I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I love Wonder Woman. I had the underoos as a kid and on any summer day you’d find me spinning around my backyard warding off evil with my imaginary wrist cuffs. Wonder Woman has had many reincarnations and her latest is for an animated DVD movie called, not surprisingly, Wonder Woman. The animated movie is set to release in February 2009 and Keri Russell is providing the super heroine’s voice. Explaining the plot of the film, Russell stated: “The movie tells the Amazon princess’ origin story. ‘She’s a true, strong warrior, but she’s also right at the break of being a young woman standing on her own and fighting out in the world,’ Russell says.”

We’ve seen a resurgence of Superhero movies lately including Iron Man, The Hulk and now The Dark Knight. There have been rumors for years about a film version of Wonder Woman but it seems the project keeps stalling. So, I’m taking some time out to say: Please get that project up and running! Girls can be super too! In this time when girls are bombarded with poor role models, from The Bratz to Britney, we need Wonder Woman to come back to show young girls that ladies can be beautiful, strong, powerful and independent. Please start making less movies about cheerleaders and drama queens, and focus on empowering young women. If you make it, they will come.

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I have had dreams of one day owning and operating my own 70’s fantasy van. After seeing this badass piece of van-tastic machinery on a recent visit to NYC, I kinda want one even more. It was one of those super late night NYC moments, walking home solo on a hot hot NY night after just hitting up the bodega for a late night snack and there it was…like walking into a brick wall of rainbows and marshmellow (ok, I know that sounds funny a “brick” wall of…you get it, right?), like being slapped up the side of the face with the cutest and softest kitten, and then being hit over the head with a cupcake (I know this sounds crazy), there it was…Perhaps someone out there knows what’s up with this ride? Let’s us know if you know, ya know?

See all the hot detail shots after the jump!

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On-line Japanese magazine, SHIFT is looking for a few good artists. Over the coming months they are looking for submissions for the infamous UNIGLO annual t-shirt design competition to digital media competitions and submissions for their 2009 SHIFT Calender. Get all the detailed info for each competition after the jump. The time is now. Do it.

UT GRAND PRIX 2009
UNIQLO’s annual T-shirt design competition since 2004, the 5th “UT Grand Prix” will call for entries from July 15th.
UNIQLO has actively developed its global expansion as a casual wear brand from Japan, opening flagship stores in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Korea and China, and also shown the global promotion campaigns that world people can participate such as UNIQLOCK and UT LOOP!
Based on the concept of “T-shirt Design Olympics”, UT Grand Prix calls for T-shirt designs from young & upcoming creators from all over the world. Works will be chosen from more than 10,000 submissions in the first and second phases of judgment, & these will be shown on the web. In the final stage, 20 designs will be selected by presiding guest judges, & these designs will then be sold as UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) at UNIQLO stores. Cash & other prizes will be also presented to the winner(s). The Grand Prix (top) prize is 3 million JPY (or equivalent in local currency at current rates).
Submission Period: July 15th - September 21st, 2008

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One of my favorite shows on TV is The Soup because it gives me all the highlights of the week without having to watch a lot of crap. Now, instead of waiting for the end of the week, I can catch highlights daily on The Soup Blog! Yay - here’s to more wasted time!

I love Dove products. But, what makes me a loyal fan of the brand is their stance on beauty and the impact of media on the self esteem of women and girls. A few years back they made a splash with their ad campaign featuring real women. Imagine that - the figures of real women in their undies was so shocking. And it wasn’t their state of undress that was shocking - it was that they weren’t anorexic stick figures! Yes, real women have curves. Dove made an statement that all women are beautiful, no matter their size: A statement that resonated and has empowered women to feel comfortable in their own skin.

Stills from the Dove Under Pressure Film

Now, they are taking their message down to women-in-the-making - young girls when they are at their most impressionable. I saw their most recent commercial, Under Pressure, and it really hit a chord. Girls are bombarded with media that tells them what is “beautiful.” I remember when I was a girl, I hated the way I looked because I was so different from the standard of “beauty” back in the hey day of Christy Brinkley. I had brown eyes and dark, curly hair - a very far cry from the crystal blue eyes and long, straight blonde hair of my Barbie doll that I looked up to as the epitome of beauty.

Dove is trying to educate girls (or rather, counter-educate them) about what beauty is and how to improve self esteem. They’ve partnered with the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, Step Up Women’s Network and other organizations to create programs to raise self-esteem in young women. When you buy Dove products, you’re helping with the Dove Self-Esteem fund create programs and resources for young girls and to reach the targeted 5 million girls by the year 2010. I find their approach refreshing, and much needed, especially at the rate that we are exposed to media. I hope that more companies will follow Dove’s lead.

You can view Under Pressure here and there are a few more great videos about our distorted view of beauty after the jump.
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Marcus Troy, one of the founders of What’s Really Good?, coined the term “Ghost Blogger” today in a blog post that I found highly amusing.  Read for yourself here.

Soda Free Summer is all about challenging yourself to not drinking soda. It’s a commitment to yourself to substitute healthier drinks in place of sugary soda. You can even enter to win prizes on the website.

Soda is the #1 source of sugar in the American diet which is kinda scary folks. Did you know drinking just one 20-ounce bottle of soda each day for a year can result in gaining 25 extra pounds!?!?! Eliminating something as easy as soda from your diet will make you much healthier while helping to shed those last few pounds. I’m not sure about you but that makes me wanna ditch soda completely. Grab a bottle of water or some 100% fruit juice instead. And if you just MUST have your soda fix, try diet soda once in awhile. Your body will thank you.

Having moved from NY to San Francisco six years ago, I sometimes forget how unbearably hot and humid NY can get.  That said, it’s no excuse for wasting energy.  I was perusing the web when I saw this interesting new series on a Racked called “This Store Blows.” The posts highlight stores with blatant disregard for conserving energy by blasting air conditioning while keeping their front doors open!  C’mon people, we need to be a bit more responsible, no?  If you want to help make a change, they’re taking submissions at tips@racked.com.

Gucci has been pretty active raising money for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Foundation, and in it’s latest project, it’s chosen Rihanna as the face of the campaign. Gucci designed a collection called “Tattoo Heart” all the pieces feature a “tattoo-style heart motif” and 25% of the proceeds from the sale of the collection going to UNICEF. This is not the first time Gucci and Rihanna have worked together: In February, Rihanna performed at a Gucci fundraiser for UNICEF and helped raise $5.5 million. Frida Giannini, the designer for Gucci, explained her choice:

So when we decided to dedicate a full ad campaign, more than just creating products, to really come out and show our commitment to UNICEF, we wanted someone with a strong personality,” Giannini explained. “I felt a musician and a beautiful woman was the perfect icon for this campaign.

The ads were shot in Paris by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and will be in December magazines.

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Fox News never ceases to amaze me with their racist rants. I have no idea where they find their correspondents - I just want to stay far, far away from wherever that scary place is. I just found out about this petition from Around The Way Girls that calls for Fox “News” (can they even really call it that?) to stop injecting racism and prejudice into their programs. They’ve managed to bring up lynching, the “terrorist” fist jab, the “angry black woman” stereotype and calling her Obama’s Baby Mama. ENOUGH!! Sign it here!

If you’re not convinced, check this out: