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Sarah Wilson makes hiking for hours a day between quaint English villages look and sound like something I'd maybe want to do.

YA From a Marginalized Young Adult's Perspective. (via Lani Wendt Young)

"As a young, queer girl of color, I needed—no, NEED to read about sex. Heroines of my race having sex in a way that isn’t hyper-sexualized. Heroines having sex that isn’t just romanticized rape. Heroines having sex with multiple partners over the course of a series, because the first-boyfriend-only-boyfriend model is a dangerous misconstruction of reality."

Rizzo From Grease Is A Butch For The Ages. I love Rizzo, & I love pretty much everything about this piece. (via Aunty Shub) 

"Also, Principal McGee and her assistant Blanche are totally doing it. This isn’t really related to the Rizzo-Frenchy relationship, but it’s important for me to point out that they are totally doing it. Principal McGee went to Smith, and they share an apartment together, and they are totally doing it."

Authors Convinced To Cosplay As Their Favourite Fictional Characters. More adorable than you would expect.

Jenny Lewis's Just One Of The Guys is great, but the music video for it is beyond incredible. Why? Kristen Stewart, that's why. 

"Everything you found objectionable about her in the Twilight films — and you found her objectionable; I have read the internet — was the result of a lion being forced to wear housecat drag. She was made to pursue, not to be pursued; she was made to lean exquisitely against walls and wear men’s trousers and take women by the chin and kiss them fully on the mouth. She takes, she is not taken. She was more Joan Jett in The Runaways than Joan Jett ever was. Heterosexuality cannot contain her; neither can this white suit."

The BBC have collected a nice little sample of Pacific Poetry for you to enjoy. Awesome!

Dominique Christina's The Period Poem is a must watch for everybody who has a daughter ~

via Rosie

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This is a photo of six white men on a panel at the Global Summit of Women. It is also a classic case of not judging a book by its cover. Here's why This Panel of Six White Male CEOs Is Great News for Women.

What We Do In The Shadows looks like the kind of hilarious movie you don't want to miss. Luckily, the film's genius marketing campaign will ensure you won't forget to catch it. Proof that the marketing is getting through: I had a What We Do In The Shadows dream the other night.

The fabulous Michele A'Court on what it's like to be both a comedian and a female.

Aren't You A Little Short To Be A Stormtrooper? The Passing of the Armor to A Bullied Little Girl.

Eep! Custom Engraved Rolling Pins! Amazing.

I have a friend whose baby arrived too soon earlier this year, so this article about Wedding gowns for angel babies is particularly poignant. Such a lovely, special idea.

Cate Owen picks Five of the best one-shot music videos you'll ever see.

I've been to Brisbane once, & I gotta tell ya, I don't think it's the city for me. I'm more of a cold, dark, gothic Wellingtonian than a hot, bright, colourful summer lover. There was one thing that I loved about Brisbane though (other than my wonderful family, who I would travel to Brisbane to visit again in a heartbeat) ~ The Queenslander.

An interview about an interview. More specifically, a brilliant piece on Steve McQueen breaking a ten year silence to give his final interview to a high school student who was brave enough to ask for it.

Heather Armstrong of Dooce has been on a trip to South East Asia with Exodus Road to look into the work they do to help girls and women caught up in sex tourism and sex trafficking. This post of hers had me in tears. I can't even explain how perfect this piece is, so just read it for yourself.

Queer Eye for the Mormon Bishop Guy. What can I say? This is fabulous!

I went to the Matariki Poetry Slam at Te Papa last week. What a night! Here's the deserving winner Ben Stokes performing his second poem of the night. Swagger going swell, brother! ~

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Your Princess Is In Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement and Nerds. More hard but good stuff on the Isla Vista killings.  

"But the overall problem is one of a culture where instead of seeing women as, you know, people, protagonists of their own stories just like we are of ours, men are taught that women are things to “earn,” to “win.” That if we try hard enough and persist long enough, we’ll get the girl in the end. Like life is a video game and women, like money and status, are just part of the reward we get for doing well."

A.V. Club discuss their Cultural Dealbreakers.

A fascinating read on managing publicity ~ Angelina Jolie's Perfect Game.
"Taken together, these images, and the stories that accompanied them, were speaking about their relationship, even if the pair themselves weren’t offering comment. And what they were saying was that this wasn’t a story about sex or scandal; rather, it was one of family, humanitarianism, and global citizenship. Within this framework, any publication that chose to focus on sexual intrigue was effectively neglecting the most in need."

I Confronted Donald Trump In Dubai. Molly Crabapple is doing such good, important work. "On stage, Trump praises his Dubai. He is effusive—and sincere. Trump is one sort of Westerner who loves the UAE. They find here a throwback to colonialism's heyday. No matter how much you've shat the bed at home, here your whiteness will get you a job, money, servants from the Global South. Help is so affordable when migrant workers make $200 a month. In police states, there is little crime."

Wilder Women alert! Sarah of Yes and Yes has rounded up some life advice from famous, painfully awesome women. 

"It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do." 

Confession time: I've always had a fondness for Heart, cos, Wilder Women! Watch Ann & Nancy Wilson and others perform a cover of Stairway to Heaven that moves Led Zeppelin to tears ~ 

Ryland's Story has been doing the rounds on social media these past few weeks. It is definitely worth watching ~ 

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I love all of these homemade Disney villain costumes, & the people rocking them. Happy!

A fascinating article on trigger warnings for university texts.

The tragedy at Isla Vista was awful. So, so awful that I have been trying to avoid reading about it lest I sink into a deep depression. Avoiding it altogether has proved difficult though. Which is a good thing, because along with all the awfulness, some really smart, sensible things are being said. Dude, It's You is one of those good things. 

"If you just want to get laid and you don’t care how, the problem is you."

The return of Laura Vincent's Crush Cakes, this time on The Toast, is making me very happy. Here's her offering to Beyonce.

What It's Like to Play Every Ethnicity Hollywood Throws Your Way ~ Slate talks to Cliff Curtis.

"I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with as much dignity and integrity as I can muster. I’m not fooling around. I don’t want to make a fool of that cultural heritage. I represent them as I would represent my own."

Just put this on repeat and the rest of your day will be so full of joy ~

Sword fights! Boobies! The Game of Thrones theme, Modern Maori Quartet styles ~

(via Eb)

Gendered Marketing. Shop smart, people! ~ 

(via Naiomi)

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Disney Princesses as the women of Game of Thrones. (via Morgue)

More Jem Yoshioka goodness ~ A story of Representation in two acts.

Pretty much my favourite link of recent times ~ The Definitive Ranking Of All 131 Baby-Sitter's Club Cover Outfits. (Also via Morgue) "It’s almost like Kristy ordered everyone to wear clothes three sizes too big (totally something Kristy would do, to be honest) for the entirety of their stints with the club."

Junot Diaz is a writer that has been recommended to me a lot recently. Reading through MFA vs. POC I can see why. "Simply put: I was a person of color in a workshop whose theory of reality did not include my most fundamental experiences as a person of color—that did not in other words include me."

LOL so hard at A Rihanna Meet And Greet Vs. An Avril Lavigne Meet And Greet.

Sick of having Let It Go stuck in your head? How about changing it up a little ~

How Wolves Change Rivers. Ah, nature ~

Wilder Web

Teaching A Better Way to Say Sorry. (via Nic)

Love him or hate him, you gotta admit Richard Linklater isn't afraid to try new things when it comes to film making. Check out his latest project, Boyhood.

Warning: You could lose A LOT of time reading through The Guardian's What I'm Really Thinking columns. Fascinating stuff. (via Sarah Wilson)

This is quite possibly the most glorious iPhone case that will ever exist. (via Youthful Spirit)

Disappointed about the lack of women characters joining the cast of Star Wars (& the Muppets)? Here's a project that is trying to make something constructive from the bullshit lack of female representation. (via Morgue)

You know where women are severely over-represented in the arts? As muses. Jem Yoshioka discusses this problem in On Privilege, Mysogyny Behemoths and Real Life.

With a Mum and two sisters who are nurses I relate to this pretty strongly ~ 13 Things That Happen When You Grow Up With A Mom Who's A Nurse. 

"It's Your Own Fault You're Fat!!!" and other really boring things people say because they care deeply about you and your health. 

"When a person is trying to quit smoking, their goal is simply not to smoke a cigarette. When a person is trying to make more thoughtful choices about the foods they eat for the purposes of weight loss, they cannot simply stop eating. I mean, they CAN, but that comes with its own problems."

So 'debonair' George has been 'tamed', while 'tragic' Jen was 'saved'. THIS IS WHY I DO NOT READ GOSSIP MAGS!!! All of the rage! (via Ace Lady Network)

How Frozen Should Have Ended made me giggle ~

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Oh my! The Muppets Painted As Twin Peaks Characters! Who killed Miss Piggy? 

I LOVE this interview with fashion writer Nicolette Mason. It is so refreshing to hear someone acknowledge their privileges so honestly. Self awareness for the win!

"Being a privileged person has definitely helped me, and I think that it would be really irresponsible of me not to acknowledge that that plays into it. The fact that I look white and I come from an affluent background has been a huge foot in the door." 

Why you should never, ever, ever get a tattoo (but having a baby is fine).

The A-Z of Dancing.

This performance on Ukraine's Got Talent is mesmerising from start to finish.

Things I WOULD Wish Upon My Enemies. (via Dooce)

I haven't read nearly enough of the 20 Books That Are As Great Today As They Were In The 90s.

Why Sansa Stark is the strongest character on Game of Thrones.

Throwing down the gauntlet is a thought-provoking piece on Michael Parekowhai's commission for a public artwork in Brisbane. (via Alice)

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One Kate Berry lives in USA, the other lives in Australia. They both take beautiful photos and post one each a day to their tumblr, The Other Kate Berry. Cool! (via Meet Me At Mikes)

How to be a fan of problematic things. (via Kirsten)

I agree 100% with Stephanie of A Large Pink Woman on this. 

"When all you see is thin/conventionally-attractive people, it’s easier to think of yourself as a horrible aberration. When your brain has a whole gallery of fun, assertive people-with-your-body-shape to choose from, it’s so much easier to know that you are normal/awesome/sexy/acceptable just the way you are."

The marvelous Ally Garrett knocks it out of the park with her response to the Kimye Vogue cover. 

"When I reveal in conversation that I love the Kardashians, this admission is usually met with scorn. “Why do you like them?” people squeal, “they’re only famous because of a sex tape!” For me, this is missing the point. Kim and her family didn’t just make the best out of a bad situation; they made billions of freaking dollars out of a bad situation. I’m baffled by anyone who thinks a family can have four well rating television shows, a best-selling book and several clothing, cosmetics and perfume lines without doing any work."

Let me grab your soul away - Kate Bush and gothic is a look at some of the seraphic songstresses influences.

A fascinating look at cultural appropriation vs. cultural exchange ~ Why I can't stand white belly dancers. (via Ro)

It's easy to see why Swedish designer Jonas Dahlberg was selected to create the memorial to Norway's Utoya massacre. His concept is stunning. 

"My concept for the Memorial Sørbråten proposes a wound or a cut within nature itself. It reproduces the physical experience of taking away, reflecting the abrupt and permanent loss of those who died. The cut will be a three-and-a-half-meters-wide excavation. It slices from the top of the headland at the Sørbråten site, to below the water line and extends to each side. This void in the landscape makes it impossible to reach the end of the headland."

Don't Shame Us. Don't Shut Us Up. (How to better support and empower a survivor of sexual abuse.) This is so good, so important, and you should read it for sure. This is also why Lani Wendt Young is one of my heroes.

A Northland teenager rents a DVD because it stars Hugh Jackman and he assumes it'll be an action flick. Turns out that film was Les Miserables, and a love of opera is born. See Campbell Live's beautiful story on this.

If only poor people understood nutrition! This features a food pyramid that completely changes everything. 

"The reality is that people who don’t have enough money (or the utilities and storage) to buy and prepare decent food in decent quantities, cannot (and should not) be arsed to worry about the finer nuances of nutrition. Because getting enough to eat is always our first priority."

I freaking hate that no make-up selfie bullshit that's doing the social media rounds at the moment. On the flip side, I do like these friends who got together to surprise a friend who is living with breast cancer.

I'm hoping to find a new place to live in the near future, and with a possible imminent move approaching, I have simplifying thoughts on my mind. De-clutter Now: 8 Things You Can Live Without is just what I need to read right now. (via Yes and Yes)

Check out the awesome Pasefika LGBTQI Youth float that won Best Float in the Auckland Pride Parade ~

(via Luisa)

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A Haunted House Snaps Photos At The Scariest Moment Of The Tour. I laughed till I cried. (via Gala Darling)

This interview asks Janet Mock what Beyoncé song would best describe Zora Neale Hurston. So, read it!

A Giant Fairy Bread Cake? Genius!

Wow. This F1 pit stop ballet is a case of blink and you'll miss it. (via Dooce)

Whoa. Shit got a bit meta when I read Dooce's Earnest Blogging post. I think she might have read my mind, especially with:

"The first step was realizing that I’ve become disengaged from joyous activities. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that I’ve avoided joyous activities because I could better use that time getting things in order."

I mean, that pretty much describes my twenties, right there. If only I'd actually managed to get a couple of things in order while I was missing out on all those joyous activities.

The Day Someone Threw Me A Rope is a must read for expectant or new mothers, & also anyone who is ever going to come into contact with the parent of an infant. So really, pretty much everyone.

Wilder Women inspiration, ahoy! 10 Creative Women Over 80 You Should Know.

Heart breaking and brilliant. Why love is not all you need is another must read.

"It feels a little cheap and tacky to say it. To say that I was saved, not by the love of my friends or the indefatigable courage of my mother, but by little red pills. In the narrative of mental illness, love and acceptance is supposed to be the saviour. Not for me. Love, categorically, did not save my life. Chemicals did. Because chemicals were what was killing me."

Fit and Funky is a sweet story about listening to your kids & having faith in them.

The Day My Behaviour Became "Too Much" For A Woman. (via Ace Lady Network)

"Women are constantly chastised for being too much of anything: too loud, too boisterous, too sweary, too fat, too thin, too cocky, too good at recognising patriarchy when it stares them right in the eyeballs."

Yeesh! This Oscar Voter Reveals Brutally Honest Ballot. 

"I often choose personal friendship when I am torn between two almost equally good options..."

My imaginary bff Anna Kendrick describes her Oscar Weekend Diary.

10 Creative Rituals You Should Steal.

Kevin Spacey Answers Questions that Female Celebrities Get Asked ~ 

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This Creatures of the Wind AW 2014 Ready-to-Wear outfit is so Elle Woods' First Day at Harvard Law. Meaning, I love it.

Baha! Canada gets in on the Sochi bashing in the best possible way.

I'm over a week late with this, I know, but Coco Solid's Pop Cultural Rituals of Waitangi Day: Why I Annually Don't Care If I Harsh Your Mellow is still relevant and worth reading. (via Emma)

Brain injuries suck. Here's a family that is currently being affected by one, and could use your support.

Mean Girls Director Mark Waters Spills 10 Juicy Stories, 10 Years Later. So fetch! (via Dooce)

13 Portraits of Homeless People as They Want to be Viewed. (via Noush)

If you are a parent of a daughter, this will likely resonate with you ~ The Imperfect Art of Raising a Feminist. (via Lani)

"It wasn’t one moment that radicalized me; it was all those tiny injustices and moments of recognition and identification that added up. It was watching the friend’s eating disorder almost kill her, and wiping the other friend’s tears after her rape, and hearing about the other friend’s attempts to get birth control pills without her parents realizing it, and the gropes by drunk guys in the bar, and the drunk guys getting mad and calling me a bitch because I said No, and the lack of girls who looked like me in the media, and the nice guys whom I said Yes to, and the creepy first boss who made inappropriate comments, and supporting friends coming out to their families, and Tori Amos, and Hole, and The Cosby Show, and Roseanne, and Cindy Lauper, and Sassy Magazine, and Margaret Atwood, and Zora Neale Hurston, and the Montreal Massacre and that first Women’s Studies class in university. All those things and more informed my feminism and led me to search for language to describe my experiences. It’s not a perfect feminism. It is lacking and has vacuums in it and is steeped in a particular time and place and economic class and educational experience. But it strives. It seeks. It reaches."

Patrick's Review of Roald Dahl's Esio Trot begins with "Fuck this book. Don't read it to your kids." Read the whole glorious review to find out why. (via MorganHopes)

Mmmhmm. Why Mom's Time Is Different From Dad's Time.

"Complicating matters, mothers assume a disproportionate number of time-sensitive domestic tasks, whether it's getting their toddlers dressed for school or their 12-year-olds off to swim practice. Their daily routine is speckled with what sociologists Annette Lareau and Elliot Weininger call "pressure points," or nonnegotiable demands that make their lives, as the authors put it, "more frenetic.""

Where are the realistic TV moms? This piece has me wanting to re-watch Roseanne, which is probably not the worst idea in the world. (via Phd in Parenting)

These CCOKCs are hilarious ~

(via Morgue)

How some of the best television theme music ever was created ~

(also via Morgue)

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7 Movies That Changed Your Political Views. (via Yes and Yes)

For creative beginners ~ The Gap, by Ira Glass. So relevant. I was nodding along hard to this. Perfect timing.

The makers of this powerful ad did not have the funds to run it during Monday's Superbowl. Watch it. (via Alice)

This custom doodle by tattooist Nursey is perfection.

Myths of Nationhood: why I'm not "celebrating" Waitangi Day. (via Tamar)

"There could never be unity without equality. The betrayal of the Treaty went too deep, and the collateral effects of Treaty breaches went too far, for Maori to accept a celebration of nationhood that didn’t exist."

4 Ways to Push Back Against Your Privilege. Via my friend Kirsten, who wisely says, "Read, digest, do."

Also via Kirsten (geez but I have awesome friends) ~ Vaccinate Your Kids - Or Get Out of My Office.

Baha, so cool ~ Famous Movie Quotes as Charts. (via Dean)

Keeping with the cinematic theme, this is a very cool project, perfectly executed ~ Fantasy Hollywood: restaging classic films with black models. (via Ange)

Your lol of the day ~

(also via Tamar)

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My friend Arihia introduced me to Wilder Woman Mickalene Thomas. Check out her art works created using Rhinestones (!!!), Acrylic and Enamel.

Why You Should Read + Watch + Listen Outside of Your Comfort Zone.

Who wants to have their heart broken a little? You do? Check out this series of photos of actor John Schneider. (via Jessica Valenti)

Want to feel simultaneously inspired, awed, & completely inadequate as a parent? Check out Cardboard Box Office. (via Matt) 

"The project began after finding that we had accumulated both a lot of cardboard boxes (due to moving to a new country) and a baby (due to giving birth). With our social lives drastically altered we decided to find a way to make some of those housebound weekends a little more fun."

I've added these to my reading list ~ Librarians Choose the Top 10 Feminist Books of the Year for Young Readers.

I love Lorde, & I'm so happy for her following her well deserved Grammy wins. I also love this Royals parody that is freakishly accurate for those of us a little more advanced in age than the girl wonder.

Inspiring ~

Wilder Web

This Is What I Mean When I Say "White Feminism". Intersectionality, yo! Learn it, live it.

""White feminism" does not mean every white woman, everywhere, who happens to identify as feminist. It also doesn't mean that every "white feminist" identifies as white. I see "white feminism" as a specific set of single-issue, non-intersectional, superficial feminist practices. It is the feminism we understand as mainstream; the feminism obsessed with body hair, and high heels and makeup, and changing your married name. It is the feminism you probably first learned. "White feminism" is the feminism that doesn't understand western privilege, or cultural context. It is the feminism that doesn't consider race as a factor in the struggle for equality."

 Ugh, I did not know about this: The Woody Allen Story We Need To Stop Forgetting. Agreat piece on whether or not we can still love the work of reprehensible people.

"Last night when Woody was awarded a lifetime achievement award for what is undoubtably an outstanding, untouchable body of work, his biological son Ronan tweeted: "Missed the Woody Allen tribute - did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?""

Gah! The coolness! I'll take everything from the YmamaY? Winter 2014 range in size adult, please.

All roads lead to philosophy, on Wikipedia. The idea is that if you follow the first link from any article on Wikipedia, you will eventually end up at Philosophy. I tried it, starting with a randomly generated article on Sampans, Jura. 16 clicks later I was at Modern Philosophy, 17 clicks I was at Philosophy. Try it.

I got 13 out of 17 in this quiz on the opening lines of books. Can you do better?

I mentioned on twitter that one of my pet peeves is when people who missed out on Oscar nominations are described as having been 'snubbed', and my friend Francis directed me to this brilliant piece for The Movie Club ~ Why critics love Inside Llewyn Davis: It's about a critic.

"My highly scientific analysis of what happened with the nominations this morning is this: Those guys like stuff you don’t like and vice versa. Whatever and whoever else they are, academy voters are not critics..."

And then pretty much as soon as I got done reading the above article, my friend Cam tweeted a link to Robbed at the Oscars. How very serendipitous.

Hey, Hi, I want off your parenting team.

"It’s not that I have anything against attachment moms or eco-tree-huggers or health people or Team Green or any of them, it’s just that the SECOND you stick that label on my forehead is the SECOND I FALL DESPERATELY AND TERRIBLY SHORT and walk around feeling less than and like I’ve betrayed something. My people. My team."

Amen to the brilliant In the Name of Love.

"DWYL is a secret handshake of the privileged and a worldview that disguises its elitism as noble self-betterment."

A surprise Pride and Prejudice cosplay engagement. Amazing.

Get your fix of hot-storical Wilder Women here ~ 7 of the most badass women who ever lived (who you've probably never heard of).

I vividly remember being banned from the living room while my older siblings watched the 1987 film version of Flowers in the Attic. Now the incest-heavy book will be a Lifetime movie.

"In a world where Fifty Shades of Grey—which is far more explicit with its sex scenes and includes rape, but not incest—is now a bestseller, one wonders if Flowers in the Attic will resonate with a new audience. It’s tough to find someone under the age of 30 who has even heard of the series, let alone read it. When I asked my twenty-year-old students what their generation’s Flowers in the Attic is, they were stumped. The closest they could come was Twilight. While Twilight certainly has an underlying abuse trope, it doesn’t hold a candle to Flowers in the Attic. My students hypothesized that their generation has the Internet, so they don’t need to read dirty books under the covers."

14 Things We Learned from Bill Murray's Reddit AMA. What's not to love?

Habits of the World's Wealthiest People. I'm pretty sure that incorporating these habits into your life will make it better, money or no money.

Why I hate "I hate children..." Yes! Hate this sooo much.

The China National Orchestra performing Katy Perry's Roar. Seriously ~

(via Dooce)

Dancing always makes a movie better ~

(also via Dooce)