on beauty

Another "next blog" hit. This time, a little something called PhotoShopDisasters, which is pretty self-explanatory. And funny. And sad. At the same time.

I enjoy it because it is a reminder that nothing the media produces is as-is. The degree of remoteness from reality varies, but nothing is ever as it seems. How cynical of me. And yet.

Kinda like this, Dove's "Evolution" commercial. That's probably the best known. From there, you can click to so many more, it boggles the mind.

It's a message that needs to be said, over and over again, particularly considering the effect it has on "normal" girls & women's self-esteem. I'll admit, I'd be curious to see what my "evolved" version would be like, but my PhotoShop talents are not that evolved themselves...

I'd also like to give a shout out to all the totally against-the-grain-non-mainstream stars out there, for the strength to be themselves. I'm thinking about Kelly Osbourne, Amy Winehouse, Kat Von D, the early non-conformist Gwen Stefani, and in the world of divas, the Chynas and the Beth Phoenixes. That a number of these women have had or are having serious addiction issues speaks to the intensity of the pressures of fitting in. It goes way beyond high school, unfortunately.

So in the end, I guess my point is to find your own beauty, because we all have it; it's just a question of seeing what your own beauty looks like. If you're looking for someone else's beauty within yourself, of course you won't find it - it's not YOURS. But keep looking, because, I promise, you'll know what it is when you find it.

Saturday in six: OMG, the Habs are blowing it.

Saturday (alternate take): MMA isn't the savagery people think.

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