody is realizing that checks and balances are a part of the system and divided government is something that is beneficial to a balanced debate, and something that can produce a better outcome.
All of a sudden, Eric is interested in a balanced debate. Wow, things really have changed in Washington. What a great day!

By the way, Eric, the public finally woke up last November. It's you and your kin that are still asleep.

[H/T to ThinkProgress]

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For the Self-Rescuing Princess

by Shaker InfamousQBert

After all the hullabaloo surrounding the "Fat Princess" posts, it's nice to see a little change in the trope. I ran across this shirt while innocently avoiding work for a few minutes. It turns the current princess phenomenon on its head with a dearth of pink and declaration of independence. I think the description on the website says most of what needs to be said:


[Shirt reads: "Self-Rescuing Princess"]
Thank You, Mario, But Our Princess Rescued Herself

There are lots of stories about heroic knights rescuing princesses. In fact, some of our favorite epics follow that same trope: Star Wars, Zelda, The Princess Bride.... But sometimes you've got to mix it up a little. You don't feel like sitting around playing the damsel in distress, patiently waiting for some Y chromosome to come to your aid. In fact, you might have to rescue some poor, wayward princes on your quest, which is okay. As long as they don't get in the way.

If you're reading this page, we're betting that you are that superheroine. But if you're not, we know you have one in your life. Your own personal Buffy, Lara Croft, Zoe, the wielder of The Witchblade, Xena, Kim Possible, Leela, Agent 355, Ripley, Wonder Woman, or (our favorite rolemodel for little girls) Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess. We could go on, but you get the idea. To paraphrase, geek girls kick butt and chew bubble gum, and we're all out of gum.
We all need to be reminded of our inner Buffy, et al, every once in a while, and this might be the perfect way to do so.

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Random YouTubery: Sloths!

Back in October, I took my niece and nephew to the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. They saw a two-toed sloth there, and have been entranced by sloths ever since. Here are some sloth videos that went over big with them.

First off: don't try this at home, kids. If your nails are three inches long, I recommend you leave this sort of vigorous butt-scratching to the professionals.





The beauty of how well sloths are adapted to their environment amazes me. See how gracefully a sloth moves about the enclosure at the Vancouver aquarium, and how poorly the same physique fares on a flat paved road in Costa Rica (don't worry; the sloth is safe!):






Finally, if you are unsure how to pronounce the word "sloth", this little poem should be of no help at all:



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Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

She's the Sheriff

I couldn't find the intro, so this promo will have to do.



Oy.

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Important Announcement

Liss's favorite TV theme is the song from "Two and a Half Men." If that little kid recorded a whole album of tunes, she'd totally buy it.



Transcription for anyone who can't view/hear the video: Two and a half douches singing "Men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men!" for 25 seconds.

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Question of the Day

Shaker Constant Comment emails: "I was wondering if we could re-do a previous question. And that is: I would love to hear Shakers' recommendations—one each—for their favorite fiction and non-fiction books. (Maybe, too, they could include a line of what it's about or why it appealed to them.) I think we last did this a year or so ago and I got some great non-fiction suggestions."

So, Shakers: What one fiction and one non-fiction book would you recommend as personal favorites?

There are probably about 20 of each I recommend with regularity, but the first of those I saw when glancing at my bookshelf were Toni Morrison's Beloved, an insanely brilliant and life-changing novel which I've read like ninety zillion times, and Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, which is a devastatingly funny account of her travels around the country making pilgrimages to presidential assassination spots.

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Seen

On my eBay watch list: One "Men's Latin Tango Rumba Cha Cha Ballroom Dancewear," size medium.


You've really got to see the large view to appreciate the fine detail and excellent craftsmanship on this item, though.

No word on whether this item can be purchased from SEXYHOT!!!!, USA.

Keep the dream alive, babe.

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Judge Not, Lest Ye Be...

Eh, fuck it.

The recent stampede in Midtown Manhattan during tryouts for "America's Next Top Model"--in which, according to the Village Voice, six women were injured--prompted Air America personality "Lionel" to deem the whole fiasco "pathetic." A heartfelt critique of reality TV and the dehumanizing effect it has on its would-be participants? Hardly. Lionel's outrage was directed at the women, who he deemed--wait for it--insufficiently "hot." A condensed version of his report for Air America follows.

"You'd think auditions for trollop roles in a movie or play were being held" ... "hardened by tough times" ... "blind and delusional" ... "pathetic" ... "cattle (an apt description, actually) queue" ... "Are they blind?" ... "I truly believe they think they've a chance to be selected or, worse, 'hot'" ... severe blindness... "hookers" ... "slatterns"... "haggard"... "past their prime" ... "nothing hot about them" ..."cheap, used and spent" ... "sad."

The funny thing is that after this off-chart sexist diatribe, Lionel feebly feigns outrage at our "beauty-fixated" culture. Which he blames on--you'll never guess--women.

(Of course, this is hardly the first time that a host on the supposedly "progressive" Air America network has been guilty of base misogyny).

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Blog Note

I've just updated the Feminism 101 page with 15 new posts dating back to last May. I think I got all the ones that people requested be added to the list, but if I missed anything you'd like to see there, let me know in comments.

(By the way, I haven't forgotten the Shaxicon or the This Is My Flaw Project. I've just not had a chance to finish them yet!)

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You're Kidding

The right-wing's latest meme against President Obama is that he can't do a thing without a teleprompter.

Everyone knows that Barack Obama is lost without his teleprompter, but his latest blunder, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, via the Corner, suggests that the teleprompter may not be enough unless it includes phonetic spellings. Obama was speaking at a White House roundtable on clean energy systems, and repeatedly saluted Orion Energy Systems, whose CEO, Neal Verfuerth, was present at the event. So Obama referred to "Orion" a number of times. Only problem was, he appeared to be unfamiliar with the word [...] Unbelievable. Orion is one of the best-known constellations, mostly because it actually looks like its namesake. So evidently we have to add astronomy to history and economics as subjects of which Obama is remarkably ignorant. I'm beginning to fear that our President has below-average knowledge of the world. Not for a President, but for a middle-aged American.
This, after eight years of George W. Bush's projectile stream of malapropisms, mispronunciations, sentence fragments, and the cottage industry that made a fortune out of calendars, posters, and t-shirts that displayed the latest Bushisms, is hilarious. And for the conservatives to question whether or not Barack Obama is smart enough to be president elevates the premise of the pot calling the kettle black to the level of the surreal.

Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.

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Really, Cosmo?

Not that I expect much of a ladymag with cover lines like "What Guys Crave After Sex (Besides Beer and Pizza)" and "Start a Bonfire in His Pants" (snerk), but even by Cosmo's body-shaming standards, this is going too far: For a recent piece, titled "A Naked Woman Walks Into a Bar...: What Do MEN AND WOMEN Think About Her Body?" bar patrons were asked to critique a (thin, white) woman's body. According to blogger Rachel Hills--who notes that, thanks to PhotoShop, "not even Jessica Alba has Jessica Alba's body"--the comments were... disturbing.

Rod: Um, she’s not very athletic.

Emily: … she’s got cellulite and she could be more toned.

Claudia: Her thighs … could do with being a little more toned and shapely.

CJ: [Her bum is] a bit untoned and has cellulite. It’s not really rounded enough.

Ally: I’ve got a similar problem to her with the double bump - you know, there’s one bump where the hups are and then there’s another bump where the thighs are.

Jim: The front [of her thighs] is a little bit deceptive, as the back isn’t as toned.

Rod: It’s got the makings of a good one. If she went running for an hour a day it’d be perfect. It doesn’t take much to tone up, but most girls think that exercising will make them butch, so they eat really healthily and then don’t do any
Assuming Emily, Ally, Rod et al are themselves less than perfectly toned, buff, and cellulite-free, I'm guessing their comments say more about the premise of the article--judge this woman, as Rachel puts it, "as if she was a magazine photo waiting to be airbrushed into “perfection”--than about their own personal standards of "hotness." Judged from the impossible beauty standard promulgated by magazines like Cosmo (be thin but "curvy," toned but not "butch," hairless but sexy/womanly, etc.), this extremely thin, conventionally attractive woman couldn't help but fail to measure up.

Of course, don't have to go into a bar naked, or even go into a bar, to have the experience of complete strangers cataloguing your "flaws." How much of this is real--the extent to which we're "trained" to judge one another, to say "at least my belly bump/acne/panty lines/butt size isn't as bad as hers," or the self-shaming inverse--and how much is imagined is impossible to say. But the fact that Cosmo felt that this would be an interesting/provocative feature--"Hey, since we're constantly judging our own/friends'/strangers' clothed bodies, let's see what happens when we take it one step further!"--tells me that body shaming and judgment isn't just the province of fashion magazines promoting impossible standards of feminine beauty. It's something we all do. I would be interested to read the same article from the woman's perspective (which, as far as I can tell, isn't reflected anywhere in the Cosmo piece)--is walking into a bar naked a uniquely humbling experience, or just an exaggerated version of what it's like to walk outside as a woman every single day?

A footnote: While searching in vain for the article itself on Cosmo's web site (most of the magazine's content isn't available online), I stumbled across the magazine's latest quiz, which weighs how "confident" you are in the nude. (The point being, of course, to be "booty-licious" for your man). Cosmo's suggestion for women who are "unnerved when naked"? "When you see a chick who seems sexier than you are, resist listing ways that don't measure up." Truly, the Cosmo Girl moves in mysterious ways.

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