Just My 2 Cents on Cultural Appropriation

I'm taking a break from The Closet's usual tone to talk about cultural appropriation.  I think it is being over complicated as bloggers struggle to have their cake and eat it too, if you follow me. Let me try to explain.

I love how this crochet looks:

And I'm not calling out this blogger-- I could have gone with this:

Or this:

And I am not the cultural appropriation police, honest I'm not. But that beautiful piece of crochet that I would love to have in my house, or the one featured on a popular blog or the one for sale at a popular shop is most emphatically not a dream catcher. A dream catcher is a sacred part of Native American cultural history that involves a very specific set of principles and prayers and requires faith in Native American spiritual beliefs.  If you want to appreciate and give a nod to Native American culture by having a dream catcher in your home, learn about what they actually stand for, then buy it from a Native American artist.  

Using items from another's culture has nothing to do with whether or not you are of that culture.  Being 1/16th Cherokee doesn't change what a dream catcher is, and wearing a feathered headdress does not suddenly become okay because your grandmother lived on a reservation.  It is about educating yourself, not your genetic make up or ancestry.

Cultural appropriation goes beyond Native American culture, incidentally.  We need to stop taking significant terms and/or items of spiritual importance to cultures and applying them to items that are obviously not. St. Patrick's Day is a Catholic feast day, not an excuse to drink green beer.  It became synonymous with drinking because of the American-created stereotype of Catholic Irish immigrants as drunken louts-- so all that beer was meant as an insult to Irish culture, not a celebration of it.  Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of a hard won battle against French forces in Puebla-- it is not Mexican Independence day and is not celebrated everywhere in Mexico.  It is also not an opportunity to decorate with pinatas, eat stereotypical Americanized versions of Mexican foods (tortilla chips were invented in Los Angeles) and drink margaritas (which my have been invented in the United States, and certainly have no historic significance in Mexico). Maori tribal symbols (Tā moko) and Japanese calligraphy actually have a spiritual significance beyond trendy tattooing. And I could go on.

It is disrespectful not to know what the real purpose of those celebrations and symbols are, and therein lies the cultural appropriation. I am not saying we shouldn't celebrate those holidays or use those symbols-- but we should have the compassion and decency to know what we are actually doing.  Think of how much we could learn and teach about other cultures if we incorporated a little knowledge with the frivolity.  Buying food "from the source," is trendy, why can't buying craft work from the culture who created it be?   Why can't the holiday be about what the culture intended instead of an insult disguised as a "celebration"? After all, being a nation of immigrants does not give us a right to demean the cultures we are distantly connected to. We are better than that. 

Of course this is just my opinion. What are your thoughts?

The Non Sequitur

I've said before that I don't particularly enjoy watching television or going to movies.  I have a short attention span, at least when it comes to passive entertainment.  People who know me know that I actually can be doggedly driven to a single purpose when the mood strikes-- I obsess, I ponder, I plan, I will not be diverted.  I pay attention when it matters, is my point.  And for me, television doesn't matter enough for me to carry a plot beyond a single episode.

from LTillman Art

Jeremy adores Game of Thrones, for example.  I thought it was cool looking, but too high maintenance.  I was going to have to remember stuff from show to show, &  I couldn't get up during an episode or I'd miss something.  Too stressful.

from MyTrashAndTreasure

If I find a show I like, I need to watch all of them immediately.   Which means that I rarely watch currently airing shows.  I watched The Tudors that way-- after it had gone off the air, and was on Netflix and I could watch all of them one after the other.  I quite liked the series, but would never have watched it when it was airing-- too much effort on my end.  I also think that since it was loosely based on historical facts I am familiar with, I could get up and wander around when I got bored and still know what was going on when I came back.   

Look!  Squirrel!

from LoveToLoveYou

Anyway.

Over spring break I indulged in Jeeves and Wooster.  I have been reading the books again as well.  Re- reading counts toward my resolution, just FYI.




Which led to A Bit of Fry and Laurie marathon.



And then Stephen Fry's documentary on Wagner.  Whom I will be teaching about in my Humanities 2020 class this week.



I adore Stephen Fry.  He is brilliant and charming and generally smashing grand. Have you seen QI?  You ought to, you really ought.





Where was I?  Ever look at a blog post and wonder how you got from point A to point B?

So hmmm.  More squirrels!

from Mark Poulin


Watched any good shows lately?

Resolution: Make More

The last resolution we have for 2014 is fairly explanatory: Make More.   We need to make more time for each other & ourselves, of course.  But also actually making things.  I have all the supplies, I just need to make it a priority.

I find crafting therapeutic.  It is a nice way to rest my brain-- or rather, to point it in another direction.  We have sorta intellectual jobs & whether the debate is in the classroom or in my own head, it can be exhausting.  I really do need to make the time to pursue creative outlets.  There are plenty of hours in the day, just as many as needs be, I just have to use them properly iffun' you follow me.

And this isn't an entirely selfish resolution-- Jer has hobbies he needs to make a priority too.  We're actually planning a few fun culinary experiments for him to try out this summer-- but the details will keep until then.  In the meantime, we've been finding recipes and widening our food comfort zone.  It is so easy to fall into a rut with all of this stuff-- and so damaging to creativity when you do.  Humanity is so complicated.  Anyway.

This weekend Jer & I are hoping to sneak out for a date day-- a nice lunch and then a trip to the paint your own pottery place downtown. Supporting small business, living slow & making something-- 3 resolutions in one blow-- how's that for efficient.  If we are able to pull it off, I'll have photo evidence next week~*

Have you made anything interesting lately?

Resolution: Read Daily

I used to be a voracious reader of fiction.  One of those hide-under-the-covers-with-a-flashlight kids.  I couldn't do sports (asthma) and I wasn't much good outdoors (allergies), so I read my adventures instead.  I was also prone to reading I suppose, having started rather young.  I taught myself how to read, essentially by memorizing the stories my mom read to me, then "reading" them to myself until somehow the whole thing clicked in my head.  Peter Rabbit.  I remember.  And after a bit of searching, I found the edition I had.  

It is for sale at Fancy Fig Leaf, where I found the image

I taught myself to read with that book.  Thanks Wallace C. Wadsworth.  Ain't that a pip.  The internet, I love it so. 

Anyway.

Mom gave me Jane Eyre when I was in 3rd grade, & guided me through all the classics. Dad used to read us The Raven (very dramatically, it should be noted) and encouraged us to read Twain. It made upper level literature classes rather easy-- I had already read Shakespeare and Hawthorne and the Brontës. I read the classics young, then re-read them over and over as I got older. You know a book is truly great when you get something new out of it every time you read it. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is great for that. I've amassed quite an Alice collection over the years. I have dozens of copies from all eras. My prized possession is a 1st edition with the illustrations of Arthur Rackham (1907).

In high school I was a big fan of Watership Down and Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide and Dirk Gently.  I got into Vonnegut and DeLillo in college.  I liked pseudo philosophy and books with layers of political and social commentary.  I was deep yo.

In grad school I read a lot.  Copious amounts.  More books than I imagined possible.  We are talking fifty books plus a semester.  A combination of 175 books and scholarly articles for my thesis alone, written over the most intense 7 months of my life.  I read historical accounts and the essays and works of historical figures.  Revolutionary Suicide. The Age of Reason. Steal This Book.  On Civil Disobedience.  Those books and others literally changed my life (I love a ferocious rebel whatever the era).   Fascinating, exhausting and smashing grand stuff.  Real people.  Real life.  Actual events.  So wonderful. So powerful.  I wallowed in pages and pages of books.  Reading became purpose driven. I had an appetite for what I could learn from books, a scholarly snobbery.

And somehow it ruined me for fiction.

The last fiction reading I did was the graphic novel series Preacher.  A year ago.  I liked it.  But I don't know if it exactly qualifies as reading.  There are words, and there are a lot of books in the series...

My husband is a big fiction reader.  Sci Fi and fantasy mostly.  Right now its the Dresden series that has him curled up with his kindle late into the night.  So this resolution is mostly for me.  Don't get me wrong, I still read quite a bit everyday (it sorta comes with the job).  But I aspire to add in some fiction, read daily, even if only for a few minutes.  I figure I will start with something old and comfortable, then move in to uncharted territory.  I just downloaded Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul to my kindle.

I seriously welcome suggestions.  Please.  I have been out of the fiction loop for a while.  I'm not much in to romances or dramas, fair warning.  I don't like romantic or dramatic films either-- just doesn't nab me~*

So.  Read any good fiction lately?


*Contrary to how it may appear, I am not getting compensation, encouragement or kickbacks from Amazon.  I just thought someone might be interested in the books I was listing.  You are welcome~*

Resolution: Live Slow

By now I'm sure most of you have heard of the slow movement as explained by Carl Honore in his book,   In Praise of Slowness.  

It was the slow movement that inspired our live slow resolution for 2014.  Time just moves so quickly when you mark your year in semesters, I feel like we are missing out on living sometimes.

We try to get so much done around here- always doing.  Which is good, I like doing-- but sometimes we are so caught up in the act we forget to enjoy the process.  We put pressure on ourselves to accomplish things that don't actually matter, and sacrifice the things that do.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Luddite- we adore technology & love the modern world.  This isn't some hipster statement about turning back time to the 1890's (Portlandia reference...).  We like our modern conveniences, our XBox One (thank you Santa) and our internet.  I don't have a problem with the kids texting (and would like to add that they can type faster than I can thanks to it) or being on facebook.  

But I do think we get so caught up in manufactured time crunches that we forget to breathe, if that makes sense.  

So this year we are going to make an effort to slow down and enjoy the little details that make life so very worth living.

This slowness applies to my blogging as well.  It is funny how easy it is to slip into a routine with blogging-- where suddenly meaning is wrung out of a post, sacrificed for the sake of regularity.  

I never intended to make money with The Closet, though I am happy to be compensated for blogging about something I believe in anyway.  I love helping promote businesses or artists or items I think are neat-- and often times I come to discover those items when someone approaches me to offer use of their product in exchange for a review.  And I love hosting hops & working with other bloggers on coordinated posts or cross promotion.  That part is good.

But somewhere in the process I got it in my head that I had to post so many times a week with regular features and handy search terms.  And it got to feel rushed & routine.

I took a break from blogging a while back, then returned with a less regular schedule.  And I like it.  I'm finding my voice again.  Slow living, slow blogging.  Around The Closet this will translate to less posts, but more content, more random, more real.  Works for me.

I hope you'll come along with us as we try and slow down-- I'll certainly be sharing here.  If you'd like to know more about In Praise of Slowness, you can watch the author himself explain his idea in this Ted Talk.  Then head over to amazon & pick up the book, you won't regret it.

Alain Lombard - Leo Delibes - Lakme - Viens, Mallika (Flower Duet) 

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*all photos for this post were taken by Harper Ann

New Year's Resolutions: Shop Small

Regular readers of The Closet know that Jeremy & I do a lot of wandering around our local small towns, especially during the spring & summer.  

 We visit local shops, eat at local diners & even buy trinkets here & there.

We love our town & the neighboring down towns with their old musty shops & retro charm.  

But the modern age is having an effect on our lovely downtowns.  Each time we go, we see another vacated shop, or "for sale" sign or going-out-of-business sale.  

Which is what got us thinking.

One of our resolutions for 2014 is to shop small.  We've decided we really want to try and support our local shops regularly.  To make them our go to for gifts, decor, craft ideas and whatever-- to skip Target & head downtown you know?

We aren't the wealthiest people in the world, and we know our purchasing power is limited-- we aren't going to single-handedly save every shop in a downtown that is dying.  But we figure we can help by talking about our trips & sharing our finds & by posting pictures here at The Closet.  Maybe one of you all will be inspired to seek out a little Mom & Pop or explore a small town near you next time you need something-- you never know, right?  

It certainly can't hurt.

And we're also going to continue supporting online artisans & craftspeople, as we always have, through etsy & other similar sites.

So look for more pictures of downtown,  more online finds, & more adventures in shopping small here at The Closet. 

OH!  And if you've got your own downtown to share, let me know in the comments-- we'd love to have you join in!

Holiday House Tour: Share the Merry!

As I write this, the 16th of December is coming to a close.  Time for a house tour~*

Fair warning, this sucker is gonna be photo heavy.

If you've been playing along for a while, you'll know that every year we host a Christmas Eve party with some vague theme, just to make things interesting.  And by vague I mean we putter around the theme, but aren't too hardcore about it.  If that makes sense.  

Anyway.

This year it's an Atomic Xmas, and we are going all out.  Vaguely~*

Everyone is coming in vaguely 50's dress, and we are exchanging vaguely 50's secret Santa gifts before having a vaguely 50's feast.  And I have vaguely 50's decorations to round out the whole thing.

Starting with the living room...

In our room, the decorations are a bit more subdued.  That said, I did make a flannel duvet cover out of a sheet covered in penguins & polar bears.  So there's that.

The paper chain is the same that I made for our tree.  Just in case you were wondering.

In the craft room/guest room I kept things soft and simple.  Some vintage tinsel that I got from my great aunt many years ago, a few spaklies and icicle lights.  I love this room.

The hallway is done too.  I found this extra thick tinsel at Target & it made me very merry indeed.  Modern tinsel can be so weasley and weak.  I like my tinsel lush, like vintage.  But that ain't happening, so I'll settle for massive lol.

The last picture is Thing 3's door.  She recently authorized my using her name on the blog (I figure with teens+ it should be left up to them).  Bayley (Thing 1) gave the okay a while ago and now HarperAnn (Thing 3) has followed suit.  No word from Thing 2 yet, but he's a boy, so we could be Thinging for a while to come.

I'm so happy with the red & turquoise in the bathroom (which you can see through the door in the above pic)  that I've decided to keep it permanently.  Hence the towels~*

Now here's a quick craft project.  Get a mobile picture holder (like this) and attach lightweight plastic or glass ornaments for a holiday chandelier.  HA!  Surprise craftiness!

And no worries. There are many other, more crafty crafts to come.  

I know I'm a bit late this year.  It is my modus operandi I'm afraid.  If you see anything you like you can always pin it for next year I suppose.  Sigh.  So many ideas, so little time.

Okay, your turn!!  Do your holiday house tour & post a link in the comments!!  The more the..ahem..merrier!