Geeky Redheads and Their Supporters and Admirers

cosplay-paradise: Vault Hunterby (Borderlands 2) Cosplay by:...

cosplay-paradise:

Vault Hunterby (Borderlands 2) Cosplay by: ~love-squad
cosplayparadise.net

Beautiful Miss Kato -Victor

Beautiful Miss Kato
-Victor

Photo

Win a signed print copy of fantasy novel, "Viscountess"

ENTER A DRAWING FOR A CHANCE TO WIN redhead author Taversia’s first novel, “Viscountess,” signed & personalized, mailed to your home address for FREE! :D

SYNOPSIS:
Mute and psychologically disturbed, the sheltered daughter of a sky ship captain prefers to keep to herself; but a mysterious cloaked man has different plans for her. She is plunged headlong into a quest to recover twelve lost gemstones scattered about a ravaged earth with the power to unlock a legendary castle in the sky.

Equipped only with her family's heirloom key and the mark of her noble birthright, she embarks on a journey of passion, danger, and self-discovery through the barren lands of a post-apocalyptic world. Lines become blurred as she grows to find that things are not always what they seem, and some things are only as real as you make them…

The winner will be selected May 31st (entries accepted by 12AM, Eastern Daylight Time) and announced on June 1st. If you like to read fantasy/sci-fi novels, we hope you will consider this book! There are only a couple of days left to enter from the time of this post! GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER.

Photo

Photo

Taversia; confessions of a geeky redhead.

Hello! My name is Taversia (pronounced like "tə-vû(r)-zhə" if you can work that one out), and I am a geeky redhead. I've always been that way, since as far back as I can remember. As a child, I moved around a lot because my father was in the Navy. I didn't have too many opportunities to connect with other children my age, so I would keep myself company by retreating into a world of fantasy, often alongside second-spawned sibling—not pictured in this lifelike portrait below:

I was good at keeping second-spawned sibling, and myself, entertained. I would reenact the perilous adventures of 90's Rapunzel Barbie® where she would get captured by dinosaurs for some reason and they'd take her back to their dinosaur kingdom and tie her up with shoestring. They'd sometimes dunk her in glasses of water to be stored in the freezer overnight, or bury her in the sandbox out back. How they managed this with their tiny dinosaur arms is beyond me.

That's okay though, because GI Joe would always rescue her. He would nuke all the dinosaurs with his little plastic gun and dig her out with his disproportionately large plastic hands and pull her up out of the sand pit. Then they'd run away together. Well, that is to say, he would carry her, because Barbie's legs didn't bend too well at the knees in the 90's. But I digress.

The public school system was a confusing time for me. I found the native tongue of my fellow peers, as well as their accompanying antics to be both shocking and troublesome. I mean, I told this girl 'Maggie' to go to hell once when I attended a private Catholic school prior. I remember that being a really big deal. I remember being told that this was the worst thing anyone could ever say to someone. Going to public school really put that into perspective for me.

Here is a short list of things I remember being called in the midst of my own personal hell. I'm sure you'll notice a common theme here:

• Fire crotch
• Pizza face
• Tampon head
• Day walker
• Matchstick
• Bozo (the clown)
• A clown, just in general
• Annie/Pippi/Raggedy-Ann
• ugly.
• Carrot top

…Oh yeah?! Carrot tops are green, dumbass! So, JOKE'S ON YOU! >8)

HAHAHAHAHAhahaha…ahaha… 8(

"Day walker" never made any sense to me, either. It was usually said to me… while walking around in broad daylight. By people who were doing the exact same thing. What?

In any case, as the years went by, the name-calling got worse. I was very thoroughly bullied growing up. I felt the pressures to fit in, but I simply didn't know how. The velociraptors were freezing me in place and burying me alive every day, and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt powerless. I often caught myself wistfully longing, "where's my GI Joe who can come nuke everybody and take me away…?"

…Just straight-up nuke the hell out of everybody. Yeahhh. Those were frequent daydreams. Usually while I was taking spitballs to the back of the head. I still shudder. So gross.

It didn't matter what school I went to; I was always the odd one out. I was decently athletic, but I was routinely picked last in P.E. for sports. I was smart, but made to feel stupid; whatever I said would be used against me in some way, so it simply wasn't worth speaking my mind. My life was steadily spiraling down into a never-ending abyss of crippling despair. And all this, over what…? Hair?

In my mind, there was only one thing left to do:

I chopped off all my hair and dyed it black. Like my soul. Y'know, because I actually do have one. It's just hard to see through all the darkness. So, that means I get to sit with all the angsty goth kids at lunchtime now, right? No more sitting alone, because I now fit in with all the other kids who didn't fit in, together. We could just judge everyone who judges us. All I had to do to fit in was listen to all the same music they did and loiter around Hot Topic. Neat.

I know; sounds pretty dumb, right? I don't like to negatively judge people. I never did. It felt good for a little while, because I was able to just be angry instead of sad for a long time. Eventually I caught on to how pointless that was, though. How I was only hurting myself, by bottling my feelings and being really antisocial. Anyone who would approach me who didn't look like me, I would simply assume was out to get me. If they were nice to me, it was a trick. I seem to recall one instance where an otherwise fairly attractive boy came up to talk to me while I was reading a book.

"What'cha reading?" he asked.

"A book," I replied.

…The conversation ended there. Man, I sucked. I had to get them before they got me, though.

It was much safer to just build an impenetrable wall around myself; to ignore not only the crude remarks hurled at me down the halls of my school, but what I perceived to be cruel jokes at my expense, too. Like the time I got asked to prom. I won't get into that nuclear meltdown, though.

Then some stuff happened in my life that really rocked me. Some stuff that made me see just how completely trivial everything was. I wonder how many times on average, over the span of a person's life, do they ever need to dial 911? Because, I certainly wasn't prepared for it as a teenager. I was too wrapped up in myself; my problems at school, and my self-imposed loneliness.

When my mom died, I started asking myself a lot of questions. It no longer had anything to do with "where's my GI Joe," or "how do I get this spitball untangled from my hair goddamnit"… I was faced now with my own mortality, and the realization that this time I truly was alone. Second-spawned sibling and I were no longer as close as we used to be when we were kids, and my father and I never really saw eye to eye. I always had my mom, though. I let my hair grow back out; I didn't care to redye it, because nothing mattered anymore.

I did a lot of soul-searching in that time. I had to repeat half a grade, and nearly dropped out. I am grateful that I was able to transfer to an alternative school for "troubled teens" to get my diploma, because otherwise I don't think I'd have ever graduated. My self-esteem was at an all time low. I remember spending a lot of time in bed, because I slept so little. I wasn't eating very much, either. I eventually did get my life on track, sort of, but it took a good couple of years to climb out of the hole I had dug for myself. No dinosaurs put me in this one.

Once stabilized, I moved on with my life, deciding not to go to college just yet. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with myself. I really liked comic books. I liked to draw and tell stories. When I gave up my toys as a child, drawing and storytelling is what replaced that for me. I was always doodling throughout each of my classes. It was just another means of escapism for me; another way to hide from everyone else.

…So you can imagine my extreme hesitance when my good friend, "@BoobsMcbalrog" decided I should be a model.

Who would be interested in me? I was a strange-looking, awkward ginger girl with hermiting tendencies. The very idea was somewhat unfathomable to me. I had a mild interest in photography, and I loved it as an art form. But this would mean that someone would have to think I was pretty—beautiful, even. I just couldn't take it seriously. I let my faithful friend fill out a profile for me which got me on the track I never thought I'd be on.

The offers poured in. Photographer after photographer, all of them wanting to work with me; wanting to use me in each of their artistic pieces. It was an incredible rush. I got to see myself through the eyes of those around me, these people, in watching their creations come to life with me as their muse. For the first time in my life, I began to feel like it was okay for me to be "seen." That maybe I could open up more, and just be comfortable with myself.

I started to have a lot of fun with it.

Do I think it's my calling in life…? No.

I like to tell stories with my art. For now and for a time, my art is modeling. There is so much that can be said in a single picture. But I want to write.

For the past year and a half, I had been working on a novel called "Viscountess" and it is finally published. Perhaps modeling is what gave me the courage I needed to see it to completion. I did model for my own cover, after all…

I learned to embrace my differences. I learned that it's okay not to fit in. In the end, life is what you make it. This is how I am making mine.

It's nice to meet you guys. <3

—Taversia

http://facebook.com/taversia.net
http://twitter.com/taversia

(Photography by Shannon Zahnle)

Wit Suicide -Victor

Wit Suicide
-Victor

Photo

Congratulations, Your Voice Was Heard!

Well some interesting bit of news for you this morning, Merida, our favorite redhead from Disney’s Brave movie, is not getting a new makeover afterall thanks to over 200,000 signatures on the petition to stop such an act.  The Mouse House has bowed to the public backlash and pulled the revamped young lady from its Disney Princesses website and replaced it with the original version from the Pixar movie.

Red-headed teenage tomboy Merida had been given a makeover in advance of her induction into the Disney Princess collection, rendering the character slimmer, older and somewhat sexualised in comparison with her appearance in 2012’s Oscar-winning animation. More than 200,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling on the studio to return the character to her more realistic origins and the redesign was also criticised by Merida’s Oscar-winning creator Brenda Chapman.

While Disney has not officially announced a U-turn, the creator of the Change.org petition says “glam” Merida has gone missing from the Disney Princesses website after being officially inducted at Disney World last weekend.

“Numerous supporters have written to us to share the news that the new makeover version of Merida is no longer appearing on Disney.com,” wrote Carolyn Danckaert of the website A Mighty Girl.

Chapman, who was replaced by Mark Andrews halfway through the production of Brave but maintained a co-director’s credit, described the new Merida as “atrocious” in an interview with her local newspaper, the Marin Independent Journal.

“When little girls say they like it because it’s more sparkly, that’s all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy ‘come-hither’ look and the skinny aspect of the new version,” Chapman said. “It’s horrible. Merida was created to break that mould,” she added. “To give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model; something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance.”

Disney bought Pixar, the makers of the Toy Story films, in 2006 with the smaller firm’s John Lasseter taking over as creative head of both studios. The Pixar influence was immediately seen in a new wave of Disney CGI features such as 2008’s Bolt and this year’s Wreck-It Ralph, which abandoned the musical style for a fresher approach. However, the Merida furore suggests there remains a disconnect between the two studios that makes integration of Pixar characters into the Disney universe a troublesome proposition.

Well done everyone!

Photo

Photo

Melanoma Awareness Month, and How it Affects a Redhead

Did you know it was Melanoma Awareness Month?  I certainly didn’t, so first I would like to send a thank you to Jaime Putman for letting me know. 

Melanoma has a HUGE affect on redheads, because we all know our fair skin is far more sensitive than the average.  Still pale but don’t have red hair?  This affects you too!

I think the first important steps is protecting yourself.  How do you know what sunscreen is best or what spf to use?  I don’t know about anyone else, but when I put on spf 30…it does absolutely nothing.  I still get scorched.  I get scorched out in the sun with no protection in literally 2 minutes.  Well not scorched…but burned yes.  With SPF 30 I can last 10 minutes before my skin starts to turn red.  I have to use SPF 100 if I am even going to bother with the sunscreen.  However different skin types can stand different levels, so it is up to you which you choose to use.

Lip Sunscreen is also highly important, and it is something many people forget.  Moisturizing your lips is not going to be enough if they get baked in the sun soon after.  Try to choose a moisturizer with a sunscreen in it also.

So how do you pick a sunscreen? The best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt. No chemicals for the skin to absorb, no questions about whether the product works, no bogus claims like "sunblock." (No conventional product blocks out all rays. That's why the FDA is trying to ban the term.)  Many sunscreens have some pretty harsh chemicals in them that are doing more harm than good. 

These are the top sunscreens we would recommend:

1. Alba Botanica, Mineral Sunscreen Fragrance Free: This product is a Redhead's dream. It is made of mostly organic ingredients and the texture of the lotions is smooth and light weight. The Mineral Sunscreen Fragrance Free is marketed for kids, but it is sure to be a hit with adults too. It applies beautifully and protects skin without harsh chemicals or the stink of other sunscreen odors. The best part is that it can be applied on the face without the cause of breakouts!

2. Beyond Coastal, Natural Clear Sunscreen: This sunscreen applies flawlessly and protects skin all day long-especially if going to the beach. The texture is a bit heavy for everyday use, but it's still a fantastic choice.

3. Kabana Skin Care, Green Screen: Marketed as "Green Screen" because of its natural origins; and most of the ingredients are edible! The feel and smell is perfect for everyday use.

4. ThinkSport: If you're an athlete, this is the best sunscreen! It never comes off and it applies easily. $14-16.00

Comment below if you have a favorite sunscreen!

Lip sunscreens are also very important. For lip sunscreens we recommend Fallene Lipcotz, SPF 45. 

Okay now, those sunscreens are nice if your skin doesnt burn insanely easily, because most of them are around the SPF 30 level.  But what do you do if you are like me and need an SPF 100?  First off, you must be aware of something when working with an SPF level.  The reason why we say find one right for you is because we do not want you to get too comfortable with an SPF 100.  Just because you wear a higher level of sunscreen does NOT mean you are better protected from cancers.  So if you are used to wearing an SPF 30 for 2 hours and being fine, don’t go out and get an SPF 100 with the intent of staying outside for 8 hours and thinking you are fine too.  You are still getting more exposure to the sun.  No SPF or sunblocks block out the sun 100%.  So you are getting UVA and UVB rays which contribute to the risk of skin cancer, and now you are getting them, ALL DAY.  SPF 100 should only be used for us extremists who will burn after being outside for 2 minutes.  We need to wear an SPF 100…but even still our sensitive asses should not be out in the sun for longer than 2 hours.  Seriously folks, I can’t express that enough.  We may have been blessed with beauty but our skin curses us in the sun, and you should NEVER forget this.

That being said, a good SPF sunscreen to use would be Neutrogena Ultra Sheer-Dry Touch Sunscreen SPF 100, which you can get from your local store, or if it isn’t there, go to amazon.com and get it here.  For additional skin enhancing traits, you can also try Neutrogena Sunblock Lotion SPF 110 with Helioplex, which also is an age shield.  You can get that here.  But remember, an SPF 100 is not a license to stay out in the sun all day!

Now, what if you already HAVE melanoma?  How do you know if you have it?  It is good to know the symptoms and stages so you can get to a doctor right away if you think you are at risk.

In Stage 0 Melanoma, the malignant tumor is still confined to the upper layers of the skin (epidermis). This means that the cancer cells are only in the outer layer of the skin and have not grown any deeper. The term for this is in situ, which means “in place” in Latin. In Stage 0 melanoma there is no evidence the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or to distant sites (metastasis). 

 

Stage 0 is defined as TisN0M0: 

 

• Tis (Tumor in situ): cancer cells are found only in the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and have not grown into any other layers. The cancer cells have not shown signs of spreading
• NO: means no evidence of cancer spread to the lymph nodes
• MO: means melanoma has not spread to distant sites (metastasized)

Risk: Patients with Stage 0 melanoma are considered at very low risk for local recurrence or for regional and distant metastases. Keep in mind that the statistics shown for survival are averages; everyone’s cancer and survival rate is based on many factors and determined on an individual basis.

Stage I melanoma is defined as a melanoma that is up to 2 mm thick. A Stage I melanoma may or may not have ulceration. There is no evidence the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or distant sites (metastasis). There are two subclasses of Stage I melanoma: 1A, 1B.

Stage I Melanomas Are Defined by 3 Primary Characteristics: 

• Tumor thickness (Breslow Depth): how deeply the tumor has penetrated the skin. Thickness is measured in millimeters (mm). For example:

  • 1 mm = .04 inch, or less than 1/16 inch (about equal to the edge of a penny)

  • 2 mm = between 1/16 and 1/8 inch (about equal to the edge of a nickel)

  • 4 mm = between 1/8 and 1/4 inch (about equal to the edges of two nickels)

• Ulceration: when the epidermis (or top layer of skin)  that covers a portion of the primary melanoma is not intact. Ulceration can only be seen under a microscope, not by the naked eye.

• Mitotic Count (Rate): is a secondary characteristic that describes how quickly the tumor cells are dividing. Mitotic count is calculated by a pathologist who counts the average number of actively dividing cells in the biopsy sample.

There are two subclasses of Stage 1 Melanoma

Risk: Patients with Stage I Melanoma are considered low risk for local recurrence or for regional and distant metastases. Keep in mind that the statistics shown for survival are averages; everyone’s cancer and survival rate is based on many factors and determined on an individual basis.

Stage II Melanoma is defined by tumor thickness and ulceration. There is no evidence the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or to distant sites (metastasis).

Stage II Melanomas are Defined by 2 Primary Characteristics: 

• Tumor thickness (Breslow Depth): how deeply the tumor has penetrated the skin. Thickness is measured in millimeters (mm). For example:

  • 1 mm = .04 inch, or less than 1/16 inch (about equal to the edge of a penny)

  • 2 mm = between 1/16 and 1/8 inch (about equal to the edge of a nickel)

  • 4 mm = between 1/8 and 1/4 inch (about equal to the edges of two nickels)

• Ulceration: when the epidermis (or top layer of skin) that covers a portion of the primary melanoma is not intact. Ulceration can only be seen under a microscope, not by the naked eye.

There Are 3 Subclasses of Stage II Melanoma:

T2b:  tumor is 1.01 - 2.0 mm thick, with ulceration

T3a:  tumor is 2.01 - 4.0 mm thick, with no ulceration

N0: No spread to nearby lymph nodes

M0: No evidence of metastasis to distant sites

T3b: tumor is 2.01 - 4.0 mm thick, with ulceration

T4a: tumor is greater than 4.0 mm thick, with no ulceration

N0: No spread to nearby lymph nodes

M0: No evidence of metastasis to distant sites

 

T4b: tumor is greater than 4.0 mm thick, with ulceration

N0: No spread to nearby lymph nodes

M0: No evidence of metastasis to distant sites

Risk: With treatment, Stage II Melanoma is considered intermediate to high risk for local recurrence or distant metastasis. Keep in mind that the statistics shown for survival are only averages; everyone’s cancer and survival rates is based on many factors and determined on an individual basis.

Stage III Melanomas are tumors that have spread to regional lymph nodes (there may also be in-transit or satellite involvement).  In Stage III Melanoma, the depth of the melanoma no longer matters.There is no evidence of distant metastasis.

 

Stage III Melanomas Are Defined By 3 Primary Characteristics:

•  Number of lymph nodes to which the tumor has spread

•  Whether the tumor spread to the lymph node is microscopic or macroscopic.

  • Micrometastases are tiny tumors not visible to the naked eye. They can be detected only by microscopic evaluation after sentinel lymph node biopsy or elective lymph node dissection.

  • Macrometastases can be felt during physical examination or seen with the naked eye when inspected by a surgeon or pathologist. Their presence is confirmed by lymph node dissection or when the tumor is seen to extend beyond the lymph node capsule.

• Ulceration: when the epidermis (or top layer of skin)  that covers a portion of the primary melanoma is not intact. Ulceration can only be seen under a microscope, not by the naked eye.

 

There Are 3 Subclasses of Stage III Melanoma

Stage III Melanoma

 

 

Stage III Melanomas are tumors that have spread to regional lymph nodes (there may also be in-transit or satellite involvement).  In Stage III Melanoma, the depth of the melanoma no longer matters.There is no evidence of distant metastasis.

 

Stage III Melanomas Are Defined By 3 Primary Characteristics:

•  Number of lymph nodes to which the tumor has spread

•  Whether the tumor spread to the lymph node is microscopic or macroscopic.

  • Micrometastases are tiny tumors not visible to the naked eye. They can be detected only by microscopic evaluation after sentinel lymph node biopsy or elective lymph node dissection.

  • Macrometastases can be felt during physical examination or seen with the naked eye when inspected by a surgeon or pathologist. Their presence is confirmed by lymph node dissection or when the tumor is seen to extend beyond the lymph node capsule.

• Ulceration: when the epidermis (or top layer of skin)  that covers a portion of the primary melanoma is not intact. Ulceration can only be seen under a microscope, not by the naked eye.

 

There Are 3 Subclasses of Stage III Melanoma

Risk:With treatment, Stage III disease has an intermediate to high risk for local recurrence or distant metastasis. Even within Stage III, the earlier the melanoma is found and treated, the better the outcome. Keep in mind that the statistics shown for survival are averages; everyone’s cancer and survival rate is based on many factors and determined on an individual basis.

Stage IV Melanoma

In Stage IV, the melanoma has traveled beyond the regional lymph nodes to more distant areas of the body. The most common sites of metastasis are to vital organs (lungs, abdominal organs, brain, and bone) and soft tissues (skin, subcutaneous tissues, and distant lymph nodes (lymph nodes beyond the primary tumor region).

Stage IV Melanoma Primary Characteristics Include:

• Location of distant metastases

• Number and size of tumors

• Serum LDH level. LDH (serum lactate dehydrogenase), is an enzyme found in the blood and many body tissues. Elevated LDH levels usually indicate that the tumor has spread to internal organs.

There Are 3 Subclasses of Stage IV Melanoma: 

The subclasses are based on where the metastases are located and the level of serum LDH. It does not include any T or N classification.

• M1a: the tumor has metastasized to distant skin, the subcutaneous layer or to distant lymph nodes. Serum LDH is normal.

• M1b: the tumor has metastasized to the lungs. Serum LDH is normal.

• M1c:

  • The tumor has metastasized to organs other than the lungs, and serum LDH is normal, OR

  • There are any distant metastases with elevated LDH

Risk: Unfortunately, long-term survival is poor, with 1-year survival rates ranging from 41% to 59%. (1)

The survival rate of patients with Stage IV melanoma has significantly improved since 1997 compared with patients diagnosed before that year. (2)

Having a normal appetite, absence of nausea, vomiting, or fever, the ability to conduct daily activities unimpaired, and being female all give you a more favorable patient profile.

Why the Location of Metastases Is Important

Large-scale studies indicate that the respective 1-, 2-, and 5 year survival rates for Stage IV melanoma are: (1)

Distant skin, soft tissue, and/or lymph nodes - 54%, 36%, 19%

Lung -       53%, 31%,  15%,

Visceral - 35%, 18%,    9%

Why Brain Metastases Are Different

While brain metastases are part of Stage IV, the risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment, are different than other types of metastases.

Why LDH Levels Are Important

Compared with the survival of patients with normal LDH levels, patients with abnormal LDH levels have significantly worse overall survival. The respective 1-, 2-, and 5 year survival rates were: (2)

Abnormal LDH - 33%, 18%, 10%

Normal LDH -      61%, 33%, 18%

This is just a reference guide, please consult your doctor for more information immediately if you display any of these symptoms.  Melanoma is the worst type of skin cancer you can get, but it is 100-percent curable if it’s caught early. Detection is key, and that’s why we suggest full skin exams at least yearly.  Sorry the article is so lengthy, there is actually a lot more advice than this, make sure you look things up and stay informed!

Photo

http://ralphieboy.deviantart.com/art/Heat-of-the-moment-censored-...

http://ralphieboy.deviantart.com/art/Heat-of-the-moment-censored-368675715

Merida Welcomed as 11th Offical Disney Princess: But has to get "Unecessary" Makeover

Lots of female characters get to be the stars of Disney movies—it’s one of the virtues of the brand. But not all of them get to be official Disney Princesses, a special designation given to a limited cast of characters who are the focus of special merchandising campaigns. On May 11, Merida, the star of last summer’sBrave, will join that elite club. But apparently her accomplishments in fighting giant bears weren’t enough for the occasion. To mark her induction, Merida needed a makeover.

Turns out that Merida's only joining the royal lineup after a corporate makeover that's rendered her skinnier, sexier, and more glamorous than her original spunky, tomboyish self—stripping her, at least in some images, of her trusty bow and arrow, and putting her into the very dress that her character detested in "Brave." It's sparked outrage among thousands of mothers for whom Merida offered, finally, an empowering Disney role model for their girls.

To a certain extent, Disney’s attempts to democratize what it means to be a princess are admirable. You don’t actually have to be born into a royal title, or obtain one by marriage. Mulan, a Chinese woman who runs away to join the army in the movie that bears her name, wins the admiration of a general through hard work long before he learns that she’s a woman and considers her a candidate for a relationship. You don’t have to live a stereotypical life of leisure until your routine is punctuated by an adventure. The Princess And The Frog’s Tiana is an aspiring small business owner before she gets accidentally transformed into a frog. You don’t have to be white, or European, or in the case of Ariel, the star of The Little Mermaid, necessarily based on land.

But two restrictions remain. You have to be young. You have to have a very particular body type and long, perfect hair. The edits to Merida reflect those priorities. Her famous hair, which took six Pixar employees—a mix of artists and engineers—three years to design, has been smoothed out, made less kinky, less frizzy, and less alive. Her waist has been slimmed down, emphasizing her breasts, but at the expense of Merida’s solid frame, which is a real shame given the way Brave celebrated Merida’s pleasure in her body’s capacities.

"Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for—a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready," reads a Change.org petition, “Keep Merida Brave,” asking Disney to reconsider the character's redesign. The petition, created Saturday by “A Mighty Girl,” a blog and online girl empowerment marketplace, had already surpassed 50,000 signatures by Friday afternoon.



"She had a uniqueness that people really loved, so when they took that away, it was a real affront to a lot of people," Carolyn Danckaert of "A Mighty Girl" told Yahoo! Shine. Danckaert solicited opinions from her Facebook followers before starting the petition, and said she was quickly bombarded with more than 800 comments, "overwhelmingly negative and very passionate."

Signers of the petition, who include Peggy Orenstein, author of "Cinderella Ate My Daughter," object to what they've called the sexualizing of Merida's image, in which the character now appears older, with a tinier waistline, sultrier eyes, a coquettish expression, tamed curls, and more exposed skin peeking out from a bedazzled, off-the-shoulder version of the constricting teal dress she so resented in "Brave."

A Disney spokesperson offered the following official statement about the controversy to Yahoo! Shine: "Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate, and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world." 

But the makeover—put in place, at least in part, to lend Merida more easily to product designs, according to a report in "Inside the Magic," which covers Disney news—was still inspiring impassioned criticism at a rapid clip as of Friday.

"My little girl has unruly curls, wants to climb trees, run with wind, and challenge stereotypes everyday AND she is only 4 years old," writes one petition signer, Kerri Gaskin of Canada. "How can I possibly tell her that her favorite character has given in and given up to become an overly sexualized pin-up version of her former self?"

Other signers call the new Merida "arm candy," "unrealistic," "vacant looking," "too sexy," and "vapid."

"Merida was the anti-princess for all of us who don’t wear makeup, let our hair rampage free, and prefer to wear real clothes that let us hike, climb mountains, and ride horses," wrote petition signer Kris Dorman of Utah. "Please allow Merida to remain the fiercely confident young woman who doesn't need glitter or skin to know she is of incredible strength and worth."

Orenstein wrote about the redesign on her blog with a tone of resigned disgust, noting that, "in the end, it wasn't about being brave after all. It was about being pretty." She continued, "I've always said that it's not about the movies. It's about the bait-and-switch that happens in the merchandise, and the way the characters have evolved and proliferated off-screen. Maybe the problem is partly that these characters are designed in Hollywood, where real women are altering their appearance so regularly that animators, and certainly studio execs, think it's normal."

For the parents who say that Merida is "only a cartoon," asking, "Why does it matter?" Danckaert says, "It's sending a message," which is one that puts forth a very narrow definition of beauty. "This is how children pick up cultural messages about what is important," she adds. "Young children don't really distinguish between reality and fantasy, and these characters are their role models."

If it’s important that girls of color and girls of different economic classes be able to recognize themselves and find aspirational stories in the Disney Princess line, why shouldn’t it also matter that girls with wild hair and variable body types see themselves there too?  For GRSA, this makeover is outrageous.  Ariel was always cool to us because she was the first disney princess that was a redhead.  Let’s be honest though, her hair was that…ACTUAL red, fire-engine red.  Every strand perfectly in place and…were there any freckles on her face?  Freckles do not overly matter but, there were not even the pink undertones that 99% of natural redheads have to Ariel.  Merida was our REAL redhead. The one that embraced our personality to the FULLEST.  The whole point of her was that she did not care about the state her hair was in or fancy clothes, and now Disney is trying to ruin her.  Now, I’m really not some sort of crazy feminist.  I strive for equality, think women should be feminine if they want to be, never wanted Barbie to change just because some people didn’t like her body shape or thought it was impossible.  On the same note though I don’t want it going in the opposite direction either.  Merida was made the way she is for a reason and changing her takes something away, something very special, unique, and different.  She teaches young ones that it is okay to be a girl and be a little rough, to be a tomboy, that’s alright.  It’s also totally alright to be like Ariel.  It’s not alright however, to force Merida to be like Ariel, and vice versa.  So stop it Disney!

If you agree, let’s get this petition signed guys!  With 48,000 people we can do a bit of damage eh?

https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave

Photo

It seems the carpet matches the drapes on this one.  Yes, GRSA...

It seems the carpet matches the drapes on this one.  Yes, GRSA posts males too, if you don't like it, don't look, just keep scrolling and look at the females, no one is going to judge you!

GRSA Latest Gaming News

Here is the latest gaming news from our sources:

Microsoft: Next Xbox will work without mandatory internet connection

Since the first rumors of Xbox Infinity, we have had got two paths to discuss. First, Durango would require an internet connection to run games and apps, we denied this fact weeks ago. The second repetitive rumor was the second-hand games block system. Microsoft could have reported to all their staff with an internal e-mail refusing the mandatory internet connection for Xbox 720:

Durango [the codename for the next Xbox] is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today's Internet. There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should 'just work' regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game.

Therefore, we will be able to play Infinity games without Internet, regardless our current connection status we should run different content, including movies, apps and games. Albeit, they don't unveil certain points, will have Durango any type of block system for the second-hand games? Why MS would have sent an internal e-mail? Microsoft changed their work methods since the firsts leaks come to light. Each section did not know anything about the other ones, so, MS had to report everyone with this point. I guess they had to clear this point between their employees.

Obsidian developing a game (RPG) for next-gen.

Obsidian Entertainment was the developer of Knights of the Old Republic 2. The studio is looking a 'top notch' level designer for their next game: a "unique next generation game". 

Everything suggests it will be a RPG.

On its website we can read this:

"This designer will work closely with artists to produce interesting 3D levels with exciting, engaging gameplay. Responsibilities will include planning and populating missions/quests, scripted sequences, encounters, challenges and rewards." Desirable criteria include "a love of role-playing and action games".

They are also looking for a "UI/user experience artist for next generation work".

Crystal clear.

Besides, Obsidian's art director, Rob Nesler, has an "Unannounced Next-Gen Console title" listed on his online portfolio since April 2012.

What game could this unannounced title be? We still don't know, but Obsidian's boss has talked about games he'd love to make recently:Fallout New Vegas 2 and, here comes the hype, another Star Wars title he wants to negotiate with Disney.

Rumor: 3D Mario for WiiU by October. Mario Kart U playable at E3

According to CVG, Nintendo's 2013 release strategy will include many AAA titles for the second half of 2013. This strategy could begin with a new 3D Mario game released on Wii U by October.

It seems that a person close to this strategy has told to CVG that Nintendo wanted to launch the planned updates for the system and then, just after this summer, begin with the planned strategy of launching games from Summer until the end of the year.

Marketing for this strategy will begin at E3, where a new 3D Mario game will be playable on the show floor. CVG can't confirm this, but they believe that a new Mario Kart for WiiU will be in playable form at E3.

Shelly Pearce, the PR director at Nintendo UK, told CVG:

"From July onwards we will launch a succession of Wii U titles and we will promote these extensively until the end of the year. Marketing activity will include TV, print, online and PR as well as comprehensive experiential and social media campaigns".

"We have a strong line up planned for Wii U in the second half of 2013 including the likes of Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Wii U".

Rumor: Sony could not produce as many PS4 as they expected in 2013

Time ago we published an article about this topic. Sony expected to deliver 16 million of PS4 for the year 2013. Of course we are speaking about a fiscal year; this is since the console will be out until April 2014. We know Sony, very well, they never have been able to sell their products in the three markets at the same time. Always the Europeans have had to wait for their Playstations, now with PS4 the story seems to be the same.

Digitimes reported that Sony could have decreases their expectations, because the supply chain hasn't still received instructions for the shipment from the Japan-based vendor. Obviously a delay in the process is a feasible explanation.

Source: VGLeaks

Photo