When Will My People's Persecution End?

"Is gingerism as bad as racism?" English photographer Charlotte Rushton: "I was on the Tube, pregnant, and I was really humiliated by this drunk yob. He was shouting 'do the cuffs and the collars match?' He got right up into my face."

I told a joke about this exact thing happening to me on the train in Chicago during my first Underground set. Some moron got right in my face and said "redhead, redhead, carpets match the drapes?"

That guy was a jerk, and that was a totally rude thing to say, but I'm kidding about personally suffering any real stigma related to being a redhead, because #1 "gingerism" is not as profound and complex a social issue here as it is in the UK ("some claim it could be a throwback to anti-Irish sentiment from...when the Irish...were regarded as ethnically inferior").

And #2 I'm a natural blonde, so it's not something I grew up suffering taunts for. But still. Lay off the firecrotch jokes (language in video NSFW)!

Thanks to K-Rock for the link!

SWF, Freckles, Sloping Forehead, Stooped Gait, Loves Long Walks and Laughter

Neanderthals were my peeps, so says the journal Science, yo:

"Some Neanderthals may have had fair skin and red hair, giving them an appearance resembling modern Europeans, an international team of researchers said on Thursday."

Maybe it was the lack of Coppertone that ultimately did them in?

50 Redheads On The Same Subway Car

...and they all want to buy sunscreen. It's an Improv Everywhere gag, and I think it's awesome.

For our latest mission, over 50 redheads rode the subway together and protested a Manhattan Wendy’s for their “racist logo.”...Agent McCarthy...proposed, “What would it be like if you got onto a subway car and slowly realized that everyone on the car but you had red hair?” Redheads only make up 1% of the world’s population, and with the racial diversity of the New York subway system, it’s probably an even smaller percentage.

One of the commenters on the original YouTube posting said "That's the most freckles I've seen in one place since Conan went high def."

Bella Simpson

What would you look like as a Simpsons character?

At left, me. Kinda boring looking, actually. I need more tomboy gear to look more like myself. And the eyebrows need to be archier. But what an adorable overbite, no?

Splashosaurus, Seeing Red, Bad Celebrity Parents, Fug Mermaids, More

Evidence that many dinosaurs swam. Evidence that many humans are stupid, which is to say, a $27 million creationist museum has opened in Kentucky, asserting that dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark.

The evolutionary roots of red hair are revealed. “'It looks like red skin and hair became a sexual preference,'” said evolutionary biologist Molly Morris... it’s still socially—and sexually—relevant for an ape to see red.'" That must be why we're all so fascinated by the red butts on those mandrills when we go to the zoo.

Lindsay Lohan, recently released from detox at Wonderland into that honeymoon retox period, has been busted for DUI. (Oh, yeah, and she had cocaine in the car.) Her dumb dad has therefore been clamoring for cameras to blab at, since that's the only channel of communication he has with his daughter. Does this remind anyone else of Eminem's mom's "let's mend fences" rap a few years ago?

In 1493, somewhere near Haiti, Christopher Columbus saw three mermaids, and was disappointed by their lack of hotness. No, wait, those were manatees. Silly explorer.

Okay, cicadas are annoying and plentiful - to us humans. To zoo animals? They are yummy, yummy snacks.

A cool guy on YouTube is posting "how to" videos for people with prosthetic arms. Wanna know how to tie your shoe with one fleshly hand and one hook? He'll show you. With a smile.

The Redder, the Better, No Matter What Anyone Says

A few weeks ago I attended a wonderful girls day/brunch/communicators' networking party at a new friend's house, and part of the day included a workshop with some nice ladies who run an image consulting business. Lord knows as a longtime tomboy, and small town chick recently turned urban writer and comedian, I could use a few tips in sprucing up my image. I got away with wearing jeans, t-shirts, and no makeup for a long time, and that's just not going to work with what I'm trying to accomplish in my life right now. My image is just something I've never had to think about until now. But one of the pieces of advice I was given had me worried. "Lose the red hair," was the suggestion. Actually, it was delivered a bit more gently than that, but it made me think. "Try dark brown, with some light blonde highlights, and, since you do comedy, maybe go for something flippy and playful. But the orange is not working for you." Orange.

A week or so before, Sloan and I had attended a lecture at Northwestern by the woman who wrote this book: Keeping Your Brand in Demand, which is, similarly, about image projection, and making sure that people get the impression of you that you want them to have. One of the things she mentioned was having continuity with your visual style. Red hair has been one of the only consistent things about my style, and for goodness' sake, my online persona has been branded "Bella Rossa."

Last Sunday my family and I and several friends went out for Sunday brunch. We tried to get into Tre Kroner but it was way busy and we reached that level of impatient hunger that drove us to hop in our cars and head up the street for other options. After a very satisfying stack of strawberry pancakes, my mom and I skipped off to the ladies room, doing our usual joking and laughing thing. I don't even remember what we were talking about, but at one point I heard a little girl waiting by the sink giggle at something we'd said, and when I stepped out, I saw an adorable little chubby freckly red haired girl. Her expression brightened even more when she saw me. "Hey!" She said. "You look like me!" "Hey!" I said to her. "You have pretty hair." The little girl seemed so pleased with seeing another redhead, and it was so sweet the way she blushed when I complimented her.

That's it. I'm keeping the red. For now, at least.