On the cover of the Oct 15 edition of Newsweek, you will see the Big Bold eyecatching phrase “Women & Power” with a photo of a female senator, a female Editor in Chief, and Rachel Ray.  I am not sure why this strikes me as so completely mismatched, but if Rachel Ray is considered women of power wouldn’t that mean Angelina Jolie or Brittany Spears are equally as powerful?  Perhaps it’s the context in which power is used that rubs me wrong, or maybe its the ridiculousness within the magazine.  Kyra Sedgewick (The Closer) was included within the articles “essay” examples of more powerful women, a quote from her (no joke); “I truly believe if women ran the world we would have no wars.” 

Perhaps this could have been titled, “Women who feel powerful”, or “Some women feel powerful - just because”, or “Another chance to use women and power in the same sentence”.  On the brink of attending a woman’s leadership conference, I am personally attuned to the topic as whole, so maybe I am scrutinizing things too much.   In this case, I really think Newsweek missed the mark entirely.  Interesting women perhaps, famous women even, unless they were touting “personal empowerment of people lacking the Y chromosome”.  But even so, Kyra is great example of empowered but in need of a reality check. 

Arianna Huffington Cofounder and editor in chief, The Huffington Post, claims that ”Women still have an uneasy relationship with power…”, and I tend to think that’s true to some degree.  However, I don’t think that is any different for men.  When it comes to things that wield power, they in turn yield responsibility.  People in general have to find their own personal balance with that, and while the beam upon which to do so may be a different color, or a different brand, the requirement of finding it doesn’t discriminate.   

Someone in my same field, also within a large corporation, works in an environment where the upper management is predominantly female.  I work in an environment where the opposite is true.  In fact, there 2 women in my direct area of focus, including myself, and no female with 5 steps of vertical separation.   Both of us have the same struggles with ultimately the same goal of a successful rewarding career.  

Get past it.  Achieving any goal is a individually sculptured plan of will, work, and sacrifice.  I look around me, within my career and society as a whole, and I see the exact same opportunities and commonitions as I would if I had some extra junk in the trunk.  My point is, people may discriminate - as a whole, but power doesn’t, and process doesn’t.    I want to read about, learn about, and be part of the idea that empowered people don’t have a gender qualification and neither does discrimination.   For the love of God Kyra, your statement about women running the world is just stupid, stupid, stupid and any inclination you may have to cry ”minority!”, I promise you, would based only on your ignorance, not your genitals. 

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Jennifer Tilly is an actress / professional poker player, and I’ve had a crush on her for as long as I can remember, motivated largely in part by her sex-syrup voice and her bodacious style consisting often of corsets and crazy hot shoes. She is a dumb blonde grrl genius wrapped in a hot brunette package, and I don’t hold that against her.  Even more so, knowing her penchant for holding ‘em Texas style, I like her even more. 

I hadn’t played poker (without losing a significant portion of my clothes) until this last year.  It never occurred to me that the game had any level of substance beyond what people do when they are at a party and want an excuse to see each other naked, instead of the direct…”hey let’s get naked” approach.  Alas, it is a game that is played with an intensely required awareness of subtleties, intelligent rendering of what you want people to think, and a giant set of balls.

Saturday night poker with some fellow poker playing metro geek friends of ours has become a semi regular and beloved event in our household though, try as I might, I don’t think my balls will ever big enough to bring home the poker bacon.   The upside is three fold; 1.  I am learning how to play a fine game of poker, 2. It’s as fun and as enjoyable as going out for an evening spending a lot more then I spend on the buy-in, and 3. there is always something to watch on tv, since the WSOP for every year in history plays repeatedly on cable. 

Trivia:  Jennifer was the winner of the Ladies-Only No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em event at the World Series of Poker in 2005, becoming the first celebrity to win an open (as opposed to celebrity-only) WSOP tournament and earn a World Series bracelet. She beat out 600 other women to win the championship.

So, if you’ve never played poker before, and want some motivation to join the Saturday night festivities with Gametart and friends, just imagine Jen across the table; look into those eyes…eyes people, I said eyes….and hear that one of a kind sultry voice oooozze out the words, “I’m all in.”    Here are more gratuitous Jen pics, and a list of some screen accomplishments for added character value to support my crush of the month.

 Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Like candy in a corset, Dita von Teese speaks to us all in some relative way, whether it’s fashion, fetish, or just her relation to recent X Manson, she is a compelling creature served in a crystal martini glass with a twist. Everything style and feminine encased Dita, keeps sexy burlesque alive and well.

Contrary in every way to high fashion and feminine style is Seniorita Lita. Lita Ford was a Rock n Roll honey for a stint back in the day, with a hard black leather edge and don’t screw with me attitude. Back when trashy was in; her posters decorated many an adolescent bedroom wall.

Painfully hot Peta Wilson, aka La Femme Nikita, combines naughty and nice in such a wonderful way. Hailing from down under (cough cough) the lovely lass was big into sports and bit of a tom boy in her youth and we have her mamasita to thank for her bringing her girlness via deportment classes.

When nodding to the ita’s it would be negligent not to mention Vladimirs famous Lolita, thanks to Humbert Humbert’s account of the teen temptress.

And of course, we must not forget:

Margarita

A frozen margarita, is made using crushed ice, while the traditional style margarita can be made by straining ice with a shaker 2 lime wedges, plus some for rim of the glass

*

salt

2 oz Tequila

1 oz Triple Sec

2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 cup of ice cubes

Rub the rim of a chilled margarita or martini glass with one of the lime wedges. Dip rim of the glass into salt. Place tequila, lime juice, Triple Sec or Cointreau and the ice cubes in a shaker. Shake 20-30 times then strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

I am always in the mood for an ita…

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Oh yeah, that’s right I do live under rock!  A pink sparkly rock built with sugar and spice and everything nice.  When I lifted it up this evening to do my Internet chore of reading the *eww* news, I ran across this lushless little morsel.  Two ex hookers in Istanbul are running for a parliament seat, not so much with the intent to win, but instead, to uncover the heinous treatment of prostitutes in state run brothels.  State run brothels? 

Ayse Tuckrukcu and Saliha Ermez of Istanbul, Turkey are free, but labeled, ex prostitutes who are trying to makes some noise in the world of rights for women.  I’m happy about movement towards anti repression of any kind so I say - Rock on Sistah’s.  Do your thing. 

It was the blase’ discussion of the state run brothel, the rape, murder, the use of prostitutes by the government for “under cover” work, pun intended, and the archaic in my mind idea that they were sold for 12,000 smacks to begin with.  A reality I can’t even fathom getting a grip on.  It’s absolutely impossible to think someone could sell me to an organization that requires I screw suck and lick my way through 12 grand of debt to earn my freedom.  I mean…maybe there could be worse jobs, but then, I don’t get the idea that Ayse and Saliha got the penthouse suite with champagne and strawberries to get them in the mood, and I doubt their John’s sent them shopping on Rodeo to get proper whore clothes.    This kinda shit is what gives me the impression of devalued lives outside my little bubble.  I struggle, seriously struggle with what kind of mentality it takes on either side of the coin.  Things are ugly outside dawnshpere.  Ugly ugly ugly. 

I wonder what a US government run brothel would be like?  Pension plans, sick leave, vacation time?  Performance bonuses?  How much would our taxes go up? 

Chewy.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

I have been utterly fascinated by this chicklette since I stood in her sisters garage in 2005 (for alX Promo - her and her betrothed around the time were here actually, having dinner at the Milky Way downtown.  Can you even imagine?) drooling over her stockings, photographs, and autographed soft porn DVD’s.  Why you ask?  Yes, Dita Von Teese married Marilyn Manson whom I find to be a very interesting chap albeit a bit macabre and depressing, and yes she is the Burlesque beauty queen and pin up princess of this era, and yes she mesmerized me in Gaultier (my most beloved designer) at Paris Fashion week, and yes she’s going down under, mmhmmm, as guest editor for Harpers Bazaar at the end of this month for Australian fashion week, but most of all, her “dancing” shoes are 7 inch stilettos.  You’ve gotta love a girl who slips into stilts for a night of gettin jiggy with the DJ, that’s so fetch! 

Watch out for more catwalk and couture fashion action from this uber vogue cream puff, I think her divorce may have spiraled her into a deliciously public outcry for attention, she’s definitely got mine.  Give a second glance to the haughty’s shoe collection - I’ve never seen another like it. 

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart