Gray Texture
Filed Under All Posts, Beauty, Carine Fabius, Humor | 17 Comments
Can I just bitch for a moment about getting old? I know, I know, there are people starving in America, and I should just be grateful for my wonderful life. And, I am. But let’s face it. Regardless of bombs going off in the world and in the lives of people you love, if a missile has landed in your little universe, you can’t just wish it away. Pettiness and substance often occupy the same space. Life is like that. Okay, disclaimer taken care of. Now can I bitch?
I’ve written on this site before about going gray, and I thought I had a pretty good game plan in place: because it blends so well, start with platinum blonde around the crown, where it’s coming in at a speed rivaling the action in Charlie Chaplin movies; and, that’s been working very well. Until now. Who knew that my nice, soft curls would morph into coarse, wiry pubic hair? Gray pubic hair at that! Read more
Change? Yes, Please.
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Group Posts, Rants | 9 Comments
Yes, thank you. I would like some change.
I’d like to get some change back for all over payments to banks—aka credit card companies—that have for decades used the flimsiest excuses to raise seductive introductory interest rates to loan shark levels that can never be repaid if you’re an average Jane. Something tells me they’re about to get their comeuppance in much grander terms than mere coins…
I would also like some change from overpriced restaurants that do offer the pleasure of a night out without having to wash dishes, but can in no way justify charging $15.00 for a hamburger plus $6.50 for valet parking. Trust me, I don’t often patronize these joints, but when you live in Los Angeles, it’s a safe bet you’ll end up in one without realizing how you got there. And while I’m on the subject, Read more
10 Things I Plan to Accomplish in 2009
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Humor, Politics | 11 Comments
1. To stop the nonsense uttered by Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber and other circus freaks that pass for commentators on world affairs, I will invent a supersonic chip that makes microphones go dead whenever they try to speak.
2. Simply by spraying my yet-to-be-invented secret potion in the air, Israelis and Palestinians will fall madly in love with each other and forget why they ever started fighting in the first place. I plan to call it Love and Forgetfulness.
3. I will engineer a price increase of corporate executive bonus proportions for the hormones injected in poultry so that organic chickens become the cheaper alternative at the supermarket. This way, the next generation of 12-year-olds won’t be found shopping bra racks, wondering if they look sexy enough in their midriff tops. Read more
Wisdom Hasn’t Made Me Smarter
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius | 9 Comments
Untitled by Edouard Duval-Carrie
I’m 52, so by all rights I should be wise, right? I thought wisdom came with the growing old package, right alongside gracefully. But something got messed up on my order form, because it turns out the gracefully part is a day-to-day challenge that gets harder, not easier, as time goes by!
And, for some reason, I thought by now I would have figured out the answer to the question that’s been nagging at me for years. Are human beings violent by nature, or is our essence the stuff of love? In other words, if love (aka God) is what we are under this physical shell—which is what I believe in my heart and is my experience when I go deep in meditation—then, why, as a friend put it the other day, are people so mean to each other? Why have humans been killing each other with gusto since the dawn of time? Read more
Exquisite Images
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Miscellaneous | 7 Comments
Tribus de L’OMO / Hans Silvester
I received this link from my friend, Asandra, whose email subject line simply said “exquisite images.” She was not wrong. These magical, lyrical and totally surprising photos of an Ethiopian tribe adorning themselves with natural pigments and flora, literally made me quiver with wonder and delight. Something about the thrill of nature and of people living lives that hark back to simpler times—before technology, modernity and banks! My first intake of breath started around the sixth photo and never stopped. One of these has to become my Christmas card. I just can’t decide which one!
The French text preceding the photos describes in somewhat poetic language how these people, with their hands, fingernails and sticks create masterpieces that the Miros, Picassos and Pollocks of the world sought to channel onto their canvases. If there is a ceremonial context or specific tradition behind this powerful and harmonious melding of humanity with nature, there is no mention of it here. I did some investigating and photographer Hans Silvester has a book of these images and more coming out in April 2009, which may shed more light on this phenomenon. I’m so glad!
—Carine
See a larger version of Hans Silvester’s stunning images here >>
Gratitude for the Least Among Us
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Group Posts, Politics | 2 Comments
First of all, I’m really grateful that this election is over.
Second thing is, after commiserating with a disheartened friend whose husband voted for McCain, let me say I’m really, really grateful that mine voted for Obama. Perish the thought of having to fight about that seriously pesky issue in between wiseass comments about stray socks and dirty coffee cups in the kitchen sink.
Thirdly, and I swear this is the last thing I’ll say about this election, I’m extra grateful for no longer having to send diplomatic emails to undecided friends and relatives about why Obama was the better, more reasonable choice. Diplomacy didn’t work; I still got called a “hater” for calling Sarah Palin dumb. Read more
Going, Going, Gray
Filed Under All Posts, Beauty, Carine Fabius, Humor | 7 Comments
God hates me. How else can I explain this going gray business? It’s happening all over my body. My pubic hair is going gray. I’m noticing stray grays in my eyebrows. I swear, my skin is going gray, too. Isn’t gray the color of rats? I am particularly not fond of rats, and He is turning me into one—I’m sure I noticed a whisker the other day. Guess what color it was? I’m telling you, God has it in for me. Recently I looked up at the sky, and it was slate gray, for Pete’s sake! I’m taking it personally. On an otherwise fresh Tuesday morning not long ago, I noticed these headlines on the front page of the Los Angeles Times Business section: Read more
