Jun 29, 2011

What do Vegans Eat?

Mneme, editor of German blog consume. be silent. die. has listed her favorite vegan foods and beverages and has encouraged her readers to do the same. I'm not a full vegan, but a vegetarian who has, besides meat, stopped buying eggs, milk and cheese for home-use - so I thought I might still be eligible to participate. The list you'll find after the jump is obviously incomplete (I do not only eat that!) and has not been sponsored in any way.

Jun 28, 2011

For German Readers: Blogs als Mittel zum Zweck?

Auf meinem Facebook-Account habe ich mich gestern mit der Frage "Produkttests auf GCB - ja oder nein?" beschäftigt - und heute früh passend zum Thema das untenstehende Interview mit Vasco Sommer gefunden. Zufällig flatterte mir eben auch noch ein Rant von Luciana Schmidt in den RSS-Reader: Unter der herzig daherkommenden Überschrift Ein bisschen Kritik ♥ lässt die Beauty-Bloggerin ordentlich Dampf ab. Sie beschwert sich über den "Ich will, ich will"-Grundsatz der Bettelblogger, die alle Nase lang inhaltsleere Schrottblogs erschaffen, um Gratiskosmetik abzustauben. Für alle, die denken, dass ein guter Blog durchaus in fünf Minuten gewuppt werden kann, beschreibt Lu noch einmal, wieviel Arbeit hinter ihrem steckt - satte zehn Stunden am Tag! - und was ihrer Meinung nach guten Content ausmacht: Thematische Abwechslung, ehrliche Statements und eine zugrundeliegende Motivation, die über "Leser- und Produktgeilheit" hinausgeht. 
Photo: Lu zieht an
Da ich mir der Problematik, die Lu da benennt, durchaus bewusst bin, hat es mich umso mehr überrascht, dass mich fast alle von Euch, die sich gestern auf meiner Wall in die Diskussion eingebracht haben, dazu ermutigt haben, bei Gelegenheit ruhig auch Produkte zu besprechen, die mich interessieren. Unter anderem wurde darauf hingewiesen, dass kluge Vermarktung meines Mediums mein gutes Recht sei, und sogar darauf, dass ich im Grunde mit meinen Linkempfehlungen ebendies bereits mache, bloß unentgeltlich.

Mich freut das natürlich, denn obwohl derzeit nichts Konkretes ansteht, ist gut zu wissen, dass Ihr für derartige Experimente offen wärt. Ich kann Euch auch beruhigen: Schminke gehört definitiv nicht zu meinen Hauptinteressen. Ich hatte eher an geschlechtsneutrale Produkte und technische Geräte gedacht. Mal sehen, ob und was daraus wird, in Lus Risikogruppe der gierigen Null-Reflektion-Blogger dürfte ich mich mit GCB ja eigentlich nicht bewegen. ;)

For German Readers: 40% der deutschen User lesen Blogs!

Via: Robert Basic
Ein spannendes Interview zur Rettung des Blogaggregators Rivva und der Rolle, die Blogs in der deutschen Werbelandschaft spielen (sollten), findet Ihr bei Robert Basic. Er hat sich mit Vasco Sommer von Mokono unterhalten, einer Berliner Firma, die nach wie vor BloggerInnen sucht, die sich für die Monetarisierung ihrer Inhalte interessieren. Wichtiger Fakt: Über 20 Mio. deutsche Internetnutzer lesen regelmäßig Blogs - das sind mehr als 40% der Menschen, die sich hierzulande im Netz bewegen. Wow, das sind viele! ;)

Jun 27, 2011

GCB Archives: June 2010

In June 2010, I introduced to you Anna, who cycles the world one city at a time, Pharmama, a Swiss pharmacist and mother, philosopher and linguist Lara Ghazal, famous Japanese chef Makiko Itoh, media scientist Daniela Reimann, fashion blog-icon Blica, and "Gespenst der Armut" Elke Brüns.

June was also a pretty good month music-wise, with, for example, Swedish-Ugandian artist Jaqee performing one of my favorite songs on here ever: Pink Drunken Elephant in an acoustic version. What a cool summer tune! If you're interested, please find all of June 2010's posts here.

Jun 26, 2011

Simone Fust of Pferdemaedchen


Today, please meet Simone Fust of Pferdemaedchen - the first horseback riding blog for urban grown-ups I've come across.

If you'd like to find out more about the pro's and con's of content management system Drupal, what blogging and making movies have in common, and what future plans Simone has for her blog, please follow the jump!


Jun 25, 2011

As a Woman in My 40s...

Photo: Source
Back in 2007 I felt almost proud when Britney, apparently on the verge of a nervous breakdown, shaved her head bald. Finally, she was doing her own thing - if only for five minutes.

Jun 22, 2011

The Grand Girls Anthology

Image: Sabine Delafone
Munich-based publisher Sabine Magnet is the initiator of a cool project called The Grand Girls Anthology, an almanac of women's views on various topics. The anthology is an independent compilation of works by women of all ages and nationalities, and all of its proceeds will be donated to charity organisations supporting girls. Currently, The Grand Girls Anthology is looking for submissions in English or German for the upcoming "Revolution" issue. For more detailed bi-lingual information and submission guidelines please check out the project's homepage.

Jun 21, 2011

GCB Shares

Image: Daniel Kornrumpf. (Via)
Annina-Amina #1:  Last week, Stuart Tiffen of Deutsche Welle gave me the opportunity to comment on the Amina hoax in English in his article Bloggers face credibility struggle.
Annina-Amina #2: Marcus Richter hat mir ebenfalls die Gelegenheit gegeben, etwas zu Amina zu sagen - dieses Mal auf Deutsch bei Radio Fritz ab Minute 28.
"Geht Ihnen Ihre Protagonistin beim Schreiben eigentlich auch manchmal auf die Nerven?" Diese und andere freche Fragen hat Krimi-Bloggerin Nantik dem Autor Oliver Bottini gestellt.
Gloria Magnifico berichtet über die immer noch bestehende Lohnungleichheit zwischen den Geschlechtern in der Schweiz.
Nachdem ich neulich eine Dokumentation über die super-coole Präsidentin der Frauenfußball WM Steffi Jones gesehen habe, hat mich die Vorfreude endlich gepackt - vielleicht ist ja sogar mal ein Stadionbesuch drin? Tickets gibt es je nach Spielort schon ab 15€. Wer den Anpfiff nicht erwarten kann: Nicole von der Mädchenmannschaft hat einen Artikel über Frauenfußball in Brasilien geschrieben: Superweiblichkeit und hartgekochte Bälle. Darüber hinaus bietet das MM-Team eine brandaktuelle Linksammlung zum Thema.
Photo:  stadtkind FFM

Boy's Corner
Leo wrote a personal post on what happens when being who you are challenges the norms.
Kai Müller, aka der Stylespion, hat am Fotomarathon Berlin teilgenommen. Was das ist, wie das geht und was dabei rausgekommen ist, zeigt er hier. Klingt nach einer guten Sache - trotz der Teilnahmegebühr von knapp 30€!

Jun 19, 2011

The Perfect Vagina



What an important documentary by Heather Leach! The clip is comprised of three parts, so when you come to the black bits, just fast forward until it continues. (Via Selbstdarstellungssucht)

Jun 18, 2011

There are 3 Billion Women Who don't Look like Supermodels and Only 8 Who do.

1998 Body Shop ad, rediscovered at Eco Yogini.
I remember using this postcard as a bookmark, taking it with me everywhere I went. I must have been fourteen or fifteen at the time that advertisement was running, but its slogan has stuck with me ever since.
So, in spite of your being sold to L'Oréal back in 2006, and even though I know that all that glitters ain't gold:
Thank you, The Body Shop, for your values, your campaigns, your mostly eco- and animal-friendly products and your principle of self-respect.

Jun 15, 2011

Humanity in Fashion Award

Heads up, budding designers! German eco-fashion brand hessnatur once again invites applications for their Humanity in Fashion Award - an award honoring stylish green fashion. Quality directives are strict (the only downer being that leather is allowed as material), but with a cash prize of 25.000€, an own women's capsule collection and lots of PR for the winner, participation is lucrative.

More info on the running competition in both German and English is available here, more on last year's winner Janosch Mallwitz on hessnatur's German company blog. Submission deadline is 15 September 2011, so sharpen your pencils and get drawing!

Jun 14, 2011

Amina is a Man, and He's Sorry - so am I!

I have shared the news on my Facebook yesterday already: Alleged gay Syrian blogger Amina is in fact a male American student whose imagination ran riot. While I wouldn't normally waste precious blog space on hoaxes like this one, I feel obliged to comment on this case as only a week ago I urged you, my readers, to sign a petition... for nothing! For that I would like to apologize. 
Rest assured that before writing posts, I double-check my facts with international news organizations like CNN. And albeit I'm "just a blogger", like any professional journalist, I aim at finding two independent sources to confirm a story before I suggest anyone undertake action of whatever kind. This time around, due to the uncertain situation of the media in Syria, established journalists and bloggers alike were forced to take at face value what "Amina's cousin" wrote on "Amina's abduction". Unfortunately, people the world over fell for a notorious liar who claims to be sorry but probably really enjoys his five minutes of fame - or shall I say his five minutes of shame?
While I have some sympathy for the false estimation of his that he would bring forward the issue of homosexuals living in Syria, I have great doubt that this is the case. What I do know, though, is that the author jeopardized the reputation of people like myself: bloggers and social media activists whose right to exist pretty much consists in the credibility of their causes. If we are no longer seen as dependable by our audience, we might as well pack up our profiles and weblogs and go. 
While to a fictional character like Amina Arraf that poses no problem, things look different for social media professionals who are dependent on the reliability of information shared online. And while some of us, like translator Katy Derbyshire, see certain scientific benefit that might spring from Amina's case, others like Helga warn of the increasingly dangerous situation real bloggers see themselves in in countries like Syria. Thanks to a confused member of our (democratically privileged) Western society they might no longer be taken as seriously as they need be.
As to my own involvement in this, I can only say that I'd rather sign one petition too many than one too few. I hope you agree.

Jun 13, 2011

For German Readers: Andosina

Ein kurzer Hinweis in eigener Sache: Seit einigen Wochen ist meine Novelle Andosina als eBook auf Amazon erhältlich. Sie kostet dort 2,35€ und ist dank der kostenlosen Kindle-App, die man hier downloaden kann, nicht nur auf PCs und Macs, sondern auch auf fast allen Smartphones lesbar.
Die Geschichte handelt von zwei jungen Frauen, einer namenlosen Ich-Erzählerin und Marlene aus Andorra, die in London Gefahr laufen, am Leben an sich, der Fremde und ihren Tücken zu scheitern. Die Klappentexterin hat Andosina Ende Februar rezensiert: Wie laut Stille sein kann.
Und falls jemand mag: Über weitere Besprechungen, Kommentare und Empfehlungen aller Art würde ich mich sehr freuen!
Wer über Amazon keine Geschäfte abwickeln möchte, weil es böse ist, kann mir auch einfach nach wie vor  unter Angabe einer Email-Adresse 2€ überweisen, ich checke das Konto regelmäßig und schicke dann die PDF-Datei direkt: Annina Schmid, Deutsche Bank, Konto 2586147, BLZ 100 700 24. 

Jun 11, 2011

Jun 10, 2011

"Bloggers Aren't Competitors" - Would you Agree?

Source: Blica
Model-turned-stylist Hanneli Mustaparta was recently quoted saying "Bloggers aren't competitors in the way magazines are. We stick together." Anne Feldkamp didn't quite agree and put Hanneli's statement up for discussion. Personally, I find that (at least amongst most bloggers I know) a certain sense of community overlies competitiveness. Save a couple exceptions, mutual support has been the rule rather than envy and malevolence. Would you agree? Or would you think that team spirit in the blogosphere might be issue-driven, i.e. fashion bloggers compete over samples and clothes while political bloggers see themselves as different parts of one movement? 

Jun 9, 2011

Who is Amina?

Tarek Amr has kindly informed me that questions about Syrian blogger Amina's identity surfaced - as of yet, no one could get hold of any of her relatives or even confirm her being born in the United States. The photo of "Amina" used by news agencies so far turned out to be one of a British citizen who must now fear extremist attacks on the assumption that she was a high-profile lesbian. The Free Amina Abdalla page on Facebook has issued the following statement:
Amina's story has raised awareness about the human rights abuses occurring every day in Syria.  It is important that people continue to voice support for the many, many political prisoners held by the Syrian authorities. Their stories need to be told and remembered. Over 10,000 people have been detained by authorities within the last few months.Questions about Amina's identity have surfaced on the internet. Reporters and the US Embassy have been unable to verify her identity. At the time this site was created, there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story. We want to be clear that the administrators of this site cannot verify her identity.However, we think it is possible that the writer of the blog is indeed in custody, in which case, it is important to continue to support her.  Many people in Syria are forced to use alternative virtual identities to protect themselves.We hope she is safe and that we will read her words again soon.

Jun 7, 2011

Free Syrian Blogger Amina Abdalla!

Image: CNN
Amina Abdalla, also known as Gay Girl in Damascus, was kidnapped yesterday and has been missing since. (Full story here.) Sign the Avaaz petition and join the Facebook campaign to help as much as you can at this point.

Kreayshawn & Enkelschreck

I just came across this song by Californian artist Kreayshawn (whose mom was the guitarist of all-female punk band The Trashwomen) and am kinda torn whether to like it or not. On the one hand, I appreciate her originality*, on the other I still can't get used to girls calling each other 'bitches' - even in a satirical context that criticizes brainless buying habits. What do you guys think? Yay or nay?  *...which just might lie in an original interpretation of the works of Missy Elliott, Amy Winehouse and Gangsta Rap.

Another female rapper I'd like to introduce to you to is Enkelschreck, Grand Child's Horror, "Germany's oldest female rap artist" - also known as a very well marketed fake* 86-year old who is also on Twitter. *Just guessing.

Jun 5, 2011

Mici of talkasia

Everyone, please meet Mici of talkasia - a German blog between beauty, fashion and Asian pop culture.

If you'd like to find out (amongst other things) why to Mici running a blog feels like being a talk show guest and why good blogs are those whose authors you get to meet in real life, please follow the jump!


Jun 2, 2011

Rise, Dark Girls!



I found this documentary preview on Starrene Rhett's blog Gangstarr Girl. In her post No Pity Parties Please: A Dark Girl’s Manifesto, she takes a clear stand against self-hate and White worship in the Black community:
I am a dark skinned woman. I am not a victim. (...) I cringed when I watched the trailer for Dark Girls because of the self-loathing and the pain that these women are still dealing with as a result of lingering post-colonial psychology. No one should hate them selves that much, especially because of someone else. (...) 
I want whoever reads this (...) to know that not all “dark girls” hate themselves and that some of us are tired of being the victim of your perceived ugliness, stupidity and low self-esteem. But for those who are still victim to this repugnant train of thought: Like the documentary’s narrator said, it is time that we rise up and be confident because self-love is contagious.
To read Starrene's full post, click here. Bradinn French's documentary Dark Girls will be released in the US this coming fall.

Jun 1, 2011

For German Readers: Textil Festival

Diejenigen unter Euch, die mir auf Twitter oder Facebook folgen, haben die frohe Kunde vielleicht schon vernommen: Ich darf am übernächsten Wochenende, also zwischen dem 10. und dem 12. Juni 2011, im Rahmen des Textil Festivals einen Kurzgeschichten-Workshop in Erfurt leiten. Juhu! Und das beste: Anmeldung und Teilnahme sind kostenlos. Doppel-juhu!

Weitere, ebenfalls kostenfreie Workshops, werden darüber hinaus zu den Themen Slam-Poetry, Lyrik, Minidrama, Remix und Poetry-Clip angeboten. Wer Lust bekommen hat, kann sich ganz einfach per Kontaktformular bei den Organisatoren melden, da gibt es weitere Infos. Und wer sowas scheiße findet: Einfach die LieblingsfeindInnen hinschicken. Hauptsache: Weitersagen! ;)