Follow my business Instagram, Wendy Brandes Jewelry, because I’ll be giving away some sterling-silver statement rings via IG stories! I started doing this last week with the remnants of my silver collection. I figured people need some cheering up during the coronavirus quarantine, and if somehow my jewelry business — and the jewelry industry in…
Remembering the “Social Distancing” of AIDS
While I would have liked to spread some … … tonight, I just can’t. I’m as angry as an Italian mayor who sees people jogging and throwing house parties instead of staying in quarantine to slow the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Italian mayor addresses his citizens about their irresponsible behavior (in a very…
Throwback Thursday: Arresting Bitch Face
After my February 5 arrest for civil disobedience in Washington, D.C., I teased photographer/activist George De Castro Day for not getting a photo of me actually being handcuffed in the Capitol rotunda. No one had gotten a photo of me being arrested a week earlier on the Capitol steps either, and I was like, “Dang,…
The #Rotunda10: Membership Has Its Prisoners!
Six weeks ago today — on Wednesday, February 5, in the hours before the GOP-led Senate acquitted the impeached president without holding a proper trial — I sat down on the floor of the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., with nine other women for a final act of protest ahead of the vote. Meet the…
Practical Accessorizing: Tiaras and Shields
Quick! Look at your fingers right now. Are you wearing any rings? An engagement ring and/or wedding band? Take them off! To avoid the novel coronavirus, you should be washing your hands more than Lady MacBeth, and that kind of scrubbing isn’t good for your fine jewelry. I never wear my rings at home, and…
Take Off Your Rings and Wash Your Hands
In December, when actress Emma Stone showed off the pearl engagement ring given to her by writer/director Dave McCary, my first thought was, “I have to write that ‘Pearl engagement rings are bad‘ blog post AGAIN? Nah … I’m not gonna.” A few weeks later, actress Michelle Williams was spotted wearing what looked like a…
Blogging in the Time of Coronavirus
At the beginning of February, I was saying to other activists that no one would take the failures of the American social contract seriously until we disrupted commerce.Β It’s all about the money here.Β (And petty inconvenience. People do hate a traffic jam.)Β Then it was like someone flipped the switch, Drake-style. ππΉπΆπ½π½π²π± ππ΅π² πππΆππ°π΅….
We Coulda Had a Bad Bitch, Presidential!
As expected, Senator Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the presidential race today. As expected, she did so with more wisdom, honesty, and graciousness than her remaining male rivals have exhibited in their combined public lives. Because that’s what women do. Elizabeth Warren is asked by @maddow if the end of her candidacy means we should…
“Be a Lady, They Said”
Wow! Wow! Wow! This Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine video — narrated by actor Cynthia Nixon — blew me away! Be a Lady They Said from Paul McLean on Vimeo. The old-school fashion snob/nostalgic in me particularly appreciates the Helmut Newton/Chris von Wangenheim/Guy Bourdin aesthetic of the fashion clips. And the way those images are interwoven…
Activism Inspiration: White Rose Leaflets of WWII
On this day in 1943, Nazis beheaded three young Germans — Christoph Probst and siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl — for their part in writing, printing, and distributing six leaflets urging nonviolent resistance to the fascist regime. Embed from Getty Images The leaflets were produced by the White Rose — the name chosen by a…