Stop this Beauty Madness

The other day, I was reading news online and scrolling down Lupita’s pictures, a ten year old cousin of mine loath fully said, eeeeee she is ugly! And I abruptly said, “No she is not”. Later on I felt, to some extent we are responsible for what the kid believes. She only follows our stereotype of beauty.
I have quoted this instance for recently coming across a campaign “Stop the beauty madness” launched by “Be Who You Are productions” with the aim of breaking universal beauty stereotypes.

I am not sure how many of you happened to catch a glimpse of this campaign, but it made me rethink my perception of beauty. What caught my attention is the point that conventionally, social change endeavors focus on "how should we behave" instead of reminding us “how do we behave”-something very well conveyed through this campaign. The message is blunt, and rightly hit a nerve with the jarred images. Though the campaign targets stereotypes most prevailing in the west, but at some point, we also must have stumbled on these clichés. After all, labeling beauty is a universal habit. So let’s have a look.

I am glad someone is saying all this out loud. This campaign is explicit, and intense, but honest at the same time as it encourages women to love and accept themselves the way they are.

Grumpy yet Endearing-A viral success story

She is crotchety yet genuine, apparently a little grim yet fuzzy, and most of all grumpy yet endearing, yes! She is the famous grumpy cat who became a viral sensation in no time.

*Trivialtrivia does not own this image

Ever wonder how a mere cat won internet?

Tabatha Bundesen who lives outside of Phoenix own Grumpy. In 2012, Tabatha’s brother posted a video of Grumpy out of fun but the video went viral with 1.5 million people watching it within 16 hours of its launch on YouTube.  Ever since the ironic grumpy has been loved and followed by millions of people. Gradually, a whole bunch of grumpy accessories were also launched ranging from grumpy T shirts, cards, and a book named “Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book: Disgruntled Tips and Activities Designed to Put a Frown on Your Face” (my, my, envy grumpy? I do).

The success did not come to halt just after million likes, but the all so frowny cat brought forth an endorsement with Friskies (a premium cat food brand).  Since then, grumpy, no less than a brand, has collaborated with larger companies to promote various accessories.  Countless orders have come in for the Grumpy cat stuffed animal which will be released in USA soon.

 Grumpy is now so famous that she had to hire herself a manager, Ben lashes, who does not only look after the social media but also handles endorsements and public appearances of Grumpy. Grumpy is soon to be a Hollywood sensation most (probably leaving Angelina behind), as she is one of the few ones enjoying a lead character in “Lil Bub and Friends, a documentary about a kitten born to a feral mother. The documentary was premiered at the Tribeca Film festival Film festival in April 2013. Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that grumpy is no less than an icon and our very own “Manhoos billi” is also a replica inspired by the sullen grumpy cat I believe.

So what does the success story of grumpy tell you? To me, the message is clear. If you are grumpy and you know it, you should not care!

P.S ever wonder what is grumpy's real name? It’s Tardar Sauce! Well I am not sure how to pronounce Tardar!

GEEKY CULINARY DELIGHT

How would you like to have meat for your scrumptious homemade kebabs coming from a lab instead of meat market? Sounds gross or electrifying? A little of both to me.

Well, this may happen in the near future. The news just struck me today that a team of Dutch scientist successfully produced meat in a Petri dish. The process goes on like this:

From the animal muscle tissues, stem cells are collected which are then fed nutrients to help them grow. The already tripled millions of these cells are then contained into a Petri dish where they are turned into small pieces of muscles and finally into frozen pellets. After having enough quantity, these muscles are deforested and compacted into a petty to be cooked.

 courtesy, http://www.washingtonpost.com, 2013, (blog) 

Here you go! Bon appétit Iron free, protein free and fat free meat, which must be good news for half of self inflicted fat deprived us.

The aim of scientist seems undoubtedly simple, that is: achieving the good of environment and economy, where rearing and slaughtering of animals is costly. Besides, the current worldwide meat production is on the verge of achieving its maximum capacity and standing in need of alternatives. However, it will still take twenty more years to have lab meat available at supermarket shelves. Right now, we can only anticipate if the morsels of this cultured meat are actually socially and economically approved of  in both Eastern and Western societies. Till then, savor your mouths with “nature made” meat as much as you can (no offense to those on diet)! And me? I think I just lost appétit; for meat at least, for a while!