Night Time Routine......by missDTM

let's talk about hair for a second:

i remember that one time i went to my dominican spot and watched the woman who did nails take the parts of my hair that they cut off and pretend like it was her chocha hair. no joke. it was embarrassing.

growing up in the 80's and 90's, curly was too taboo and the standard of beauty was (and still tends to be) straight hair. i admit it - i straightened my curly hair, i did the relaxers and used the flat iron to "tame" it. i wanted to get rid of every curl. 

stupid teenage DTM.

the beautiful thing about growing up is the ability to not listen to the haters. i've been wearing my hair curly since college and haven't put a relaxer in my hair in over 7 years (it might be more than that but i just can't remember). i'm always looking for representation of other curly haired beauties and so when a friend of mine, Coily and Cute, started doing these illustrations, i instantly fell.in.love. and now she's published a children's book?!? i'm about to buy this for all of my pregnant friends.

Get your copy of Night Time Routine at Amazon.

They're Not Called the 'Me Generation' For Nothing.....by savazhe

*beginning of rant*

I've been saying for YEARS that our parents' generation just REFUSES to get out of our way and let us be in charge. They were the same people that instituted a mandatory retirement age so they could get their own parents out of the way, but then eliminated it when they started approaching that age because "how can anyone tell me how old I FEEL, or when I'm UNABLE to continue working?" and then invented the term "ageism" to make themselves victims. The majority of what they've added to our culture is stuff to appear younger (the now-ubiquitous elective cosmetic surgery craze), ways to stay alive longer (the OD health food craze), or ways to keep anyone younger than them from enjoying the freedom they had as kids (the war on drugs, banning trans fats, etc.). We can't really "do better" than our parents, because in a weird way, our parents' generation won't LET us (despite offering vocal support and admonition when we seem to be on a path that varies from the one they SWORE was the model for success, yet isn't really working for us - the whole "get a college degree and the world is your oyster" approach that was valid when they were college-aged and intelligent enough to go, but doesn't really work for us since SO many more people in our generation have SOME sort of college education). We try everything to get ahead - going back to school, taking jobs below what we're capable of in hopes of working our way up - but they're still in control of the work force, so they hold the keys to our ability to advance, and they just keep denying us so that their pension can be a few percentage points fatter.. This is also why SO many of them are dying while they're still working, or shortly after they retire. Still stuck in the paper-chase '80s when it was their time to shine, and they can't fathom NOT having every dime available to them, so they don't retire until they're forced, or until the job environment changes so drastically around them that they can't hang around anymore. There is pretty much ZERO regard for the damage they're doing to the folks behind them, b/c they're so used to being the majority as baby-boomers and only looking out for themselves. This is also why our educational system is pretty much shot - they're using their power and leverage to limit the number of people coming along behind them that can even do what they do, which makes them irreplaceable. They're notoriously bad about sharing their knowledge, b/c they're afraid of training their replacement (I see this ALL the time at the MTA), and they don't care enough about the company to worry about how screwed everyone will be when they leave with the knowledge base needed to do the job b/c they already got theirs.. I don't think it's COMPLETELY sinister in intent on an individual level, but I do feel like their generational lack of concern for anyone other than themselves is hurting everyone around them.

*end of rant*

Totes McGotes

This is so flipping entertaining.

Resolutions for 2014....by pemora

Here are my Resolutions for 2014:

1. learn how to do a cartwheel
2. no new friends
3. don't use 'it's been hectic' as an excuse
4. learn all the words to the roots' 'web'

What are yours?

Most Played of 2013

I always love putting this list together. It's fun to see what my friends are listening to but it is also a cool reminder of how kick-a$$ and different they are. Love my friends. They rock.

Now....on to the list! Following are the songs that we rocked the most this year.

Run the Jewels ~Run the Jewels....big bird
Nothin but Love ~Heavy D and the Boyz.....IMTHATDUDE
Watch Me Work ~Melanie Fiona....thewayoftheid
Get Lucky ~Daft Punk + Pharrell....jayare20k
For The Record ~Torae....Cross Bow
Girlfriend ~NSYNC.....missDTM
Take Me To Church ~Hozier.....dough
Locked Out of Heaven ~Bruno Mars....pemora
Banana Clipper ~Run the Jewels....surnamer
Fine China ~Chris Brown.....paj1
Winter Schemes ~J. Cole + Wale....KevFrumBK
Waiting Game ~Banks.....Thug Hardy
Tapas ~Action Bronson.....savazhe

What did you listen to? Drop us a line here or on twitter!

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

The nerve of this clown, Peter "PJ" Jackson.  I sat through 161 minutes of dwarves in barrels and elves with arrows, only to find out that Smaug was barely in the flick.  Oh, they talked about Smaug, but that big bastard literally (in that Rob Lowe “Parks & Rec” voice) slept through the first ¾ of the film – and I should have followed his example.  I was actually jealous of a fictional dragon because he got to sleep through this joint and I bet he didn’t pay 18 bucks for it.

VITALS

Peter Jackson (King Kong, LOTR Series) – Director/Co-Writer

Guillermo del Torro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) – Co-Writer

Martin Freeman (The World’s End, BBC America’s Sherlock) – Bilbo

Ian McKellan (X Men: The Last Stand, The Da Vinci Code) – Gandalf

Cate Blanchett (Hanna, Blue Jasmin) – Galadriel

Orlando Bloom (The Three Musketeers, Pirates of the Caribbean) – Legolas

Richard Armitage (Captain America: The First Avenger, BBC’s MI5 aka Spooks) – Thorin

Evangeline Lilly (Real Steel, The Hurt Locker) – Tauriel

Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into the Darkness, BBC America’s Sherlock) – voice of Smaug

Stephen Fry (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, V for Vendetta) – Master of Laketown

IF YOU MUST KNOW:

The Wolf of Wall Street

A blatant overabundance of wretched excess.  Drug abuse and drug addled behavior.  Sexual depravity.  Overindulgence of everything under the sun.  This is why ‘they’ hate us.  The Wolf of Wall Street was over the top in every possible category, including the run time and Leo’s pop-locking.  You almost get the sense that Marty and Leo may have been a little bit too close to the material when they filmed this, nahmean?  I kid/I joke.  Sorta...  Put it this way, the profanity in the opening scene has nothing to do with what was said.  Forever seared in my mental rolodex is the indelible image of a normal straw being misused in two of the wrong orifices- it’s filed under “CRAP I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO UNSEE.” 

Anyway, don't believe the hype about the Wolf.  Spike Lee's Oldboy was better (not groundbreaking but a better movie).

On the bright side, I think the Matthew McConaughey chest thumping humming scene is weird and unforgettable - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A&t=1m48s

VITALS