My big task of today was going to the violin store for repairs.
Inside the violin store.
I figured they don't care what I wear in the violin store since they cater to musicians which means they probably get a whole bunch of interesting clients. So I wore a pink tutu skirt, sparkly black leg warmers, a black fishnet shirt with my "I don't sweat I sparkle" tank top over it, a fish skull necklace, and axe earrings. I'm also wearing black toenail polish, but you can't see my feet in these pictures.
Today was the first day of Survey of Circus for Bone and me. The class was awesome! I was the fattest one and also the only man, but it was a very welcoming environment. They are also clearly GLBT friendly - the bathrooms are gender neutral and they asked everyone for their preferred pronouns at the start of class. Not bad!
Closeup of the feet of a tightrope walker.
For our first class, we did tightrope walking. We started walking along taped lines on the floor to learn the techniques, then graduated to a metal pole about the width of a shower curtain rod that was about a foot and a half above the ground, and then finally to the actual tightrope, which was also low to the ground. For the tightrope part we had to wear shoes that are basically glorified ballet flats because the tightrope isn't comfortable on your feet. I was probably the least coordinated one there, but I had a blast and I'm so glad I went!
Tightrope walking gorilla.
Also because it's on theme, here's a link to Grand Corps Malade's Funambule (means "Tightrope Walker" in English).
This week I've done nothing but work work work work work work.
I'm even posting this from work.
What else? I hung out with Cupcake and we worked on making fairy costumes for an event this weekend. My big achievement of the evening was my fairy dust bottle. I took a $1 round glass bottle with cork stopper from the dollar store and used jute twine to weave a net around it and braid a strap so I can wear it. Then I mixed salt and food coloring to make the fairy dust which I then put into the bottle. I also have these kickass paper maché horns left over from a dragon costume I wore to a parade and costume contest several years ago which I thought would work perfectly for my fairy costume. Since I don't have an entire dragon headpiece to attach them to this time, I figured that while I was on a rope work kick I could weave a crown for them to attach to. Unfortunately my crown looks more like an 80s headband. Back to the drawing board?
Ok. I'm going to tell you all about my trip today but first! I got the sweetest present ever! My very generous and very talented friend Ferris knitted me a shawl! And it matches the blanket she made for my goddaughter. Awwww!
Shawl with note from Ferris.
Me and my shawl!
Me using the shawl on my head.
Today I went with my friend Olive and her daughter (Former Nannying Kid) to the Museum of Fine Arts. I was going to get us library passes but it turns out Olive is a member so we got in for free! I've been dying to see the "#techstyle" exhibit and she has wanted to see the "Megacities Asia" exhibit so it was a perfect plan.
The #techstyle exhibit contained some really cool stuff. Threeasfour's Harmonograph dress which is shaped like a swirl and based on the Fibonacci sequence, Pauline Van Dongen's neoprene black dress with solar paneled collar that can charge a cell phone after two hours in the sun, Kate Goldsworthy's Zero Waste Dress, Ying Gao's Incertitudes shirt and short which respond to audio waves, and Issey Mikaye and Jun Mitani's 123 5 Collection which are origami inspired sustainable recycled polyester dresses fold into flat polygons for easy packing. Plus lots more...
"Molecule" Shoe by Francis Bitonti Studio Inc.
Anthozoa Cape and Skirt by Iris van Herpen and Neri Oxman with Prof. W. Craig Carter.
Ensemble by Noa Raviv.
The #techstyle exhibit even has Viktoria Modesta's spike prosthetic leg. For those who don't know, she's a Latvian pop star and MIT fellow who had her lower leg amputated when she was 20 and she has incorporated really awesome prosthetics into her futuristic image. Here's an example:
The Megacities Asia exhibit is actually sprawled throughout the museum (plus outside the Huntington entrance and at Faneuil Hall), just like megacities sprawl. A megacity is a city with a population of over ten million and Asia has more than any other continent. This exhibit has works by eleven artists who respond to the conditions of their home cities Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Seoul by making sculptures using objects they encounter in daily life in those cities. Here are some pictures I dug up online of the exhibit:
Snake Ceiling (2009) by Ai Weiwei.
8' x 12' (2009) by Hema Upadhyay.
Forever (2003) by Ai Weiwei.
If you live in MA or the surrounding areas and can make a trip to the MFA to see these exhibits, I think it's totally worth it.
Ok. I came up with this outfit idea the last time I had a cold. I'm wearing it now because I feel like it. Long story short - Texas is immunocompromised so if I even suspect that I'm coming down with something I need to wear a mask and gloves to avoid getting him sick. All of the mask-wearing got me thinking about how I could incorporate germ protection into a Fierce Friday outfit. I took my inspiration from an unlikely source: Asia!
You see, in Asia, people wear surgical masks in public. This is partly due to flu season, partly due to heavy air pollution, partly to hide zits or cold sores, and partly because now they are cool. I googled it because I was curious about why I kept seeing so many Asian people wearing surgical masks in the subway and I found this article that gives some background explanation. So I decided to wear a funkier mask next time I got sick. And then I figured if I was going to wear a mask, then I might as well take some inspiration from k-pop (that is, Korean pop music).
I'm wearing a black skeleton face mask, dark wash jeans, black fishnet shirt with a black tank top that says "I don't sweat I sparkle" over it, black cap, screw earrings, pink sparkly nail polish, and pink shoes. I figure the fishnet/no sleeve shirt combo will keep me cool in the heat and if I do get sweaty my shirt will explain to people that "I don't sweat I sparkle."
So is this k-pop style? That's debatable. K-pop style tends to be more sophisticated and androgynous with a lot of funky asymmetrical cuts but since they don't make that sort of thing for fat guys I'd have to DIY it and I'm lazy. At any rate, here's my outfit:
Me!
A picture focusing on my shirt and nail polish.
Me making bizarre eyes at the camera.
Body shot.
Side headshot so you can see my screw earrings.
And since I feel like it, here is BigBang's "Fantastic Baby" which is the first kpop video I ever saw:
Guyliner! Gas masks! Jewelry! Raves with lion dancing! Rebellion against the music-hating state! I hope you can see why I like this music video.
That all said, I have two more things to point out...
Thing one: this whole wearing face masks in public thing is kind of fun, but it is totally an example of white privilege. If you don't believe me, do a thought experiment about what would happen to a black man who chose to walk about the city in a face mask like the one I am wearing today. No good, right? People would judge him as dangerous and he might get stopped by the police. If you are white and you choose to walk in my fashion shoes then I need you to remember that you're able to do so because of white privilege. And I want you, my fellow white people, to dedicate your time and energy towards ending racism. Because if you're white and you are not doing that then you are part of the problem. Let's work to be part of the solution instead, ok?
Thing two: I am giving you a required reading link to the article "Why We Need To Take Responsibility For Anti-Black Racism in K-Pop" by Chris Lee. The link is about anti-black racism in kpop, and it specifically calls out BigBang for some asshole shit. So basically love the music, hate the BS.
Ok. Today's Fierce Friday is inspired by a memory.
A long long time ago, I had a friend. We used to hang out and listen to punk tapes and play video games in his basement and run around his neighborhood pulling stupid pranks. But the important part of the story is that this kid had a gay older brother. He was the only openly queer teenager I'd ever met. I thought he was impossibly cool and also incredibly brave for being out in an area where nobody else was brave enough to come out. Unsurprisingly enough, I had a ginormous crush on him. And also unsurprisingly, I was terrified to talk to him because I thought he might be able to smell the gay on me.
Graffiti of a woman shooting a gun that says "Not gay as in happy but queer as in fuck you!"
Long story short, one summer we had a sleepover and my friend fell asleep super early. In classic terrible-gay-teenage-movie style, I snuck upstairs to the older brother's room. Instead of kicking me out, he invited me in. I can still remember his outfit: ratty jeans, stained white t-shirt, wearing black eyeliner, black nail polish, a bunch of bracelets made from stretched out insides of soda bottle caps, and safety pin earrings. He was a weird mix of hardcore and sweet, with curly red hair and freckles. I was too terrified to talk so I sat awkwardly on his floor staring at my feet. Instead of trying to talk, he introduced me to queercore by playing from his collection of mix tapes. When he played the song "Deep Water" by the Pansy Division I remember being particularly moved. Until that moment I'd had no idea there were gay musicians and I couldn't believe how perfectly the song explained my life. Things went on from there and he introduced me to gay second base before we heard his mom get up to use the bathroom, at which point we panicked and snuck me back out of his room.
I have no idea what happened to either of them because I had drifted apart from my friend by the time we got to high school. I heard from someone else that the older brother left home when he turned 18. I hope they're living really awesome lives now. I know my life was better for having known them. Having met an older queer teenager who made it out gave me hope after I came out and spent the rest of my teenage years being harassed.
Anyway, in honor of my friend's brother I'm wearing jeans, my shirt from Working Class Acupuncture (side note: their book "Acupuncture is Like Noodles" is a good one), my rather aged pink shoes, some old-school black gummy bracelets, a black cap, black nail polish, and black suspenders. I considered adding safety pin earrings just because but there were no safety pins in my room when I got dressed and I was too lazy to look for them.
A slightly blurry head shot of me.
Body shot of me.
Me making a weird face and showing off my sledding bruise.
My awesome "Code Pink" shoes.
Closeup of my shirt. It's a black shirt with red text that says "Acupuncture can change the world"
in a circle around a closed fist with acupuncture points marked in stars on it.
Ok. This Fierce Friday is one that lots of you have been waiting for and it's inspired by one of my favorite kids' shows: Phineas and Ferb!
I'm wearing my jeans with the orange cuffs, a teal shirt with a teal sweater over it, a brown fedora with black band, an orange paracord survival bracelet, and orange nail polish. I was going to wear my orange wooden bead necklace but couldn't find it this morning. Oh well. So, can you guess which character I am?
It's Fierce Friday AND the day after my birthday! I will recap the birthday things on Sunday after the partying is done. For now, my outfit...
Me in jeans jacket, grey scarf, and blue patterned hat.
In honor of my birthday, I'm wearing something pretty and daring. Today I'm wearing lace! I have a dark blue lacy camisole that is surprisingly comfortable. I've worn it with lovers and alone in my room but never out in public. I've decided that my birthday week is the perfect week for its public debut. I even found a nail polish color that matches.
To balance this shocking display of femininity I am wearing jeans, stompy boots, and what I like to call my "dog tags for Jesus." I would've gone for the whole "leather and lace" thing but I don't wear leather. Anyone want to gift me a vegan leather jacket? No? Right. Anyway, in lieu of leather I went for my own twist on leather and lace with an entirely different masculine jacket - a jeans jacket borrowed from a friend who clearly didn't realize he's never getting it back. Muahahaha...
Ok just kidding. It's not nice to steal things. Plus he's about 6 feet tall so the jacket is too big on me. I'll give it back - eventually. You know. Some day in the future when I finally buy or make one for myself that actually fits.
Me in my Fierce Friday outfit smiling at the camera.
Closeup of necklace and lace.
Laying down so you can see my whole body.
Throwing the devil horns and sticking out my tongue.
Also, because I've now talked about leather and lace so much, I feel obligated to post the song "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley. It's a pretty song that I remember my mom playing in the kitchen when I was a kid.
It's Fierce Friday again and I've decided to rebel against the cold weather by wearing an outfit inspired by spring and the flowered Dr. Martens I acquired for free when they stopped fitting their original owner. Yay!
White Dr. Marten boots with pink flowers, ribbon laces, yellow socks.
I'm wearing a maroon t-shirt, my flowery scarf, jeans, the aforementioned Docs, and red nail polish. Also my bicycle bracelet, a cheerful necklace, and a ridiculous sun hat because why not?
Me on my way to work: flowered scarf, black sun hat.
Body shot: red shirt, colorful bead necklace, bike bracelet, jeans, flowered boots.
Me without the hat so you can see my new haircut.
Me with the hat and my hand with nail polish and bike bracelet.
And because I feel like sharing a song that makes me feel like spring... My ex boyfriend introduced me to the song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" by Tom Lehrer and I particularly enjoy this Mary Poppins mashup of it. I am a bad, bad vegetarian:
