hobi during namjoon's performance of sexy nukim (cr. Ekaagung579)

moxie (2021) review

spoilers ahead & trigger warning: mentions of s*xual assault

as always: i have a degree in film and a real estate job due to the pandemic

first i want to address the biggest concern i’ve seen about this film. this is absolutely not a perfect film about intersectional feminism. they could have and should have given more screen time to the girls other than vivian. that being said, this is a film by a white women about a white girl’s experience noticing inequality and not being silent about it. if we want more films focusing on women of color and people in the lgbtq+ we need to focus on support and lifting up women of color and people in the lgbtq+ in film. please do not expect white men or women to tell a completely accurate story of WOC suffering. we need to bring more WOC into the spotlight to tell their stories. same goes for the lgbtq+. 

so no this film didn’t solve the feminist issue by any stretch of the means. its a 2 hour piece of film meant to get the conversation started. and i believe it did that. that’s how i view this film: a jumping off point. it didnt cover everything it needed to cover but women’s rights is a large topic. 

now lets get into the actual plot & characters.

vivian (hadley robinson) is likable enough to root for her but she’s not without fault. it makes her well rounded and relatable. her anger is powerful. she also adjusts once being called out. she does have certain privileges that she consistently failed to notice throughout the film. so she uses it at the end to give other women a platform.

but lucy. lucy (alycia pascual-pena) is the real star of the film. she calls everything how she sees it and she’s right every time. she knew mitchell was not just annoying but dangerous. she unites the girls and volunteers kiera. she encourages everyone and supports everyone. the only flaw in her character was her view of claudia, one she adjusted as the film went on. 

claudia (lauren tsai) was also so interesting to watch. i really didn’t like her until the tank top scene. everything clicked once the audience saw how she was with her mom. some women support causes differently. claudia could never protest boldly with her mom watching her every move. but she also shouldn’t feel like she had to. she operates in the shadows to not draw attention to herself. that’s okay. her calling out vivians privilege was so nice. like while vivian didn’t get in trouble for putting up the stickers, claudia got suspended just because she put her name down for the club. vivian acted without understanding the ramifications it would have on the WOC around her.  

kaitlynn (sabrina haskett) is also a good character but a little flat. moxie gives her the confidence to call out the unjust dress code that targeted her for being curvy. this is as far as her development goes. however you see her struggles with the boys harassing her by forcing her to sit on his lap and leering at her. adding to the topic of sexual harassment that is simply chalked up to boys being boys.

kiera (syndey park), amaya (anjelika washington), and cj (josie totah) deserved so much more. if this film did anyone dirty, it was them. they had no character development, no real plot besides the athletic scholarship and the school musical. they were essentially background characters with names. the relationship with amaya and lucy should have been more flushed out, even if it just had them holding hands. even emma (josephine langford) had more character development and she only had like 3 scenes. 

i love emma’s character development though. they set up her reveal at the end perfectly. she is shown to constantly be uncomfortable around mitchell (patrick schwarzenegger) and the audience assumes its because they’re exes. but lucy’s comments about mitchell’s behavior had established that yes he is capable of worse. emma reveals that to be true when she tells everyone he sexually assaulted her. and then ranked her most bangable. absolutely disgusting. she goes from being a silent victim to screaming like she always wanted to do. 

mr davies (ike barinholtz) and seth acosta (nico hiraga) exhibit two forms of male feminists. seth being one who supports women throughout the film. he volunteers keira, he draws the hearts and stars, he supports vivian as moxie. a great example of a male ally. as is mr davies. once he is called out by kaitlynn for being dismissive of the cause as it is a “women’s issue only” he actually changes his behavior. he listens and adjusts. he then encourages the girls to leave during the walk out. 

the ending was the best part of the entire film. women uniting to scream and make their voices heard. all while the principle is forced to take action and accept that she hasn’t been supporting the girls at her school. it was great. 

the line amy poehler delivered “it wasn’t perfect but it was better than doing nothing,” is exactly how this film reads. we needed this film. was it perfect? no. did it need to be made because it’s better than doing nothing for women’s rights? yes. i think white women specifically have this fear that when we talk about women’s rights that we’re not being intersectional enough or inclusive enough so we stay silent to avoid that. but in doing so we allow situations like what lucy and emma went through to happen. the key point of this film is to listen and adjust. vivian does it after claudia calls her out as a bit of a white feminist and mr davies does it after kaitlynn calls him out as being dismissive. not a perfect film but definitely starts the conversation on women’s rights and how we learn to accept it very early on.

How Netflix’s Moxie Explores Different Reactions to Feminism

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Directed by Amy Poehler, glorious coming of age comedy Moxie hit Netflix last week and was a joyful celebration of giving a damn. The movie sees 16-year-old Vivian (Hadley Robinson) inspired by her mum’s (Poehler) former feminist escapades and the misogyny she sees at her school to produce her own Zine (called Moxie) to unite her class mates and try to make a difference.

Sometimes she gets it wrong. Sometimes she hits out at the wrong people. But Vivian and her friends’ determination, hope, doggedness and, sure, moxie, sees real change emerge. It’s funny and vital and an absolute breath of fresh air. Though the film focuses on Vivian, one of the joys of Moxie is that it’s not just Vivian who goes on a journey. Each of the main characters has an arc which explores different kinds of responses to feminism.

Here we break them down.

Vivian 

Vivian is inspired by her mother and by her new classmate Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Pena) to make the magazine in an attempt to address inequalities in the school. Through the mag she finds new friends, a voice and power she’d never had. Moxie calls out the boys who have been harassing Lucy. She supports Kaithlyn (Sabrina Haskett) after Principal Shelley (Marcia Gay Harden) enforces a discriminatory dress code and she backs Kiera’s (Sydney Park) campaign to win a valuable sporting scholarship. But when Kiera doesn’t win, Vivian is angry and disillusioned. She has the pure rage of a teenage girl who’s just discovered white hot fury and she spits it over everyone – including boyfriend Seth (Nico Hiraga), her mother and her mother’s new boyfriend (Clark Gregg). Vivian cares. She really fucking cares. And caring is a beautiful thing. But it causes her to make bad decisions, distributing stickers that get her and the others into trouble and stealing an award won by the Principal which ultimately leads to her best friend Claudia’s (Lauren Tsai) suspension from the school. Vivian finds her voice, her allies and her desire to fight, but mistakes are made along the way. She, like all of us, is still learning in a thorny landscape. Vivian gets it wrong but she accepts this, atones and doesn’t give up. We, the film says, must do the same.

Claudia

Claudia is Vivian’s best friend who is not as comfortable with speaking out or putting her head above the parapet as Vivian. When Moxie suggests the girls come to school with hearts and stars drawn on their hands she is dismissive, suggesting it won’t do anything. She’s jealous of Vivian’s new passion and new friends and, in Vivian’s eyes at least, isn’t supporting her. It’s Claudia, though, that officially registers Moxie so the gang can put up posters in the hallways, a move which ultimately results in her suspension from school – a very grave outcome from her family’s perspective. Vivian’s lack of understanding that things are different for her because she is white and Claudia is Chinese is a lesson that Vivian learns and ultimately leads to Vivian admitting to being behind Moxie and suggesting that the suspension should be hers. It’s not clear if the decision to suspend Claudia will be reversed but the two are reunited as best friends who have grown together.

Vivian’s mother Lisa

Lisa (Poehler) acknowledges that when she was young and fighting the patriarchy they also made mistakes. She says they weren’t intersectional enough, that they called their meetings ‘pow wows’ and in general were making up their forms of protest as they went along. 

She and Vivian are close but somewhere along the line communication with her daughter has dropped off. Once she understands what Vivian is going through she reunites her with Claudia and shows up to support her protest. The two admit they inspire each other – it’s her mum and not Seth she goes to when she steps down from the podium – an important, powerful and perfect moment between the two, acknowledging the work of former generations of feminists at the same time as celebrating the progress the new generation is making.

Seth

Seth is a wonderful example of a feminist ally – he doesn’t get everything right but he tries constantly and when he doesn’t know how to deal with a situation he’ll ask. Seth discovers who is behind Moxie early on, accidentally. He offers to distribute in the boys bathroom, he draws hearts and stars on his hand and wears a tank top in solidarity with the girls and co-nominates Kiera for the sport scholarship. Though he and Vivian fallout – it’s Vivian’s fault – in the final rousing act of the film he allows her to apologise and shows her pitch perfect support. Finally finding her voice, Vivian stands up in front of the girls who have walked out of class in protest over the rape of a girl and admits that she is the maker of Moxie. After a moving moment where the rape victim comes forward and the women share a scream reminiscent of the group grieving bit in Midsommar, Vivian exits the stage to allow other girls to speak. Mouthing her apology across a crowd, in response Seth rolls up his sleeve to reveal word VIVIAN written large up his arm. It’s both a reference to her earlier rant about being expected to be his property and have his name on her arm, and a nod to the ‘girls on tops’ movement which saw people wearing t-shirts with the names of their favourite female filmmakers and stars.

Mr. Davies

Read more

TV

Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia: An Excellent Show Undermined by its Race Problems

By Liv Facey

Ike Barinholtz’s English teacher is well meaning but ineffective and is called out on it by the girls in his class. Early in the film he allows the bullying Mitch (Patrick Schwarzenegger) to talk over Lucy when she’s making a point about the limitations of the syllabus. When Principal Shelley sends home a pupil because she’s wearing a tank top and has big breasts he does nothing and when the girls protest by wearing tank tops to class he claims it’s a women’s issue. Davies doesn’t know how to handle his pupils’ burgeoning interest in feminism and so he does nothing.

Later though, when the girls are planning to stage a walkout, he offers support. Though he says it’s their funeral if they leave and he is ‘washing his hands of it’ when he holds them up they are covered with hearts and stars.

Lucy 

Lucy Inspires Vivian, she teaches her that hiding in the background and blending in to try to avoid confrontation isn’t the right thing to do – that Vivian should hold her head up. Lucy is brave and fierce and confident – she is Black and gay and shows a level of awareness and strength that Vivian wouldn’t have had to learn, while Lucy has. But she can also lack mindfulness of other people who aren’t as strong as her. Her nomination of Kiera is well meant but ultimately ends badly for Kiera, in part because the girls were too assured that they would be able to change the school overnight. Idealism can be wonderful but by making Kiera stand for all women and girls, she ends up hurt and humiliated as a consequence. Lucy also doesn’t really understand the seriousness of Claudia’s suspension. She will continue to fight but she, like Vivian, still has things to learn.

Principal Shelley

Shelley fails to support the female students at the school. Her refusal to act even when Lucy is the victim of abusive behaviour allows toxic acts to perpetuate, and her response of ‘sticks and stones’ to Lucy after she’s been verbally abused is the catalyst which drives Vivian to action. Shelley makes some valid points – she’s not wrong about it being important for things to be done within school rules, that girls should pull up a chair if we want a seat at the table, but her apathy leads to toxicity going unchecked. She’s an example of those with an attitude that doesn’t take feminism seriously, arguing that there are more pressing problems. Her turning a blind eye has enabled the rape we later learn has gone unreported. The final act though, offers hope for her to change – the walkout and protest means she finally has to talk Mitchell’s behavior seriously and there is hope that she will learn from her mistakes.

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Moxie isn’t a polemical, it’s a fun, joyful movie which celebrates people of all ages, races and genders trying to do their best, but it’s also a smart look at different attitudes to inclusiveness and equality, to protest and change that might be about feminism in this instance but isn’t confined to that issue. Instead it’s an intelligent exploration of tolerance and how things might be better for everyone regardless of our generation if we try to listen and learn from each other.

The post How Netflix’s Moxie Explores Different Reactions to Feminism appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Hi! I was wondering if you could help me. I'm graduating this year and I need a yearbook quote and I think I want it to be something from P&R (or Amy Poehler). Do you have any suggestions?

this is a really nice idea!! i think it depends on what you’re going for. i misread this and assumed you wanted leslie quotes, so anything that doesnt have a name next to it is her.

 if you want sincere quotes, you might do one of these:

“winning is every girl’s dream, but it’s my destiny. and my dream” 

“we have to remember whats important in life: friends waffles work. or waffles friends work. doesn’t matter, but work it third” 

“No one achieves anything alone.”

“In times of stress or moments of transition sometimes it can feel like the whole world is closing in on you. When that happens, You should close your eyes, take a deep breath, listen to the people who love you, when they give you advice, and remember what really matters.”

(ron) “never half ass two things. whole ass one thing” (obv dont use this if swearing isnt allowed lol) 

(andy) “If you want something badly, you just gotta believe it’s gonna work out.”

(jerry) “You know, there are no guarantees in this world. As long as the people I love are a part of my life, I will be just fine.”

if you want funny quotes, you might do one of these:

“math is worthless. i mean, there’s an app for calculating tips. that’s all you need”

“i have the most valuable currency in america. a blind, stubborn belief that what im doing is 100% correct”

“Sometimes when you make an omelet you’ve gotta break a few eggs. What’s the alternative? No omelets at all? Who wants to live in that kind of world?”

“I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself.”

(tom) “Sometimes you gotta work a little… So you can ball a lot”

(andy) “I have no idea what I’m doing but I know I’m doing it really, really well.”

amy poehler quotes you might like:

“The earlier you learn that you should focus on what you have, and not obsess about what you don’t have, the happier you will be.”

“i believe great people do things before they are ready”

“its easier to be brave when you are not alone”

hope some of these help!!! i’d love to know what you end up using :)

-stacy

Badass Characters: Volume I

In honor of International Women’s Day 2017, let’s talk about our female representation through popular movies and television shows - one’s that we like. The most popular television shows on right now consist of the Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, Criminal Minds, SVU, etc. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz has a PhD and quite the lucrative job at a pharmaceutical company while appearing to be quite soft and feminine, a contrast you don’t find often represented. You can be feminine as fuck and educated as fuck and rich as fuck. But what feminist isn’t at least a little disappointed that the androcentric writers of the Big Bang Theory has her married to Howard - who consistently harassed women, made sexist jokes and is a firm representation of benevolent sexism. Amy Farrah Fowler is a neurobiologist obsessed with Sheldon loving her and Penny’s main character attribute is “ditzy”. Supernatural has like, zero, women, except for Satan’s mom and God’s sister, Criminal Minds has Derek Morgan whose “talk to me, baby girl” makes me cringe. And then there’s SVU, which tries so hard to represent all political viewpoints that it gives you whiplash - and for a show that is mainly about rape victims, it doesn’t always feel that feminist.

Although there’s a lot wrong - there’s still some good. Hence, the beginning of the new series I’m doing (probably - if I remember to keep posting these) highlighting some cool as fuck characters that deserve to be appreciated and have their character development applauded. Without further ado: Badass Characters Volume I

No. 1: Leslie Knope //  Parks & Recreation (2009-2015) // “You know my code, hoes before bros. Uteruses before duderuses. Ovaries before Brovaries”

Parks & Recreation was pretty cool for several reasons: 1) it affirmed to the audience that local government is truly accessible; if those weirdos in Pawnee could state their peace, so can you. 2) guised as a mockumentary and comedy, the show highlighted sectors of government, using its platform of comedy to educate its audience about their own government and political process. 3) Leslie. Knope. 

Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope, a devoted gal pal, a declared feminist, a hard worker, a woman who literally, like, LOVES waffles. She spends a lot of conscious effort disbanding the “boy’s club” of politics, she never lets a remark about “a woman’s place” and gender roles go unrefuted. Leslie Knope uses sarcasm to call people out on their privilege, sneaks out of the hospital when incredibly ill to attend a meeting and redefines the adjective “hard working”. Perhaps a line that is so easily drawn and disappointing with female characters that are presented as feminist is that they seem unsupportive of women who do embrace traditional roles - a group of women that Leslie also continuously protects. She calls Men’s Rights Activism “ridiculous” and “nothing” and takes criticism of her feminism well - as evident of her leadership of the Pawnee Goddesses when she corrected herself in not allowing young boys to join her wilderness group of Pawnee girls. 

Although Parks and Recreation is presented as silly - important issues are addressed through the medium of Leslie as she battles sexism in politics, having to dodge questions about her appearance while campaigning. Classism and obesity are battles that are fought through comedy, with Leslie Knope and group of lovely gal pals. Plus Galentines Day is the best. 

No. 2: Olive Penderghast // Easy A (2010) // “Yes. Yes, I am a big, fat, slut”

Easy A is easily classified with Mean Girls & The Duff to be a fairly fun commentary on being a teenage girl. What makes this heroine pretty badass is her shamelessly embracing female sexuality, standing up for the right for a girl to do whatever the fuck she wants with her body while embracing such a wit, intelligence, integrity and maturity. Olive Penderghast is strong and independent. A lot of Hollywood depictions of high school kids tend to ignore that they are, indeed, children and that not everyone is having sex with each other all the time. That’s what makes Olive unique in the teenage girl movie world - she’s a virgin. Olive spends weekends alone singing pop songs that she would publicly shame (her hypocrisy is another quality that makes her pretty cool and well developed, I think) and although she stands up against the notion that everyone’s judging each other all the time - she kind of is judging people all the time. Rhiannon’s parents are too hippy, Marianne is too Christian and Micah’s kinda dumb. 

The fact that Olive embraces judgement and stands up against slut shaming in her Ojai Valley high school without hesitation regardless of whether or not people were accurately representing her remains to be brave. She decides to exploit her reputation for profit to prove to the school that she couldn’t care less about their antiquated opinions on sexuality. Olive proudly displays an A on her clothing in allusion to the Scarlet Letter. 

Olive proves to be selfless, sacrificing her reputation for a greater cause and even to save a teacher’s job. She’s opinionated, she likes to study and learn, is independent and sweet; she corrupts the smart/attractive binary by spouting relevant facts and literary terms while being tirelessly courted. Olive both understands and loves herself - but also feels the pressure to hide her unconventional traits, and encourages others to do the same. Olive isn’t perfect at all - but who actually is? 

It’s part of what makes her so bad ass. 

No. 3: Tiana // Princess & The Frog (2009) // “It serves me right for wishing on stars. The ONLY way to get what you want is hard work.”

The most important in this edition of Badass Characters, in my humble opinion is Tiana’s role as a Disney princess. The main character attributes of Tiana are her ambition, determination and hard work. No one is going to prevent Tiana from owning her own restaurant or from pursuing her dream of being a professional chef; “fairytales don’t come true, you have to make them happen”. The idea of dating and dancing is declared trivial to Tiana; why let anything get in the way of owning Tiana’s Place? AND - an even bigger bonus - she was actually written by a person of color. 

Her persistence and frame of mind highlights the difficulties of coming from a poor and primarily black community in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tiana is intelligent and independent in a climate that deems her none of those things at all; she’s denied the opportunity to own her own restaurant after being told “a little woman of your background couldn’t handle it”.Tiana’s clever, capable and caring. As a workaholic, she’s put through trials and eventually turns to the wishing star. She later regrets this act, narrating to herself that her dream will only surface as reality through hard work; not depending on a frog/prince/arrogant as all hell man. 

There are problems with the movie as a whole, as Tiana’s life wishes are answered when sent a man and the movie depicts voodoo as an evil (among many others). but I find Tiana to be extremely refreshing. 

Young girls are looking up to a determined woman of color - learning that they can do anything they want to if they work hard enough. And in a political climate like ours today, it’s important to be reminded that things will only change with our persistence; with our ambition, determination, and devotion. Tiana teaches us nothing should get in the way of our goal; that we are independent and intelligent, caring and super fucking funny.

1-150 pussy you won't

I FUCKING WILL (im so sorry followers)

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

Meagan

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

I’m pretty outgoing

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

Family again

4. Are you easy to get along with?

Depends if you have the same sense of humor as me. If we don’t, I can come off a bit strong. If we do, we’ll be just fine.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?

Lmao no

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

My type seems to be “can kill me with their pinky and has colorful hair”

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?

Who knows? Gotta stay positive :)

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

My friend Mandy :P

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

Not even a little

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

Probably Royce over at @hero-of-pixels​

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?

“fIGHT ME”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

The Dirt Whispered by Rise Against

R U Mine? by Arctic Monkeys

Looking Too Closely by Fink

Pedal to the Metal by Lazerhawk

Royals by Lorde (its old but fight me)

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?

yES

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

I believe that sometimes rare things happen for no particular reason at all.

15. What good thing happened this summer?

I moved to Edmonton!

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Ye!

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?

I hold the popular belief that our known realm is so unfathomably big that to presume that no other instance of creation could result in life other than our own is unlikely and unreasonable.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

HELL NAH we’re nothing a like I only liked her bc she was quirky

19. Do you like bubble baths?

Hell yeah, I need to take more of those.

20. Do you like your neighbors?

The guy in the room next to me sings opera after 11 pm which was funny for the first week but not it really sucks.

21. What are you bad habits?

Biting my nails, coping in unhealthy ways, blaming myself for other people being dumb.

22. Where would you like to travel?

Europe, just all of it.

23. Do you have trust issues?

Yeye

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

Getting home :P

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?

Chest

26. What do you do when you wake up?

Take meds and get ready for class.

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?

In the summer I get tanned to the same tone my dad is and I like the colour because it allows me to actually have people believe me when I tell them that I’m very native (which I am).

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

I really don’t know anymore, sorry.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?

Literally not one, not once.

30. Do you ever want to get married?

Dude getting married would be so rad like being bound to someone you love n shit? Rad.

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?

Nah

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

Eliza Taylor and Emma Stone probs.

33. Spell your name with your chin.

your name with your chin

also

ol8iuvfc

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

I play competitive dodgeball.

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?

TV easily

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

ALL the time honestly.

37. What do you say during awkward silences?

I’ll either say something weird to draw attention like “how many times would a dude have to fuck a soup for it to become a chowder” or say something obviously awkward like “so.....nice weather huh?”

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

I like short girls, colorful hair, with a sharp wit and probably ten times smarter than me. A good sense of humor goes a long way. 

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?

Steam, Amazon, and DMV

40. What do you want to do after high school?

I am attending University

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

I believe if they have earned it and genuinely want change.

42. If you’re being extremely quiet what does it mean?

I am either very distressed or very uncomfortable.

43. Do you smile at strangers?

I do!

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

Launch me into space. I don’t even need a space suit just fucken do it.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

Dedication and motivation to improve myself.

46. What are you paranoid about?

Being out of the loop or different.

47. Have you ever been high?

Yep

48. Have you ever been drunk?

Yep

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?

Not particularly

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

Navy blue :P

51. Ever wished you were someone else?

I did, and do here and there.

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

Appearance.

53. Favourite makeup brand?

I don’t use enough to give an opinion.

54. Favourite store?

I could spend hours in a boardgame cafe.

55. Favourite blog?

erudit0.tumblr.com

56. Favourite colour?

BLUUUUE

57. Favourite food?

I would sell my body for a good stir fry.

58. Last thing you ate?

French fries

59. First thing you ate this morning?

Subway

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

We won a dodgeball tournament earlier in the year.

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?

I called my religion teacher in my christian school a creepy racist sexist homophobic pig.

62. Been arrested? For what?

A friend of mine was in an ambulance and I covered for him for police (EMTs knew everything though)

63. Ever been in love?

I think so.

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

We were drunk and she was hot.

65. Are you hungry right now?

I’m currently eating, but yes.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

I don’t really have any tumblr friends, but a couple people on here are super cool :)

67. Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now?

Nope

70. Names of your bestfriends?

Royce, Mandy, Alice, and Max

71. Craving something? What?

Attention and validation, also stir fry.

72. What colour are your towels?

Gray

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Two

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

I have a distinct lack of stuffed animals.

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

Like one.

75. Favourite animal?

I’m a fan of Owls.

76. What colour is your underwear?

Gray

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?

Oreo

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?

Blue

80. What colour pants?

Blue jeans

81. Favourite tv show?

I’m really liking Brooklyn Nine-Nine

82. Favourite movie?

I really like Inception, Serenity, Rogue One, and The Grand Budapest Hotel

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

Never seen either

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

I’ve only seen 21 Jump Street

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

The mom is Amy Poehler so that’s cool

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

CRUSH

87. First person you talked to today?

Alice

88. Last person you talked to today?

You, anon.

89. Name a person you hate?

Trump

90. Name a person you love?

My friends

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

A few, but I don’t resort to violence unless in self-defence

92. In a fight with someone?

Yeah.

93. How many sweatpants do you have?

A lot cause I love myself.

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

A lot cause I love myself

95. Last movie you watched?

Rogue One

96. Favourite actress?

I have a lot of respect for Ellen Page

97. Favourite actor?

Keanu Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeves

98. Do you tan a lot?

I naturally tan in the summer.

99. Have any pets?

I have a cat and a dog back home.

100. How are you feeling?

I’m holding up

101. Do you type fast?

Not as fast as I used to.

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

I try not to, but yes.

103. Can you spell well?

I like to think I can.

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

See 102.

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?

Yep!

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

Unfortunately I have

107. Have you ever been on a horse?

Hell yeah

108. What should you be doing?

Homework

109. Is something irritating you right now?

Ye

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

YEP

111. Do you have trust issues?

You already asked this

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?

Jon

113. What was your childhood nickname?

Toucey (pronounced Tukey)

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?

Ye!

115. Do you play the Wii?

Not often

116. Are you listening to music right now?

I am!

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?

There’s better soup

118. Do you like Chinese food?

Ye!

119. Favourite book?

The Hunger Games

120. Are you afraid of the dark?

I used to be but I’m good now.

121. Are you mean?

I can come off as mean but I honestly don’t intend to.

122. Is cheating ever okay?

Only if the cheater is in a situation that it would be unsafe for them to be upfront.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?

Nah

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Nope, that would be lust

125. Do you believe in true love?

I do

126. Are you currently bored?

A bit, but I might go in the lounge to fix that.

127. What makes you happy?

Friends, creating, feeling accepted

128. Would you change your name?

Nope!

129. What your zodiac sign?

Gemini but like, but less than 2 hours from Cancer

130. Do you like subway?

Yes to both kinds.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

That would literally never happen

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

Answered

133. Favourite lyrics right now?

“This one’s for the boys with the boomin’ system, top down AC with the coolin’ system”

134. Can you count to one million?

Probably? Never tried.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?

I’m not high

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?

Closed and locked

137. How tall are you?

6′2

138. Curly or Straight hair?

Curly :D

139. Brunette or Blonde?

Brunette

140. Summer or Winter?

Summer

141. Night or Day?

Night

142. Favourite month?

June

143. Are you a vegetarian?

Nope

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?

White chocolate!

145. Tea or Coffee?

Coffee

146. Was today a good day?

It was alright

147. Mars or Snickers?

Snickers

148. What’s your favourite quote?

“ “Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is nobel, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the earth.""What giants?" Asked Sancho Panza."The ones you can see over there," answered his master, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long.""Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone.""Obviously," replied Don Quijote, "you don't know much about adventures.” ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote “

149. Do you believe in ghosts?

I’m not sure

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

“The announcement from the Ministry of Plenty ended on another trumpet call andgave way to tinny music. Parsons, stirred to vague enthusiasm by the bombardmentof figures, took his pipe out of his mouth.“

1984, George Orwell

---

THERE YOU GO  

MOXIE is more than just a book, it’s a call to action! We talk all things Riot Grrl, music and our misspent youth with author Jennifer Mathieu.

The Riot Grrl movement was born out of the feminist punk scene of the 1990s. Nearly 20 years later and so much has changed, but even more has stayed the same. There is still a need for female unity. There is still a need for feminist activism. There is still a need for Riot Grrl. Jennifer Mathieu’s new book MOXIE reminds us of all the reasons we need REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE NOW!

YA WEDNESDAY PRESENTS:

An Interview With Jennifer Mathieu

Q: The dedication of this book is badass but it makes me think this story is personal. What inspired Moxie?

A: Writing that dedication was, truly, the most fun I have had writing in years. It was very cathartic. I think I was inspired to write Moxie not only because of my personal interest in Riot Grrrl and feminism (which really started during college) but also because I wanted to write the sort of book my high school self would have wanted to read. My high school was very conservative, stifling, and especially restrictive when it came to gender roles. It was the early 90s in the suburbs and it was hard. The teacher to whom I dedicated the book also bragged about giving his wife a frying pan for her birthday. The vibe was just gross and in my gut I knew it. But I didn’t have Moxie or anything like it, so I decided to write the book I wish I’d had when I was 15.

Q: I grew up in small town not unlike East Rockport High and Vivian’s story felt very real to me. Was your high school experience like what was described in Moxie?

A: Yes, in a lot of ways. I didn’t grow up in a small town, but the sports teams were very important at my school. My school was religious, too, so in many ways it was very conservative. I don’t mean to imply you can’t be religious and progressive or religious and a feminist, but my school was very conservative in its approach to social issues. It put a high premium on conformity. I had several bad experiences there. The teacher to whom I dedicated the book was one of them. I also had my cheerleading coach imply I needed to lose weight. It was really gross.

Q: Music was such a large part of the Riot Grrl movement and Vivian’s story. What songs fueled you while writing Moxie?

A: I remember the first girl punk song that blew my mind was Cherry Bomb by the Runaways. I discovered it in high school because it was on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack, which I played obsessively on cassette – lol! When I got to Northwestern for college, I met up with people who I really connected with, and they introduced me to punk. I listened to a lot of those songs as I was writing Moxie, including a ton of Bikini Kill, of course. I listened to Cool Schmool by Bratmobile repeatedly as well as a lot of Team Dresch songs. I listened to a lot of music by bands that came a bit after the RG movement, including Sleater-Kinney and Cadallaca. I don’t always listen to music when I write, but for this book I definitely did!

  Q: In Moxie, Vivian finds a box of paraphernalia from her mother’s high school days called “My Misspent Youth” box. What would be in your My Misspent Youth box?

A: Great question! It’s funny because after the book went to print I wondered if I should have called that box something else because I don’t think Vivian’s mom thought her youth was misspent – she was mostly being tongue in cheek about it! Her youth was important and revelatory for her as was mine. I’m 40 years old, and I think I would include my ticket stubs from all the shows I went to – Fugazi, Sleater-Kinney, The Queers, etc. as well as some of the books that made a real impact on me, including Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion and the Sisterhood is Powerful anthology, edited by Robin Morgan. I’d include some of my journals and the letters and postcards my friends and I wrote to each other – we were part of the last generation to write to one another instead of just email or text. I would also include Zine, the Pagan’s Head zine anthology by Pagan Kennedy, which introduced me to zine culture and what zines are all about.

A few item from Jennifer’s “My Misspent Youth” box.

  Q: Vivian was inspired by the Riot Grrl movement from the 1990s. What historical movement or individuals inspired you both in high school and now?

A: For me personally, looking at feminism’s second wave, I am deeply inspired by Gloria Steinem and Audre Lorde. I had the opportunity to hear Gloria speak when I was in college and it was an amazing experience. Audre Lorde’s “Sister Outsider” collection is as relevant today as ever, especially in regard to feminism needing to be inclusive and not just a movement full of middle class white women. As far as RG, I was and still am inspired by Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of Bikini Kill and later Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin. I know in her early years she shunned off the “leader” title, but she is so charismatic, inspiring, and hilarious it’s no surprise that word kept getting thrown at her. I have also been so impressed by Beth Ditto, who led the band Gossip and is now a solo artist. I recently read her autobiography From Coal to Diamonds and was so touched by her insight and honesty. She was really influenced by the Riot Grrrl movement as well. And finally, Roxane Gay is one of the most important feminist voices out there right now. She should be required reading in schools, and that’s why I name dropped her in Moxie! LOL!

Some of the woman that inspire Jennifer Mathieu. Take note ladies.

Q: In Moxie, some students are less than enthusiastic with the idea of a feminist agenda at their school. What would you say to anyone who thinks “feminist” is a dirty word? 

A: I would be really gentle with them because arguing back isn’t going to help change their minds. I would ask them why the think this way. For a lot of people I think it’s the media’s influence or just stuff heard at home. Feminists are man haters or can’t wear makeup – just dumb stereotypes that get circulated online and elsewhere. I would ask them if they think women and men should be paid the same. I would ask them if men should be able to cry in public and not get shamed for it. I would ask them if childcare and housework should be valued no matter who does it. Feminism isn’t scary if you think about it like that – it’s really about liberation for everyone from stifling and repressive stereotypes. As the great bell hooks said, feminism is for everybody. It’s about love, inclusivity, and living authentically.  I think approaching the conversation that way might help.

Q: After finishing Moxie I was ready to take over the world! What would you suggest for girls who want to continue the Moxie movement after they finish this kick-ass book?

A: I’m so glad you felt this way! I didn’t want Moxie to be the ending point but rather the starting point, so with the help of my former student, Lexi Acevedo, I created the Moxie Tumblr which can be found at moxiegirlsfightback.com. There you can find resources, a playlist, and tips on starting your own Moxie Club at your school! You can also Ask a Moxie Girl a question or submit original art and writing to be shared on the Tumblr. It’s my hope that the Moxie movement really becomes a community. The book is already out in the UK and I recently heard from two young women over there who are working on their own zines and starting a Moxie Club! i wanted to scream with excitement! Actually, I did!

Q: So, the rights to Moxie have been acquired by Amy Poehler’s production company (yay!). What songs would be on your dream Moxie soundtrack?

A: Yes, right now the screenplay is being developed and we’ll see what happens from there! As for my dream soundtrack, I would recommend every song on the Moxie playlist, which you can find on the Tumblr. For sure Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” and “Feels Blind” would go on there, but I would also want to include some contemporary lady punk, including a song called “Mujer Moderna” by this kick ass San Antonio band called Fea as well as “Dream Number Nine” by a UK band called Big Joanie.

San Antonio band FEA

UK band Big Joanie

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu: The Review 

From the book flap:

 MOXIE GIRLS FIGHT BACK!

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with a school administration at her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes, hallway harassment, and gross comments from guys during class. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv’s mom was a tough-as-nails, punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, and now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. As Viv forges friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.

Moxie is a book about high school life that will make you wanna riot!

Overall: There are times when the problems of the world seem too big to handle. Climate change, racism, politics…Problems- so, so BIG. Me- SO, SO small! To stop myself from sliding into depression and retreating to my bedroom with a quart of gelato, I  remind myself that no problem, no matter the size, gets solved with inaction and even a small act creates momentum, the opposite of inertia. MOXIE is that reminder. Moxie proves that small acts can lead to BIG change. Alright ladies-go read this book, then go change the world!

Judge a Book by its Cover: Black, white, pink and pissed! The Moxie cover fits the book’s vibe perfectly.

Me Talk Pretty: Jennifer pretty much channeled me at 17 while writing Vivian. This quote especially sums up my high school experience.

Audiobook Narration:  Audiophiles, you’re in luck. Moxie will be available as an audiobook on September 19th and the reader is audiobook veteran  Suzy Johnson.

Kick-Ass Factor: The Kick-Ass factor for Moxie is high! Don’t get me wrong, this is not a book about a girl who suddenly finds out she’s got secret martial arts skills and starts challenging bullies in hand to hand combat. No, Moxie kicks ass in a way that is real, believable and accessible to anyone. Vivian just gets fed up with the misogynist status quo at school and she decides to do something about it. It’s not something that would be considered overly grand or reckless to everyone, but for meek Vivian, it’s huge. And from her one act of defiance, the Moxie movement is born.

Body Count: While this is not a book with a literal body count, there are definitely casualties.

The Chosen One: The plot of Moxie could have slipped into the cliché if not for the skillful writing of Jennifer Mathieu. Moxie is Vivian’s story, but this is not one girl against the world. There are other girls in this book who are fighting their own battles in their own ways.  Moxies girls fight back, but there are consequences.

Just. Why. One thing I couldn’t understand was Vivian’s love for frozen dinners. Please Vivian, stop with the Stouffer’s!

He Said/She Said: Moxie is told from the perspective of Vivian, a girl who does a lot to go unnoticed. She’s smart, but afraid to speak out in class. She clever, but doesn’t want to draw attention to herself. She’s got ideas, good ones, but she’s too scared to voice them. Vivian’s inner dialogue proves this girl has a voice, she just needs to learn to use it.

Bizarre Love Triangle: Jennifer introduces the sort of love triangle that is way more common in real life than the usual YA trope: The Platonic Love Triangle. It’s easy to feel pulled in two different directions when a new friend threatens to shake-up the friend equilibrium between you and your old school bestie. Especially when the new friend is a badass girl from the big city with all kinds of subversive ideas. Is there room in Viv’s life for old friends and new ideas?

Don’t Believe the Hype: When Amy Poehler endorses your book and wants to turn it into a movie, the bar is set pretty damn high.  And for me personally as a self proclaimed Riot Grrl, this particular bar was 20 feet above eye level. But Moxie is worth all the praise it’s receiving. ALL. OF. IT.

Open tab/Last call: Jennifer Mathieu proves that Moxie Girls can be both gentle and tough. This is why the perfect Moxie drink is Fortified Lemon- sweet and sour with a hidden kick! We’ll keep the punch bowl full for you, Jennifer!

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, Roaring Brook Press, 336 Pages, September 19, 2017

Ann-Eliza

First Reads Friday Presents: MOXIE by Jennifer Mathieu, Author Interview + Review MOXIE is more than just a book, it's a call to action! We talk all things Riot Grrl, music and our misspent youth with author Jennifer Mathieu.

Netflix’s Moxie is a Euphoric Call to Action for Everyone, Not Just Gen Z Girls

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Some people have done astounding things in lockdown. They’ve written books, learned languages, got fit, taken to crafting, or they are scientists, key workers, people saving the world every day. Or just people surviving in the worst circumstances and not giving up. Hats off to them.

Others of us after a year of varying levels of lockdown aren’t doing quite so well. Apathy has set in. Cooking, eating and washing up feels like never ending Sisyphean torture. Wearing clothes other than pyjamas counts as an achievement. Leaving the house to go to shops feels like an activity that should warrant sponsorship. For some of us it’s all got a bit much.

So when Moxie, directed by Amy Poehler and based on the book by Jennifer Mathieu, landed on Netflix, we could just about be bothered to press play.  

Thank god. Moxie is a movie that calls for us – all of us – to do something, to say something to try even if we get it wrong. Don’t give up, Moxie says. These are complicated times, but that doesn’t mean we get to opt out. And that’s a message to all of us, not just the Gen Z kids in the film who are learning about feminism for the first time, but the parents who can learn from those kids, the men and boys who can act as allies, the teachers whose inactivity or fear of getting it wrong leads to further injustice. What a glorious and uplifting message – people get things wrong, politics is complicated, try, fail, learn, get better.

Hadley Robinson stars as 16-year-old Vivian, daughter of Amy Poehler’s single mum Lisa, who back in the day was on her own mission to smash the patriarchy. Asked to write an essay about a cause she feels passionately about and what she did to change it she’s inspired by her mum’s old memorabilia to create a zine called Moxie which she distributes anonymously.

Once Vivian’s eyes are open to the casual, and not so casual, sexism that goes on in her school – an annual list classifying the girls in categories like ‘most bangable’, ‘best rack’, the marginalisation of the women’s football team compared to the men’s, double standards in dress code and a school syllabus that focuses on white male literature – she sees it everywhere.

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Vivian has success, has failure, gets disillusioned, messes up and redeems herself by the end. It might be formulaic but that doesn’t make it any less effective. This might be a formula we have seen in coming of age films from Whip It to Booksmart and beyond, but here it fits perfectly in a film that is calling for us all to own our mistakes, get better and move on.

Against the backdrop of the Weinstein scandal and its wider implications (we see snippets of a news report in the background referring to women coming forward related to a not specified case), Moxie’s is a world in turmoil but one that celebrates the possibility of change.

Much has been made of ‘boomers vs millennials’ spats online – one is obsolete, the other entitled or something – while Gen X-ers are largely defined by other people forgetting we exist and us not really caring – the onus seems to be on Gen Z to save the world, an awful lot of pressure to lay on the shoulders of the young. 

Moxie celebrates the vigour of youth while exploring how every age, race and gender can do their part, from the wonderful example of being an ally set by Vivian’s boyfriend Seth (Nico Hiraga), to the damaging dismissiveness of the Principal (Marcia Gay Harden) and the fear and avoidance of Vivian’s teacher Mr Davies  (Ike Barinholtz) who finally comes through for the girls even if in a very small way.

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Moxie isn’t just a call to action, it’s a celebration of passion and of giving a damn about something, while encouraging tolerance and understanding.  It might look like a sweet coming-of-ager and a ‘girls first feminism’ handbook but it’s bigger than that. It’s one of the most current wholly positive and inclusive comedies to land on the streaming service and could be just what we need in 2021 and beyond. 

Moxie is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Netflix’s Moxie is a Euphoric Call to Action for Everyone, Not Just Gen Z Girls appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Blackberries Quotes

Official Website: Blackberries Quotes

` • A top McCain policy adviser claimed this week that McCain’s work in the Senate helped create the BlackBerry, saying, ‘You’re looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create.’ He then handed the BlackBerry to McCain, who attempted to withdraw $20 from it. – Amy Poehler • After the last shovel of dirt was patted in place, I sat down and let my mind drift back through the years. I thought of the old K. C. Baking Powder can, and the first time I saw my pups in the box at the depot. I thought of the fifty dollars, the nickels and dimes, and the fishermen and blackberry patches. I looked at his grave and, with tears in my eyes, I voiced these words: “You were worth it, old friend, and a thousand times over. – Wilson Rawls • All of the people who are using their BlackBerries or their iPhones, Facebook, all of the people who are sitting in cafes and hotels rooms doing their work, they’re all using wireless technology, and we shouldn’t assume that the only way of the future is high speed cable. – Tony Abbott • All the consumer market mojo is with Apple and to a lesser extent BlackBerry. And yet, the real market momentum with operators and the real market momentum with device manufacturers seems to primarily be with Windows Mobile and Android. – Steve Ballmer • and once at Hana’s house, when we stole some blackberry liqueur from her parents’ liquor cabinet and drank until the ceiling started spinning overhead. Hana was laughing and giggling, but I didn’t like it, didn’t like the sweet sick taste in my mouth or the way my thoughts seemed to break apart like a mist in the sun. – Lauren Oliver • At work people are expected to be at the beck and call of employers all the time. You have blackberries and other things, and they just don’t leave you alone. People have less time just to drop into an art gallery. – Jeremy Paxman • Attention is the most powerful tool of the human spirit. We can enhance or augment our attention with practices like meditation and exercise, diffuse it with technologies like email and Blackberries, or alter it with pharmaceuticals. In the end, though, we are fully responsible for how we choose to use this extraordinary tool. – Linda Stone

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Blackberr', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_blackberr').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_blackberr img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Beyond all our Blackberries and iPhones, we’re dangerously separated from our food and water supplies. – Eric Kripke • Blackberry Smoke is a band that will never go hungry. – Brian Johnson • Blackberry Smoke is my favorite band! – Jamey Johnson • Blackberry Smoke is the real deal! – Dierks Bentley • Blackberry winter, the time when the hoarforst lies on the blackberry blossoms; without this frost the berries will not set. It is the forerunner of a rich harvest. – Margaret Mead • BLACKBERRY. Also know as “Crackberry” for it’s addictive qualities. It is the modern girl’s weapon. It allow her to bid on ebay while walking down the street, map out her shopping route for maximum productivity, and sneak out of work and still get her messages as she peruses the sales racks. – Nina Garcia • Blue is a tranquilizer, imparting coolness to your system. Blue slows down your system so it can heal and mend. Positive qualities of blue are willpower, aspiration, and reliability. Foods of the blue vibration are: grapes, blackberries, blue plums, blueberries, and any other blue fruits or vegetables. – Tae Yun Kim • Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are true super foods. Naturally sweet and juicy, berries are low in sugar and high in nutrients – they are among the best foods you can eat. – Joel Fuhrman • Brambles, in particular, protect and nourish young fruit trees, and on farms bramble clumps (blackberry or one of its related cultivars) can be used to exclude deer and cattle from newly set trees. As the trees (apple, quince, plum, citrus, fig) age, and the brambles are shaded out, hoofed animals come to eat fallen fruit, and the mature trees (7 plus years old) are sufficiently hardy to withstand browsing. Our forest ancestors may well have followed some such sequences for orchard evolution, assisted by indigenous birds and mammals. – Bill Mollison • But time in only another liar, so go along the wall a little further: if blackberries prove bitter there’ll be mushrooms, fairy-ring mushrooms in the grass, sweetest of all fungi. – William Carlos Williams • Come, my child,” I said, trying to lead her away. “Wish good-bye to the poor hare, and come and look for blackberries.” “Good-bye, poor hare!” Sylvie obediently repeated, looking over her shoulder at it as we turned away. And then, all in a moment, her self-command gave way. Pulling her hand out of mine, she ran back to where the dead hare was lying, and flung herself down at its side in such an agony of grief as I could hardly have believed possible in so young a child. “Oh, my darling, my darling!” she moaned, over and over again. “And God meant your life to be so beautiful! – Lewis Carroll • Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

• For me, nature is something you watch on the Discovery Channel, or on the evening news — as you learn how much more of it’s been savaged to make way for the Blackberry realm that is my home – Tahir Shah • Hey, Barack Obama had to give up his Blackberry. He’s the first wired president. … He might have to give his Blackberry because of security reasons. Because they’re easy to hack into. In fact, when Obama heard he might have to give it up, he said, ‘OMG! WTF?’ I mean, he couldn’t believe it. – Jay Leno • How much are we willing to lose from our already short lives by losing ourselves in our Blackberries, our iPhones, by not paying attention to the human being across from us who is talking with us, by being so lazy that we’re not willing to process deeply? – Joshua Foer • I always loved writing, but I feel like I really started writing when I got my BlackBerry . It was the first time I could take these crazy thoughts in my head and actually get them out. This little device became my journal on the road. – Duff McKagan • I am impressed with the innovation in the wireless marketplace. The Blackberry, the iPhone, the Pre, and other smart devices are breakthrough technologies that have helped revolutionize the wireless space. – Julius Genachowski • I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journeywork of the stars, And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren, And the tree toad is a chef-d’oeurve for the highest, And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven, And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery, And the cow crunching with depress’d head surpasses any statue, And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels! – Walt Whitman • I don’t do Twitter, Facebook; none of that. My email I do from my Blackberry or my iPhone. – Penelope Cruz • I don’t have a BlackBerry or whatever you call it. And there is something to be said for being isolated and out of phone range, because you can fall into a habit to such a degree that you don’t even realise that you’ve lost something: silence. – Viggo Mortensen • I don’t have an alarm clock. If someone needs to wake me up, then I have my BlackBerry next to me. – Mark Zuckerberg • I don’t like sitting still at a desk and often conduct business on my Blackberry or in walking meetings. – Dylan Lauren • I don’t text, I don’t have a Blackberry. Literally, I just have a cell phone that I haven’t programmed and the whole Bluetooth. No. I don’t even have an earpiece for my cell phone. – Steve Carell • I hate the iPhone. I love the BlackBerry – BlackBerry wins in my opinion. The iPhone is a toy. – Brett Ratner • I have a Blackberry which I use, but I am one of those people who can only type on it with one hand. – Dev Patel • I have a little bit of an addiction to work. So I’m always hiding in the bathroom with my Blackberry to work when I’m on holiday. – Penelope Cruz • I like to talk to people. I’ve got one assistant, one Blackberry. That’s my overhead. I don’t text that much or email. I like to sit down face-to-face and have a conversation with you. I’m old-fashioned. – Mark Wahlberg • I love to go out in late September among the fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries to eat blackberries for breakfast, the stalks very prickly, a penalty they earn for knowing the black art of blackberry-making; and as I stand among them lifting the stalks to my mouth, the ripest berries fall almost unbidden to my tongue, as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words like strengths or squinched, many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps, which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well in the silent, startled, icy, black language of blackberry – eating in late September. – Galway Kinnell • I play Texas Hold’em on my Blackberry. I have amassed a fortune on that. I have almost 30 million dollars from playing. It is unreal. – Chris Cornell • I started writing an album on flights to Africa and Brazil, but it was crazy because I left the notebook on the plane. It had seven or eight songs in it. After that, I’m not writing any more songs on notebooks – and I keep my Blackberry close! – Estelle • I talk about stuff like my Blackberry, Lost, the internet, music, etc. so I guess that leads to the “nerd” moniker. But I don’t get it that much to be honest. I guess its better than being labeled a “racist” comedian. – Aziz Ansari • I think healthy competition is good for business, and really at the end best for end-users. Just think about what Android would have been if it was not for iPhone – a better blackberry? – Jack Levin • I think if you asked people “what’s the biggest problem in your life?” They’d say, “I just don’t have time for anything!” And at our fingertips, if it isn’t e-mail, it’s our Blackberry, and it’s our iPods and telephones – we never stop. We never take those moments to stop the stimulus to find out “what’s going on in there? What’s really happening?” And then things start to build up. And then we are almost afraid to slow down. – Elizabeth Lesser • I think the discipline comes with turning that cellphone and Blackberry off and unplugging completely. You do that and you go through some withdrawals in the beginning. You start thinking, ‘Oh, do I need to do this? Do I need to do that?’ You forget that we were doing just fine with the payphone. – Matthew McConaughey • I use technology for communication, but I don’t have a Blackberry or an iPhone. I use an outdated cell phone, but I’m fine with it. – Nicolas Cage • I used to make fun of my friends who had BlackBerries. And I know that the expression CrackBerry has been going around, but now I fully understand it. I’m actually addicted to a piece of machinery, and that’s really embarrassing – John Krasinski • I want to reach a new generation. That’s why I am Twittering now. I have a BlackBerry, an iPhone and a Mac. – Buzz Aldrin • I was thinking how strange it is that water is one of the best, simplest things on this planet, and still with a simple glass of water you can neutralize so many of the greatest technological advances that we provide. Like with my blackberry, I can get in touch with so many people, but if I dip it in a small glass of water I’m completely disconnected. – Demetri Martin • I wish I could [keep a journal]. I have a lot of journals with one page half written in. I sometimes will write myself a quick email on my Blackberry when I think of something. – Louis C. K. • I would give you my soul in a blackberry pie; and a knife to cut it with. – Dorothy Dunnett • I write everything down. I e-mail the second I think of something, or I write notes in my BlackBerry calendar. I set up reminder alerts on my phone. And I have a notebook by my bedside so I can write down any last-minute ideas. – Giada De Laurentiis • If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion. – William Shakespeare • I’m not suggesting that the entire nation can’t be successful, but there’s something to it when you have 150 cable channels and the Internet at your fingertips and video games and all kinds of ADD-addled devices like my iPhone and your BlackBerry and things that keep us busy. – Jim Courier • I’m not terribly technological. I’m awfully backward about iPads and BlackBerries and suchlike; I still have a great fondness for Teletext, and I clung onto my fax machine for as long as I could, but eventually you have to move with the times. – David Tang • In America, Blackberry Farm in Tennessee is one of the most amazing hotels I’ve had the privilege of staying at. – Gail Simmons • In terms of the technology I use the most, it’s probably a tie between my Blackberry and my MacBook Pro laptop. That’s how I communicate with the rest of the world and how I handle all the business I have to handle. – John Legend • Indigo has a purifying, stabilizing, cleansing effect when fear, repression, and obsessions have disturbed your mental body. Indigo food vibrations are: blackberries, blue plums, blueberries, purple brocoli, beetroot, and purple grapes. – Tae Yun Kim • It is incumbent upon us all to raise the bar, whether you are a multibillion-dollar international corporation or a mom-and-pop selling blackberry jam. – Howard Schmidt • It is painful to watch children trying to show off for parents who are engrossed in their cell phones. Children are nostalgic for the ‘good old days’ when parents used to read to them without the cell phone by their side or watch football games or Disney movies without having the BlackBerry handy. – Sherry Turkle • It took 10 years to go from building the initial Smartphone to reaching the mass market. BlackBerry came out in 2003 and it didn’t get to about a billion units until 2013. So I can’t imagine it would be much faster for VR. – Mark Zuckerberg • I’ve been thinking of trying my hand at rap. I’ve been recording snippets on my BlackBerry. – Rufus Wainwright • I’ve just been away for a week, and I dropped my BlackBerry in the sea while I was messing around with the kids, so no one can reach me. Blissful. I heartily recommend it. – Nick Clegg • I’ve really hung in there with my BlackBerry. The main reason I like it better than an iPhone is that I can type better. I saw Rachel Zoe using a white one and I was jealous. The risk, of course, is that it could look like a Lady BIC. I’ve just learned to own it though. – Andy Cohen • I’ve tried plenty of telephones. I tried to get into the Samsung Galaxy and the Blackberry, but the iPhone is just too easy to use. The camera takes clear pictures and the phone itself looks great. Like all Apple products, it kind of just makes sense. – Avicii • Life was just a tire swing. ‘Jambalaya’ was the only song I could sing. Blackberry pickin’, eatin’ fried chicken, And I never knew a thing about pain. Life was just a tire swing. – Jimmy Buffett • Mindfulness means being aware of how you’re deploying your attention and making decisions about it, and not letting the tweet or the buzzing of your BlackBerry call your attention. – Howard Rheingold • O, blackberry tart, with berries as big as your thumb, purple and black, and thick with juice, and a crust to endear them that will go to cream in your mouth, and both passing down with such a taste that will make you close your eyes and wish you might live forever in the wideness of that rich moment. – Richard Llewellyn • Oh, no-” They weren’t even on the runway, and Jonah’s father was already immersed in his BlackBerry. “Remember those ‘Live Large with the Wiz Generation’ posters? Well, guess how that translates into Chinese- ‘Jonah Wizard Makes Your Ancestors Fat’. – Gordon Korman • Once off the bush The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour. I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot. Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not. -Blackberry picking – Seamus Heaney • One of the misconceptions about BlackBerry is that it’s your parents’ smartphone. – Thorsten Heins • Purple as tulips in May, mauve into lush velvet, purple as the stain blackberries leave on the lips, on the hands, the purple of ripe grapes sunlit and warm as flesh. – Marge Piercy • Such tenderness, those afternoons and evenings, saying blackberry, blackberry, blackberry. – Robert Hass • Teenagers talk about the idea of having each other’s ‘full attention.’ They grew up in a culture of distraction. They remember their parents were on cell phones when they were pushed on swings as toddlers. Now, their parents text at the dinner table and don’t look up from their BlackBerry when they come for end-of-school day pickup. – Sherry Turkle • The Blackberry is really essential for keeping up on my emails when I’m out of the office, which is a lot. – David Neeleman • The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called ‘The Human Moment,’ about how to make real contact with a person at work: … The fundamental thing you have to do is turn off your BlackBerry, close your laptop, end your daydream and pay full attention to the person. – Daniel Goleman • The problem with our Blackberry society is that hardly anyone has time anymore to have an unhurried discussion about the long-term developments that will change our lives. – Paul Achleitner • The way we measure productivity is flawed. People checking their BlackBerry over dinner is not the measure of productivity. – Tim Ferriss • There are a couple of different types of food I eat a lot. I was raised in the South, in Tennessee, so I’m going to go with comfort food, soul food. I would probably start with collard greens and candied baby carrots and then have some biscuits and white gravy – and for dessert, probably blackberry cobbler. – Megan Fox • There is a newly coined word in the English language for the moment when the person we’re with whips out their BlackBerry or answers that cell phone, and all of a sudden we don’t exist. The word is ‘pizzled’: it’s a combination of puzzled and pissed off. – Daniel Goleman • There may be 300,000 apps for the iPhone and iPad, but the only app you really need is the browser. You don’t need an app for the web … You don’t need to go through some kind of SDK … You can use your web tools … And you can publish your apps to the BlackBerry without writing any native code. • There’s something really terrible about having your BlackBerry next to your bed or having your laptop in the living room when you’re talking to someone. The biggest source of stress in my life is the screen, the blogging. – Jessica Valenti • To me, ‘Blackberry Way’ stands up as a song that could be sung in any era, really. We do it with the new doing all sort of fanfare things in it and it works really well. It goes down great with audiences. – Roy Wood • Today, all our wives and husbands have Blackberries or iPhones or Android devices or whatever-the progeny of those original 950 and 957 models that put data in our pockets. Now we all check their email (or Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram, or) compulsively at the dinner table, or the traffic light. Now we all stow our devices on the nightstand before bed, and check them first thing in the morning. We all do. It’s not abnormal, and it’s not just for business. It’s just what people do. Like smoking in 1965, it’s just life. – Ian Bogost • We would load up the yellow Cutlass Supreme station wagon and pick blackberries during blackberry season or spring onions during spring onion season. For us, food was part of the fabric of our day. – Mario Batali • What is so seductive about texting, about keeping that phone on, about that little red light on the BlackBerry, is you want to know who wants you. – Sherry Turkle • When the blackberries hang swollen in the woods, in the brambles nobody owns, I spend all day among the high branches, reaching my ripped arms, thinking of nothing, cramming the black honey of summer into my mouth; all day my body accepts what it is. In the dark creeks that run by there is this thick paw of my life darting among the black bells, the leaves; there is this happy tongue. – Mary Oliver • When you have the baby, there is no BlackBerry, no computer; you just have the baby on your stomach, and your heart is beating the same time as the baby’s. It’s very nice. – Carine Roitfeld • When you’re travelling, your day is jam-packed. I just don’t have time to whip out a PC all the time. But I can whip out a BlackBerry and tweet. I keep a constant diary of where I’m at and why I’m there. – Kevin O’Leary • Writing is more than just the making of a series of comprehensible statements: it is the gathering in of connotations; the harvesting of them, like blackberries in a good season, ripe and heavy, snatched from among the thorns of logic. – Fay Weldon • You know, you just know, that after the president goes out there and announces he wants to make community college free for all Americans – as though anything government does is ‘free’ – or is unilaterally and unconstitutionally legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants, he comes back to the offices, pulls out the presidential BlackBerry, and gleefully follows along as the Right goes completely ape over these wild policy decisions. – John Podhoretz • You’ve seen [Doanld Trump] come out with a lot more specifics. He’s not in hiding or smashing BlackBerry or BleachBit himself to death like we’ve seen Hillary do or Hillary [Clinton] throwing her stuff, you know, under the bus. She’s not showing presidential leadership qualities. – Kimberly Guilfoyle