The Flip Flop Girl

Here's another perspective related to my main theme the sensual/sexual nature of flip flops and the like in the current issue of New York magazine.

I think the very last paragraph speaks to what I'm working with. We love the flip flop way beyond what would seem reasonable, for instance, because maybe a lot of us find we're getting something from that flip flop experience that is hard to come by otherwise. We also want things fast and now and the flip flop is definitely instant gratification, isn't it? Cellphone + iPod + flip flops = happiness.

New York magazine, Dec 3, 2007 issue:

And yet there is also Hochschild’s question: Is something missing in our lives that we’re trying to replace with spa services? Kim and I talk again about why her clients want these treatments—why so many more, right now. “These days, people don’t have family, that’s the problem,” says Kim. “Because at least before, even though they don’t get married, they have their intimate partner, or they live with brothers or sisters, they always have company. These days, they travel a lot. Every family member is living so far away. And when they go home, they do their computer, they watch TV, then they go to sleep; that’s it. You don’t have your sister to say, I do your nails, I braid your hair—even with your family, you’re not really keeping company; people are so individualized.” She smiles and gazes out onto 72nd Street. “How many people do they have to do the braiding of their hair?”

Labels: a really bad foot fetish in a good way, blogs, feet, flip flops, foot fetishes, New York, sex, social commentary, society, spas, trends

HIGH HEELS GOT YOU DOWN?

Here is something sent in by a friend with a sense of humor and well as a sense of what is right and wrong. This is an ad on Craigslist in Seattle. The title and, as you will see, the content makes me think this is more appropriate as some sort of personals ad and not a professional ad seeking a potential employee.

The company, Seattle Stair, appears to do great woodwork and, from the ad, appears to have quite a foot fetish. Check it out.

Isn't it illegal to discriminate based on sex, etc? The ad doesn't explain how this administrative job has anything to do with being a woman, much less a woman who wears high heels. This is just hilarious. But it also makes me mad. And it baffles me too. What a sexist jerk! He probably lies around watching Fox News waiting for a peek at his new admin girl wandering around in flip flops. I could see this guy saying he's all innocent and didn't mean to offend anyone but that's pretty lame.

This is the original High Heels ad.
And what follows is the same ad:

High Heels Got You Down??

Reply to: job-455162074@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-10-21, 12:21AM PDT


Toss the heels and launch your career. Get with a company that’s more in tune with who you are. We are a growing design and craftsman oriented company doing work for an increasingly sophisticated clientele: CEO’s, Oprah Winfrey, politicians, Barney’s New York. We have projects in Seattle, the San Juans, Hawaii and elsewhere. We need someone to run the showroom and office for our local clients so we can remain strong and dedicated to our home market. We want to pursue estate level and commercial projects while not compromising our home turf. We will train you for this position if you have a related background we can build on.


This is a position for the girl who got her college degree, but never liked high heels or doesn’t like them any more. We need your brains, but you can toss the heels in the back of the closet. Our product and some of our projects are sophisticated. Our work environment is not. We are in a cool old building in SODO. The shop makes noise and dust. The showroom is unique, but is not Madison Avenue. We create beauty. Our clients love what we do for them. We are routinely told we care about our work, we understand our client’s needs, and we deliver stunning work they couldn’t find anywhere else.

Here’s our web link: www.seattlestair.com
Here’s a Seattle PI news story on us: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/307832_retail17.html
Or one from the Seattle Times: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=craft18&date=20050618&query=davila+seattle+stair


Position Requirements:

College degree in any field

Min. 5 years experience in one or more related fields:
Sales/customer service
Bookkeeping
Design or autocad
Marketing
Construction (hands on) or
Construction (office/admin.)
Project management

Literate, well spoken, mature, real world savvy, fun loving, creative


This is a new position within the company geared toward:

1. Leveraging the company’s success into deeper market penetration in local residential stairs at all levels, and local and national stairs at the estate and commercial levels;

2. Bringing all administrative functions back on site and systematizing timely record keeping and production feedback; AR/AP/Payroll

3. Giving walk-in and call in customers prompt on demand service and beginning the design relationship through education. This is meant to both serve the customers and function as a working lab to identify customer’s key felt needs and apply test solutions to monitor effectiveness for further application and raise our connection rate with customers;

4. “Keeping the ship aright”, i.e. help out in the shop if you would enjoy this, assist with owner’s small apartment building/bookkeeping; provide support for Sales Manager and Foreman, enable reduction in owner’s schedule to four day work week, and other selected priorities.

This position is ready for immediate filling. Competitive pay and benefits + medical. Please reply with resume or questions.


Location: Seattle
Compensation: Depending on Qualifications
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 455162074

Maybe you should answer the ad and let him know what you think.

Labels: blogs buzz, feet, flip flops, foot fetishes, Fox News, jobs, men can be such pigs, pop culture, sexism, trends

END THE WAR!!!

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO ACHIEVE PEACE!!!

HERE'S WHY THE JOHN WAYNE APPROACH WON'T WORK

It's never too late to achieve peace. Thousands of protesters made their voices heard during demonstrations around the globe last weekend, on Saturday, September 15, 2007. Photos from the demonstrations in Washington, D.C. indicate that today's youth are not as passive as some pundits would have us believe. Is all this too little too late? I'd say it's never too late to speak up against this stupid war!

I do believe that a lot of people, particularly Democrats, regret not having spoken up sooner. The fact remains that this war was and is a wrong war to fight. We should never have invaded Iraq. Those who support the war believe it's too late to argue those points. The White House & Co. won't even admit to them and just wish them to all go away. No, it's essential to stress that this is an illegitimate war. There are also those who demand some sort of "victory" as if John Wayne could ride all through Iraq, knock out the bad guys, and make everything a nice red, white, and blue. Everyone would be so grateful and in awe of the good ole U. S. of A. We'd all have a big helping of mom's apple pie, salute Bill O'Rielly, and we'd be so very happy. Sorry, but that's a crazy fantasy!

John Wayne, God bless him, is long gone and not the answer. Dubya and Big Dick are not John Wayne. "VIctory" is a fantasy that draft dodger rich boys like Dubya and Big Dick have no trouble selling to the gullible.

We need to think hard about why we went into Iraq (admit our mistake) and the chaos and agony we have created. We need to think hard about our exit strategy while we still can and while we pull the hell out of Iraq. This is not going well for us and is not going to get better. Diplomacy needs to be our highest priority. I guess Bush & Co. are going to leave that for Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton or John Edwards to achieve. Whoever our Democratic president should be, he or she will have quite a lot to fix!

Some say that the US in Iraq could be the beginning of World War III. Not 9/11 but the US invasion of Iraq. We need to turn this situation in Iraq into a truly international effort to achieve peace. It's a mess. No doubt about that. The last thing we need is to be fantasizing about some John Wayne victory.

Labels: Barak Obama, Bill O'Reilly, blogs buzz, Congress, Democrats, Fox News, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, news, politics, Republicans, right wing, sex, trends

STOP THE WAR!!!

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS IS BEING USED TO SELL THE WAR JUST THE WAY GENERAL COLIN POWELL WAS USED!

And even with that being the case, Gen. Petraeus is not painting a rosy picture!

It is Gen. Petraeus who concludes that the situation in Iraq demands a political solution not a military one!

The war was a scam to begin with. We should never have gone to war. The Democrats should have fought Bush when he was gearing up to invade Iraq. Some did but most were unsure and left with doubt. We have to also remember that the Republicans held the majority in Congress up until only recently! Most Americans are now speaking up against this war and Democrats are doing what they can. Yes, politics will always get in the way but there are many trying to rise above politics like the respected Republican, Sen. John Warner, who has come out against the war.

Labels: Bush, buzz, Democrats, Fox News, Gen. Petraeus, Iraq war, politics, protests, Republicans, sex, trends

We Love Britney and We Love Chris Crocker!!!!

I have been inspired to post! Your flip flop girl is still out there! It's been taking me awhile to get inspired but Chris Crocker is the real deal and got me off my ass to say something. He, if you don't know, has released an impassioned plea to all the media, and whoever else is profitting from hating Britney, to stop, stop, stop! You can see it on YouTube. I have a feeling you already have and, if that's the case, why not leave him a nice positive comment?

Britney Spears is a modern day goddess. We all used to worship at her feet. Now, that she's been having all these problems, the people with the so-called power to build up or tear down a star, are all too ready to knock her down. It was this need for greed from all the interests out there ready to profit from Britney that pushed her into the spotlight when she was vulnerable and not ready. Sure, Brit can take some of the responsibility but it's a whole different world she runs in and I can see where it would be easy to be led down the wrong path by all her advisers and handlers. I do hope that Britney can somehow find the right people for herself and do what she needs to do. The song, "Gimme More," actually is very good. And her body too is just fine. It's a natural look. It's up to her if she wants to tone up some more but there's nothing wrong with her body right now. And her talent is still there. If Madonna can remain a star, then there's got to be way for Britney to find her way back.

No more hating on people!

Chris Crocker you are an angel!

Labels: blogs, Britney Spears, Chris Crocker, pop culture, pop music, sex, society, trends

Why Do You Wear Flip Flops?

I have been conducting a very casual little survey about flip flops this summer among my girlfriends when we get together whether it be waiting in line for brunch, or while at a party, or just hanging out and this is what I've gathered. I've collected my samples and bring you what I've heard the most said about why us girls love our flip flops:



1. "They're the closest I can get to being barefoot."

2. "They're convenient. I just slip them on."

3. "They go with just about anything I'm wearing."

4. "They show off all of my feet. The whole pedicure on view."

5. "They are the most comfortable thing I wear."

I rank these basically in order with #1 being what I feel might be the biggest reason of all. We girls love to be barefoot. I know guys love to be barefoot too. But maybe girls like it more? What about any sexual stuff being added to the mix? Well, maybe it's the guys who fetishize the foot more than the girls. I fetishize the foot I'm very happy to say but maybe that's not the case with most girls. Feel free to tell me what you think. I can start a new list if I get enough responses. For now, I'd say it comes down to a top five list.

Labels: beach, fashion, feet, flip flops, foot fetish, footwear, gender, open toes, pop culture, sandals, sex, social issues, society, summer, surveys, trends

So what do you think of Justine?

Watch live video and chat on Justin.tv

Well, I am interested to see what happens. So far, I've seen Justine checking on her new site, tastyblogsnack.com, which may be where you'll actually get some solid content. There's nothing quite like the written word to express some really organized and coherent content. You need thought and afterthought and editing to create something consistent and compelling. I thought her feature on Yahoo was very entertaining. The actual show, or "lifecast" is not, at least not at the moment. Such is life, right? Life is not entertaining 24/7. Life is made up of moments and only some of those moments truly rise to the occassion of being memorable. The idea of someone putting their life on display is definitely intriguig. You could argue that it depends on who the person is on the display and what they are doing. In the case of Justine, hey, she's beautiful and she has a bubbly personality so that's something. If she were on a quest for something, doing something specific, then it gets very very interesting. But what will she do? What does she really even have to say? I am Justine. I am the Internet? No, I don't think so. But I'm not thinking that I'd do a better job of it. I really prefer to take my time and blog now and then.

I'm watching Justine's lifecast right now and wondering if something is actually going to happen but knowing that nothing is going to happen. I think I want something to happen. I'm suppose to expect nothing and that's exactly what I'm getting. It's not exactly her fault. We're watching raw footage of life. It seems like something is about to happen and then..nothing. Darn. Oh, finally, something. She's eating a sandwich. A young woman eats a sandwich and people all over the net watch. If she were to comment more about herself or anything at all...oh, wait, she just said something about her sandwich. And now she just took a swig from her juice.

We expect less as a society. That's why that girl who exposed her mind as being severely underutilized is an instant celeb. I'm referring to Miss South Carolina from the Miss Teen Pageant who, when asked her opinion on a survey that claims 15 percent of Americans can't find the United States on a map, began to blather in such a way to indicate very little thinking going on. It seemed like she thought she might be able to just blurt out anything, "...U.S. Americans, South Africa, the Iraq, and we can then secure our future..." But then there's the rest of this story that people might forget. She was invited to appear on The Today Show to calmly answer the question and what she said wasn't really that much better. She said we should emphasize education in geography. That got a thumbs up from one of the hosts, Ann Curry, who isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the pack. Very sad. From all the publicity and support this dimwit young lady has gotten, you'd think it will be no time before she has her own show. No offense to Justine or anyone else doing lifecasting. I would say that, if you're attractive, a lot of other things can get looked over, ignored, dismissed, or never considered, never thought. Just put the next cute girl on the screen. Still, I want to stress I have nothing against Justine. It's the world we live in that might be the bigger problem.

I do like the idea of lifecasts but I think it's something that we're riveted to only for the moment. It's like we're seeing history being made or something. Or maybe it's just voyerism in overdrive. Right now, Justine is back in her car and is listening to Bon Jovi and that got a text of, "I LUV BON JOVI!" from one of us on the show with her followed by the more typical mysogynistic remark of, "I'VE GOT UR BALL JOVI!" Now more music but no hope of Justine leading some beautiful communal moment of "rocking out," etc. That's where you'd need someone with a charismatic personality. And that's getting closer to the problem. She doesn't have to be a great performer or anything extraordinary but it would be nice if she really gave us something. She's just there looking pretty. Any random comments from her to her audience would go a very long way.

As much as we make fun of good people that we label as dull, I would really be up for an Al Gore lifecast or just a day in the life. We pretty much got a great lifecast sort of movie from him already. People like Al Gore don't have time and certainly would never be expected to have time to be a lifecaster. So, that leaves lifecasting to people who find the very act of lifecasting to be a life enhancing thing for them. Again, no major diss to Justine. I understand that she's a graphic designer and video editor. Oh, wait, Justine's on the phone...no, false alarm again. I've got nothing. But I'll keep trying...maybe later.

Oh, wow, I just started to look at other people's lifecasts. Some worse but then I found this one: http://www.justin.tv/nekomimi_lisa and I'm thinking it's more promising. Lisa, I think, just said her show has been going strong since 1999! Huh? Cable Access? Well, whatever, it's awesome. This girl is talking up a storm and she's smart and entertaining. She just asked for poetry submissions!!! And she's from New York!!! I think that says it all. If you want the brainy and fun people, you're more likely to find them in New York!!! Well, Justine is getting all the fame, as too often happens for the healthy blondes, but it's usually the hipster chick you should be listening to. She actually talks and has something to say!!!

But, wait, wait, yet another thought. So, I've been watching Nekomimi from Brooklyn and it's started to look like bad performance art. Again, no offense to Nekomimi. Her show is more structured but I'll have to wait and see just how good. I just went back to Justine. The change is like night and day. Where Nekomimi is dark and brooding, Justine is bright and care-free. She definitely has model good looks and does shine but then...you guessed it, nothing much at the moment. Such is life! But in art, less is more!

Less is More! I think that's the lesson we come away from lifecasts. Just raw streaming video of somebody doing whatever isn't much different from the shallow little girl on stage vomiting, "U.S. Americans, South Africa, the Iraq, and we can then secure our future."

Labels: buzz, Justin TV, Justine, lifecasts, mass media, medium, pop culture, trends, webcams

Flip Flop Girl Recommends Threadless

Have you guys been keeping up with the Threadless site?

Well it's one of the next big things online and something I totally support. You can find very odd, quirky, and totally awesome stuff like
this as well as very beautiful and elegant stuff like this or, of course, this awesome design. These designs I just highlighted and many more are currently on the site waiting to be voted on as a design you'd want to wear. I happened to learn about Threadless one lazy Sunday when I stopped by my favorite coffeshop and just had to ask the barista where he got his shirt with the wicked design of a ship made from a fish skeleton. He told me about this site where you submit your artwork and people vote on it and you can win cash prizes if enough people are grooving to your design.

Labels: art, buzz, design, e-commerce, fun, threadless, trends, tshirts

(Tylenol Packaging from Yesteryear)

Random Asprin
I'm not saying this is doing anyone any harm. I just gravitated to the word "random"--and so has marketing. Ask yourself, if you're young, healthy, and active, do you really need asprin in your life? Do you ever think about asprin? Well, Tylenol would like to get your attention if you're in the much-coveted 18-35 year-old demographic. So, the marketing gurus decided to mix in some "extreme sport" mentality along with an "underground" vibe to make Tylenol hip and cool. They hired "pain partners" to infiltrate hipster hangouts and they funded a skateboard park in Brooklyn without calling attention to themselves except for word-of-mouth or tiny branding placed on promotional swag. This sort of covert marketing is featured in The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

But I can go further for you. I'll take a few steps back and show you the real source of this cute little story: These are "the marketing gurus" that I'm referring to. Call them what you will. I think they provide a service to some extent but, in the end, they are also playing with deception and manipulation. Of course, they would say otherwise. They would say they're the "good marketers." Well, whatever. You can decide that one for yourself. Never heard of Faith Popcorn? Now, you have.

And here's the story by Fortune magazine, Sept. 7, 2004, that explains it all quite well. I start in where some hipster wannabe yells out something like, "It's so random!" The full story is here for your reading pleasure.

"Wow, totally random and supercool," says a nose-ringed twentysomething, picking up a white box emblazoned with "Great pain leads to great art" as she walks out of the New York Underground Film Festival's audio-visual event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She sifts through an ironic goody bag for artsy kids: a mini Etch A Sketch, an aromatherapy candle, a CD with soothing music, and a sketchbook--all emblazoned with "Ouch!" The small red "Tylenol" on the corner of the box is the only hint that the brand is sponsoring the music videos projected on a makeshift screen in the dank nightclub.
Outside, Tobin Yelland, an urban photojournalist with a digital videocamera, interviews smoking hipsters. Responding to his call for "pain stories," they gruesomely recount Rollerblading accidents, split fingernails from art projects, and head-splitting all-nighters. Yelland doesn't volunteer that he's a Tylenol pain partner.
Over in East Los Angeles, at the ninth annual "B-Boy Summit," Tylenol is also quietly hanging out. Pain partner Asia One, a muscular 32-year-old in camouflage pants and a blue skin-tight tank, is a B-Girl (breakdancer to you squares), a key player in this hip-hop subculture offshoot. She is known for a head-spinning move that has earned her a quarter-sized bald spot. She emcees the breakdancing contests in a parking lot. Members of the multiethnic crowd shoot pictures of the dancers against a graffiti-covered canvas. They're using disposable cameras emblazoned with "Ouch!" that the company is handing out at a little table off to the side.
In New York City's first indoor skateboarding area in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Tylenol downshifts to a no-key approach. There's not a single "Ouch!" in the unheated, crumbling brick industrial space that holds an amoeba-shaped skateboard bowl Tylenol helped fund. (You'd think the company would worry about lawsuits for backing a locale reached only by going down a dark alley, over broken bottles, and under an unmarked, half-open garage door.) Swishing around the undulating sanded wood are Buddy Nichols and Rick Charnowski, pro skateboarders cum indie filmmakers, who shoot 8mm movies of the underground skateboard scene and are Tylenol pain partners. "Awesome," says Nichols to the bowl's creator and gate-keeper, Dave Mims, another pain partner who owns a skateboard shop in Manhattan's grungy East Village. He charges about 20 of his insider friends a fee for a key to the space but always welcomes hard-core out-of-town skateboarders. He doesn't advertise that Tylenol pitched in.
Yet the three unshaven thirtysomethings refer to the raw space as the Tylenol Bowl. It doesn't make sense. There's no sign of the company, nor was there any formal announcement or press release indicating a connection. Charnowski reports that the brand's unannounced affiliation is paying off. Skateboard magazines have made a number of unsolicited references to the Tylenol Bowl and skateboarders in Seattle and Denver have asked Nichols and Charnowski about the Tylenol Bowl without knowing that they are pain partners.
It's implausible, but Tylenol's calculating whisper has been heard. It's in a song by rocker Ben Kweller, which went on sale this summer in Apple's online music store. Called "Tylenol," it begins:
I need some Tylenol Give me some Tylenol To kill that headache you gave me.
And earlier this year, Saturday Night Live did a 60-second fake ad for an imaginary product for X-Games addicts: Tylenol Extreme, designed to "relieve testicular trauma." Classic SNL mockery, rife with raunchy humor, the spot was twice as long as a commercial and mentioned the product seven times. That kind of exposure is priceless: It can't be TiVoed out.
FEEDBACK jboorstin@fortunemail.com

Labels: corporate deception, futurism, madison advenue, marketing, pain, pop culture, skateboarding, tipping point, trends, Tylenol, Tylenol Bowl

And it was written on the sweet soles of the Buddha's sacred feet...

Much like Buddha, I seek enlightenment. I continue to explore my fascination, our fascination, with feet and its extremes from the sacred to the profane. I really like the profane but I also easily gravitate to the sacred. As I continue to say, there is something utterly explosive going on as we casually lounge around in our flip flops. I've been told by a number of my older friends that they agree, that the sexual tension in the air is far more palpable than when they were young. From my vantage point, it truly is part of a mating dance that I am more than willing to be a part of. In my neighborhood, each day, more and more people are returning to their trusty flip flops. Anyway, don't mind me, I'm just writing for the sake of writing at the moment, testing out the waters, seeing if anyone is paying attention, if people are ready for more of me. As Spring takes hold in moody Seattle, my libido is kicking into high gear. I find myself pacing around in my flip flops, trying to still tune in to the sensory pleasure after having enjoyed it for so long. I fear becoming jaded perhaps more than hopelessly addicted. During the day, I kick them off and find myself rubbing my feet together furisously and then having to take it further and apply a hand directly to a foot for an added high. As I keep saying, I know I'm not alone and, thankfully, you out there, do respond from time to time, even a fellow female with tentatively acknowledge all that I'm saying. Anyhow, I recently saw an incredibly inspiring movie, had nothing to do with sex or feet or flip flops, and now I'm reading the novel. I want to post about that sometime soon. There's quite a lot of things I want to do. I want to save the world. I want to save myself! And, as long as I'm at least amused by all this, I think we're doing alright.

Labels: blogs, buzz, erotica, feet, flip flops, foot fetish, just checking in, pop culture, profane, sacred, sex, trends, Writing

Random Nation, Part 4

You know that tired old phrase, "Think Globally, Act Locally"? Yeah, well, Seattle is just the sort of overly-polite ostentatiously-progressive community that embracing such pap. Seattle is front and center on the Flip Flop Girl radar at the moment. So, I will take my Random Nation rambling onto local concerns, namely Seattle's ongoing growing pains as it struggles to become the "big city" it may never have been meant to be. I mean, of all the West Coast cities, Seattle still retains much of its quaint and backward ways which actually can be attractive. It's by no means a sleepy nowhere town but it does lack the infrastructure of better planned cities. The main problem? A backward and limited public transit system. We have buses, of course. It's an aging fleet of buses and, depending on the bus route, you'd have to wonder how a city like Seattle gets away with it. We have no rapid transit system and who knows when we will. We've had numerous voter referendums which have led to voters asking for both an elevated and a light rail system (we want it all!) but the details are still very murky as to how all this will come about.

Currently, the big issue has been what to do about replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct which is a long stretch of elevated freeway overlooking the Seattle harbor and which provides something of a backup for the main interstate highway. Since our last big earthquake in 2001, the concern has been growing about replacing this entire rickety structure. The mayor, who is in the hip pocket of developers with the classic "big city" dreams for Seattle, had been strongly pushing for a "big city" concept, a tunnel. The state wanted a new viaduct structure similar to the old one. Hybrids of the two were considered. And then there was talk of a third way: getting rid of the viaduct and creating more surface traffic, basically adding more lanes for cars. Supposedly this would open up the view for everyone of our beautiful Puget Sound. This whole debate finally came to a head and the matter was put up to the voters to decide and they decided they liked this "third way" option. Little is known about how this third way would be implemented since it came in late to the debate but this is typical about how things get done in Seattle.

As I was waiting for my daily buzz of java, I overheard a couple discussing another less flashy but very relevant aspect of our traffic problems. They were saying that it's sad that Seattle, a software capital of the world, should have such an antiquated traffic light system. And I think they're spot on about this. They think it hasn't changed any since World War II. I wouldn't be surprised. One guy was telling the other, "It's a very simple electrical system, not much different from the on and off technology used to turn on your light in your home. I mean, why can't Seattle have a computerized system like cities in Europe have been using for decades?" That's a good question.

Don't get me wrong about Seattle. It's a very pleasant place to be but you have so many interests bent on exploiting it from investors and developers to all the creepy marketing people trying to suck out the soul of everything they touch.

Labels: blogs, buzz, marketing, politics, pop culture, random, Seattle, trends, viaduct, Writing

Labels: blogs, buzz, capitalism, commerce, foot fetish, images, Marshall McLuhan, Mary Poppins, pop culture, random, sex, text, trends, video, Writing, youth

Foot Fun for Everyone!

I think any average Joe or Jill can have a foot fetish and just consider it part of their bag of tricks. And I'm starting to conclude we're right at a tipping point where this won't be a big deal. Not quite there yet but just about. I always like it when something is still "underground" but it's going to be better for everyone as more and more people just loosen up, you know?

This is what I posted today in response to Jay's comments that we shouldn't be thinking in terms of a "regular guy" and a "weirdo" regarding having a foot fetish:

All you guys are great and thanks, Jay, for such a thoughtful post. I am so grateful for all of the feedback I get. I think there were times I felt a little alone on this whole foot fetish subject and my aim as been to show how it is already "out there" more than we all might realize.

I was focusing in on T's comments that he'd like to see more of a "regular guy" approach and I think his comments and my responses are the first steps in figuring things out. I think we'd all like to see an admiration of feet firmly in place in the culture with an admiration, for instance, of a nice ass, even lovely eyes. Now, I know we haven't quite gotten there, right? If a guy expresses admiration for feet, he doesn't know for sure how the comment will be taken by his buddies or a girl he likes. So, the thing to do is just put yourself out there and take the risk.

I think any guy or girl can take that risk of expressing an interest in feet. But it's like anything else: it's up to that person to have a sense of discretion. Say, if a guy was making endless comments about tits and staring at tits, he's not going to be taken seriously. If a movie wants to depict a sex scene that is out of control, it could be anything including some wild toe sucking on a bus. That actually sounds kinda hot but also excessive.

There are definitely levels of intensity to any sex. There are all these degrees you can go and you decide how far you want to go. If we haven't even reached the point where admiring feet is taken for granted, then we have a ways to go. But I have to tell you that I do hear a lot of positive comments. Girls, for instance, admire each other's feet. I think it's still hit or miss for guys.

I'll have to add Road Trip to the list! And I'll have to rent it!! I think I might go ahead and run this as a post too.

So, that's the bottom line: We want to get to the point where having a foot fetish is no big deal.

Now that I've had a chance to learn a little something about Road Trip, it sounds like this is a movie that definitely sent out a message when you consider the stars in it: Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Love Hewitt, even Tom Green. These are the sort of personalities that play well in the heartland. So, maybe the message sent out in this case is a mixed message at best. I still have to see the film to be able to make the most intelligent comment so I'll come back to this one.

Labels: buzz, foot fetish, movies, sex, trends