I made a very interesting discovery at work yesterday (we’re researching investigative story ideas), and if any of you readers live in NYC and spend time outside of the Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in Union Square, you may have witnessed what I’m about to discuss: The Freegan Movement.

Freegans are people (sometimes homeless, but often not) who commit to living a life of limited participation in the conventional economy. They believe that food and shelter are a right as opposed to a privilege, and they are opposed to the fact that homeless people live on the city streets when there are vacant apartments that exist under the grip of capitalist landlords.

So they go scavenging, or “dumpster diving,” for unspoiled food that has been thrown away, and they often recover non-food items like toiletries and electronics. Freegans (a combination of the words “free” and “vegan”) essentially oppose the purchase of any item in attempt to boycott the corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse. Read More »

I love me some Forever 21.

When I have a bad day, I’ll stop by their two-story store in Union Square and buy myself an adorable will-rip-in-three-weeks-but-who-cares- because-it’s-so-adorable shirt. When I have a good day, I’ll push through the crowds on Broadway and purchase a bright sweater that 17 other girls probably have, but because it’s so bright and cute, I don’t care. Yes, Forever 21 is my fountain of cheap and trendy.

But it may also be my Bible Study Group in disguise.

What am I talking about, you ask? Well, the other day, after throwing one of their trademarked yellow shopping bags onto my bed, I happened to catch a glimpse of the underside of said bag. What I saw there stopped my spiritual- yet-vehemently-non- organized-religious heart dead.

John 3:16.

There it was, in tiny, black letters. A Bible verse. A freaking Bible verse! Read More »

I like to think myself a low – maintenance kind of gal (code: I’m too lazy and messy to pull off mascara). I take a long time to get ready, sure, I just don’t put much effort into the process. Typically, getting ready for a “date” involves pulling on an unstained tank top and flossing.

But I only floss if I really like the guy.

That’s hardly the case for performance artist Lián Amaris Sifuentes. For three days last week, Sifuentes and her crew set up a faux bedroom in NYC’s Union Square, where she has been slowly preparing for a date in her piece called “Fashionably Late for the Relationship.”

Last Saturday, she took a nap and spent seven hours drinking a glass of wine. Last Sunday, she tried on dresses for 15 hours.

Sifuentes told the New York Times that she is trying to draw attention to the “private feminine ritual.”

I’m not impressed. Yeah, we all like to gussy ourselves up for guys. Even I own a tube or two of chapstick. But honestly, taking 72 hours to prepare for a date isn’t all that odd.

How many times have you started dreaming up outfits a week ahead of time? It’s not laborious, it’s fun. The weird part of Sifuentes’s act is that she’s going on an actual date (while there’s no word if she’s actually going on one after her charade ceases). Read More »