How 'bout them Cowgirls

When it comes to fashion I absolutely love it. Even though I never have the time to get really dressed up, when I do I feel amazing. But there is one thing that I wear almost every single day that I love more than anything. And that is my cowboy boots. They are brown with a blueish top. When you look at my boots the first thing one would notice is that they are extremely worn out. If you could see the bottom of my boots you would see a hole in one of them. The sides of my boots are scraped. The toe of my boots are very wrinkly and scratched. The heel of my boot is practically gone, chipped away from the many steps I have taken I've had them for three years and its probably time to retire them. 

My boots aren't used just for fashion. They are used to work outdoors, which you can tell by just how worn out they are. They are extremely versatile. I can use them outdoors, when it rains, they came in handy when it snowed, and I could also throw a dress on and wear my boots with it. I feel like my boots are a good representation of who I am. Boots are associated with country living and I love living in the country. They represent a cowboy or cowgirl. Things that are associated with that label is being outdoors, having animals, farming, big trucks. Although not all of that is true for me, I do hope to achieve all of that. 

There have been many instances that people have assumed things about me because of my boots. For example I like country music, which is true. That I have horses, which is not true but I would like it to be. That I live on a farm, which is partially true. That I love the outdoors, which is true. Its amazing how just one thing I wear can give out these messages. If I did not wear my cowboy boots I do not think anyone would have assumed any of these things about me. I love my cowboy boots, they represent who I am. 

Fashion and Culture

This last week I spent most day trying to see fashion as it relates to culture. Then I saw that my Chinese coworker always has on a large white hat on.

I inquired about her hat and was told something that I was not aware of. She has been wearing the hat from the time she moved hear with her husband from China.

She is more afraid that  her skin will darken than she is of cancer. Light skin is considered "sexy" and want to look pretty for her husband.

When she learned that New Mexico was where they were going to move she keeps her wide brimmed hat from that day on.

She must love her husband to go though that every day.

- Book

Ads 'N Sports.

The world is filled with ads. Buy Buy Buy, Be a Man, Be a Woman, etc. Needless to say I am sick of ads.

At the place I work there is a runner. He runs all the time and even received permission to have his running magazine sent to his work address. Last months magazine  was in the trash. It was not dirty and I had some free time so I started to read it. 

I noticed that the majority of articles were small and few in between large ads for running shoes. They were full of sharp colors and contrast. The working was large but simple words like "RUN" "LIVE" and "BE MORE".

I found that I was starting to look at the shoes as something that I needed...then wanted. It was interesting as first of all I am not a runner (or even athletic).

Then I looked at the shoes I was wearing. Even though I bought them at the shoe discount store I reflected on why I had bought them. It was because between two identical pairs, this color configuration was the one on the poster as I had entered the store.

The power of ads with sports cannot be denied with me anyway.

- BOOK

Perhaps if They Were Included in the Lawsuits...

      First off, please accept my apologies for the negative tone of this particular journal entry.  The truth is, I find absolutely nothing positive about commercials and or other forms of advertisement.  We are bombarded by all practices of advertisements; the billboards which desecrate the beauty of the roadsides; matrix displays that distract motorists from paying attention to traffic; commercials interrupt the flow of television programs…  The manipulations by the corporate world with only one true purpose, to transfer your hard earned wages to the lining of the shareholders pockets.  The worst offenders in my opinion are the pharmaceutical companies, and the “celebrities” who endorse them. 
    One question that perhaps these celebrities should ask themselves when they consider accepting high salaries for endorsing drugs is this: “What right do I have to endanger lives by attaching my name to this product?”  There is not one medication which does not have side effects, many of them could be life threatening.  The rule of moderation does not apply when taking medication on a regular basis, ingesting foreign substances which unfortunately are NOT tested for a period extensive enough to determine the long term cumulative effects on the body. 
      Doing research for this project I ran across a statement of gratitude on the web to Sally Field for her endorsement of Boniva, a medication prescribed for osteoporosis.  There are several law firms currently seeking cases for class action law suits which include Sally’s endorsed product as well as similar treatments due to severe fractures of hips, femurs, jaws.  Let’s not forget to mention esophageal cancer.  One has to wonder if the person who publicly thanked Sally is so very appreciative now, or rather is she one of the devastated victims of this poison’s side effects.
      It is sad that people are so gullible as to be persuaded to purchase products on the word of a celebrity, someone who has no medical training.  But is not this exactly what the marketing professionals the pharmaceutical companies hire want us to do?  After all who can turn down the innocent “Flying Nun”?
      The next question is how many people have these notables convinced to try the products they endorsed:  Brian Vickers, NASCAR Driver, Xarelto (blood thinner):  Tom Urich, actor, Pradaxa (prescribed for AFib):  Victoza, (type 2 diabetes) Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, and Celebrity Chef Paula Deen:  Enbrel (arthritis medication) is Pro Golfer Phil Micklelson’s drug of choice: Viagra, yep that infamous and miraculous little blue pill (erectile dysfunction) promoted by actress Kelly King.  All of these medications are currently involved in litigations due to the serious side effects. Model CariDee English is a big fan of Stelara (Psoriasis medication); Blythe Danner’s Prolia, (for osteoporosis) and Sally Field’s Boniva all have several attorneys frothing at the mouth for victims to come forth so that they may increase their bank balance with the settlement funds they will earn by suing the producers of these drugs. 
      How many bodies have been damaged beyond their initial affliction because they ignored the warnings which are included in all commercials?  Why? Because it was endorsed by someone well known, a person who has somehow earned our trust through their notoriety.  Sad really.
      In writing this diatribe, I realized that there are actually a couple of commercials that have stimulated a positive response within me.  The first earned its emotional attachment through my Grandmother, God rest her soul.  I cannot see a Flo (Progressive Insurance) commercial without reacting.  My grandma was a huge fan of Flo’s, and I can still see her smile and hear her giggling whenever the mute button has been neglected during the dreaded “word from our sponsor” sessions.
      The second but ALL TIME favorite has to be the one and ONLY time I was able to witness a commercial which blew up my arch nemesis of the advertisement world, the Energizer Bunny.  Unfortunately, this commercial did not last long on air, no doubt the Energizer people took issue to the absolutely fabulous flurry of pink fur floating in the background!  I have always said, good things generally don’t last long!

      This post contains links to the commercials as well as a link to the FDA homepage should you like to research any of the medications listed above.

Beautiful Hair

I am one who watches tv very often, one thing about tv that intrigues me is infomercials. Their layout is always the same. They over exaggerate a daily task and make it look much more difficult than it really is and then they introduce this magical product that will make this "difficult" daily task much more easy. I usually never fall for these infomercials, I laugh at them and enjoy how ridiculous they can be. But one day there was an infomercial for a product called the Instyler. This product is a hair straightener and a hair curler. It was advertised as an easy innovative way to not only straighten or curl your hair but the way this product was designed was supposed to keep your hair from getting heat damage and make it soft and shiny in half the amount of time it would take a regular hair straightener or curler. How amazing!

As a girl who spends sometimes an hour styling my hair I was immediately intrigued. My hair suffered from years of heat damage and I thought this product was the perfect solution, so I bought it, a decision I now regret. In the infomercials there was a person who was seen styling someones hair with the innovative Instyler, it looked so simple and easy. But when I got my Instyler and turned it on, the first thing I noticed was it made a terribly loud buzzing sound, a sound that was absent from all the commercials I had seen. But I thought, well if it works the way the commercial says I guess the noise isn't too bad. I gathered a piece of my hair and ran it through the Instyler,  much to my disappointment this product no where near reached the outcome I had watched over and over on those infomercials. My hair was not suddenly straightened, shiny or soft. This was the worst styling product I have ever experienced.

When I first saw these infomercials it made me feel like this product would simplify my life, beautify my hair, and be a solution to my hair problems. The commercial had made me feel like I needed this product and my life would be much better with it. The design of this product seemed so innovative, it looked like no other styling product I had seen before. I fell for the advertisement of this product, but now the amazing Instyler sits in my drawer never to be used again.

The Little Fellow with a Moustache

One of the many things in my home that I treasure is my Bialetti Moka. It is a product that transports me to Spain every time I enjoy a cup of java made with this coffee-maker. My wife and I vacationed at multiple cities in Spain during our honeymoon and every morning and afternoon we enjoyed a few relaxing cups of this sweet and earthy café con leche that remained the same no matter which café or restaurant we dined in. After returning home, I longed for this coffee and tried everything I could to replicate it. I purchased coffees from Italy and Africa, and a sugar-roasted coffee from Spain, in case it was an imported varietal that was key, and none of them reproduced this unique flavor. I then tried pulling espresso shots for different lengths of time and heating up the milk to various temperatures in case the key was to slightly scald either or both of them to create that earthy flavor, but that didn’t work either. A year later I resigned my quest to the sad possibility that I would never be able to experience this delectable coffee outside of Europe. Then bliss struck while visiting my wonderful Italian friend! The key was this wonderful little stovetop machine with the cute little man with a moustache pointing one finger toward the sky! I have yet to figure out how exactly it creates this unique flavor; however, I’m not sure that’s really what’s important to me here. Having been a long-time patron at a coffee shop where they roasted many coffees from all over world, I’ve enjoyed hundreds of varieties carefully roasted and prepared by very expensive machines and I have never enjoyed them so much as I do my café con leche made with a $25.00 stovetop coffee-maker.

The meanings this object evokes for me are those of freedom, truth/authenticity, and oneness. This product is the gateway for me to go on vacation to my wife's ancestral homeland and partake in the ritual of sipping this sweet and earthy café con leche while enjoying the company of my wife and/or friends. I would be curious to know whether this type of "transporting" experience is why those with Bialetti Moka’s were compelled to purchase one. If so, I imagine that this experience would be something that really speaks to their foreign customers. The only meaning they associate their product with appears to be that of truth and integrity. The selling points on their website store say the following:

“Moka Express is the world’s most recognized and cherished coffee maker. Over 120 million cups of this delicious, aromatic coffee is made internationally every day. And “L’Omino” (the “Little Man”) – who’s figure is on every coffeepot – is the trusted symbol of quality and authenticity.”

I think there’s definitely a need for them to explore why it’s the world’s most cherished coffee maker and work to capitalize on the experiences their machines evoke for most.