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Thursday, May 29, 2008
This Made Me Laugh 'Til I Cried
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Which, you know, made me kind of curious.
So I went to the originating site of the photo and read the corresponding blog post. It's written by Scott of Basic Instructions, which you should definitely check out sometime. Anyway, by the time I finished reading his post I was crying with laughter, and I knew I could not post his cake photo without the whole story attached. I e-mailed him and got his permission, and so without further ado, here it is:
"I had a day job as an office manager for the Seattle office of an international firm. We found out that one of our employees was transferring to one of our offices in China. When one of our people would leave, we usually had a little wing-ding with drinks and cake on the departing employee's last Thursday in the office, so on Tuesday it fell to me to fax a cake order into our nearest Costco Bakery.
I should point out that on that day I had a headache so bad that it hurt to move my eyes. Ordering the cake was the last thing I did before I went home sick for the afternoon. As I filled out the order form, I realized that in addition to the personalized message ("Good Luck in China," in this case) we could also get a large decoration for no extra charge. I looked at the options and none of them were appropriate. They were all things like teddy bears, balloons, or race cars. Crap, in other words. I figured if none of them were appropriate, I might as well get something that made no sense whatsoever.
I put a check mark next to the word "Fireman."
The next morning (Wednesday), lying in bed just before getting up, my mind wandered over the previous day and all the things I had accomplished. My eyes snapped open as I thought, "What did I do!? Why did I order a fireman? That makes no sense!!! I'm going to look like an idiot!"
I went to work, intent on calling the Costco as soon as they opened and stopping the cake before it started. I still had a day before I was supposed to pick it up. I figured that should be plenty of time. After some effort, I got hold of the bakery manager, only to be told that the cake had already been made. It was too late. I figured I'd just have to stand up straight and take it like a man.
My wife and I went to Costco to pick up the cake. When I got to the bakery, this is what was waiting for me.
(see above picture)
Making the hose flesh-toned had been a very bad move.
At first all I could do was blink at it and wonder, "Am I the only one who sees a giant wang?" I looked at my wife. She was blinking at the cake. An awkward silence and a few stammered sentences later we established that we both saw the same thing. A fireman holding an immense, dripping wang.
I could not serve this cake to my coworkers.
My first thought was that I would just absorb the cost of a second cake and pretend this never happened. Then I thought, "Wait a minute! This is not an erotic bakery! This is Costco! I should be able to order any stupid cake I want and be confident that it will not be sexually charged."
While at the checkout line I found a Costco employee to complain to, and showed him the cake. He blinked at it. I told him I was uncomfortable serving this cake at a place of business, and he started laughing and looking relieved.
Here's what I came to realize about the cake. The obscene image was just obvious enough that you can't help but recognize it, but also obviously innocent enough that you don't want to say anything for fear that you're the only one who sees it.
Soon I was surrounded by several Costco employees who were looking at the cake and laughing. They explained that they had a new cake decorator who was a deeply religious woman from a foreign country, as if that explained everything. At one point while we were hammering out a settlement a woman happened by, caught a glimpse of the cake, covered her mouth and gasped. Good stuff."
102 comments | Post a Comment
I guess the fireman's hat looked too much like a bow, or else the lapel too feminine, for me to see such a thing.
Or maybe I was just thrown off by the whole China thing and what the heck that had to do with not having any pressure in the fire hydrant. - May 30, 2008 at 9:22 PM
The hat DOES look like a bow - and to be honest, I didn't see it before reading Scott's post, either. That just made it all the more amusing for me, though.
- May 31, 2008 at 11:29 AM
- Tora said...
At first I misread it as "Good duck in China".
Anyway, hilarious. I want chocolate cake now :( badly.
I really don't like the word verification. How do they expect me to spell "qscszszu" correctly?! - June 6, 2008 at 5:35 AM
- solak said...
To my eye, it does not help to dispel the unintended image when the words look like "Good Suck in China".
- June 6, 2008 at 10:52 AM
- Name: Roberta said...
My sis in law came across yer site, and sent out emails to check out this story...So, I did...I too thought that was a girl with a bow, watering "something".. *L* I would never have guessed that was a fireman.. (and my hubby is a volunteer fireman, he never looked like THAT!)... but it IS a funny story!! LMAO!
- July 15, 2008 at 10:35 PM
- Katie Taylor said...
Oh my god...this made me laugh so hard I almost made myself ill. Thanks for sharing!
- July 23, 2008 at 2:12 AM
- Unknown said...
I kept waiting for the punchline. Didn't laugh once.
Better luck next time. - July 24, 2008 at 2:47 AM
gold - July 24, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Oh Marta, you rapscallion!
- July 24, 2008 at 7:31 PM
- DCSportsChick said...
That totally just made my night. LMAO!
- July 24, 2008 at 9:35 PM
- Missoula Redhead said...
Thank you for that. I needed the laugh.
- July 25, 2008 at 3:29 PM
- Seoul Brother said...
You think that the moyel got hazard pay?
I never knew there was a strong anime tentacle porn market in pastries. - July 26, 2008 at 8:44 AM
for those of you who said you didn't see a wang until it was pointed out to you, i don't believe it! i totally saw this one coming (no pun intended)...
- July 27, 2008 at 11:41 PM
I thought I was dumb: didn't look like a fireman, "China" didn't fit and the hose didn't look "fleshy". THEN, after reading all of the comments, I nearly tinkled my panties from laughing! The best was the "good suck" and the moyel hazzard pay!!! Reminds me of the complaints the lottery received after advertising a game called "Crown Jewels". Several "religious right" ladies said the lottery was being vulgar by advertising "family" jewels!
Look for it, and you'll find it! - July 28, 2008 at 9:57 AM
- Ian said...
It's going to take me an hour to get over this one.... I'm laughing to the point that the muscles in the back of my head are hurting.
- July 29, 2008 at 2:49 PM
- Momof4 said...
This is hysterical. The "fireman" actually looks more like children's character Madeline, with a big red bow in her hair, holding the obscene hose.
I've spent the last hr perusing your site and LOL so hard my kids are asking to see what I'm looking at. This blog is addictive. Thanks for the laughs. - July 29, 2008 at 5:25 PM
- Just say Julie said...
I'm not sure how I found your site... smoochiefrog maybe.. but OMG am I glad I did. It took me 151 minutes to read this post as the tears made the words blurry... and that was before I'd even read about costco. Whew... no ab workout for me tonight.
- July 29, 2008 at 8:58 PM
- die Frau said...
I am laughing so hard I'm close to having an asthma attack. I also don't need to do my ab workout for the day anymore....
- July 30, 2008 at 5:35 PM
- Kat Astrophe said...
This caused me to laugh so hard that I fell down and rolled around on the floor at my workplace. Luckily my boss is on vacation.
- July 31, 2008 at 1:47 PM
- Super Drew said...
My boys could not see it. Weirdos. Teen boys not seeing it? I think they are trying to make me think I am perverted and they are pure of mind. I know better. 19 and 15? Sheesh! How naive do they think I am? LOL
- July 31, 2008 at 3:04 PM
- Jannie aka Chickengirl said...
LOL I too, had a good laugh. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great blog! Just found it. Keep up the good work! - August 1, 2008 at 4:25 PM
- Ann said...
Thanks for making my Monday morning - I'm sitting at my desk, crying, and wheezing from trying not to laugh out loud (or my co-workers will think I'm nuts!). Your blog is my new favorite - keep 'em coming!!
- August 4, 2008 at 9:03 AM
- Becky said...
Oh my god. I am crying now, too. Wow. That is the funniest thing I've seen in a really long time.
- August 6, 2008 at 12:06 PM
I want to know what the going away co-workder said when the cake was presented! lol
- August 6, 2008 at 5:05 PM
- Molly said...
After seeing this post and sharing it with my husband who also thought it was hilarious, I was going to get a Costco "fireman" cake for him for his birthday this year! Thought I'd share for anyone else who had the same idea, Costco no longer has the "fireman" cake on their order form options. :) *lol*
- August 8, 2008 at 5:31 PM
and now for the next level...
what if people copying these cake wrecks intentionally? - August 12, 2008 at 11:03 PM
"I never knew there was a strong anime tentacle porn market in pastries."
A friend of mine asked me to make a tentacle hentai cake for her private (i.e. her dirty-minded friends only -- mind, all of us are past 30 by now, not family) graduation party.
I should now get into designing one, since that event is close at hand. No money will exchange hands (so the cake probably won't end up here), but I will guarantee that it'll be a wreck of all sorts... - August 14, 2008 at 2:18 AM
- Morgan said...
crying - August 14, 2008 at 9:01 PM
- rhino said...
I laughed so hard i cried!
the story is priceless - August 15, 2008 at 2:28 PM
hehe...I would rather just eat and be done with it...who cares whats on it...it should taste good thats all...
thats looks like a firewoman by the way hhehe... - August 18, 2008 at 11:55 AM
hahahaha! i work in a church and had to actually leave the building and run for the parking lot before i exploded with laughter in my very quiet office!! shrinking the story just wasn't enough to calm myself down. it honestly, was like laughing in church...
- August 19, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Oh I just figured out why there's no, um, water, coming out of that, er, hose...he's standing on it.
- August 20, 2008 at 11:29 AM
- Marissa said...
there is also the amazing fact that there is grassy/mossy/green stuff growing on the nether parts of the "hose."
hahahaha. srsly having to keep myself from hysterical breakdown at work! priceless. - August 21, 2008 at 7:35 PM
- Liz said...
I totally saw "IT" at first glance! weird! I never even seen that option at Costco for a Fireman.. haha.... hilarious.. and I was wondering about the hat thing.. ponytail or hat?
- August 22, 2008 at 4:22 PM
I have to say this is the BEST cake I have ever seen. I have been crying with laughter at it and the story. Bless you for cheering me up :o)
- August 23, 2008 at 4:04 PM
- Unknown said...
This was soo funny. I especially liked the deeply religious cake decorator touch. And his analysis of heman nature - how people will look at it but not say anything for fear of being the only one who noticed. Love this site, and glad my friend Carol told us about it!!
I'll be back!!
Karen at wheresmydamnanswer.com - August 23, 2008 at 4:21 PM
- Alice said...
I didn't catch the flesh toned hose at all. It actually made perfect sense to me. I just assumed it was some culturally insensitive reference to a Chinese fire drill. Here is the wiki def:
A Chinese fire drill is a pejorative expression usually referring to a prank, or perhaps an expression of high spirits, that was popular in the United States during the 1960s.[1][2] It is performed when a car is stopped at a red traffic light, at which point all of the car's occupants get out, run around the car, and return to their own seats. Chinese fire drills are sometimes executed when one needs to get something from the trunk of a car. Occasionally, if one of the participants is late to get inside the car, the others might drive off without him/her. People have reported this phenomenon as early as the 1940s, so it is possible that the phrase was current at the time, but simply was not recorded.
Thus the expression "Chinese Fire Drill" is the act of a group of individuals accomplishing nothing.
The term is also used as a figure of speech to mean any large, ineffective, and chaotic exercise.
BTW This site just became my new happy. Thank you thank you thank you for making it! - August 27, 2008 at 5:50 PM
I'm *loving* your site! You need a guestbook page for general praise!
- August 28, 2008 at 7:31 AM
I laughed until I cried and wheezed... omfg that was funny.
i love costco :) - September 4, 2008 at 4:01 PM
- Yvonne Gallardo said...
I cannot believe this cake. I think it might be that it is 2:23 in the morning and I have now been awake for almost a whole day, but I really found this funny.
The bow er helmet, the hose er ding ding, and the little drops of water.
Oh my goodness this picture and the story were just to much.
This is what I'm going to bed on. This is a great way to end a day. Thank you so much for posting this picture and story. - September 7, 2008 at 5:24 AM
- megan said...
i seriously have NEVER laughed so hard that tears were literally STREAMING down my face....
until now. - September 8, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Oh dear God. I am weeping. In the best way.
- September 9, 2008 at 11:14 AM
I suppose the fact that the decorator was deeply religious and from a foreign country was meant to suggest that she was so sheltered and/or pure of heart that she simply never could have realized that there could be an off-color interpretation of this picture. (Maybe she'd never even seen male body parts?)
Either that or it's a very strange and rare religion that involves worship of slightly androgynous firemen with big... no, never mind. That is far too silly. - September 13, 2008 at 9:13 PM
I saw it looked like a "wang". I also saw that the fire fighter looked like a woman. That I think made the whole thing even worse, lol.
- September 15, 2008 at 1:40 PM
I like the idea of it referring to a Chinese fire drill.
And...did he end up bringing the cake to work? I want to know what the coworkers thought! - September 17, 2008 at 11:20 PM
i've looked at tons of cakes on the website. I have never laughted so hard. This is by far the "BEST" worst cake!!
- October 2, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Saw the fireman right away... was pretty sure the hose-looks-like-a-wang was coming... was a bit baffled by the inscription... read his story, good for a smile and all but somehow it just didn't seem to make me fall down laughing...
Until I came across the comment that said the wording appeared to say "good suck in China".
It took half an hour for me to get my breath back and my face dried!!! I guess there's something for everyone in this cake, even a sour old cynic like me. Thank you for this great blog! - October 4, 2008 at 1:01 AM
- Jaime and Maya said...
This has to be the funniest thing I've read. I'm in tears and I still can't stop laughing. Oh thank you!
- October 6, 2008 at 8:51 PM
I have to post this to my decorating group as an instructor....I find your blog a hoot......I tell my class anything can happen and on your site it does........
jolene - October 6, 2008 at 11:51 PM
- Eve said...
I was so busy looking at the strange puddle of water that I just didn't clue into the hose thing (thank goodness). Too Funny!!!
- October 8, 2008 at 4:09 PM
- heartafire said...
I am sorry to tell you, but I first saw this almost a week ago, and still have not stopped laughing. Every time I think of the guy's comments, his wife's reaction, the Costco employees standing around laughing, I start to go off, until I cry......
- October 10, 2008 at 9:12 PM
- Unknown said...
♥♥♥ this story! Thanks for the laugh!
- October 17, 2008 at 3:01 PM
So so glad I had not put mascara on yet before reading this! The cake is funny but the story is hilarious!!
I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!! - October 20, 2008 at 1:54 PM
I started to laugh the moment I looked at this cake. Reminds me of a t-shirt I bought a friend in Paris. The fireman looks like a firewomen. I have never seen a fire hose that color and I should know as I am a fire fighter. We don't call them fireman any more since there is so many of us women in the field. Everytime I think about the cake I start laughing again. Love the site.
- October 26, 2008 at 11:43 PM
- Reagan said...
So did anyone else see the words "Good suck in China"? I then read the line about the hose looking like...yeah and it all comes together so nicely...
- October 30, 2008 at 2:51 PM
- Emo.xx.Drama.xx.Queen said...
...Fail. Funny fail, but a fail. Haha. It's amusing... but a bit creepy. XD
-Lauryn. - November 1, 2008 at 6:21 PM
This has made me laugh so much other people in my office are looking at me like i'm nuts :-) I also read it as 'Good Suck in China'. I love this blog! Lucie
- November 5, 2008 at 7:59 AM
- Mojo said...
Um. Was I the only one whose first thought was "Who's China?"
Okay... maybe I was... - November 12, 2008 at 1:12 PM
This made me laugh so hard that even the cat was looking at me weird. And then pity the poor kid who came to the door to deliver Boy Scout popcorn. He thought I was crying or crazy! I love this kind of weird humor!
- November 13, 2008 at 5:14 PM
- L. Shepherd said...
OMG, I literally laughed until I cried. I've had that same moment of, "holy crap, what did I do?" so many times. The "fireman" really does look like a woman.
- December 14, 2008 at 4:20 AM
- Unknown said...
It's official, you've brightened my Monday. The cake, the story, and the comments made me laugh so hard I cried and now my head and abs hurt. OMG. *dries tears*
- December 15, 2008 at 2:13 PM
HAHAHAHAAAA!!! i just read this, and i have TEARS streaming down my face. i cant stop!! that IS SO FUNNY!!!!!! oh... thank you for sharing this. HAHAHAHAHAAAA
- December 23, 2008 at 12:30 PM
- threenorns said...
omfg - "who's china?" - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
my stomach hurts, my nose is running, and my boyfriend is confirmed in his opinion that i am the most unstable nut on the branch. - December 24, 2008 at 2:50 PM
Giant. Dripping. Wang!
I don't think you could make this stuff up any better!!! - December 29, 2008 at 11:33 PM
I was looking up costco cakes to get pricing when I found this site. Yes it looks like a dripping wang and I did see a fireman. Looking at it again I can see the little girl with the flower hat holding a big WANG which is even worse.
- January 12, 2009 at 4:32 PM
I think the part that made me laugh the most is that I can totally see how a headache can impair your judgement to the point that you make the first mistake of ordering a random fireman for a cake. I can see this happening to me in one of my headache fogs only to wake the next day and wonder what the f I was thinking. So funny...great cake and an even better story!
- January 21, 2009 at 1:51 AM
It's even worse that I thought it sad "Good SUCK in China" until I re-read it.
- January 24, 2009 at 11:26 PM
- Susan said...
Oh my gosh....I don't know if I've ever really laughed until I cried, and maybe it's the fact that it's 2AM, or the fact that my allergies are going a little crazy, but this had me going. The cake itself is only moderately funny, but with the story, it's absolutely hysterical!
- February 1, 2009 at 2:55 AM
I'm with Marta. Didn't laugh once. It was a well told story, but things-that-look-like-wangs pictures are about as common as guys-getting-hit-in-the-nuts-while-teaching-their-children-to-play-baseball videos. Meh.
I only felt the need to comment because so many people are laughing til they cry. You need to get out more!
Here, try this:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/ - February 5, 2009 at 7:53 AM
- Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...
Count me in the "laugh til I cried" bunch. In fact, I don't know that I've read a funnier story online..lol! I spent my entire morning on your blog. Total hilarity from start to finish.
- February 23, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Marta's right - not even close! Personally I prefer wit to humor.
- March 11, 2009 at 4:20 PM
My mother and I were looking at this, thinking: if the color of the hose is the problem, what color WOULD work?
Now we're both crying and running to the toilet before we have to mop the floor! ...and she thinks her post-NASAL drip is bad! - March 21, 2009 at 1:01 AM
- Kym said...
I am still crying and laughing at the same time.
- March 30, 2009 at 9:38 PM
Now this is what the internet was made for.
Seriously made me laugh. - April 11, 2009 at 10:10 AM
I have tears in my eyes from laughing sooo hard... This was the best one of all
Cheers and GOOD LUCK IN CHINA... Hawwwwwwwwwwwwwww - May 18, 2009 at 12:56 PM
- Sara said...
WE HAD THE SAME CAKE!!!! No lie!! When my husband turn 25 (a couple of years ago) I bought him a cake from a Seattle area Costco with a fireman on it and the writing "happy 25th birthday adam". The next day I picked it up...well...we saw the same thing. A dripping, you know what. I totally wish I had a picture, but the 'fireman' might have been going through a sex change. There was a set of you know whats also. HA! Thanks cakewrecks!
- May 19, 2009 at 11:57 PM
- Sam said...
Am I the only one who first thought the cake said "Good suck in China"?
- May 30, 2009 at 2:49 PM
- Unknown said...
OMG... ROFLMAO... It hurts... oh,,, it hurts... Laughing so hard, I think I might need my inhaler... typing by feel, cuz, i can't see anything through the tears... LOLOLOLOL
just found your blog, today. A friend who knows I am doing my own wedding cakes sent the link, as a stress reliever. It's working! and am thoroughly enjoying going through your archives... but this one... omg
~laffs some more~
Sass - May 30, 2009 at 5:04 PM
- Snapdragon said...
The thing that's so funny about this story is that it's absurd to the point of approaching surreal. I had to read bits of this out loud and couldn't breath through bits of it.
Yeah, I saw it right away.
(As an aside: you know, it's fine if you don't think it's funny, but there is no need to insult those of us who do.) - July 9, 2009 at 10:15 PM
- Ericka said...
"Fireperson" looks most like Lil' Lulu to me, but yeah, the flared edges at the nozzle totally take away any notion that it's anything but a giant wang. Does he have pics of people's faces at the office party?!
- July 22, 2009 at 10:51 PM
*choking on wine*
hilarious! - July 22, 2009 at 11:06 PM
- Diandra said...
Just loved that story. At first I thought my imagination is simply too dirty to see anything else, but it's really good not to be the only one. By the way, what happened afterwards? No sexual harassment party at the office?
- August 10, 2009 at 2:57 PM
- Lalis said...
Oh my gosh!!! I was dying reading this post... Especially 'cause my reaction before I read the whole thing was this: "Wow... I'm seriously dirty-minded! I need to take my mind out of the gutter... Anyway, let's see what Jen has to say about a fire...woman? and China." Hysterical.
- August 10, 2009 at 3:00 PM
- Unknown said...
I don't think I've laughed that much in a YEAR! Does it make me a pervert if a dripping wang is the first thing I saw too? lol
- August 23, 2009 at 8:50 PM
I keep coming back to this one everytime I have a rough morning on the job.... still crying after all this time!! : )
Thanks... This blog rocks!!
Angela - August 24, 2009 at 1:33 PM
- Unknown said...
OK... it seems to me that it says "geed duck in china"
WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!? - August 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM
- Unknown said...
Oh my. It's the grin on the fireman's face that makes the story so funny...
And I agree, there are tons of collections of inadvertent phallic depictions on the web, most of them more bite-my-tongue-I-daren't-say-anything than this, but I have known people who were that innocent... - September 25, 2009 at 2:32 AM
- Unknown said...
Where's page 2 of this story and when does it start to get funny? Why is the girl with the red bow in her hair going to China? Good luck though!
- October 1, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought the hat looked like a bow. In fact, I didn't realize it was a hat until I read the comments.
Besides the Caucasian flesh tone, there's also a VERY definitely "head" at the end of that hose. LOL. Niiiiiice. - October 5, 2009 at 1:03 AM
- Gary said...
At first I wondered why so little water was coming out of the hose, but then I noticed that the firefighter is standing on the hose, and kinking it with his/her right hand.
So the most innocent possible take on the picture is that it's a highly incompetent firefighter.
But I only thought of that after considering that it's an extremely well-endowed firefighter with an incontinence problem. - October 6, 2009 at 12:53 PM
- Victor G.-H. said...
I've been reading Cakewrecks on and off for probably six or seven months now, and this is the first one that I HAD to comment on. Absolutely, positively priceless. That hose is absolutely just the wrong color (how naive WAS that decorator?), not to mention that the "nozzle" doesn't actually look like a nozzle. The water makes it a billion times worse.
That said, I'm currently making my girlfriend ask repeatedly if I'm alright. Primarily because everyone else in the house is asleep and she's afraid I'll wake them up with my (barely-suppressed) laughter.
Moral of the story: Have some kind of plan in mind when ordering cakes from big chain stores. They're liable to have someone there that doesn't really know what they're doing. XD
WV: Pormalim - It's better than Viagra! (consult your doctor... etc.) - October 13, 2009 at 1:05 AM
- Unknown said...
I don't know how you cannot see a giant wang in the picture?!?! LOL! I guess, my mind's just in the gutter! LMAO! This is just too funny.....
- October 17, 2009 at 1:36 PM
hilarious! I'm at my school computer lab trying not to make a scene from trying not to crack up so much!
- October 22, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Amusing? Yes. Hilarious? Sorry, but no...
- November 24, 2009 at 9:25 PM
- Xydexx said...
This is wonderful, partly because of the enormous leaky wang and partly for aiming said wang at the fire hydrant (which is in danger of bursting into flames at any moment).
But the best part is the sheer randomness of the story and cakes that make no sense... almost makes me want to order a cake using William S. Burrough's cut-up method or MegaHAL for the text, and rolling dice for selecting the image. So I'd end up with a purple cake with a penguin that says THE RAIN WASHES MEMORIES FROM THE GLANDS OF COWS. - February 26, 2010 at 11:08 AM
- Iris said...
You are going to love my blog. After reading your blog, which was quite funny, it brought to my attentin a blog I wrote months ago. Please go to www.pushthewheel.com. In my archives is THE FUNNIEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN COSTCO. It was very embarrassing.
I know you will appreciate the story. It was very true. Please let me know what you thought - August 19, 2010 at 1:09 PM
This made me laugh because I have been a cake decorator at Costco for 13 years and I remember doing this lame design. We always made the hose dark because of this unfortunate situation going on in this design. Believe me we were all grateful when they discontinued this hose holding firman!!!!! - August 24, 2010 at 9:38 AM
did anybody else make the connection of what china sounds like, and what the fire-hose looks like?
- October 15, 2010 at 7:22 PM
Jen! Jen! Jen! Seventh picture from the top in this article!!!!! http://ht.ly/2ZNOp
- October 26, 2010 at 4:43 PM
- ED said...
Haha very nice cake. Made me crave some chocolate.
- December 16, 2010 at 10:11 AM
- Vanessa said...
I also enjoy the subtle reference to the inappropriate film, "1 Night in China". That just makes it that much better.
- December 16, 2010 at 4:09 PM
The best part? If there is in fact a similar cake at CostCo, I can add babies to it (which I already have because I find them hilarious to place on random cakes) and make this cake myself...so funny!
- May 8, 2011 at 1:15 PM
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Wreck the Halls
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What's a Wreck?
What's a Wreck?
A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.
Now, don't you have a photo you want to send me? ;)
- Fan Faves
- The Classics
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Praise for the Book
- "Will have you laughing so hard you'll forget to eat!"— Washington Post
- "a hilarious winner" — The Oregonian
- "a fantastically gut-busting book"— NPR
- "It's all here, each wreck a disaster of hilarity." — BookPage.com
- "Hysterically funny!"— Epinions.com
- "laugh-out-loud funny"— The Times
- "Yates' sharp humor makes the funny even funnier." — The Dallas Morning News
- "an amazing laugh-out-loud book"— The Book Triblog
What the fans are saying
- "I was laughing so hard, I couldn't catch my breath."
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We don't have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it's cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.
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- You don't need space in your sewing area for a design wall!
- No more laying blocks on the floor to photograph and show your buddies your progress!
- No more brushing pet hair off the blocks afterwards!
- You can see how your colors are distributed on your quilt - you won't have all your red blocks in one area, and all the blue in another!
- You can use the design wall to help assemble the quilt - which block comes next in that row?
- Especially helpful for those doing Dear Janes, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, Farmer's Wife, or Barn Block quilts.
For the first set and free membership:
- Follow us (or mention that you already do!)
- Follow Lily pad Quilting (leave a comment you followed)
- Click here on the Gallery of Ole Frog Eyes Click on Denise and Yvette's gallery, and vote whose "farmers wife" you like best. (leave your vote on lily pad's blog.)
Both winners will be announced on Wednesday the 27th. The first set winner will be announced at Quiltstory, and the second fat quarter set will be announced on Lily Pad Quilting blog.
This giveaway is now closed.


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Kids love cars, and when they see a parked car, they don't even think about the possibility of getting hurt or seriously injured. That's why parents have to. Many preventable injuries and deaths occur in driveways or parking lots when drivers are unaware that children are near vehicles. Tragically, these drivers are often family members or friends of the injured child. But these injuries are easily prevented by following a few simple tips.
Hard Facts
Each year, more than 9,000 children are treated in emergency rooms for injuries that occurred while they were unattended in or around motor vehicles. Many of these preventable injuries occur when drivers are unaware of children near vehicles.
Top Tips
- We know you're often in a hurry, but before you drive away, take a few seconds to walk all the way around your parked car to check for children.
- Designate a safe spot for children to wait when nearby vehicles are about to move and make sure the drivers can see them.
- Accompany little kids when they get in and out of a vehicle. Hold their hands while walking near moving vehicles or in driveways and parking lots or on sidewalks.
Learn More
Making the space in and around your car safe for kids requires a few more steps. Learn more about how to protect your kids from heatstroke in cars or getting trapped in the trunk.


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Did you know, it's the holiday season? And I am in the grateful, thankful and giving mood! Grateful and thankful for YOU specifically! So, I thought I would show you how much I love you and support a few of my absolute favorite companies, by hosting an entire day of incredible giveaways!
That's right! I have handpicked select Items IHeart most, and have been working with my favorite companies, to bring you a day of goodness and oodles of opportunities to win amazing prizes!
Next up is Sassy Steals!
The items make the perfect special gift for a loved one, and most likely you will find a little somethin' somethin' to snag for yourself as well!
They also host weekly giveaways where one lucky person wins every featured Steal from the previous week!!
Sassy Steals is excited to partner up today and offer one lucky IHeart Organizing reader an iPad Mini!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sassy Steals is offering IHeart Organizing readers 10% off with special promo code: IHO10!
Good luck everyone! Happy holidays and....


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Many travelers using United Airlines faced delays Tuesday, but they weren't connected to Hurricane Isaac. Instead, the airline's computer network crashed, leaving large parts of its system paralyzed Tuesday afternoon.
First noted around 2:15 p.m. EDT, the problems persisted until about 6:30 p.m. EDT, when the airline tweeted that it is "in the process of resuming operations and rebooking customers."
The snarl of airline traffic led the Federal Aviation Administration to halt arrivals at airports in Newark, N.J.; Houston, and San Francisco. The order to stop those arrivals has now been lifted, according to The Florida News Journal.
News of the outage spread quickly via Twitter and other outlets. The FAA said that problems affecting United's airport computers seemed to be largely resolved by 5:30 p.m. EDT, but many passengers will see their travels disrupted well into Tuesday night — particularly with many Gulf Coast-area airports closed because of Hurricane Isaac.
United's main website was down for part of Tuesday afternoon. At 6:05 p.m. EDT, the airline tweeted, "The website is up, but not fully functional." The message also thanked passengers for their patience. Elsewhere on Twitter, passengers were reporting offers to book new flights at no added cost.
According to NPR's David Schaper, the problems stemmed from the airline's reservation and booking system. But because the same system also controls boarding passes, flight check-in and other functions, the outage had a widespread effect that left United passengers stranded at many airports.
In Denver, where the city's airport is one of United's main hubs, The Denver Post's Kristen Leigh Painter spoke to several people who had been stranded. One was Bruce Rehburg, a passenger who said he'd been sitting on a plane in Houston's airport for more than an hour and a half.
"The pilot told passengers that he knows the computer is safe and ready for takeoff, but the technology is locked," Painter writes. " 'We are ready to go, and now in the age of computers, we can't take off,' Rehburg said."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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It may sound like a line from The Godfather, but some agricultural specialists advise that farming isn't personal; it's business. And family farms need to think and act more like a business to survive in a competitive world, says Bernie Erven, professor emeritus in the department of agricultural economics at Ohio State University.
Last week, Erven spoke to farmers at the Growing Michigan Agriculture Conference about how to improve their practices to recruit, hire and keep the best employees by using modern methods, like social media.
But the message may be a tough sell. Family farms are an iconic American institution, and they make up nearly 96 percent of farms in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And it's hard for some folks to hear that the best hire might not be your sister's kid who needs a summer job baling hay.
"If you hire a family member who isn't qualified, who doesn't fit the position, and maybe doesn't even want the position, then it's ... unlikely the person would succeed," Erven says. "Thus [it's] not helping the business and not helping the family."
If family farms don't approach hiring in a professional way, there are some uncertainties for both the farm and its employees, he says. "[Will] they treat adding employees as a family matter or is it a business decision?" he says.
According to the 2007 USDA Census of Agriculture, U.S. farms spend a total of $21.9 billion per year employing 2.6 million hired workers. Streamlining and standardizing hiring processes on family farms could have a significant economic impact.
New outside hiring practices could even help farm families alleviate the expectations of both parents and children. "This argument that you owe it to your children to have a place for them in the farm business, I have trouble with that. Because the other side of that coin is that then your children owe it to you to stay home, even if they don't want to," Erven says.
Additionally, a diverse labor force can help boost the farm's main goal: efficient food production. For example, dairy workers who have experience working with different cattle breeds may bring fresh perspectives and new techniques — additions that can improve farming practices, Erven tells The Salt.
But pushing the family out of family farms can have disadvantages, too, Jennifer Fahy, communications director at Farm Aid, says in an email. "The family farm is a place where kids grow up and learn responsibility and skills ... they're also learning values and traditions," she says.
Fahy says that the American farming workforce is aging and in desperate need of young farmers to carry on the tradition. "A major factor in young people being interested in becoming farmers is the exposure they receive on their family's farm," she says. "That process of farmers passing down their life's work and traditions to the next generations is so important to the fabric of our food production system and culture."
Farm managers might be able to find the most qualified employees outside of the family, but Fahy says that family tradition is also an important consideration. "There's something beyond experience and skills at work when a family farmer can involve the next generation," she says.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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For small businesses, large companies and professional individuals, staying ahead on marketing tactics is an important component in growing an organization. One such marketing tactic is the popular use of landing pages. When visitors go to a website, they can oftentimes feel overwhelmed and lost with all of the different options; however, with the use of a landing page, website visitors come through a variety of different sources for one specific reason.
Unlike a typical homepage, landing pages are a separate component of a website, and prompt visitors to take a specific action, such as trying out a new service or signing up for an email list. Therefore, landing pages are a critical part of a marketing strategy because of their targeting and lead generation capabilities. When it comes to building strong landing pages, there are vital components. In today's lesson of Marketing 101, learn how you can create effective landing pages.
Clean Design
With web content in general, a clean design tends to be the best design. However, with landing pages in particular, a clean design is most often preferred. When visitors come to landing pages, they expect to be guided from Point A to Point B quickly and efficiently, without feeling overwhelmed by too many colors or information. Your goal with a landing page is to create the easiest experience possible for your visitor. Making sure to keep the design crisp and neat will help drive visitors through the landing page and help improve lead conversion rates.
Consistent Messaging
Messaging is a vital part of your landing page; after all, your goal is to get visitors to act, right? Therefore, consistent messaging matters. From the advertisement, to the headline, all the way through the copywriting, consistent messaging is vital. For example, if your advertisement says, "Stay up to date with our latest news!", that same information should be included in the headline of the landing page, then throughout. Using the same language throughout a landing page creates a predictable and relevant user-experience, helping visitors stay on track easily.
Emotional Content
As most marketers could probably tell you, human beings tend to be driven more by emotion than logic. We tend to do what feels like the right decision, not necessarily what is the right decision. Keep this in mind when drafting up the content for your landing page. Spewing facts and information can definitely be helpful for visitors, but oftentimes it won't compel them into taking that final leap of faith. Speak directly to clients' emotions through engaging vocabulary.
Visual Appeal
A landing page full of single-space, black and white font definitely doesn't seem like something interesting to read. Instead, be aware of the content you utilize in your landing page, and how visually appealing it is to visitors. Eye-catching images and impactful videos can say a lot more than full paragraphs worth of text. Pair these with some colors that pop or interesting fonts, and you can take your landing page to the next level—while still maintaining a clean design.
Call to Action
Finally and most importantly, you want landing pages visitors to do something when they visit. This is where the call to action comes in. Your call to action should be big, bold and clear. Create a prominent button that users can easily see and click, with messaging that feels inviting. Think of your CTA button as an "I want to…" button. For example, no one wants to "Submit." But, people might want to "Join our team!" Strong, clear and fun CTAs can be the ultimate difference between a bounce and a lead-conversion for your landing page.
Marketing strategies matter for businesses, and landing pages are no exception. With their targeted approach and calls to action, landing pages help drive greater lead conversions for new and prospective clients. Next time you draft up a landing page, use some of these tips to help get the best results and grow your business.


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A political generation ago, the West signaled the nation's rightward swing — from the emergence of Ronald Reagan to the success of tax-limitation ballot measures in California and Colorado. But now the fabled expanse of jagged peaks, arid deserts and emerald coastlines is trending in a different direction.
From Washington state — where voters in November legalized marijuana and upheld the legality of gay marriage — to New Mexico, once a hotly contested swing state that Republicans ceded to Democrats in the presidential campaign, the West has become largely Democratic terrain.
There are, as always, exceptions. Lightly populated Idaho and Wyoming remain strongly Republican, as does Utah. And Democrats are struggling in Arizona, where a bruising immigration debate has given Republicans a lock on statewide offices but may provide Democrats an opening by firming up their support among the state's growing Hispanic population. Still, the overall trend is clear, according to analysts on all sides of the political spectrum.
"It's just a different world," said Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic strategist in Los Angeles who has worked widely in the region. "Nevada became the next California and now Arizona looks like it will become the next Nevada. … It's just pushing the West further and further from Republicans."
The shift is due to a combination of factors: the fusion of the region's libertarian spirit with both an influx of transplants from more liberal states seeking a better quality of life, and a growing immigrant population alienated by increasingly hardline Republican immigration proposals.
"Look at the migration patterns," said Sig Rogich, a Republican consultant in Las Vegas who worked on Reagan's presidential campaigns. "You're seeing the aftermath of a new generation of young men and women whose parents moved westward."
Politics is different in the region. Western states generally have weak political parties, part of the legacy of their political maturation during the progressive era at the start of the 20th century. Most local elections are nonpartisan affairs and voters often have the right to unilaterally set policy via ballot initiative. Western voters have long cherished nonpartisan independence, even when they voted a relatively straight party ticket.
"The West is the most American part of America," said Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute, a libertarian think tank in Denver. "It is a place where you have much more respect for individual choice and you have more ability to be who you want to be."
During the 1980s and 1990s, that libertarian streak fed a series of Republican victories as voters approved tax-limitation initiatives, protested federal environmental regulations and kept statehouses firmly in the GOP's hands. But nowadays it means something else, Carrick said.
"The libertarian thing is no longer about property rights or gun rights," he said. "It's now about letting people live their lives as they choose."
Ironically, Republicans' success may have contributed to that shift. The party managed to enshrine staunch anti-tax measures in several states' constitutions through ballot initiatives, making it very difficult to raise taxes in California, Colorado and Washington state. As a result, Democrats can't easily raise revenue — but they also can't be attacked for doing so, said Ron Dotzauer, a Seattle-based Democratic strategist. "They can't be defined as the pro-tax group because they can't tax," he said.
There are prominent Republicans who demonstrate that the party can still win the region. Brian Sandoval in Nevada and Susana Martinez in New Mexico are popular Republican governors, but their relatively moderate stances often put them at odds with the national party. Both, for example, just agreed to the Medicaid expansion under President Barack Obama's health care plan, something that is anathema to many conservative Republicans.
"People appreciate a leader who takes more pragmatic approaches," said Nicole McCleskey, a New Mexico-based GOP pollster who advises Martinez. She argued that Democrats' success in the region is overstated and noted that, outside of California, Republicans in 2012 only lost one Western congressional seat. As an example of how Republicans can succeed, she cited New Mexico, where the party picked up seats in the state Legislature despite the Obama wave.
But McCleskey acknowledged that New Mexico Republicans were helped by the national GOP basically giving up on the presidential race in the state. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney did not contest the state, minimizing the damage of a divisive presidential campaign.
"We were able to localize a lot of these races and build on the change that has taken place with a strong Republican governor," she said. "Republicans fought on state issues and the Democrats tried to fight on national issues."
Jill Hanauer is a Democratic strategist who engineered her party's takeover of the Colorado state Legislature in 2004. She agrees with McCleskey that the West cannot be considered a Democratic lock.
"The reason Democrats or progressives are winning is that Republicans got fat and happy," said Hanauer, who is now president of Project New America, a political data and strategy company in Denver. "The worst thing that can happen for Democrats is to take it for granted."
In 2002, Ruy Teixeira, a Washington, D.C.-based Democratic strategist, co-wrote "The Emerging Democratic Majority," which predicted that demographic and social trends would turn parts of the country that were deep red, like the interior Mountain West, into Democratic-leaning states. The book was published shortly after Republicans took back the U.S. Senate in the 2002 midterm elections and was received skeptically.
Last year, Teixeira and a bevy of other researchers published a new book on the Mountain West as America's new swing region. Now there was little pushback.
Teixeira said the West's shift has been dramatic because of the heavy migration to the region. Another factor is the ballot initiative process, which magnifies political trends by making it easier to enact dramatic policy changes like marijuana legalization.
But he argued in an interview that what's happened to the West is not very different from what's taking place across the country. Surveys for his book last year found it only slightly more libertarian on social issues and holding similar views toward government and taxation as other parts of the country. That, he said, is bad news for Republicans — their problem is national, not regional.
"It's not like there's something in the water in state X that's making them harder for Republicans," Teixeira said. "It's just the same series of changes that are working themselves out in all states."
Follow Nicholas Riccardi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nickriccardi
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


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David and Vivian Bouwman, married for 50+ years: The victims of Spontaneous Blackness |
Married for more than 50 years, the Pattersons are the type of people who are rarely celebrated, but play an integral part in building stable communities from which are produced the type of people capable of progressing society; Javonte Higgins is a byproduct of a community capable of regressing society.
No - Javonte Higgins is a perfect representation of what one community is producing across the nation, and the reason why people go to such extraordinary lengths to insulate themselves from the threat of Spontaneous Blackness.
One can't help but think of their grandparents when they see an image of David and Vivian Bouwman, a strong couple who were married when the sky-seemed-the-limit for Michigan's largest city, Detroit; they were murdered in the beginning portion of January 2013, when the sky has all but fallen on 92 percent black Detroit, a city producing nothing but future Javonte Higgins as we speak ['They were loved' say friends of Kentwood couple murdered during weekend home invasion, Michigan Live, 1-6-13]:
KENTWOOD, MI — Friends and family members of David and Vivian Bouwman are grieving this weekend after the beloved West Michigan grandparents were found murdered on Saturday during whatpolice say was a home invasion.
"They were loved," said longtime friend Joan Medema of Grandville, who attends the Byron area Rush Creek Bible Church where the Bouwmans were decades-long members.
"They were very active in the church," she said. "They had lots of friends."
What happened to them is "evil."
David Bouwman, 81, and his wife, Vivian Bouwman, 80, were found dead inside their light blue two-story suburban home at 2289 StoweValley Drive SE in Kentwood'sPrinceton Estates subdivision on Saturday, Jan. 5.
Two lives extinguished by - allegedly - a black male... who the putrid Michael Moore told us white people were wrongly fearful of and the primary reason why they purchased fire arms to depend themselves from.Police have released few details about the double murder, but did say they were led to the residence on Saturday morning after Wyoming police found a burned-out Cadillac DeVille dumped on the 3800 block of Madison Avenue.
Sons of Obama strike again: Javonte Higgins held for Bouwman double-homocide
Two lives extinguished in the blink of eye; Two lives spent 50 + years together that will warrant no national outcry in how they were ended, nor produce columns or news reports dripping withDisingenuous White Liberal (DWL) guilt over how all black people must be held responsible for Mr. Higgins actions (as Eugene Patterson stated all white Southerners must share the burden of the 16th Street Birmingham Church Bombing).
Just who is this Javonte Higgins? Besides being a black habitual criminal, he is the modern face of black males in America that we turn away from acknowledge while simultaneously cheering on the Southeastern Conference (SEC) football and basketball filled to the brim with young men but a second from engaging in Spontaneous Blackness [Javonte Higgins' long criminal record:He's "person of interest" in Bouwman killings, Wood TV (NBC), 1-11-13]:
"Evil will not prevail'... sadly the lack of outrage over the murder of a white octogenarian couple that spent 50+ years together in marriage is a sign 'good' is being trounced.
Javonte Higgins, identified as a person of interest in the killings of David and Vivian Bouwman, was arrested in September 2012 after he was found with a vehicle full of valuables and burglary tools near a Kentwood home.
A neighbor in the 5000 block of Ticonderoga saw Higgins disappear behind a home that day and called police. When they arrived, the back door of that home was open, the insides were ransacked and Higgins allegedly had the valuables.
He said he was just taking a walk, but was arrested and charged with second-degree home invasion and possessing burglars tools. He stayed in jail for a few weeks until his bond was reduced to $15,000. He posted the bond and was scheduled to appear in court next Monday, Jan. 14.
But his attorney told 24 Hour News 8 on Friday that hearing had already been postponed because he had been in a car accident and wasn't able to show up in court.
That hearing was postponed on Thursday -- hours before he was named a person of interest in the Bouwman slayings. His attorney said she had no idea he was a person of interest in that case.
Beginning in 2005, when Higgins was 14, he ran away several times, was caught repeatedly smoking marijuana, assaulted someone, resisted arrest, was chased by police and tried to break into a home. All before he was 17.
Shortly after his 17th birthday, Higgins was arrested for breaking-and-entering a home in the 7400 block of Old Lantern Drive in Gaines Township. In that case, the homeowner was there when he and another man broke in. She locked herself in the bathroom and called police.
They ran, but when police found Higgins and his partner they were able to match his shoeprints to some found at the scene. In that case, he was charged with first-degree home invasion.
He admitted he broke a window to get in -- similar to how the Bouwmans' killer entered their home on Stowevalley Drive. He dodged a possible 20-year sentence by testifying against his accomplice, instead spending three years in prison.We don't hold the shoe of a slain black child as did Patterson's imaginary white Southerner in his "A Flower for the Graves" speech; Birmingham in 2013, a 75 percent black city on the edge of death is a fitting reminder of the flower that grew from the grave of 16th Street Birmingham Baptist Church incident.
No, we hold a picture of David and Vivian Bouwman in our hands and turn away from the reality crashing in around an increasing number of cities across America; these could be our grandparents whose lives were extinguished in but a blink of an eye.
We hold a picture of David and Vivian Bouwman and are reminded that Michael Moore is correct -- white people do buy guns to protect themselves from black people; not out of racism, but out of necessity to prevent the same fate that befell the Bouwman's from taking place.
We hold a picture of David and Vivian Bouwman, and look at the faces of two white grandparents, just like the ones who raised President Barack Obama; though we know he would, just as he did with Trayvon Martin, look upon Javonte Higgins and see the son he never had staring back at him.


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Notice: This Wiki is now read only and edits are no longer possible. Please see: https://gitlab.eclipse.org/eclipsefdn/helpdesk/-/wikis/Wiki-shutdown-plan for the plan.
Eclipse Day China
Eclipse Day China | Eclipse Day 中国
(here) http://wiki.eclipse.org/Eclipse_Day_China
Beijing, June 29th 2013 | 北京 2013年6月29日
Non-official satellite site page is eclipse-china.github.io/Day/.
June 26th : We have 200+ registration and 2 volunteer. 已经200+人报名了!还有两位志愿者。
Registrations is closed. Limited number of guests (up to 10) can join remotely via WebEx. Contact organizers.
There is waiting list on http://democampbeijing2013.eventbrite.com/ 报名结束了。只有等着的列表。试试你的机会。
If you are coming from other city (not Beijing) or want to do demo or help around on Eclipse Day, please contact organizers.
We need person who will lead Track 2 (come with notebook, connect with remote presenters, be whole day on the site). Speakers and co-organizers are still welcomed!.
如果你要从另外的城市来,请联系我们能不能帮助你们。I you are coming from other city please contact us if we can help you.
The event is over. Check http://eclipse-china.github.io/Day/materials 在这里看资料
check for event online video http://www.funshion.com/uvideo/play/461974 Eclipse Day 中国 在线视频
Register for next event at http://eclipsenovemberday.eventbrite.com/ .
Next event presenters please contact organizers! 欢迎欢迎下一个活动想讲。联系我们。 Paul Verest @ or
Intro 介绍
Eclipse Day China Press-Release
Eclipse Day China in Beijing on 2013 June 29 is a free event supported by the Eclipse Foundation. This event will target on the IT developers and Eclipse members, and the experts and senior consultants from leading IT companies will share the experiences of Eclipse open source projects, Eclipse demo, and discussing the technical issues with the participants. This event will also provide a good opportunity and platform for the Eclipse members and developers to discuss and communicate.
2013年6月29日在北京举行的Eclipse Day China 是在Eclipse Foundation支持下在中国举办的一次免费的面向在中国开发人员和Eclipse爱好者的活动。 活动中,众多来自行业领先企业的中外专家及资深开发人员将与您分享Eclipse开源项目中的经验,Eclipse产品演示,并与大家探讨Eclipse相关的技术问题。 此次活动也将是一次Eclipse爱好者交流的机会和平台。
The event is free, please register ASAP to reserve your seat. 此次活动免费,因席位有限,请务必尽早注册预留席位。 For guests (not presenters) without registration a processing fee of 100 rmb is applied.
If you are interest to be co-organizers & co-presenters, please contact with us. 如果您有兴趣成为活动组织的志愿者, 请随时和我们联系。(伟保罗, QQ 908781544)
Location 场地
ThoughtWorks, Rm 1105 Guohua Plaza, No.3 Dongzhimen South St, Dongcheng District, Beijing (DongZhiMen Subway station, exit D)
北京市东城区东直门南大街3号国华投资大厦1105室ThoughtWorks (地铁东直门站D口)
Contact organizer if you want to join via WebEx.
Possibly Internet broadcast.
Date and Time 时间
Saturday, June 29th 8:45am-6pm 6月29号 周六 8:45点到6点
Compare time http://time.is/compare/0900_29_June_2013_in_Beijing/CET/London/New_York
Please come before 9am to take better seat and have conversation with other attendees. 请9点之前来拿跟好的椅子,给参加者聊聊。
For smaller DemoCamp on June 20th, see Beijing Thursday.
此外,我们将在6月20日在北京举办DemoCamp活动,详细内容请见 Beijing Thursday.
Organizers 组织者
- Actuate Software (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Actuate founded and co-leads the BIRT open source project, which is used by 2 million developers around the globe and serves as the foundation of the ActuateOne® platform. 安讯软件(上海)有限公司。安迅创立并共同引导开发了 BIRT 开源项目,该方案目前正被全球超过 200 万开发人员使用,并被用作 ActuateOne® 平台的基础。
- Beijing JVMs and Node.js User Groups (Java, Groovy, Scala, Android, JavaScript)
- Paul Verest Paul Verest +86 187 01029146, QQ 908781544 Software Architect at Funshion风行在线
- Jin Mingjian, 金明剑, Member of Technical Staff, Oracle Beijing Reasearch and Development Center (as individual),blog
- ThoughtWorks, Global leading customized enterprise software design and delivery company.
Sponsors 赞助
Call for support
Eclipse Day China is 2 weeks away. We have venue, 99 registered, 22 presenters, 5 organizers and 2 volunteers... But no sponsors (except for Eclipse itself).
This is call for support!
Half of Eclipse members are in China or have big Chinese clients. Please support Chinese Eclipse event as you do elsewhere.
There is no minimum requirement. We don't really need much money (only snacks, best presenter & topics awards, maybe some lucky draw for 50$ present, etc) Help as much as you can. The most important is that you show support for Eclipse.
We still have 2-3 presentation slots left. Welcome if you have something to say to Eclipse Community in China!
And finally, it will be great joy if we find venue sponsor to hold up to 200-300 software developers and architects !
距离Eclipse Day China活动还有2周时间,我们已经有99名注册人员, 22名演讲人,5家合作主办公司,2名志愿者, 我们需要更多的赞助.
近一半的Eclipse成员在中国, 或者拥有庞大的中国客户。 请尽您所能支持中国Eclipse活动。
赞助没有金额限制,我们目前只是需要小额赞助(例如:午餐、饮料、奖品-最佳演讲者&最佳演讲内容,或者幸运抽奖)。任何金额的赞助对我们来说都是非常重要的, 代表着您对Eclipse的支持。
我们还有2-3个演讲席位, 如果您有兴趣, 欢迎您的加入!
This Eclipse Day will be promoted by the Eclipse Foundation
- Eclipse Foundation is a not-for-profit, member supported corporation that hosts the open-source Eclipse Projects.
Lucky draw prize BlackBerry Q10 is provided by BlackBerry Company
幸运抽奖奖品是BlackBerry公司赞助的黑莓手机Q10一部。 适用于6月18日之前注册的.
If you or your company would like to sponsor the venue, drinks & snacks, broadband Internet for the event please get in touch with Paul Verest +86 187 01029146. Paul Verest @ or
We will put or logo here and amount donated. There is no minimum requirement. Help so much as you can.The most important is that you show support for Eclipse
If we have money left, we will return or donate to Eclipse (or next event) as you wish.
Eclipse Foundation为非盈利机构,如果您或您的公司希望能提供场地,饮料,零食 或者互联网赞助(ISP)或者其它任何赞助,请联系伟保罗, QQ 908781544 。
Agenda 议程
See also http://eclipse-china.github.io/Day/
- Opening 开场致辞
- Topics 主题演讲
- Track Session 1分论坛1: Hackathon run in parallel 主题和编程马拉松
- Track Session 2分论坛2: Eclipse深层技术探讨
- Best presenter & best content awards 最佳主持人和最佳内容奖. Lucky draw prize Blackberry Q10 (for those registered before June 18th)
- Closing 结束
- Karaoke if you want (not organized)
Hackathon 编程马拉松
为了方便,我们为本次Eclipse Day及编程马拉松活动设置了专门的页面,相关详细请参阅Eclipse编程马拉松的活动页面。 See more informations of Eclipse Hackathon at http://eclipse-china.github.io/hackathon/hackathon_beijing_2013.html
对于有关活动的任何问题、建议和想法,欢迎直接向本次Eclipse编程马拉松协调人金明剑[1]或者本页面上的其他组织者发信。 This hackathon will be hosted by one of co-organizers, Jin Mingjian. If you have any suggestions, ideas or questions, don't hesitate to sent emails to him [2] or other organizers on this page.
Topics and Speakers
Time slot duration is 30 minutes (including Q&A, preparation for next presenter). We run 2 demo tracks + Hackathon track.
- Eclipse organization, members and projects (中文)| Eclipse组织和项目介绍 (15 min)
- Eclipse VJET(中文) Justin Early, Jianfeng Liu
- Open source story Nodeclipse | 在Eclipse开发Node.js (中文) by 高洋 或者Lamb from 用友汽车 http://www.yonyou.com/
- "Modeling and Programming going hand in hand with UML Lab - an Eclipse-based Modeling IDE" by Manuel Bork, Yatta Solutions --remote
- Eclipse Java IDE Tips and Tricks (How to work more effectively) by Rabea Gransberger (20-60 min, MESZ friendly time-slot needed) --remote
- "Eclipse 4 Programming Model" (中文) by Jin Mingjian
- Development of Embedded Systems with eTrice http://www.eclipse.org/etrice/ by Thomas Schuetz, http://www.protos.de (30 min) --remote
- Implementing complex graphical editors with model-driven technologies | 使用模型驱动技术实现图形编辑器 by Andreas Graf (戈安迪), itemis.com --remote 4pm
- Internal DSLs with Xtend, by Karsten Thoms and Moritz Eysholdt, itemis.com --remote
- JRebel plugin for Eclipse by Anton Arhipov, Zeroturnaround.com --remote 5:30pm
- Moved to Beijing Thursday "Implementing Mobile Business Applications with Eclipse Scout", by Matthias Zimmermann, BSI Business Systems Integration AG (15-20min) --remote
- Eclipse ADT (Android Development Tools) by 杨光福 (25min), see ADT Bundle
- Talend Big Data Open Solution (中文) (Chen Bin, Liu Wu)
- How to use Eclipse to write and debug Groovy scripts on a live web application, Giampiero Granatella ManyDesigns --remote
- Using the Eclipse Java Development Tools (JDT) to analyze source code by Trent Hoeppner, IBM China
- 基于Eclipse的BIRT (BIRT on Eclipse), (中文) by 刘叶, Actuate Software China (30min)
- 如何用BIRT创建应用 (How to Build Application on BIRT), (中文) by 朱倩, Actuate Software China (30min)
- Eclipse Momentics IDE to create awesome BlackBerry mobile apps by Ekkehard Gentz (20min) Independent SoftwareArchitect, Consultant, Speaker, Trainer. BlackBerry Elite. http://appbus.org --remote
- Maven Integration in Eclipse overview (m2e/m2e-wtp) by Fred Bricon, Red Hat, Inc. --remote
- Refactoring on Eclipse(About refactoring guidelines and demonstrate examples using Eclipse's refactoring tool), by 李彦辉, ThoughtWorks
- 基于Eclipse Debug Framework 的流程编辑器调试功能的实现(Implementing debug functionality for process editor based on Eclipse Debug Framework), by 孙镌宸, ThoughtWorks
- Getting started with Spring Tool Suite (English|中文) by Michael Isvy, APJ Education Manager at Pivotal (SpringSource)
Remote sessions via WebEx
12:15-12:45 M 18. Eclipse Momentics IDE by Ekkehard Gentz
14:00-14:30 O 4. "Modeling and Programming .. by Manuel Bork
14:00-14:30 P 7. Development of Embedded ... by Thomas Schuetz (Track 2)
14:30-15:00 Q 5. Eclipse Java IDE .. by Rabea Gransberger
15:00-15:30 S 19. Maven Integration.. by Fred Bricon
16:00-16:30 U 8. Implementing complex graphical ... by Andreas Graf (戈安迪)
16:00-16:30 V 14. Groovy ... Giampiero Granatella (Track 2)
16:30-17:00 W 9. Internal DSLs with Xtend, by Karsten Thoms and Moritz Eysholdt
17:00-17:30 Y 10. JRebel plugin for Eclipse by Anton Arhipov
Limited number of guests (up to 10) can join remotely. Contact organizers.
You should mute yourself and turn off video if you are not presenting.
Lucky draw prize Blackberry Q10 (for those registered before June 18th)
Details | 详细信息
If you added your demo to the list above, please add a short abstract to this list so people know what you will be talking about.
- 4 Modeling and Programming going hand in hand with UML Lab - an Eclipse-based Modeling IDE (by Manuel Bork, Yatta Solutions)
- Model-based software development automates boilerplate code writing by code generation, but restricts developers - often severely - when it comes to manual editing and refactoring at code level. Not so with UML Lab. UML Lab is based on Eclipse RCP and is deeply integrated into the Eclipse IDE. It re-uses existing technologies and combines them in a new, productive way. In the demo I'll show how UML Lab seamlessly combines modeling and coding with an intuitive UML diagram editor and next-gen round-trip engineering. I'll start with importing a legacy software project to get a nice UML class diagram and continue editing model and source code - each operation updates the other instantly. I'll show how to gain overview by reverse engineering, boost your productivity by combining modeling with coding and utilize the full potential of model-based software development through truly agile modeling and programming.
- 5 Eclipse Tips & Tricks by Rabea Gransberger (@rgransberger)
- You don't want your IDE to propose java.awt.List as import when you need java.util.List? This talk will show you how to get rid of the proposal and how to use your IDE effectively to concentrate on your work.It will cover the most interesting features from Eclipse as Java IDE. Their default settings give you a good start but there is a lot more to discover to make you more productive. This includes syntax highlighting, editor, compiler and code completion settings. In addition we will try-out the most useful refactoring actions and shortcuts. After this talk you have an overview on how to setup your IDE in a way which will support your working style and will make you complete your work much faster.
- Short Version of DevoxxUK Talk: http://www.devoxx.com/display/UK13/Effective+IDE+Usage
- 6 Eclipse 4 Programming Model by Jin Mingjian
- 7 Development of Embedded Systems with eTrice by Thomas Schuetz, Protos, eTrice
- The Eclipse project eTrice, a sub project of the Model Development Tools, delivers an implementation of the ROOM (Real-Time Object Oriented Modeling) language together with textual and graphical editors, code generators for Java, C and C++ and target middleware.
- After an introduction of eTrice and ROOM I will do a little Tool Demo.
- 8 Implementing complex graphical editors with model-driven technologies by Andreas Graf, Itemis.de, http://www.weibo.com/grafandreas
- Eclipse is not only used as a platform for software engineering, but also for systems engineering. A number of graphical notations for these disciplines exists, but especially for the newest approaches graphical editors are few (EAST-ADL, AUTOSAR). In this talk we will show how we used model driven technologies (Xtext, Xtend) to efficiently create a number of graphical editors based on Graphiti. The technology implemented in the IMES research project is a good demonstration on how custom DSLs improve your development process. Six different graphical editors are all concisely described with a domain specific language (different from the Spray! project), making refactoring, bug fixing and implementation of new features very efficient.
- 9 Internal DSLs with Xtend, by Karsten Thoms and Moritz Eysholdt, itemis.com
- Xtend, Eclipse's new statically typed programming language for the JVM, offers many possibilities for developing very concise and declarative APIs - aka internal Domain-Specific-Languages (DSL). Xtend compiles to readable Java source code, allowing bi-directional integration with existing code which runs on any JVM.
- After giving a short explanation about the differences between external and internals DSLs we will show some real-world examples. These examples will reach from significantly increasing the conciseness of your code over automating design patterns to operator overloading. You will learn how Xtend can be integrated into your projects seamlessly.
- 14 How to use Eclipse to write and debug Groovy scripts on a live web application by Giampiero Granatella ManyDesigns (20 min)
- This presentation shows our real-life experience using Eclipse in our projects to get the most out of Groovy's flexibility on live deployed applications.
- The traditional development of a web application in Eclipse requires a first phase of creating/editing the web project and a second phase of deployment on an application server such as Tomcat.
- This has two drawbacks:
- redeployment is slow;
- this life cycle doesn't take advantage of Groovy's capability to be edited and reloaded on the fly on live systems.
- In this talk we propose the idea of creating a project that points directly to the web application running under Tomcat. The separation between source files and deployed files disappears, changing the traditional java web application life cycle.
- Therefore we can harness the power of the IDE (above all debugging) and to maintain the capability to make changes on the live system without redeploy.
- During the demo we are going to show a case study based on an application for Funded Projects management currently in use by an Italian major research organization .
- http://www.manydesigns.com/en/blog/eclipse-groovy-debug
- 15 Using the Eclipse Java Development Tools (JDT) to analyze source code by Trent Hoeppner
- I will first go over the features of the JDT, then explain the basic structure. I will then walk through some demo code that analyzes a Java source file and can makes some changes.
- 18 Eclipse Momentics IDE to create awesome mobile apps ekke demonstrates How to create an app from scratch: covers UI, business logic and deployment to BlackBerry 10 device
- ekke (Ekkehard Gentz)
- Independent SoftwareArchitect, Consultant, Speaker, Trainer. BlackBerry Elite. International Development Mobile Apps for BlackBerry 10: http://appbus.org
- blog: http://ekkes-corner.org Twitter: @ekkescorner
- 22 Getting started with Spring Tool Suite (English|中文) by Michael Isvy, APJ Education Manager at Pivotal (SpringSource)
- Michael will be conducting a demo-oriented presentation. He will be walking you through STS so you can understand Spring support for Eclipse, based on the most common Spring features: XML configuration, annotations, refactoring of Spring beans, Aspect Oriented Programming.
想了解多一点儿?become co-presenter! 需要和演讲人活动之前沟通,跟多学会,准备一起讲。
Who Is Attending | 谁参加?怎么注册?
The maximum number of attendees (including speakers) was 100. The registration is still open. Thanks to ThoughtWorks.
- https://dev.eclipse.org/site_login/ 注册, 然后Edit本网页,加自己到下面的列表
- http://democampbeijing2013.eventbrite.com
- 或者在 微博活动网页 报名.
- 或者在 http://www.31huiyi.com/event/86173/ 报名,都可以。
因场地有限, 请注册预留席位。注册参会优先进入。
If you plan on attending please add your name and company to the list below:
- Paul Verest, Funshion Online (presenter, organizer)
- Jin Mingjian, Oracle BDC(Beijing Development Center) (presenter, organizer, hackathon lead)
- Michael Isvy, Spring Source (presenter)
- Trent Hoeppner, IBM China (presenter)
- Tony 牛同庆, 移动项目经理,风行网
- Rob Stryker, Red Hat
- Jacky Chen, [3]
- Song He ,中科软,程序员
- ...
Registered on EventBrite 24
Registered on Weibo 19
Registered on 31huiyi 81
Registered via BSCMG (names only) 5
- Mj Watty Jang
- 李新耸
- Zilong Chen
- C Sudama +1
remotely (no service guarantees, Internet service provider needed)
- Peter Cheng
- Andreas Graf, itemis AG
- Manuel Bork, Yatta Solutions via http://join.me/
- Giampiero Granatella ManyDesigns
News 新闻
We got official Eclipse Day status on May 24th. The old DemoCamp page (with almost 3000 views) is Eclipse_DemoCamps_Kepler_2013/Beijing.
Marketplace Installs by Country April 10th 2013:
Chinese PC market is now the biggest in the world. China takes PC crown from US, euronews
ZDNet | China IT outsourcing to be 'next India'
For Bloggers and Users of Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Weibo, Weixin etc.
In case you plan to blog or tweet about the Eclipse Day China in Beijing, please use the tags #eclipse and #democampbeijing in order to make it easier to find all the comments and pictures. Thanks a lot for telling the world about the event! | 请用#eclipse#和#democampbeijing#标签微博一下。
Eclipse中国QQ群 321486747


text:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
WTF Sewing Moment on Glee
So, Rachel walked into rehearsal all Gaga-fied, but her get-up was lame. It basically involved stuffed animals stuck haphazardly onto her dress. For the record, I personally didn't think it was so bad. She was working it with the red pumps. And also, it facilitated Kurt's awesome line, "We have a jumper!" when a stuffed froggy fell off. Anyway, her excuse for the supposed lameness? "My dads don't sew."
But it got worse. Rachel went to find her bio mom (played by Idina Menzel), while wearing a huge cape that was way more of a mistake that the Gaga outfit, and once again gave the sob story about her dads' lack of sewing ability, and then whined: "I really need a mom right now." Did anyone else find this a tad troubling?
On one hand, it does gel with my childhood experience. Not the two dads part, but the having a mom who sews part. I was theatrically inclined myself, and my poor mother was sweet enough to make dozens of costumes. (Or was it hundreds, Mom? Bye Bye Birdie? The King and I? Oy!) But on the other hand, I sometimes feel that Glee gave Rachel two dads as a kind of punchline. After all, we've never met them and this is a show where many of the other character's parents have supporting roles. And then to add insult to injury, they kind of throw the dads under the bus just because they can't sew. (Just like a man to not be able to sew! God!)
Sure, maybe Rachel needed a mom right then. But because she needed someone to sew for her? Humph. Way to really cement that gender role! Especially in the midst of a show that had a really nice storyline about combatting stereotypes and homophobia.
Now, people tell me I overthink things a lot, and this could potentially be one of those moments. I'm not really terribly outraged by it. And there was a sweet moment when Rachel came into a subsequent rehearsal wearing a killer outfit, and then proclaimed proudly, "My mom made it for me." But the earlier dialogue was definitely a WTF moment for me in an otherwise awesome and emotional episode.
And also: it was about sewing. And I know you guys like to talk about that sometimes.
30 comments:
Most of my ex-boyfriends knew how to sew. A couple even had a sewing machine or used mine once or twice. Not that they ever whipped up a shirt or anything very interesting. They could sew a seam back together though, or hem pants.
Meanwhile, I have ONE girl friend who knows how. Most girls I know don't even hem their own pants. Some can't even sew on a button. Honestly, I don't know a single guy who would admit to NOT being able to sew on a button.
Never watched Glee, but I agree that comment was silly.While not directly related to your gender question, I was disturbed with the idea that anyone could sew an outfit that complicated in an hour or so. That idea seems commonplace in television shows and movies. Poof! Intensely-constructed, time-consuming sewing projects just appear magically.
ReplyDelete"Glee" is perhaps the first show I ever loved and hated at exactly the same time. I love it for the campy musical numbers, the ridiculously talented cast, the extremely quotable one-liners ("Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?").
However, I absolutely can not stand "Glee" for its desperate need to reinforce stereotypes -- and not just about mothers and sewing. All kinds of gender roles and stereotypes are aggressively enforced on the show, and in a really shallow and clichéd way.
But I just can't stop watching the damn show. Their "Bad Romance" performance was SOLID GOLD.It seemed like a disconnect to me as well. Yes, they are men and statistically less likely to know how to sew, even being gay men. However, considering how involved and supportive they have been with Rachel's singing aspirations, it seems like at some point they would have had to make her costumes for something, necessitating some basic sewing skills.
However, I can dig how making the gay dads fabulous seamstresses might also be kind of trite and stereotypical, so it's sort of a more liberating choice to make the gay dads clueless about sewing. And, of course, it gave Rachel a reason to go ask her mom for help.
But then we had Kurt's dad's awesome speech in defense of his gay son, so am happy to let the non-sewing gay dads slide in trade for that.I've been bothered by the absence of the dads too, and the "My Dads can't sew" line really bugged me. Also when Rachel talked about the glass of water while she's sad thing-- And how now she's all mixed up and can't tell if she's sad or thirsty. I just feel like the dads are a punch line. So many other parents on the show have at least had cameos.
Way back in the beginning when Rachel mentioned that she had two Dads, it was treated like it was no big deal. I thought the show seemed like a good opportunity to show that her dads were just her parents, and the fact that they happened to be two men wasn't a factor, but that hasn't really happened. Kinda disappointing.
But then again, they could have gone with the "gay men are all theatrical and artsy and of course they know how to sew." Which would also have been stereotyping!I have to admit, I have yet to watch an episode of Glee, but all your posts about the style and such have got me curious. ;) (Even though... *coughcough* I must admit I rather hate musical things--of the full length film or tv sort! rofl.)
On the topic of dads who can't sew... I have to agree with the other commenters who pointed out that having gay men be handy in the sewing department would have been terribly predictable/stereotypical. (Thinking about it... most of my gay male friends/acquaintances throughout my life have been artsy, but not necessarily talented or knowledgeable in the area of sewing.) Even though the fact that her mom sews is somewhat cliche, at least the script writers decided to throw viewers for a bit of a non-stereotypical loop by characterizing the dads as less the usual, media-driven picture of a gay male (over the top, fashionista, etc.).
Just my $0.02.;)
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com- AnonymousMay 26, 2010 at 7:23 AM
Never take anything on TV that serious..it's just entertainment..just enjoy it ;-) You can relax and just enjoy the music and the costumes without getting caught up in the symbolism.
ReplyDelete Now... I've never watched Glee. Maybe I'll start next season. But... I have a confession to make. I've been sewing for 20 years and I never made a buttonhole until my Dad died three years ago and it was because he did all mine and my mom's buttonholes. Heck, until five years ago, I never even threaded my own sewing machine--my dad did that, too!
Mom taught all my brothers at least how to mend things and sew on buttons. Not that they actually do it--they give the stuff to me because they say I'm better at it!
OTOH, my sister-in-law can't sew on a button, and my sister has delusions of sewing grandeur. She's bought all the stuff, claims to be able to sew, but has only ever made one thing in her life and that was with my mom standing over her shoulder.
It's not a matter of gender; it's a matter of what you're taught at home. My sister-in-law's mother didn't sew, so my sister-in-law doesn't sew. My mom did some and taught me, but my sisters weren't all that interested, though they and my brothers can mend things.
Me, well, I took to sewing. I'm feeling nostalgic this week because I've returned to not only my sewing roots but probably the sewing roots of generations of women--doll clothes. My niece's birthday is next week and I'm giving her clothes to go with the dolly my grandmother bought her.I didn't take the comment the same way you did I think. I love Glee for busting stereotypes and I found the Dads comment to be another component of that. I think gay fathers who could sew would be more of a stereotype than the comment was, sewing being viewed as a typically feminine role.
I agree I would like to see more of Rachel's fathers in the story line but I'm sure it is a tricky line to walk, as evidenced by the comment we're discussing. I'm sure when the writers do bring them in, it's going to be fantastic!
~Kelli @ SmidgensI am not a fan of the "Glee," I endured one show of Ryan Murphy disappointing me after season 2, I will not go there again. Not to mention, for as much as I love musical theatre, I really dislike the way the kids on "Glee" sing.
I think the stereotype cuts both ways, but knowing Murphy's writing, chances are he just didn't really care and wanted to use it as a plot device. Not sure if that makes it better or worse...
For what it is worth, my mom still does my hemming, but she can't use a machine to save her life. My father sort of mends things like a drunk blind man. So I guess they sort of reinforce the stereo type.I'm with you, Gertie. I found the gender stereotyping to be jarring, especially as someone whose mother doesn't sew. She learnt in school but doesn't remember anything. When I asked her about interfacing when I was learning she said, 'I don't think they had that back then'.
Everyone has good points about the potential stereotyping of gay dads who are amazing at sewing, but if the dads were able to sew just not spectacularly well this could have been pretty easily avoided.- AnonymousMay 26, 2010 at 12:54 PM
both my husband and i are getting a little tired in general of TV decpiting men as beer swilling, grill happy, engine obsessed, inept DOLTS.
it's not terribly pleasing to watch Madison Avenue and Hollywood attempt to identify men by the lowest common denominator of all stereotypes, instead of portraying men on these shows as something to aspire to, and be proud of.
Just as with women, then are a million different permutations of men. It's insulting to our intelligence in general to depict men, and boys, as automatons whose only skills seem to be based in absolute oblivion.
i don't watch Glee. I don't watch TV that much anymore in general. it's kind of a special night kind of thing. Write to the creators and the networks. They need to hear all of you.
EAC - AnonymousMay 26, 2010 at 2:05 PM
I've grown up with a dad who sews and a mum who can sew but doesn't choose to (she gets my dad or me to do alterations instead!) so it's never been a big deal to me. More often than not, most people don't sew anymore anyway, regardless of gender.
Although, having said that, the thing that has always bugged me is in single sex schools they do reinforce the stereotype girls cook/sew and boys don't, by not having food/textile lessons available in boys schools. In my experience that is (I went to an all-girls and my brother goes to an all-boys) and it may vary elsewhere in the country/world, so feel free to disagree with me.
Hmm, anyway, that is perhaps not wholly relevant to the glee point, but it's always seemed a tad problematic to me. I like the thoughts of folks on here. I'm with Kelli, tho. If the dads were gay AND sewed, that would have been a little over the top. Also, the writers needed Rachel to go back to her mom to reconnect, so why not over the need for a fabulous Gaga costume?
I'm really hoping we'll get to "meet" Rachel's dads, tho. Casting would be a HOOT.
Also, just wanted to add a little "Woo Hoo!" for Curt's dad. His speech to Finn was amazing.- AnonymousMay 26, 2010 at 5:32 PM
Ha, I had the exact same WTF moment when I saw it, and actually thought to myself "I wonder if Gertie will bring it up on her blog?" Guides honour I did.
I will also confess that one of my firts, knee-jerk reaction thoughts was "her dads are gay, can't they sew?" But if the message was to break down stereotypes it was pretty conflicted by suggesting that mom/woman = ability to sew.
I was, like Amanda, annoyed with the constant projection by TV/movies that sewing something elaborate happens instantaeously. I really think this may have a hand in why the craft continues to be generally undervalued in our culture. It's made to seem overly simplistic and that cheezes me off.
That said, I just can't get enough of Glee. I came late to the party courtesy of a cross-continental flight in April and ended up buying the first season because I didn't want to wait for the discs to come back to the video rental store. And while I'm not terribly familiar with the whole Lady Gaga thing, I really enjoyed her as this week's theme. I didn't feel odd about either biological parent/ability to sew. I was frustrated (as others have mentioned) about the seeming ability to construct a well-fitted strapless dress with all of those extra details nearly instantaneously.
Hello? it would take an hour just to buy the fabric, for crying out loud! I mean, they supposedly live in Lima, Ohio!
Now, it would have been more authentic (and more realistic) if Rachel had reported that her mom found her the dress in the costume closet.I'll start off by saying how much I love your blog. It's been an enormous source of inspiration as I sew on my own projects. As far as the Glee episode goes, I've yet to see it (iTunes will soon resolve this minor detail! Hehe) but the logic behind Rachel's line DOES seem a bit redundant. I don't think the ability to sew is contingent on sex - most of my girlfriends can't sew, and when I expressed an interest in sewing my own mother tried to dissuade me b/c it wasn't as prestigious as, say, medicine (though her mom, my grandmother, was a seamstress).
ReplyDeleteGertie, I wanted to come back to this and comment again because it bothered me all night (yes, I'm anal like that) that I left out the second half of the stereotype, namely that the mother could sew.
Once again, I didn't take this as a stereotyped comment on women. I assumed Shelby would need to know how to sew in order to design the costumes for Vocal Adrenaline.
Ok, got that off my chest, I can now quit thinking about it and singing Gaga all day. Phew!Wow Gertie! I thought the exact same thing!!! She needs a mom TO SEW?! Seriously?
Glee has more and more rubbed me the wrong way. The morality messages coupled with the hit-over-your-head messages about acceptance, love, etc are really quite annoying. And then they go and make some comment about how Rachel needs a mom to sew a costume. Way to be hypocritical. I guess I keep watching because I LOVE Sue and I keep hoping the show will get better....I admit the gay Dads not being able to sew went completely over my head, I didn't know that was a stereotype. What bugged me was Rachael walks in saying, "we stayed up all night coming up with a costume that represents my missed childhood" (or something to that effect) in my mind that meant her Dads cared about her enough to staple beanie babies to her outfit in an attempt to help her make her statement. When she gets her Mom to help her make the outfit it is a rockin' outfit but it doesn't say ANYTHING, it doesn't make a statement. That bugged me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the episode yet (I fancy Glee, but don't even have french TV), but what surprises me till now is rather the fact Rachel always mentions her dads at plural. When it's an equivalent for 'my parents', that's really OK to me, but when it comes to their skills, It makes them sound like Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.
Most of the commenters mentioned people of both genders, able to sew or not. Why would both her fathers be unable to sew as if the fact they're of the same gender would make them identical on every other point, including personnal skills? But, yes, making them both able to sew would have been just as silly...
Btw, if Kurt doesn't have a mother, does it mean he sewed his costume himself, or did his Dad sew it for him? I'd love to know!Actually the moment that got me (and took be out of the story) was that she goes to this woman she just meet and asks her to sew her costume.
One: Is that what you should do when your BRAND new relationship is on shaky legs? Two: How in the earth did Shelby do that outfit in one night...it wasn't simple. HUGE Three: Didn't she just give away that her glee club was also doing something on Lady GaGa even though they just got caught spying. There was no logic to that seen, she could have at least said my mom bought me something?I feel the whole thing makes sense. If, in fact, Rachel's mom is the director of Vocal Adrenaline, which she is, she would have an entire costume shop at her disposal. I was in theater a lot in high school and I know that to make a costume look fantastic (as Rachel's did) you don't necessarily need to be able to sew. If you have pieces that work together (like a dress that can be re-purposed), cardboard, tape, glue and scissors you can make a fabulous costume in just a few hours...I had quite a few costumes with glitter glue instead of beads, taped hems, and safety pinned waists that looked incredible on and amazing on stage.
ReplyDeleteso...i just discovered your blog, and it's great (sewing, feminism, retro clothes - it's such a winning combination). hi.
glee is also a guilty pleasure of mine (and i may need to make quin's entire outfit for the gaga episode. and carry some sort of lethal-looking star with me everywhere) but they've let me down so many times where feminism is concerned...for example, remember the madonna episode, where at the end finn is all respectful and 'you can make your own choices about who you date' to rachel...and then spoils it completely by telling jessie he 'won't make any moves on his girl'? yes. for a mainstream show that markets itself as pc, it really fails on the feminism.


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