I am all for celebrities with style. I am all for celebrities with really great stylists creating their style. But I am not for celebrities slapping their name on everything, claiming they are tastemakers and designers, and not actually being either. There are more and more celebrity fashion lines, often accompanying their fragrances, ranging from shoes, to denim, to knits, to handbags and every single wearable item in between. Frustratingly, so many of these lines are hands-off endorsements and the real designers get little acknowledgment. Read the full story

Last Sunday reporter for TV Azteca, Inez Sainz, attended a New York Jets training session to interview Mark Sanchez. Sainz’s interview did not go without incident; she was met with cat calls and remarks from the players. The incident is now under investigation by the NFL. Wether Sainz endured sexual harassment at the hands of the Jets players is under question; the fact that Sainz is a former Miss Universe, Sainz’s attire the day of the interview and her onscreen nick name is completely irrelevant and should not be part of the discussion. Media’s coverage has focused on Sainz and questioned if any of her actions enticed the players. Sainz is consistently shown on screen in bikini shots that have nothing to do with the Jets incident and is referred to as “the hot reporter”. To add insult to injury most of the women asked to weigh in on the incident seemed to share the prevailing view that the reporter some how is responsible for the incident based on her wardrobe choice.

It is sad that despite all the progress women have made, we are still blamed for having endured harassment (rape, abuse, etc). Isn’t it time that we begin to hold men accountable for their own actions in lieu of deflecting responsibility on to the victim? I do not think that Sainz’s attire is relevant to the discussion. Sainz is not responsible for society perpetually dismissing women ‘s rights. However, since everyone is talking about it I’d like to say, there is nothing wrong with her shirt. This was the only picture I was able to find of Sainz the day of the interview. Well, the only picture that was not a rear shot.

You be the judge, since evidently it’s the thing to do. (ah!)

Image Credit: Michelle Peredo

I don't want to see your balls, and I'm sure the rest of the city agrees!

So I’m driving down the street, minding my own business, when a car turns into my lane.  Admittedly, the car is pretty clean: an old school muscle car knockin’ some Bay music so hard the whole car is rattling.  When I stop behind it, I look to the bumper and see something that makes me do a triple take.  There, hanging and wobbling from the bumper are a pair of chrome BALLS.  No, not basketballs, baseballs, or even tennis balls, but TESTICLES.  Nuts.  Male genitalia.  The scrotum.  Gross.

Truck nuts, otherwise known as BumperBalls, are now not only found in the country because the city folk have picked up this strange form of expression.  That only means that more and more people must feel exactly as I do when they see a pair of balls on a car.  In fact, some states have banned truck nuts completely.  Men, if you feel that this is unjust to ban balls, the ban applies to all forms of genitalia being displayed on a car.

But here’s the thing…women don’t want to hang a vagina from a car.  What is the point?  We already know that guys have testicles, and that cars do not, so why does a car need a pair?  Ok, ok, ok, so if this is just freedom of expression, a way to show machismo, then please put a pair of boxer briefs over the bumper.  I know I’m not the only one that does not want to see balls when I’m cruising the boulevard, with my kid at that.  I don’t care if they’re chrome-out, natural and veiny, or candy apple red to match the paint.  Don’t think I’m hating on the scrotum, because it is an important, sacred body part, I’m just frustrated that those same guys that always talk about their balls now have to remind everyone what they look like.  Vulgar.

I would post a photo on here but I wouldn’t want to do that to you.  I would even link a photo of the balls but I don’t even want to be in anyway connected to a disgusting trend.  So, if you haven’t seen this for yourself, and are curious, google it!

Have you ever seen this in your hood?  Why do you think guys do this?

No one is that interested in your conversation, and stop invading my space!

Here in San Francisco, public transportation is a way of life. You see all walks of life on the many lines of MUNI and it makes for some great people watching. There’s not a week that goes by where I’m not asked how to get somewhere by a tourist, or there’s a crazy drunk on the bus either passed out, or making a scene and scaring/amusing people. While I am very thankful to live in a city where owning a car is completely optional, it’s not always a cakewalk riding the bus. MUNI is chronically late and off schedule and there’s never enough buses or trains on the most populated lines. For the most part, my trips on MUNI are pretty uneventful, but there are a few situations that just chap my hide and annoy me beyond belief.

My biggest pet peeve on MUNI has to be people talking on their phones. Hey, don’t get me wrong, this is the best way to pass the time on what can be really long commutes, and sometimes you just have to take a call, no matter where you are. I’m not talking about those types of phone talkers, I’m talking about those really loud talkers who either don’t have volume control, or want every single person on the bus/train to know what’s going on in their lives. Yesterday, I was on the way to work and this guy was going ON and ON about how his girlfriend was leaving him and what should he do and why didn’t she understand that being unemployed for only six months isn’t that big of a deal, blah blah blah. Hey, I’m sorry that you’re dealing with a lot here, but do you really want to air that in public? Feel free to chat up and vent to your friend all you want, but talk in your inside voice or take it outside. Relationship drama aside, I’ve even heard a guy talking to credit card company about a dispute on his account and he proceeded to recite what his credit card number out loud on a bus filled to capacity. Hello! Identity theft anyone?! Why would you announce to everyone within earshot what your credit card digits are? I’ve seen actual theft happen on buses. There’s plenty of people who would probably write that down and go on a shopping spree later. Save that convo for a more appropriate place.

Another MUNI pet peeve that I have are the people who just aren’t happy with the seat real estate that they have. I understand that these aren’t the most spacious seats on the planet, but you’re also not sitting in an airplane chair. I’m pretty small (I’m 5’3″ tall) and I swear there’s a target on my face when people are picking their seats. Nine times out of ten, there’s a really tall person or a heavier set person that sits next to me. Because I like my personal space, I involuntarily move over a bit so there’s some space in-between me and the person sitting next to me, but this just seems to be an open invitation for these people to take over a part of my seat, since they don’t want to be touching the person sitting next to them, or want to have more room in their chair. I know, part of this is my fault, but I have played stubborn and not moved at all, but it doesn’t matter! These people inevitably start scooting over, whether I’ve made room for them or not. Spending 45 minutes squished up against the wall of the bus for the ride home just isn’t my idea of fun. I’m warning you now, you keep moving over, I’m throwing an elbow! When my space isn’t being invaded by giants, it’s being invaded by people who want to work/play on their computers, or find extra room for their bags/purse/backpack/ because putting all that on the floor just isn’t an option. Hey, I am all for multitasking (and shopping for that matter), but come on, people! There’s only so much room that your seat can afford. Stay in that area. You are not welcome in mine.

I don’t expect MUNI to be a library, but come on, people. There’s enough that we’ve got to deal with when we’re riding around (hello, public urination and vomiting), let’s try to make the trip as pleasant as possible, no matter where we’re heading. Thank you!!

Little Miss Frustrated: Need I say that tapping another guy's sack is wrong?

There is a current trend in high schools and even elementary schools in which boys punch each other’s groin to see who can withstand the most pain and/or see who can punch who’s pubic area first. WTF! I really think there is something wrong with young boys; for the sake of seeming like the boss, they are willing to do the most daringly stupid things. Although, sack tapping, as it’s called, also occurs in the form of bullying, many boys actually and willingly submit themselves to such torture.

This so called game can seriously damage the groin, and it’s more common than one may think. I read on MSNBC that out of the 100 urologist interviewed 30 of them had treated boys with testicular trauma due to sack tapping in the past year. Trauma includes bruises, blood clots, testicular torsion and ruptures that may even result in the complete removal of the damaged organ.

Ok. Maybe I was a little harsh on young boys. But damn, hearing about such a phenomenon makes me never want to have a boy. EVER. That’s right, when that time comes around, I’ll be praying for girls. Evidently, since you can find everything on youtube, you can also find footage of adolescent boys sexually assaulting each other. Yup, this trend can also fall under the list of “sexual assault.”

In situations such as these, as a society, we are trained to look for someone to point the finger to. The parents? Peers? Society itself? It all seems as if the world is going downhill. Some say children are a reflection of society, be it the good attributes or the bad. However, when the bad is witnessed in littler bodies, the act in question is all the more poignant since we generally think that the worst thing kids can do is lie or not clean up their room.

By the same token, what would the act of sack tapping mean for the general adult population? Men like to prey on other men’s weaknesses and prove themselves to one another? I guess the same could be said about women, but it manifests itself in different ways.