I'm generally against unflattering metallic bodysuits

So, an AA* is supposed to be moving in in my neighborhood, a just a few blocks away. And people are pissed.

There are many conflicting issues involved. Arguments against allowing AA to open, ranging from the earnest to the patently absurd:

- having a chain retailer move into the "Valencia corridor" mars the (independent, locally-owned) character of the area
- though AA may not be "that bad" as far as chain retailers go, allowing one into the neighborhood establishes a beachhead for other, more corporate chains
- AA will bring tourists and other "undesirables (heh) into the neighborhood
- Dov Charney is an icky, icky man whose sad, misguided existence is a blight on humanity, and we should not support his porny, union-busting company
- AA is not a "considerate neighbor"; they often play loud music, which is likely to bleed into the ATA space and conflict with film screenings
- "The bright lights at AA hurt my eyes coming home from the bars." (http://twitter.com/mawkus/)

Arguments for allowing AA to open:

- it will bring tourists/shoppers to the neighborhood, who will also shop at other nearby stores
- empty storefronts hurt the entire neighborhood, so any tenant is better than no tenant
- the Mission already houses plenty of chain stores - mostly on (un-hipster) Mission Street
- AA will employ local residents to staff the store
- really, hipsters opposing American Apparel? Irony alert!

So, do I want an American Apparel on my street? No. Do I think that I should have the right to have my personal feelings on the matter prevent a business from opening and operating? In the end, probably not. As much as it annoys me, I think I'm going to have to quash my distaste for the company and the store, and use the power that I do have by not shopping there.

Some good thoughts here:

- Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition
- Mission Mission (NSFW)


*not that AA, silly. The other one.

Who do you think I am?

What in my facebook profile makes their ad system think I'm interested in deer antlers (as doggy chew toys, apparently?!) and engagement rings?

Haiku for a domestic terrorist

If you live in fear, they win.
Wide awake all night;
curse you, lousy mosquito!

How to torture a woman with OCD

So I normally love What Not to Wear. Yes, Stacy and Clinton largely give everyone the same advice (define your waist! elongate your silhouette!), but as catty as they can be, I usually get the sense that underneath it all they mean well. They want to help people feel good about the way they look, and I can get behind that.

What I can't get behind, though, is their behavior toward Ashley, "a 32-year-old marketing and sales manager in Los Angeles" on an episode that aired this afternoon. As they always do, they pulled all her clothes out of her apartment and brought them to their studio on racks. Ashley, who said she has OCD issues, started off doing okay, but eventually broke down and started freaking out about them touching her things. She also said that she felt violated by the idea of people going into her home and taking her clothes without permission, to which I thought, "shit, yeah...that makes a ton of sense. How come nobody else ever reacts this way? Or do they just not show it on television when they do?" Anyway, that aside...when she told them she felt very uncomfortable with them touching her clothes, rather than being sensitive and backing off a bit, they started taunting her. It took her starting to cry for them to stop gleefully throwing her clothes into their giant trash can. I get that they have people on the show sometimes who are delusional and resistent to change (and Ashley was also being both of these things), but this woman very clearly had other things going on. She asked them to stop filming twice, and was starting to babble in a panicked manner. It was seriously uncomfortable to watch.

By the end of the show, Ashley was bubbly and happy with her makeover, but I couldn't get past the fact that they had basically bullied this woman into being okay with a violation of her privacy. It makes me wonder how many of the people who are "nominated" for these shows by their friends and family members show a happy face on air, but really want to slug them.

Hello world!

I'll be honest. I created this blog more than a week ago, and have yet to start posting because I couldn't write a freaking intro post. Sheesh. So I'm writing this for now. It may end up being a placeholder that I'll edit later, or I may end up leaving it. Anyway, at least now I feel free to start writing about important things, like capybaras and What Not to Wear.