The Mod Muse

Hell to the Yeah! Reebok is making Wonder Woman sneakers now?? Maybe this is the year I finally dress as Wonder Woman for Halloween.

via Albotas

Walking in Murray Hill (NYC neighborhood) the other day, I stumbled along a happy surprise.

In the middle of the crosswalk lay this little fella. I thought he was kind of cute so I took a photo. The little robot is permanently affixed to the cement some kind of tape or something. That’s why I love NYC, you never know, where you will find your next happy surprise.

Browsing the Internet today I came across an article on Yahoo! News that gave me pause for thought. It’s enticing headline, ‘Dating 101:Why am I still single?’ drew me in, I needed to know why I was still single!  Psychology Professor Jean Twenge reveals research that shows, while there are a lot of good people, there are most certainly reasons why they are single. Since I am habitually a singleton (see: Things I Want to DO: Dating), I decided to read on and see if I could glean some wisdom as to my perpetual single hood.

The first reason people aren’t pairing up according to Twenge’s research?

‘The Singular Syndrome’

No longer pitied by society, it’s more acceptable to be a single person. Not hard to believe. People are always telling me how lucky I am to be single with no children. They envy my freedom to do; whatever I want, whenever I want, without the shackles of marriage, family or a mortgage to tie me down.

There is in fact a massive cultural shift at work here. …the number of women who are romantically uninvolved is a result of one major factor: our culture tells us we don’t need relationships.

I definitely think that is true. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this from my mother, girlfriends, even my therapist! I understand why they say these things. We don’t want women to believe their happiness hinges on the love of a man. However, part of being human is coupling up, sharing life experiences with another person and building a life together. So while, I herald the self esteem boosting efforts of well meaning friends, I do think we do ourselves an injustice by trading self love for true love.

…young American adults view deep emotional involvement with others as weakness and dependence. It’s not just that our culture accepts and accommodates the single lifestyle now — it’s that it actually disparages the individual who isn’t focused solely on her own personal advancement. The ubiquitous teachings from our capitalist culture media, Boomer-generation parents who toiled to teach us the importance of pursuing personal goals, and teachers in an increasingly survival-of-the-very-fittest education system — all these emphasize the individual and her goals, not her need for involvement with others.

Reason #2  Social Networking

Oh boy. Guilty, guilty, guilty. While I have tried to curb my lust for social networking, I am still online a lot. I maintain an active online persona and it has been hard to remove myself from it. Of course I use social networking to promote my blogs but I would be lying if I told you I have not utilized  my online social network for dating purposes. You get more attention than you do offline. It’s an opportunity for someone to get to know me without really knowing me. Narcissistic? Absolutely!

…narcissism in America is higher than it’s ever been before, and by definition of considering themselves more important than the people they associate with, narcissistic people make terrible relationship partners. Twenge blames this spike in narcissism on societal teachings … but also feels that purported social networking devices like MySpace and Facebook are less a method of connecting with others than a means of shameless self-promotion, giving the individual limitless opportunity to think about themselves and advertise why other people should want to know them.

My online profiles put me in my best light. I choose the content, the images, even who I am friends with. I wouldn’t say I am a shameless self promoter but I do use it to my advantage, mostly to elevate my sites’ traffic but to also to foster my own image. In the ad biz they call it ‘branding’. And I like to think that’s what I am doing.

(more…)

I am kind of torn on this one. For the most part, my single life is pretty footloose and fancy free. I go out when I want, flirt with whom I want and well… do whoever I want! But having been single for a couple years, I am beginning to feel the need to have a  steady beau in my life.

The problem? I hate dating! Don’t get me wrong, it can be fun. But I would say 70% of the time dating is just a drag. A majority of the dates I go on are guys I have met on dating sites. And while you can get an idea of someone from an online profile, it hardly sums up the individual. Almost all of the men are nice guys but just not for me.But instead of telling them so right off the bat, I end up dragging it out for maybe two or three dates before I just stop taking their calls. Immature,  I know but I just don’t have the heart to say, “I’m just not that into you”.

The dates don’t always end that way. Sometimes, I meet a guy and we seem to have good chemistry so I go out with him a few more times. But then nothing ever comes of it.  These fellas I refer to as the ‘back burner boys’. These are guys who didn’t find you to be girlfriend material but they think you are a fun and interesting person and want to stay in contact with you. They usually add me as a friend on Facebook and I know if I am bored or need someone to flirt/go out with I know I can call on one of the Back Burner Boys to take me out on the town. I have done this with several guys and while I wouldn’t say we are friends exactly, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship with no strings attached.

A Back Burner Boy is all well and good (albeit juvenile) if you wish to remain a singleton but in the last year I have felt a general desire for a long lasting relationship. So for this installment of TIWTD, I am putting it out there: I want to date more. Not to just go out and meet new people but to meet MR. Right instead of just Mr. Right Now.

(more…)

My birthday is two days away and I am just not feeling it this year. My friends are asking me what I want to do for my special day but I don’t really feel like doing anything! One thing I l-o-v-e BIRTHDAY CAKE. Actually birthday cake and ice cream-yum in the tum.

(more…)

I L-O-V-E Lady Gaga! I knew she was talented but WOW!  Listen to the acoustic version of  ‘PokerFace’  she did for Japanese television. She really can sing!!

Check out the You Tube video here.

via Boing Boing

It’s been a little while since I posted a new, Things I Want to DO. I haven’t forgotten, I have just been to busy DOING the Things I Want to DO! I am happy to report my Danish studies have been going well and for those of you who pay attention to my blogging efforts, you’ve probably  noticed I have been posting a whole lot more on all five blogs, Yes, I now have 5 active blogs! I started a new site, NYCLookBook this week. It’s a street photo blog of NYC fashions. While this project wasn’t on my list per se, I was motivated to start it after putting more work into my blogging ‘empire’.  So it seems that my TIWTD posts are actually stimulating me to doing some of the things I have been meaning to do for a long time.

This week’s Things I Want to DO is Travel. I shot this photo about two weeks ago. It’s one of the first TIWTD,  I wrote this one the same day I wrote and photographed the other TWITD posts. At that time I had no plans to go anywhere. I had decided to postpone my return to Copenhagen out of a desire to stay put in NYC for the fall and winter. While I yearn to have a bit more stability (staying in one place for awhile) I couldn’t help feel that little travel bug wiggling inside me, itching to go somewhere. After a casual chat with my friend Dan about the possibility of him attending Copenhagen Design Week with me, a trip started to form. And with the departure of some beloved Danish friends, we both decide to ‘just do it’.

(more…)

I am so looking forward to riding my bike when I return to Copenhagen in a couple weeks. I have missed it so much! One thing I always wished to have on my handlebars was some sort of cup holder.  I have always had to one hand it which isn’t exactly safe for a intermediate bike rider like myself. And I tried more than a few times to carry a cider in my bicycle basket, on the way to a fest,  only to have it spill out. I don’t condone drinking and biking and recommend it only if you have no other way home. Austrian design studio Paulbaut understands the importance of a tasty beverage when you’re on a ride and designed the  ‘Ring-O-Star’ bicycle coffee cup holder to help preserve my morning coffee. Thanks Paulbaut!

(more…)

see more Lol Celebs