OH SHIT. I need to try this. I can't believe I haven't yet.

HAND 'EM OVER, MISCHA.

They're made by Staedtler--I think this is the one I have. The only complaint I have is that if you lean on them too hard (I get really heavy-handed when I'm drawing) it slides around a little on the table.

You may have more luck if you try this and make sure you hit "preview comment". If it shows up in your preview, it should show up in the comment.

Let's say you have a jpg image hosted at your hosting provider. Copy and paste the image's location. It'll look like this:

http :// myhostingprovider.com/images/mymessyhellholedesk.jpg

Copy and paste that, inside quotes, after the <img src= , like so:

<img src="http: //myhostingprovider.com/images/mymessyhellholedesk.jpg"

Leave off the tailing > angle bracket and see if it shows up for you in preview. For some reason in IE I have trouble.

<img src="image url goes here">

This is the result of three straight hours of tidying up my "art station" at home. IT NEVER LOOKS LIKE THIS.

Dodai, usually my workstation at home looks like your configuration. It's not really dirty, just...insanely cluttered. I am a SLOB.

I COULD just get all tactical and enter the Concourse at a strategic location so as to totally avoid it, but I rarely remember, and I don't think it was always this bad.

Or that my folks took any pictures of me as a kid. Seriously, there's like no photographic evidence that I was ever a child.

I want to hate Ashanti's getup but I can't quite bring myself to do it. I'll go with "strong disapproval with tongue-biting."

Oh, hey, Dina?
1) Get lost.
2) Way to shop at Dress Barn.
3) Orange: it's not your color.

EU sizing makes tscheese a sad, sad panda.

But my family would always compliment me on my hair and eyes and stuff, like they always envied my coloring, so they did make me feel unique and pretty in some ways. Just, I never...thought to ask if I was cute. I think I was too afraid to even contemplate it even on a subconscious level.

Sorry. I had to get that out of my system.

From the knees down I do not want to contemplate what is happening.

I think we're going to look back in fifty years on the advertising of 2008 and we're going to be just as baffled.

But when the big 80s pop stars were rising to fame, it was 1) whatever you got on the radio 2) whatever you got if you got MTV and 3) whatever you could buy on cassette.

Does anyone else think the big iconic performers now have to try that much harder to be truly brilliant and reach a broader audience? There's just so much more to listen to now.

I'm not sure I follow. Are we going to demand that all high-profile musicians be style icons? Like, "Hey, you! You make music. LOOK PRETTY!"

Because, to me, that cheapens the art and science of being a musician. Yes, Madonna is not first and foremost a musician and I doubt she ever was: she's an entertainer, she is a celebrity, she's been extremely visible and iconic for many years now. But to accuse her of being a gaudy narcissist, and then demanding that she ramp up her game because she's not gaudy enough? I guess I'm not sure what she's supposed to do.

I'm not really defending her - I don't even LIKE Madonna that much.

I know it's cliched and horribly insensitive of me, but it's probably one of the reasons I gravitate towards men who are not-so-conventionally-attractive. They probably have a greater chance of having a personality and a sense of humor. And if that's the case, I relate to it: I personally think of myself as a funny-looking person who realized early on that, to attract people, I couldn't rely on looks. I decided instead to be "kind of interesting."

Smart lasts a lot longer than pretty anyway.

But as others have said: it bothers me when there's a different range of "attractiveness" for men than there is for women. Already it seems like the Hollywood range of "attractive" for women is:
-Thin.
-Between 19 and 35.
-If you're older than this range and you still enjoy well-fitting, attractive clothing and nice makeup and hair, then you're "trying too hard." If you decide to abandon the trappings of youthful adornment, you're "frumpy."

Even women who are supposed to look "curvy" or "unusual" or "insouciant" are generally pressured to conform to Hollywood standards of beauty.

Whereas men can be "conventionally" attractive at all ages without having to worry about tummy tucks or Botox or an army of personal stylists. A craggy, lined face isn't a liability when you're a man - you look rugged! You look wise!

Yeah, so. I'm all for people realizing that beauty is subjective and lots of things can be attracitve. But I think the mainstream media's portrayal of beauty ideals for women is something that should be overhauled before we start to worry about the inequities with which men are faced. And I don't deny that inequities exist for EVERYONE. It's just that dudes got less to worry about.

Sorry for the ramble.

Well played.

If anything I think it'd be MORE inspiring to see a well-portrayed Disney female protagonist of African heritage. The entire problem is this: here is an entire group that hasn't been represented in this huge huge oeuvre that is Disney. Wouldn't it be MORE inspiring, MORE uplifting to see justice done to a strong, resilient, resourceful, beautiful young woman who happens to be black? It would be awesome.

The mind: it boggles. Get with it, media.