Happy Holidays!

Last night I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing (using this recipe) to bring to work today. I had meant to make them for last friday's dessert potluck, but Thursday night I was just so exhausted that I expertly rationalized that it would be better to wait until this week where they would be the only dessert and therefore appreciated more. I have to say that I think that strategy worked. Also, they turned out really well so I am thoroughly satisfied with my effort.

Christmas with my family went well, though it wasn't as fun as Thanksgiving. I'm not positive whether that was because there wasn't as much alcohol consumed or because five minutes into dinner my dad and I got into a debate about corporate versus private child care instead of our usual light conversation about movies or TV. Not that I mind a decent debate but it just didn't feel very Christmasy. Now that I think about it, last year didn't feel very Christmasy either, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Maybe you eventually just reach a certain age when all of the Christmas magic has disappeared for good. I wonder if 30 is that age. I hope not...what a bummer.

One positive side-effect of the recent Hollywood writers' strike is that I am watching a lot less TV than I used to. I'm also starting to look more critically at what shows I'm spending my time on and realizing that I don't have to watch anything if I don't want to. It's strange how easy it is to let TV take this central role in your life without even questioning it. No wonder parents sit their toddlers down in front of it so they don't have to pay attention to them. It's mesmerizing...you start to forget that there is actually a whole world out there that doesn't have a laugh track. You start to substitute TV shows about someone trying new experiences for doing those things yourself. It starts to be okay that you will never backpack around Europe because you can see what it would be like by watching The Amazing Race. It's okay that you will never stretch outside your comfort zone and grow as a person because you can watch other people do it on Beauty and the Geek. It's okay that you don't experiment in your own kitchen because Rachel Ray is happy to cook you something every night.
I'm not saying TV is inherently bad, any more than cupcakes are inherently bad. Just like cupcakes though, you can't live on a diet of TV alone. Unless you balance your life with TV and actual experiences, you're likely to walk around feeling dissatisfied most of the time.

So I'm glad that I'm starting to be free of that mentality.

Speaking of popular media, T and I watched the new, musical version of the movie Hairspray last night. I tried to go into it with an open mind, but it turned out that the new movie was even worse than I had feared. The original Hairspray has always been one of my favorite movies. It's a landmark to me, the first movie that introduced me to the idea that a person could be both fat and happy. In the original, Tracy was fat and didn't let it stop her from doing anything she wanted to. She was an incredible role model. But the problem I have with the new movie isn't really with Tracy herself, though she could stand to be a little bolder and less simpering. The problem I have is with Tracy's mother, Edna Turnblad. In the original, this character was fat, matter-of-fact, confident and sure of herself. It was easy to see where Tracy got her inner strength and fortitude from. In the remake, Edna is still fat, but now supposedly hasn't left the apartment in several years because she's so ashamed of her body, she's afraid of losing her husband to a skinnier woman, she apparently has a massive eating disorder, and she's all shy and mousy until the very last musical number.
There's a lot of "you're awesome, in spite of the fact that you're fat" regarding both Tracy and her mother in the new version. I'd much rather they take the original's stance of "you're awesome" and just leave it at that.
Another issue I have with the new version is what they did to Link's character. In the original, he is this confident, dreamy guy who is 100% in favor of integration and he loves Tracy and he never wavers. In the new version, Link is this whiny, self-involved pretty boy who is more concerned about his 'career' than civil rights or anything that's going on with Tracy. Highly uncool. It made me wonder why Tracy would even care about him at all.

On the whole, I was just disappointed that the writers took this movie with a theme of 'be happy with yourself and enjoy your life unapologetically no matter what your size' and made it into this lame piece of garbage that destroyed all of the fat-positivity of the original. What a waste.

In other news, I'm saving for a bike. If everything goes well, I should have enough in April to walk into a bike shop and get exactly what I need. I really want to get it soon so I can get used to riding in time to do some Pedalpalooza events this summer. I'm totally excited!