Lane Morris Buckman's Blog, page 6

Smart, or Cheap? Ask Joan.

Yesterday, I wrote about how foundation garments structure the way clothing falls. I feel like I grew up in a fabric store. My mother made more than half of my clothes, and because she was determined that I not look like a bumpkin, she crafted every item with the kind of care and detail you normally only find with a couturier. My clothes weren’t homemade. My clothes were bespoke. And what she bought, she tailored to fit me. My mother spent hours, and days, and in a few cases weeks perfecting...

What You Wear Under There

Let’s talk about underwear.

There is a new viral picture + rant making its way around the internet, of a young woman in a formal gown, whose mother is livid that a salesclerk suggested her daughter should wear Spanx under the gown. The mother is insistent that this is an example of body shaming. I am here to help.

“You shouldn’t wear that dress because you are too fat,” is an example of body shaming.

“You will need to wear [whatever is the equivalent of proper foundation garments] under tha...

Immortality

I’m going to need all my favorite celebrities to stop dying for a little while, okay? Thank you.

You know when it’s really going to be a blow? When Keith Richards dies. Because you’ve gotten so used to Keith Richards still kicking around while much younger, cleaner-living celebs slip their mortal coils, that it’s become a punchline. Keith Richards and roach bugs will be the only things to survive the nuclear winter. So, when he goes? THAT is when we’re all going to feel our mortality.

As long...

How I Never Loved David Bowie

I have been boy-crazy since I can remember. Growing up, my ability to multi-task crushes was second only to my ability to accessorize. I loved boys. All boys. Tall boys, short boys, fat boys, skinny boys, jocks, stoners, musicians, mathematicians, boys who played D&D, and boys who played flute–I just loved boys.

The first celebrity I can remember crushing on, outside of the cartoon character Sinbad the Sailor, is Leonard Nimoy. I crushed on him until the day he died. Alongside, but never quit...

BEST DAY EVER!

This may be the best day of my son’s school career so far…for me.

See, I’m a middling cook at best, and my packed lunches are (according to him) pretty okay. Last year, he started asking me to maybe add some things that would make people interested in trading their food. I failed.

But, yesterday, in a fit of procrastibaking, I made a batch of copycat Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. Thor approved. He approved so much that I saved a few for his lunch today. He came home with this story:

“Hey, Mom...

Be Back Soon

I have a bunch of projects due, so I am disappearing from social media until they are finished. I’m sure I’ll find another way to procrastinate (like making badges on Illustrator,) but I’ll have to go out of my way to do it. I might end up with a clean house, yet!

Immigration

In my line of day-job work, I have the privilege of sitting across from all different kinds of people, from all over the world. A few weeks back, a woman whose citizenship was a day old sat down with me. I congratulated her on the accomplishment. It’s a huge ordeal to become a citizen.

It was the day after the first GOP debates, and she had Trump on her mind. She gave me a piece of it. She was hurt and angry, worried that most Americans felt like he did, that immigrants were a ruination. She...

Guns ‘n Proses

Because I needed a good cry(?), when I got up this morning, I watched the father of the recentlyslain news reporter give an interview*. I’ve said over, and over again that since having Thor, I cannot see a parent who has lost a child and not see myself there. That child is the only person in the world who literally knows me inside and out, and I’ve known him since before he had fingerprints. That child has made smiles happen on his father’s face that no one else can touch. To say that he is t...

Black Hair from Blue Eyes

My Rainbow World is official today! While I’ve shared how the book came to be, re-imagining and re-purposing art from a different project to fit a new story, I haven’t talked about how I chose the model for my main character.

In 2007, I started a job in the most ethnically diverse group I’d ever encountered. Before I worked there, I would have told you I was well aware of how things like racism, prejudice, and privilege play into every day interactions for both myself and the people around me...

Dress Codes

In the past week, I’ve read two stories about girls being sent home from school for dress code violations. Since I can’t remember where to find them to link you to them, you’ll just have to trust me when I say each of these girls was dressed so appropriately, I felt like I was looking at a Where’s Waldo of violation. One was wearing jeans, a top, and a cardigan. The other was wearing a mid-thigh length tunic over leggings.

The problem with the first girl? Her collar bones were showing. Her CO...