Here is your semi-regular make-up thread, to discuss all things make-up.
Do you have a make-up product you'd recommend? Are you looking for the perfect foundation which has remained frustratingly elusive? Need or want to offer make-up tips? Searching for hypoallergenic products? Want to grouse about how you hate make-up? Want to gush about how you love it?
Whatever you like—have at it!
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This is me trying not to look as exhausted as all hell.
Just a quick day look: Almay's Intense i-Color for blue eyes and black mascara; Maybelline's Brow Drama in Deep Brown; Neutrogena's Sheer Highlighting Blush; and some sample of an Urban Decay lip gloss I got that doesn't have the color name on it. (Useful!)
I normally don't like lip glosses a whole lot, but this one is pretty decent. I like the feel of it, and it has a bit more staying power than most lip glosses I've tried. (Which, to be honest, isn't a whole lot of them.)
Anyway! What's up with you?
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Please note, as always, that advice should be not be offered to an individual person unless they solicit it. Further: This thread is open to everyone—women, men, genderqueer folks. People who are make-up experts, and people who are make-up newbies. Also, because there is a lot of racist language used in discussions of make-up, and in make-up names, please be aware to avoid turns of phrase that are alienating to women of color, like "nude" or "flesh tone" when referring to a peachy or beige color. I realize some recommended products may have names that use these words, so please be considerate about content noting for white supremacist (and/or Orientalist) product naming.
Insert eleventy million articles here about how Donald Trump is destroying the Republican Party, despite the fact that his extremist views are totally in line with the other candidates' positions. Here, for example, is Trump's fellow GOP candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at a townhall event in New Hampshire, on August 29, talking about tracking documented immigrants like FedEx packages:
Video Description: Chris Christie stands with a microphone in a room full of people, all of whom appear to be white and most of whom are elderly. Behind him is one of his campaign posters. He walks back and forth as he says: "Do you find it ironic, as I do, that if this morning, let's say, one of you have a child at college. They just left for college, like our daughter Sarah just did, to go back to Notre Dame last week. And, invariably, we will get a call from her in the next week or two, saying, 'Oh I forgot...this.' Fill in the blank, whatever it is. 'And I need it tomorrow!' So, we'll go to FedEx, right? And we'll package it up, and we'll drop that package at FedEx, and you can go online, and, at any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is. It's on the truck, it's at the station, it's on the airplane, it's back at another station, it's back on the truck, it's at a doorstep. She just signed for it. Yet, we let people come to this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of 'em. We can't— So here's what I'm gonna do as president: I'm gonna ask Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, come work for the government for three months. [laughter] Just come for three months to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and show these people— 'Cuz guess what? Of the eleven million people who are here illegally, forty percent of them didn't come in over the southern border. Forty percent of them came in legally with a visa and overstayed their visa. We need to have a system that tracks you from the moment you come in, and then, when your time is up, whether it's three months or six months or nine months or twelve months, or however long your visa is, then we go get you and tap you on the shoulder and say, 'Excuse me, thanks for coming, time to go.'"
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First of all, FedEx loses packages. Secondly, the reason, of course, that FedEx knows where most packages are at all times is because they are inanimate objects with trackers embedded on them that are scanned at every point in their short journey.
The only way to accomplish what Christie is suggesting is to treat every documented immigrant like someone on house arrest with an ankle bracelet or some other form of tracker. Or, perhaps, he would like them to wear collars that shock them if they try to pass over the electric fence around enclosures in which he'll retain them during their stay.
Not only is Christie's proposal objectionable just for its sheer dehumanization, but embedded within his narrative is this contemptible idea that most immigrants only come to the United States either with nefarious purposes or because they are desperate for everything the US has to offer them. And, yes, some people come to this country for those reasons. (There are plenty of people born as citizens who have the same objectives.)
But lots and lots of the people who enter this country on visas come as students or employees with specialized skills. Some of them are researchers or doctors or tech developers or teachers, or artists or musicians or actors, or any one of a number of people whose presence in this country is a gift to us.
Many other people come on travel visas and extend the legally allotted stay because they are seeking amnesty. Not because they want to harm people here, but because they want to escape harm in their countries of birth.
And, let me also note, as someone who spent years navigating the tangled web of Escherian nightmares that is the US immigration system, it's extremely easy to fuck something up. Also? You can do your absolute best to keep the ICE informed when you change address, but (I hope you're sitting down for this shocking news) they're not always great at updating their records, even when you, in good faith, try to make sure they know where the fuck you are at all times, because you don't want to miss crucial communications from them.
Maybe before Christie shoots tracking devices into the necks of people who immigrate to the US, he could try securing funding for the ICE for better computers and more staff. Just a thought.
But naturally "the federal government needs more money to do a better job" isn't quite the red meat for which conservatives are slavering. They want to hear all about how terrible these dirty immigrants are and how they try to cheat the system and ruin the country.
On behalf of our family, created via immigration: Fuck off, Chris Christie. And take your disgusting base with you.
[Content Note: Racism] The tallest mountain peak in the US will no longer be officially known as Mount McKinley, but as Denali: "With the approval of President Barack Obama, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has signed a 'secretarial order' to officially change the name, the White House and Interior Department announced Sunday. ...The tallest mountain in North America has long been known to Alaskans as Denali, its Koyukon Athabascan name, but its official name was not changed with the creation of Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980, 6 million acres carved out for federal protection under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The state changed the name of the park's tallest mountain to Denali at that time, but the federal government did not." Naturally, there are some people who are VERY ANGRY about this! Because they are terrible!
[CN: Anti-immigrationism] Speaking of Republicans: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, currently a presidential candidate, said over the weekend that building a border wall along the US-Canadian border "is a legitimate issue for us to look at." No, no it is not. Go take a nap, Governor Walker.
Well done, Indy Star: "The Indianapolis Star is launching an unprecedented campaign in support of LGBT rights that likely will set a new standard for what it means to be a gay-affirming daily newspaper. The Star's editorial board initiative is designed to convince GOP Gov. Mike Pence and state lawmakers to add LGBT people to the state's civil rights law during the 2016 legislative session." Naturally, there are some people who are VERY ANGRY about this! Because they are terrible!
In good news: The Alaska Superior Court struck down a state law "that would have severely limited abortion access for low-income women in Alaska. The state's Superior Court also struck down a Department of Health and Social Services regulation that placed narrow specifications on Medicaid coverage for abortions, requiring that Medicaid-funded abortions be determined by a physician to be 'medically necessary.' Last year, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Planned Parenthood sued on behalf of the Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, claiming that the narrow definition of 'medically necessary' arbitrarily established conditions designed to restrict the ability of low-income women to access abortion services."
[CN: Worker exploitation; racism] Fucking hell: "Latino workers, some of whom are undocumented, went to New Orleans in the days and weeks following the disaster to help with reconstruction efforts and debris and mold removal. But even a decade later, many remain underpaid or unpaid. Over the past few years, the Workplace Justice Project, an organization that gives free legal assistance to help mostly Latino workers recoup their lost wages, has filed claims to try to recover more than $700,000 in stolen wages."
RIP Wes Craven. I'm not a huge fan of horror films, and the ones I like tend to be the deliberately terrible ones. (You're shocked; I know!) But one of my favorite horror/thrillers is Red Eye, starring Rachel McAdams, which was directed by Wes Craven. His films weren't exactly feminist masterpieces, but he was one of the few male horror directors who was capable of viewing female characters as more than bait for violent men.
[CN: Sexual assault; rape culture; victim-blaming] The Pretenders' lead singer Chrissie Hynde (who had to be convinced by k.d. lang that she's a feminist) has written a new memoir in which she says that she's responsible for her own rape. Now, I'm not inclined to audit other survivors' accounts of their sexual assault (although I will never agree that anyone is responsible for rape except rapists), but then she goes on to say that women who wear certain types of clothes are "asking for it." Nope. Shut up, Chrissie Hynde.
[CN: Racism; tone-policing] This is a pretty decent account of the backstory, personally and politically, behind Nicki Minaj calling out Miley Cyrus at the VMAs last night. What Cyrus said about Minaj "was a textbook example of what's come to be known as 'tone policing,' a common term in feminist and anti-racist circles—shifting the focus from what was said to how it was said, using the pretext of concern that someone's style might undermine substance to, well, undermine that substance." Yup. Minaj was right on. Cyrus was being a tone-policing asshole at the intersection of misogyny and racism. And, you know, not for nothing Everyone Who Criticizes Nicki Minaj's Tone Constantly, but there are some of us who appreciate and value other women for their "rude tones." Some of us are even women ourselves who have rude tones! And some people like us for that, too!
Neat! "Single black holes are impressive enough, but astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a galaxy being powered by a quasar that contains two of the time-space benders, 'furiously whirling about each other,' the space agency observed in a news release. ...As the first time such a binary black hole has been confirmed to exist in a quasar, the discovery has repercussions for their study. The binary structure may be more common than originally thought. 'We are extremely excited about this finding because it not only shows the existence of a close binary black hole in Mrk 231, but also paves a new way to systematically search binary black holes via the nature of their ultraviolet light emission,' said Youjun Lu of the National Astronomical Observatories of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences."
[CN: Moving GIFs at link] OMG SQUEEEEEE: "Seal Asks Diver for Belly Rub and Responds Just Like a Puppy." Sometimes I watch videos of wild animals interacting with humans, and I think that what looks like something ostensibly "cute" is actually an animal in distress seeking help. But in this case, that seal really looks like it wants a belly rub and is enjoying the heck out of it, lol! I wonder if maybe zie got a belly rub from a human as a pup and always thought, "I want to do that again someday!"
I have an appointment this morning, but I should be back by noon. I'll see you then!
If you would like a topic for discussion, how about this terrific interview that Sarah Palin did with Donald Trump? And of course by "terrific," I mean TERRIBLE.
"Everything about Donald Trump's campaign, it's avant-garde." LOLOLOL. Okay.
How about a video of two raccoon brothers named Willie and Waylon on an adventure in a pool?
Video Description: Two raccoons are seen at the edge of a backyard in-ground pool. As one (Willie) begins to venture in, the other (Waylon) sits on the edge, reaching for his brother anxiously. Willie waves him off, and turns toward the water and gently glides in. Waylon reaches out, but Willie swims away confidently. He does a small circle and comes back; as he gets closer to Waylon again, Waylon reaches for him. "All right, that's enough of that!" he seems to communicate. He touches Willie's face and fusses with his wet fur. From off camera, a seemingly male voice asks, "Is Willie or Waylon in the pool?" From behind the camera, a seemingly female voice replies, "Willie." "Swimming?" "Yeah. Waylon's trying to save him." Willie swims around a bit more, and Waylon continues to reach for him. Willie is swimming literally maybe a foot from the stairs, lol, but Waylon DOES NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT! He grabs Willie's tail from the water and begins to groom it, then reaches and pulls Willie out of the water (although Willie was getting out anyway). They walk away and investigate a toy.
So, here's the thing about dudes who request, politely or not so politely, education from a feminist on demand: I can tell you, from more than a decade of experience as a feminist with an internet presence, that the vast majority of dudes who seek "education" don't really want education at all.
(And, as always, this same dynamic is applicable for any privileged person demanding education of any marginalized person.)
The vast majority of dudes who ask for education on some feminist issue or other want one of two things:
1. They want to prove me wrong. Specifically, they want to play Devil's Advocate, demand scientific proof quantifying my lived experiences, debate me, audit me, argue with me, and, when all else fails, insult me. They use a request for education as cover to get me to engage with them, just in order to try to discredit me.
2. They want to prove a point about how mean feminists are. These are the dudes who understand that feminist women are tired as all fuck of being asked to educate men on demand and are well aware that they're likely to elicit contemptuous responses if they do, so they request education in bad faith, recognizable as bad faith to seasoned feminists familiar with this tactic but possibly reading as good faith to casual observers, only to provoke hostile declinations and then crow about how mean feminists are—which was, of course, the whole point of the exercise.
That second one is a no-win situation for feminists, because if we know what game they're playing, but go along with it for the benefit of people watching, these dudes will simply revert to #1. It's a lose-lose proposition for any feminist who's approached by these guys.
This happens all the time. It is vanishingly rare that a dude approaches me asking for education who actually wants an education. And please note that I, as do all feminists, learned these patterns only by engaging in good faith over and over and over, only to discover that virtually none of the men were engaging in good faith with me.
So, if you're one of the #NotAllMen! who approach feminists for an education, here is some free education for you: Understand the above described dynamic, and understand that marginalized people do not owe privileged people an education, and then go spend some time with Google and leave us the fuck alone.
"Xenophobia is the lowest form of political strategy. It is something we all need to fight together, not only for us, but also for the evolution of all humanity and those who will come after us."—Singer Ricky Martin, in an op-ed calling for Latin@ unity against Donald Trump.
I don't know that any population will ever be unified for or against everything, because people are different. (It's true!) But I understand the rhetorical strategy, and I take up space in solidarity with Latin@s and all immigrants who oppose Donald Trump and his reprehensible candidacy.
Yesterday, the puppehs got one of their FAVORITEST treats: Once every summer, they get a small cup of vanilla custard from Culver's, and that day is THE GREATEST DAY EVER!!!!!11!!!1!
They started out huddled together, Zelly underneath Dudley, which is a pretty common treat-consuming formation.
Dudley luxuriates in ice cream: He licks it soooooo slowly, savoring every delicious morsel.
Sitting on the back porch, I offered to hold the cup for him so he wouldn't have to bend over, but he was having none of it. ON THE GROUND, MA'AM.
Meanwhile, Zelly had pushed her cup straight under Dudley, between my feet, and halfway under the porch stair on which I was sitting. She picked it up in her mouth, carried it a few feet away to the grass, where it wouldn't slide, and continued to make sweet love to it, even long after all the custard was gone.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm custard.
They are too hilarious and TOO CUTE!!!
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
[Content Note: Police misconduct; racism; possible self-harm] Goddammit: "Jamycheal Mitchell, who had mental health problems, was discovered lying on the floor of his cell [in Portsmouth, Virginia] by guards early last Wednesday, according to authorities. While his body is still awaiting an autopsy, senior prison officials said his death was not being treated as suspicious. ...Mitchell's family said they believed he starved to death after refusing meals and medication at the jail, where he was being held on misdemeanour charges of petty larceny and trespassing." Mitchell, a young black man, had spent almost four months in the jail without bail for stealing groceries worth $5. "A clerk at Portsmouth district court said Mitchell was accused of stealing a bottle of Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar, and a Zebra Cake worth a total of $5 from a 7-Eleven." Again, I will note that police are legally responsible for the safety of the people they take into custody. They did not have to murder Mitchell to be accountable for his death.
[CN: Rape culture; child abuse] In news that won't shock anyone who is paying attention: "A former Subway franchisee claims she warned Subway about Jared Fogle's sexual interest in children seven years ago and that the sandwich chain did nothing. ...Mills says she shared this information with Subway in 2008 but that the company ignored her complaints. That's when she decided to hire a lawyer. ...Subway didn't respond to a request for comment on this story." I'll bet they didn't.
[CN: Rape culture; child abuse; sexual assault; Christian Supremacy] Over at Love, Joy, Feminism, Libby Anne documents how the leadership of the Christian treatment center to which Josh Duggar was sent is allegedly involved in a sex abuse coverup. Yes, it's a real fucking mystery why this fucko keeps harming women and children. Rage. Seethe. Boil.
Neat: "The University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion is asking students and faculty to use [gender neutral] pronouns in order to create a more inclusive campus." By the way, here's how that news article opens: "The University of Tennessee is asking students to use 'ze, hir, hirs, and xe, xem, xyr.' No, those words are not another language." Oh my aching sides.
Do you like actress Ellen Page? If you like actress Ellen Page, then maybe you will enjoy this interview with her, where she talks about disclosing she is a lesbian to the general public, and what that did for her personally and professionally. I like Ellen Page!
Whut: "Gay people are like an Army that has occupied America, and now they're about to start targeting pastors and churches, according to one Texas-based anti-LGBT hate group." Hahahaha okay! But don't get ahead of yourselves now, Gay People! You haven't even destroyed my marriage yet! First things first!
I love every single thing about this story: "Firefighters were called out to assist a cow after its head became stuck in a plastic chair. ...Officers from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service attended but said the cow managed to get out of its predicament without their help. It is not known how the garden chair came to be in the field or why the cow put its head through it." Perfection.
And finally! I cannot. stop. laughing. at these brilliant photographs of dog guardians mimicking their dogs' expressions. AMAZING.
My favorite game to play on my mobile device is...
...Peggle. Still forever Peggle. But I am currently engaged in a torrid love affair with Panda Pop, which makes me so happy when I rescue the baby pandas and they all cheer and makes me SO SAD LOL when I fail to rescue them and they cry. Hahahaha this game!
Anyway. What's your current or forever favorite?
Acceptable answers include, but are not limited to: I don't own a mobile device; I hate mobile devices; I hate games; and please for the love of Maude stop sending me Candy Crush requests.
On Bloomberg, Mark Halperin (who favors white men almost as much as Donald Trump does) was interviewing Donald Trump when he asked him to name his favorite Bible verse—which I frankly find an odious question for a number of reasons, but it's typically a standard softball for Republican candidates.
Halperin: You mention the Bible—you've been talking about how it's your favorite book, and you said, I think last night in Iowa, that some people are surprised that you say that. I'm wondering what one or two of your most favorite Bible, uh, verses are and why.
Trump: I—I wouldn't wanna get into it, because to me that's very personal. You know, when I talk about the Bible, it's very personal, so I don't wanna get into verses; I don't wanna get into—
Halperin: There's no verse that means a lot to you that you think about or cite?
Trump: No, I— I just— [makes this face] The Bible means a lot to me, but I don't wanna get into specifics.
Halperin: Even to cite a verse that you like?
Trump: No. I don't want to do that—
John Heilemann (Halperin's co-host): You an Old Testament guy or a New Testament guy?
Trump: Uh, probablyyyyyy...equal. I think it's just an incredible— The whole Bible is an incredible— I joke, uh, very much so, they always hold up [my book] The Art of the Deal; I say: "My second favorite book of all time."
The Bible is super classy and incredible and I am a massive fan! Make America great again! Good night! *runs offstage*
Honestly, I don't think religion has any place in politics, and I don't think that any politician should be obliged to talk about their religion. But the fact is, Donald Trump goes around talking about how much he loves the Bible, because that's what Republican candidates do, so he can't then claim that questions about which parts of the Bible he likes are off-limits.
Especially when he says things that seem to indicate he has a unique, ahem, interpretation of the Bible and the central tenet of Christianity, like: "I'm not sure I have [ever asked god for forgiveness]. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so. If I do something wrong, I think I just try and make it right. I don't bring god into that picture."
It seems pretty clear that Trump isn't actually desirous of privacy around his favorite Bible verses, but is using that pretense as a deflection because he doesn't actually know the first damn thing about the Bible. He loves all of those incredible verses equally—just like Sarah Palin reads all the magazines!
Hillary Clinton went all in on the Republicans and their institutional misogyny yesterday during a speech in Cleveland:
Now, extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world, but it's a little hard to take from Republicans who want to be the president of the United States. Yet they espouse out-of-date, out-of-touch policies. They are dead wrong for 21st century America. We are going forward; we are not going back.
I would like these Republican candidates to look the mom in the eye who caught her breast cancer early because she was able to get a screening for cancer or the teenager who didn't get pregnant because she has access to contraception. Or anyone who has ever been protected by an HIV test.
This is happening all over the country, even here in Ohio. Programs and services women use to take care of themselves are being cut down.
I take it a little personal when they go after women.
Hell fucking yes.
Naturally, most of the coverage of these comments (example; video autoplays at link) is all about how OUTRAGED Republicans are to be compared to terrorists, and not about how Clinton has a point, considering the Republican support of one of the most flagrant domestic terrorism campaigns in the country.
Hey, "liberal media": Instead of seeking outraged quotes from Republicans, howsabout instead you ask them why, if they don't like the comparison, they are so keen to align themselves with anti-choice terrorists?
Because as much as I'm sure we all enjoy reporting on how Hillary Clinton has hit (yet another) "new low," it might be a nice break in your tiresome disgorgement of trite misogyny to read something that challenges Republicans to engage with the charge she's leveling at them for a damn good reason.
[I did some tweeting about this subject this morning. Those tweets are collected in a Storify, if you would like to see them.]
Welcome to Shakesville, a progressive feminist blog about politics, culture, social justice, cute things, and all that is in between. Please note that the commenting policy and the Feminism 101 section, conveniently linked at the top of the page, are required reading before commenting.
