Fun fun fun till my daddy takes the car keys away.

Just found out today. Next week is SPRING BREAK! I'm totally going to Cancun. Maybe the "hottest 25 under 25" can be adapted to the "not bad 30 under 30."

Love Your Sexy Body

I just found out that this is National Love Your Body Week. Above is a cool poster that I found
on the University of Texas website.



This is the one at UNCA. It's by Byron Brown:

I think I like the one above, too.

For me, this week is more than just great poster designs. For me, it's more than the activities that college campuses are hosting (forums on eating disorders, art shows depicting all different body types, dances, lectures, throw away the scale parties...).

For me, like for many others, this week needs to happen all of the time. My long and tedious story involves more than fat grams, control, and the size of my jeans. I can't teach anyone anything about it, but I can tell my story and hope that no one follows my self-destructive obsessions. I can introduce people to beautiful ways to know their bodies-- the beauty of climbing and swimming without worrying about harness or bathing suit sizes.

Adventuring and risk saved me from my own control. I can't bring myself to give the advice, generalizations, and wishes for self-love that seem so cliche and blah. Instead, here is a poem by Lucille Clifton:

Homage to My Hips

these hips are big hips

they need space to move around in.

they don’t fit into little petty places.

these hips are free hips.

they don’t like to be held back.

these hips have never been enslaved,

they go where they want to go

they do what they want to do.

these hips are mighty hips.

these hips are magic hips.

i have known them

to put a spell on a man

and spin him like a top!

........................................................................................................................................

Bless your sexy body-------------------

Let the Homework Begin

When I got home yesterday (after spending the snowy day with Francis and half-watching this bizarre sci-fi movie called "Sunshine"), I saw a magical little usps envelope on my doorstep. Yes, you guessed it, my textbook: Economics: A Tool for Critically Understanding Society. It doesn't have the nice purple cover like in the picture (and in the bookstore), but it was like Christmas in January to get it.

Yea graphs! Yea supply and demand!

I'd be ecstatic if anyone would want to order it and read along. Econ textbook book club?

Go Bull Dogs!

Since being at the University of Arkansas, my pal Brain has really embraced the Razorback culture. He can quote stats and talk about the football coach for many minutes. He even met someone named (from birth) Ray. Middle name: Zorback. Put it together and you'll see that their fans are a little bit more hog-wild than our polite Colby White Mule fans. This logo (below) is actually a little tougher than the one that was presented when I was in college. I tried to find the older logos that was a cartoon of a horse-type animal with a big head and little body. Its eyes were huge as if opened in fear, pleading, "Please don't hurt me." They were kind and sad eyes.

Since being a new student at UNC Asheville with my 3 credit hours, I think I'm going to follow my friend's lead and embrace our little UNCA Bulldogs.

I'm only going to wear blue and white on the day of the "big game." Who knows if that big game is football or gymnastics or basketball. Hey, UNC-Chapel Hill is pretty good at basketball, right? I think that the sports fans don't actually call it "UNC Chapel Hill," though, I think they just call it "Carolina." Right? So is UNCA called "Carolina: Westside?"

There's so much to learn! I'm going to the bookstore to buy some drink cozies, little pom-poms and a stadium seat. GO TEAM!

.....

Actually, I think I need to reconsider this for a moment. My hesitation lies not in a lack of school spirit (I just thought of this cheer, "We're more than OK.. we're UNCA!"), but in the hyper-macho way that the bulldog looks.

I know that it's silly to put so much thought into the logo, but I love that branding stuff. I love clever packaging designs, posters, and book jackets. I do judge (and buy) books by their covers.

I used to read Adbusters for its anti-consumption stance, but then I discovered that I like it more for its artistic design. I like clever design, regardless of whether its intended to make me buy a belief or buy a burrito.

So when I started to look up these logos, I started to notice things like the little drip coming out of the Razorback's nose as if it were exhaling so violently that it spewed spit. Notice the eyes on the three logos on this page. I would describe them in this order: 1. scary and agressive 2. intelligent and discerning 3. insane and macho. I don't like those mean mascots. I'd rather have the confident and calm one like our sinewy mule.

Now, I know I'm not a competitive athlete (someone has to come in last place, right?), so maybe I'm missing something about how these mascots inspire the Venus Williams of the world. For all of you athletes out there... any thoughts? Maybe I'll go buy a REAL bulldog to inspire my school spirit.

Until then, I think I'll look into the Student Government Club.