Much Love Monday: August 8, 2011

Hey Jen Vegas blog readers! Since Jen is currently galavanting around on her U.S. vacation, she’s asked for some guest posts while she’s away, and I am lucky enough to be one of those named lovelies! You can find my blog, which is in its embryonic stages, here: http://linguistina.wordpress.com/ Fair warning: I am a master procrastinator so there’s no telling when the first real entry will materialize, but I’m hoping that Jen’s request for guest posting will help spark my blogging flame.

So let’s get on with it. In true Jen Vegas fashion, cheers to Much Love Monday! Mondays are generally known for sucking the life force out of us mortals, so what better way to battle evil than with love, and MUCH love, no less!

We know who wins this battle.

Here are some of the loves I’d like to share on this glorious Monday.

• Science! - This stuff is for real. My academic background is in Anthropology, so social science owns the key to my heart (and brain), but science in its broadest concept is all about the discovery of knowledge. While I spent a good number of my early adult years sifting through books about culture, language, human evolution, & archaeology, I’m now venturing into the territories of the natural sciences in an effort to try and better understand the intricacies of the world, and universe, around us. My current love goes out to Carl Sagan and the book I’m presently reading, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, which strives to debunk pseudoscience by exploring the scientific explanations for humans’ ever so common delusions and invented reasonings. Sagan was all about advancing scientific literacy with the public, so his writing style is really accessible and entertaining. When I talk to people about his books, I often say it’s as if you’re just having a conversation with Carl, sitting around a campfire listening to him tell you stories about the universe. When I read his books I feel like I’m a bright-eyed kid getting told an exciting bedtime tale, all the while learning about the expanses of our natural world and the potential wonders that we can discover. His TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is on Netflix and Hulu, and I’d highly recommend delving into Sagan’s world if you’re at all interested in getting to know and befriending Science.

• ModCloth! - While I get a lot of my kicks by stuffing my nose in a book for hours on end, I’m still a sucker for a cute dress, and ModCloth is the place where I go to pine over vintage-inspired designs. Jen’s written about some of their items before, and I’m just adding to the praise. On my slow ascension to adulthood, I’ve started punctuating my wardrobe with quality pieces from ModCloth. What I love about ModCloth is that it is more of a community than just some online clothing store. They sustain a blog with varied topics, incorporate consumer input through their “Be The Buyer” program (which I often go to late at night when I’m in need of some fashion fun, picking certain items to be possibly listed on the site), and they have an involved social media presence. The perks are ever-flowing if you’re a part of the community, with exclusive access to sales and special listings. I’ve even joined their social street team “Mod Squad” which has its own community of patrons that communicate and exchange ideas about fashion and lifestyles and everything in between. I really like ModCloth because it’s a small business that provides access to lots of independent designers, and I love supporting smaller creative labels in a world where low-quality, mass-produced garments are so readily marketed. (Plus it helps that they’re based out of Pittsburgh, PA where my dad’s family is from and their love for dogs has spawned its own ModDogs facebook page where I go to get my cute canine fix!) Here are some of the adorable items I’ve purchased from them recently:

• Feminism! - Well, I’m one of those crazy extreme Las Vegas feminists that’s all about equality, hide your kids from the controversy! I get a good chunk of my feminist news from the blog Feministing, which provides feminist viewpoints on a combination of major headlines and stories that are less mainstream. As a young American, the present time in our country can be a weird and sometimes frightening one when it comes to social issues, and the Feministing community offers a welcoming space for learning about not only your rights, but the rights of those who may be different from you. A theme within the community is the weaving of the personal and the political, where one can communicate personal issues and experiences and their political implications. I’ve also just joined the Seattle Feminist Book Club and our book for this month is Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, which is a book co-written by Jessica Valenti, one of the founders of Feministing. While I can’t say I agree with everything written on the Feministing site (and I don’t think anyone should), I feel that it’s a great place to learn and help develop my own opinions about social issues, especially those concerning me and my fellow humans. Oh and P.S. - If you haven’t heard, you don’t have to be a girl to be a feminist. All aboard the equality train!

• Jen! - Finally, Much Love goes out to Jen, the creator of this blog. Jenna Joy / jen egx / cray-j (just made that one up) / Mrs. E Leggett / the one and only Jen Vegas. Thanks Jen for inviting me into your blogspace, and thanks for being a lovely friend. I’ve been friends with Jen for at least 5 years now, and while my mind can’t exactly pinpoint why we actually started hanging out (it may have heavily revolved around watching/making fun of The Hills...), I can tell a story about how I came to know of the infamous Jen Vegas. This cool lady was the older sister of my high school friend Jesse. She was a chic dresser, listened to awesome music, and I vaguely remember being in awe of a conversation she had with her brother (said friend) about how she was going to play keyboard for the band they were starting. “Um, hi, can you be my big sister?” I thought to my teenage self. This girl had a reputation for being one of the most awesome people in our crazy town, and still lives up to that lively rep today. She’s an impeccable dancer with an infectious smile, interesting beyond compare, and a really sweet lady to boot. I have made so many wonderful memories with Jen, and I can’t wait for her and her man Chris to move to the states so we can make more memories!

Jen, the hardcore to my emo:

For much needed clarification, this was Halloween 2007, but also doubles as an accurate representation of our respective youths.

But really, I want to shout out to Jen and how awesome she is for letting me ramble away on her blog. Thanks!!

Much Love, Jen & Cristina!