Barbie fashions for adults - ewww.

Mattel Introduces Barbie-Inspired Clothing Line
November 14, 2007
By Vanessa L. Facenda

Patricia Field, famous for the colorful and talked-about fashions she created for the Sex and the City stars, has a new muse: Barbie.

I confess, I was a Barbie-loving little girl.  My parents were too much of hippies to buy me one, so it was the first thing I actually saved up money to purchase.  She was Pink and Pretty.  She had pink spandex pants, pink high heels, and a pink faux fur stole.  With this sort of early fashion influence, it is easy to see why Burning Man wasn't a big leap for me.

My Barbie drove shoe boxes, and wore dresses I styled for her out of tube socks.  She was the only one I owned, other than an ancient Midge doll missing her bangs I had inherited from an aunt.  The only male in her life was a Michael Jackson doll my brother got for Christmas, long after I was done playing with dolls.  I really liked my Barbie (and I confess, I think she is somewhere in this house, right now).

But...I do think there is something seriously wrong with the cultish fetishizing of this toy amongst grown women.  I place it right up there with the huge wave of Disney Princess products that can now be purchased for adults (including of all things entire weddings and gowns), which I find loathsome for children, but horrifying for adults.  Kids pretending to be princesses don't bother me so much...it is hard to escape society's idea of a princess...someone well cared for, adored, comfortable, well dressed, and special...who wouldn't want these things?  But it is the extensive branding on top of this that gets to be too much for me.  The idea that you may not be a Barbie or a princess, but if you purchase enough things, maybe you can pretend really hard.  In a society that holds Paris Hilton up as a model of young womanhood, I would much rather see resources being put into giving girls the sort of intelligent imaginations that enable them to dream of better worlds based in science, peace, hope, and communication, rather than escapist fantasies revolving around material wealth.

Return of The Electric Company

One of my favorite shows on television when I was little was The Electric Company. This was usually part of a marathon preceded by Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, and sometimes followed by 3-2-1 Contact.

My recent rediscovery of Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader and his pal Valerie the Librarian makes me wonder if the motivation to follow my chosen career didn't have earlier seeds planted than I had once thought. Perhaps to my young self, being a librarian meant you got to hang out with people as cool as this -->

I checked out the Best of Electric Company DVD from the library, and found it was much more seeped in the drug culture of the time than I recalled. Funny how that works. I'm sure 10 years from now I'll look back and feel the same way about glow stick and pre-schoolers, though.

Regardless, I'm delighted to see that Sesame Workshop Appoints Project Director for The Electric Company.

Dr. Malore I. Brown has been named Sesame Workshop’s project director for a new multimedia production of The Electric Company, overseeing the re-launch of the classic series aimed at children aged 6 to 8.

I'm not sure what they will do with it, but as long as it is fun and builds literacy, I'm all for it. And if Morgan Freeman comes back, I'm watching.

librarian secrets revealed

Secret librarian handshake revealed!
By Brad Barker
November 12, 2007

Q. Hey Library Man: I always seem to find very attractive librarians working the reference desk, but I'm intimidated by how smart they are. Do you know any good librarian pickup lines I could "borrow"? -- Bo

A. Dear "Bo" (if that's your real name): The librarian mystique -- prim, proper and brainy by day, but transforming into wildcats after sunset -- can be intimidating. But don't be too bashful. Remember, Laura Bush was a librarian, and she settled for a smarmy frat boy who never read anything thicker than a Cliff's Notes pamphlet. His opening line was probably "Are you with me or against me?" or "If it's a date you want, bring it on."

I love the librarian mystique.  I don't care that lots of library folks complain about the stereotype.  It is fun material to work with.