Grand Prix All Up in My Biz

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Last weekend the city of Baltimore welcomed a bunch of high-speed cars and their international drivers to careen around the city streets that us city dwellers merely use for gridlock. This is the 2nd year Baltimore has hosted the Grand Prix, which at first I only liked because it brought attention and dollars to the fair city (charm city) in which I live. But since my boyfriend just happens to be a prix fan, or rather a Fan of Fancy Cars That Drive Around But Definitely Not NASCAR, he loaded up on tickets for the weekend and I let him drag me there for one of the days.

Outside events typically aren't my thing. There's something about the combination of aluminum bleachers + burning hot sun with no shade + port-a-potty's that can ruin a good weekend day. This is why, years ago, I dragged my boyfriend away from a Ravens game to go sit somewhere cool and air conditioned before the game was over (he claims we were there only 5 minutes; I claim 10 days). But for the Grand Prix I decided to put on a brave face and suck it up. A brave face and lots of sunscreen, and a hat.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd witnessed a bunch of races on TV, but in person I was worried I'd get vertigo trying to track the cars zooming by. Luckily my boyfriend had picked some killer seats, not only high up in a corner with no one in front of us, but also in a spot where we could witness cars careening by one way, then turning around and heading back towards the other. This allowed me time to figure out which car I needed to root for, and I settled on a green Ferrarri.

My boyfriend informed me it wasn't JUST a green Ferrarri, but the Team Patron Ferrari 458 Italia. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize there was not one, but TWO of them on the track. I had actually chosen this particular green car initially because it had the funniest, loudest PUTT-PUTT-PUTT sound as the driver was down-shifting around the corners (using the flappy-paddle gear box, as the Top Gear boys have taught me to say). So I kept clapping for it, which was pretty stupid since I wasn't the only one wearing earplugs.

Blissfully, after an hour the sun disappeared behind some hazy clouds and the seats weren't nearly as unbearable. I enjoyed myself (after wolfing down a giant pretzel), and it was hard to deny how exciting it was just to hear those cars zooming around, trapped between the concrete barriers like a pack of angry wasps, let alone see them. My boyfriend graciously let us duck out early to meet a friend at a bar with a view of the track, and I was proud for our city to have successfully hosted such an event. It's rare when I experience moments of civic pride, but I do indeed have them. (Also, I'm proud of myself for not being an indoors-only spoilsport as per usual).

Go green car!

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Vampire Saturation

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I've held off on watching True Blood for a while. At first I heard things like "this show is amazing! You gotta watch!" and then it quickly turned to "that show is crap" or "it's just a big dumb soap opera" to eventually "omg you have to watch because the men are so hot". So obviously, I became intrigued. As someone who's been too inundated with images of naked women romping about (Game of Thrones, even though I love you, give it a rest already), I figured it was fine time to get to see a show that celebrated the male form. The NUDE male form. Hence, True Blood.

But even though my initial impulse to watch wasn't necessarily noble, I quickly became interested in the story and fell in love with (most) of the characters. Lafayette, Tara, Sam, Jason, Alcide, Jessica, Eric, Andy, Pam .... just a few who are never predictable and every time you see them they add another notch of complexity. Much like Friday Night Lights, it's easy to pigeonhole these "types" before you get to know them, and then watch as they unfold into ever changing, unpredictable people.

Except for Sookie. Ugh. Can they do something with her, please?

Sure, I could tell on the series when they were throwing in obligatory Maenad sex parties or romps with fairies in the forest in order to boost ratings. Luckily the strength of the actors was enough to keep things interesting and flowing and not cringeworthy when the script suddenly made someone a little TOO over-the-top.

So I just want to thank you, True Blood, for all the seasons I recently binge-watched. As I mention in this post on my other blog, summer is not my favorite time and these cold-cheeked vamps have helped me get through another one.

Oh, and does Pam remind anyone else of Janice?

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Vampire Saturation

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I've held off on watching True Blood for a while. At first I heard things like "this show is amazing! You gotta watch!" and then it quickly turned to "that show is crap" or "it's just a big dumb soap opera" to eventually "omg you have to watch because the men are so hot". So obviously, I became intrigued. As someone who's been too inundated with images of naked women romping about (Game of Thrones, even though I love you, give it a rest already), I figured it was fine time to get to see a show that celebrated the male form. The NUDE male form. Hence, True Blood.

But even though my initial impulse to watch wasn't necessarily noble, I quickly became interested in the story and fell in love with (most) of the characters. Lafayette, Tara, Sam, Jason, Alcide, Jessica, Eric, Andy, Pam .... just a few who are never predictable and every time you see them they add another notch of complexity. Much like Friday Night Lights, it's easy to pigeonhole these "types" before you get to know them, and then watch as they unfold into ever changing, unpredictable people.

Except for Sookie. Ugh. Can they do something with her, please?

Sure, I could tell on the series when they were throwing in obligatory Maenad sex parties or romps with fairies in the forest in order to boost ratings. Luckily the strength of the actors was enough to keep things interesting and flowing and not cringeworthy when the script suddenly made someone a little TOO over-the-top.

So I just want to thank you, True Blood, for all the seasons I recently binge-watched. As I mention in this post on my other blog, summer is not my favorite time and these cold-cheeked vamps have helped me get through another one.

Oh, and does Pam remind anyone else of Janice?

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Me N' Thomas Jefferson - Twinsies

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This past weekend, while traipsing through a few of the 200 magical vineyards that Virginia has to offer, my boyfriend, his sister and brother-in-law, and I all decided to stop by good ol' Monticello and pay homage to Thomas Jefferson's crazy, elaborate mansion. If you've never been to Monticello before, and are also considering stopping by James Madison's Montpelier first, definitely do Montpelier FIRST, because it's a good warm up. If you went to Monticello first, then Montpelier would be kind of a letdown. And then the thing that you'd reminisce over the most was seeing an old guy's car with no e-brake slowly rolling/crashing  into another car in the parking lot.

But Monticello - woooeee is it a lot of fun! So I'm not an expert of historical sites, but one of the best things about Monticello is that it's determinedly unique and quirky. With other homes, it was obvious the owners just wanted to show off and pump a lot of money into the tapestries or the staircase. But Jefferson's singular purpose was to have everything look cool from the outside, and screw everyone who had to inhabit the weirdness of the resulting interior. Gotta love a man with purpose!

One of the ways he managed this was by having giant windows on the first floor, smaller windows on the second floor (that were at floor level to the rooms), and nothing but skylights on the third level. That way everything looked like one big room from the outside. Then he capped this all off with a dome surrounded by windows, which were kind of (but not quite) symmetrical.

Design philosophy like this suits my personality just fine and I'll tell you why. Sometimes things just don't seem to line up properly the way you imagined, no matter how much thought and planning you put into it. So what are you going to do, scrap the whole project? Heavens no! You're going to make slight adjustments to windows, so some of them are still symmetrical but some graciously incorporate the use of a mirror so you won't have to view the awkward roof right outside (which would have totally destroyed the illusion of seamlessness).

And who cares if you're going to have random, creepy rooms created as a result that people don't really have a use for?

One of my favorite inventions/designs that Jefferson envisioned was a giant clock inside his front entryway, complete with weights and big markings for the days of the week going down one side of the wall. The only problem was, he mismeasured and Saturday didn't fit in the room. Did he change his design or scrap the idea? Eff no. He simply drilled a hole in the floor so that Saturday could hang out below and still be included with the rest of the gang. Again - that's problem solving I can get down with. He also had no use for stairs and even though OTHER people in the house might need them, he strived to make them as narrow, steep, and inconvenient as possible to get to. Further proof that he had no problem ignoring the upper levels of his house.

So I definitely recommend visiting Monticello and taking in all the design wonders inside and outside the house that Jefferson envisioned.

 Even though, really, there's no contest for winner of his best invention ever. And that is The Wine Elevator, hidden in his living room fireplace. Aww yeah.

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"Some Kind" of Actress

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This dude in Starbucks today told me I reminded him of "some kind of actress", which left me a bit perplexed. He couldn't remember exactly who, and that was the most information he could give me. Yet he felt compelled to tell me such.

Anytime I'm approached by a stranger, purely for them to compare me to someone else, I get curious. What is this interaction meant to do, for them, and for me? What was it about the way I ordered my tea that made me remind him of an actress? Why an actress? And what on earth kind of an actress? What is he basing this comparison on - do I look more likely to bust out a monologue than the guy in line behind me? I think I have a right to know exactly in which way I'm being judged:

  1. My make-up choice that day
  2. The gracefully forced way I interacted with the Starbucks barista
  3. My Outfit
  4. The flair I demonstrated while dumping sugar in my cup
  5. The obscene show of wealth I displayed by plopping my ten cents of change into the tip jar
Somewhere, buried in those ol' mannerisms of mine ... is an ACTRESS. One that DOES SOMETHING. Y'know, I thought my time spent in seventh grade as Hot Lips Houlihan in our middle school's production of M*A*S*H was long buried in my past, but clearly it's stuck with me. And it's written on my face large enough for anyone to approach me and see.
Does anyone else have trouble with this kind of pronouncements from strangers? It always leaves me feeling a bit embarrassed.

Except, of course, when I'm approached by fellow Gallaghers. We Gallaghers are a strange breed, with the curious habit of seeking one another out, just to ask "Where are you from? Where are your ancestors from in Ireland?" then flash the signature Gallagher teeth n' eyebrows . . .

. . .  and awkwardly wander away. And that I don't mind one bit.

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This Warms the Cuckolds of My Heart

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The cuckolds that yearn for more kick-ass ladies onscreen ... Your dream picks for the female Expendables, courtesy of Jezebel.

Which include ...

Feel free to add your own nominations!

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Femme Con this weekend!

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I have the pleasure of exhibiting at the Femme Conference 2012 this weekend, which is happening right around the corner from my li'l ol' home! The conference actually started today with oodles of panels, but I'll be stuck here tonight working away in prep for tomorrow ...

If you're headed to the conference, stop by and say hi! I'll be in the vendor arena.

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Kick-Ass Women: Tyra Collette

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Nope, not Tyra Banks (though there was a time when I loved me some America's Next Top Model).

Since I've mentioned before that I'm working my way through back issues of popular shows, I'm referring to Tyra Collette from Friday Night Lights. Now, before I say anything, I have to say that I'm only part-way through Season 3, so this is purely based on what's happened to Tyra thus far. There are some spoilers below, though, for those few of you who, like me, are only now just watching this super awesome show.

I count Tyra as one of my Kick-Ass Women for three reasons:

  1. She kicked her mother's abusive boyfriend out of the house - hell, SCARED him out of the house with a fireplace poker
  2. She didn't let a rapist shame her into silence
  3. She channeled her rage into being an awesome hitter on her school's volleyball team

At the beginning of the show, Tyra was depicted as just the trashy ex-girlfriend of Tim Riggins. With some mishaps here and there, she was getting labeled as the "no good girl" that The Taylors didn't want their daughter Julie hanging out with. But when Mrs. Taylor reaches out to Tyra to give her a wake-up call on her schoolwork, we get a window into how effed up Tyra's home life is. Basically, her weak, man-crazy Mom would rather Tyra capitalize on her looks and not aim too high in her academic future. Luckily, even though Tyra loves her mom and only wants to make her happy, she struggles to do something foreign to her and start taking her classes seriously.

Tyra enlists the help of nerdy and loveable Landry as a tutor. They get along well, and she feels more comfortable studying around someone she views as so desperately nerdy that in contrast she'll still remain cool. They plan on meeting up for a study date, and then this is when the shit hits the fan.

Tyra is waiting for Landry in a cafe and strikes up a conversation with a friendly stranger. When Landry's car breaks down and he's late getting to Tyra, she gives up and starts to go home. The stranger pounces on her, drags her into his truck and attempts to rape her. This was such an unexpected and terrifying way for the story to go -- I was worried the show was trying to "pull a Mad Men" and rape (who I viewed to be) one of their strongest female characters.

Luckily Tyra gets away, and Landry arrives to help with the fallout. She's understandably shaken and terrified that the rapist will come back - and she has reason to be worried. In the episodes that follow she's stalked by the guy until he picks his moment and attacks again - while she's waiting outside a convenience store for Landry to get snacks (I'm sorry - who does that when they're worried they're being trailed by a crazy person?? Waits outside alone?). Again Tyra has to fight for her life and does as viciously as she can, and once Landry returns the two fend him off. (And by fend him off, I mean accidentally kill him. I warned of spoilers!)

This episode really shook me, I think because I viewed Tyra as such an intimidating presence. None of the boys in school wanted to mess with her, and she exuded a powerful presence beyond just her height. There are times in my life when I wonder what I'd do in such a situation - it was one of the main reasons why I wrote this comic.  So three cheers to a depiction of a strong female character fighting off her attacker - yay Tyra!

Oh, and as a sidenote - I'm so, so bummed that Adrianne Palicki got her chance to play Wonder Woman ruined by such an awful script. Boo. Can we have someone write WW for TV that wants to make it good? Please?

Past Kick-Ass Women:

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Kick-Ass Women: Tyra Collette

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Nope, not Tyra Banks (though there was a time when I loved me some America's Next Top Model).

Since I've mentioned before that I'm working my way through back issues of popular shows, I'm referring to Tyra Collette from Friday Night Lights. Now, before I say anything, I have to say that I'm only part-way through Season 3, so this is purely based on what's happened to Tyra thus far. There are some spoilers below, though, for those few of you who, like me, are only now just watching this super awesome show.

I count Tyra as one of my Kick-Ass Women for three reasons:

  1. She kicked her mother's abusive boyfriend out of the house - hell, SCARED him out of the house with a fireplace poker
  2. She didn't let a rapist shame her into silence
  3. She channeled her rage into being an awesome hitter on her school's volleyball team

At the beginning of the show, Tyra was depicted as just the trashy ex-girlfriend of Tim Riggins. With some mishaps here and there, she was getting labeled as the "no good girl" that The Taylors didn't want their daughter Julie hanging out with. But when Mrs. Taylor reaches out to Tyra to give her a wake-up call on her schoolwork, we get a window into how effed up Tyra's home life is. Basically, her weak, man-crazy Mom would rather Tyra capitalize on her looks and not aim too high in her academic future. Luckily, even though Tyra loves her mom and only wants to make her happy, she struggles to do something foreign to her and start taking her classes seriously.

Tyra enlists the help of nerdy and loveable Landry as a tutor. They get along well, and she feels more comfortable studying around someone she views as so desperately nerdy that in contrast she'll still remain cool. They plan on meeting up for a study date, and then this is when the shit hits the fan.

Tyra is waiting for Landry in a cafe and strikes up a conversation with a friendly stranger. When Landry's car breaks down and he's late getting to Tyra, she gives up and starts to go home. The stranger pounces on her, drags her into his truck and attempts to rape her. This was such an unexpected and terrifying way for the story to go -- I was worried the show was trying to "pull a Mad Men" and rape (who I viewed to be) one of their strongest female characters.

Luckily Tyra gets away, and Landry arrives to help with the fallout. She's understandably shaken and terrified that the rapist will come back - and she has reason to be worried. In the episodes that follow she's stalked by the guy until he picks his moment and attacks again - while she's waiting outside a convenience store for Landry to get snacks (I'm sorry - who does that when they're worried they're being trailed by a crazy person?? Waits outside alone?). Again Tyra has to fight for her life and does as viciously as she can, and once Landry returns the two fend him off. (And by fend him off, I mean accidentally kill him. I warned of spoilers!)

This episode really shook me, I think because I viewed Tyra as such an intimidating presence. None of the boys in school wanted to mess with her, and she exuded a powerful presence beyond just her height. There are times in my life when I wonder what I'd do in such a situation - it was one of the main reasons why I wrote this comic.  So three cheers to a depiction of a strong female character fighting off her attacker - yay Tyra!

Oh, and as a sidenote - I'm so, so bummed that Adrianne Palicki got her chance to play Wonder Woman ruined by such an awful script. Boo. Can we have someone write WW for TV that wants to make it good? Please?

Past Kick-Ass Women:

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This is going to take some getting used to ...

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Woo hoo! Now that my new website is all up and running (of course, you should ignore the bits that are still blank - what, did you expect this to be a COMPLETE site or something??), it's funny to be posting a blog post here about the fact that there's a new Bonnie here!

But here's a link to where you can find Bonnie now, in case you don't feel like searching.

:)  Welcome everyone!

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This is going to take some getting used to ...

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Woo hoo! Now that my new website is all up and running (of course, you should ignore the bits that are still blank - what, did you expect this to be a COMPLETE site or something??), it's funny to be posting a blog post here about the fact that there's a new Bonnie here!

But here's a link to where you can find Bonnie now, in case you don't feel like searching.

:)  Welcome everyone!

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This is going to take some getting used to ...

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Woo hoo! Now that my new website is all up and running (of course, you should ignore the bits that are still blank - what, did you expect this to be a COMPLETE site or something??), it's funny to be posting a blog post here about the fact that there's a new Bonnie here!

But here's a link to where you can find Bonnie now, in case you don't feel like searching.

:)  Welcome everyone!

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Big Ch-changes!

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So .... I know I mentioned this ages ago, but I've been working on a website redo. Actually, instead of a "website redo" let's call it MONDO MIGRATION 2012. That sounds  much more epic.

And as you might be able to tell by how long it's taken me to even mention it again, it hasn't been the most seamless process. For one, my knowledge of web design has been buried in tables (oh tables, how I will always love you!) and only recently have I started coding at a 2005-era level. So since the plan was to revamp my site in WordPress, this has taken me a wee bit of time to learn what's what. Over the next couple days, I'll keep you guys informed of what's going on so when it's live, hopefully there won't be too many problems.

Oh, who am I kidding. My method of web design is like that of a cornered badger - a combination of frozen terror and things flying everywhere. But I promise I will hack and claw away until everything is working properly! For the most part, I'm pretty proud of what I've been able to accomplish thus far.

Here are some annoying things that will happen:

  • Some of the links to my pages will probably change. So, if you had any particular pages bookmarked, you'll need to find them again and re-bookmark. This shouldn't be too painful, but unfortunately necessary.
  • Any comments that people have left on my comic will disappear. *sniff sniff* But not on the blog - if you've left blog comments, they'll be safe!
  • My blog will permanently switch over to my main site, so all of my posts here will migrate over to eatyourlipstick.com, so please follow me over there once the switch is complete!

And it'll have simpler navigation and more fun things to look at, to boot! But enough with all the whining, here's a sneak peek at what it'll look like!

 

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CCRG Bout Tomorrow!

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I'll be selling my wares tomorrow night at the Charm City Roller Girls bout at Du Burns Arena! Come on out to cheer on our local teams - Female Trouble and the CCRG All Stars, or go crazy and support the out-of-towners - Garden State Roller Girls and Rat City Roller Girls. Although, we can't promise what will happen to you if we catch you cheering for Rat City ... ;)