PeaceBang's Beauty Tips For Ministers

Beauty Tips Has MOVED!

2007-05-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Dear readers,

We* have moved to a new site, so please set your bookmarks:

www.beautytipsforministers.com

See you over at WordPress, and adieu to Blogger!
Most of the archives have been moved, so comments will be closed here.

(the new site was designed by Scott Wells, blogging as BoyInTheBands, for which he has earned an extra pair of angel's wings - -and the domain was given as a gift by ChaliceChick, who just plain rocks.)

Things That Give PeaceBang a Thrill

2007-05-06T16:17:00.000-04:00

Good Sabbath, darlings.

PeaceBang was cyber-thumbling through the latest issue of Harvard Divinity Today and came across this item:

"The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) and the Henry Luce Foundation have named Amy M. Hollywood, the Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at HDS, as one of seven Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology for 2007–08.

Selected on the basis of the strength of their proposals to conduct creative and innovative theological research, theLuce Fellows engage in yearlong research in various areas of theological inquiry. Hollywood—under the title “Acute Melancholia: On Loss, Mourning, and Mysticism”—
will juxtapose medieval Christian mystical texts in which union with Christ is understood as a form of melancholic lovesickness with modern theological, psychoanalytic, feminist, and queer accounts of mourning and melancholia."

And PeaceBang swooned.
Go, Amy Hollywood, go, go!! Please publish that book as soon as you can, and know that PeaceBang is salivating in anticipation as she simultaneously shyly admires the heck out of your glamorous name and beautiful self.

And to the HDS person who thought my little accomplishments here worthy for inclusion in the lastest alumn/ae news, I tip my hat in surprised appreciation. One does what one can, my Crimson friends, one does what one can.

The Power Of the White Lab Coat

2007-05-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

I've been feeling so drab lately, and when I looked in the mirror on Tuesday night after a long day, I noticed that my face looked actually dirty.

Suspicious, I paid special attention to my make-up the next morning. I had just purchased Bare Minerals and as I applied it, I realized that it was two to three shades too dark. Also startlingly yellow against my pink skin.

The gal at Sephora whence I purchased it a few weeks ago didn't think it necessary to "color test" me-- too expert at assigning the right shade of Bare Minerals foundation to various women's skin was she. She took one look at me and pronounced me Medium Beige. It was a thrilling moment. My brain fell right out the hem of my pants.

"Gee, I can't believe it! I'm so fair!" I said. Dear readers --consider PeaceBang Exhibit A in the case against the cosmetics industry-- which can so easily dupe us into thinking that we don't know nuthin' about our own body. Can you believe that I sort of thought that I had GRADUATED from the super fair shades into a more adult, substantial skin tone? Like, well, I'm over 40 now, and I guess I'm no longer ivory, but MEDIUM BEIGE. That girl should know. She has a white lab coat on.

Oh, vanity, vanity, all is vanity saith the preacher.
Also, stupidity.

So this dumb bunny went back to Sephora yesterday and got color tested, and it turns out that the true match was with the shade "Light," and today I feel bright and polished and not muzzy-faced and dirty, and you know, PeaceBang has learned her lesson. The next time some cosmetics wench tries to convince her that a hideously unflattering color is HER, she will respond, "Thank you for thinking so, dearie, but I'm the one who's been living with this face for over 40 years, and I can tell you that that I will look like a mud turtle in that particular shade."

P.S. I bought a deliciously pink-coral lipgloss by Smashbox in the color "Blur." And I know I'm disgustingly shallow for the happiness it is bringing me this morning.
Will you begrudge that to PeaceBang, who has a 20-page paper due next week, and an annual report? Of course you won't. And that's why I love you.

Those Lovin' Hands

2007-05-04T10:05:00.001-04:00

Burts Bees
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

A caring chaplain wrote in to share her penchant for Burt's Bees hand cream.

She writes,

"Have you mentioned Burt's Bees hand salve? Very good for
hospital chaplains with dried out abused hands that have been prayin' all day and getting washed between all patients with super-foam that kills everything, including your nice hands.

The chaplain can go home at night, glob salve generously on her hands, and put her abused fingers into those funny white cotton gloves for some TLC. It doesn't make it perfect, but it at least keeps your hands from peeling apart in many pieces (as mine were doing near the beginning)."

PeaceBang would like to add that cracked hands are more easily-infected hands, and working in a hospital puts enough stress on one's immune system. So take care of your lovin' hands, not just for vanity's sake, but for your comfort and health as well.

Hey guys, this goes for you, too.

Burt's Bees products seem to be available just about everywhere these days. They have a wide variety of hand salves and I'm sure you'll find one that suits you. PeaceBang has also heard good things about Eucerin (the kind in a tub), but thinks that product is probably petroleum-based.

Did you know that good old olive oil also makes a perfectly terrific moisturizer for the hands? Especially with the cotton gloves overnight.

Tra La, It's May! We Have a New Website Coming!

2007-05-02T16:17:00.000-04:00

Remember when Queen Guenivere went scampering about with all her knights and ladies singing, "It's May! It's May! The lusty month of May!"
Well, that's because Gwenny wasn't in the parish ministry, and she looked all dewy and fetching in her slightly undone braids and strangely anachronistic Empire-waist chiffon gown (weren't they wearing, like tapestries back in the Arthurian days?). You and I, however, have every right to look a big draggy right now, with puffy post-Easter eyes and end-of-semester flat hair that could definitely use a dye job. PeaceBang always feels that she's been beaten with the Ugly Stick during these transitional seasons, and you may too, but don't be mean to yourselves, dearies. Put some daffodils on your desk, put on your favorite shoes, and keep on dancin'.

And while you're at it, could you please recommend a lipstick shade for a pink-complected redhead who finds that her eternal favorite color just doesn't look good anymore?

Speaking of transitions, BeautyTipsForMinisters is moving from Blogger to WordPress!! Please bear with my light posting as I start moving in to the new site, courtesy of the marvelous Scott Wells, BoyIntheBands and Keeper of My Techo-Sanity at this time.

Kiss of peace! xxoxo PB

Cheap Undereye Cover-Up?

2007-04-30T13:35:00.000-04:00

This just in, lovely ones:

Hi PB!
A query -I'm trying to replace my Clinique make-up products (expensive, and I usually can't resist shopping at Macy's afterwards, so more expensive). I'm loving my Cover Girl mascara and eye liner, Almay eyebrow pencil (with a tiny point that you twist out instead of sharpen, so less wasteful) and Revlon long-lasting lipstick in Bare Maximum. But so far, I haven't found any type of concealer that I like nearly as well as the Clinique. I like a liquid/wand more than crayon types - less scraping against the delicate under-eye. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Gidget

Gidge, darling, I'm sure my readers will have a plethora of fantabulous suggestions for this very important question.

All wand-applied cover-ups cake up under my wrinkly eyes when I smile, so I avoid them, patting on a light, creamy foundation instead and lightly dusting with highlighting powder.

Readers, if you have dark shadows around your eyes -- something that is very typical with age and with olive skin tones -- remember that it's a great idea to apply cover-up all over the eyelid. Blend, blend, blend and make sure you don't miss the inner corner by the nose.

Guide To Best Drugstore Buys

2007-04-28T09:19:00.000-04:00

Hey gang!

Real Simple magazine has a very handy-dandy guide to the best drugstore (read: affordable products) buys here.
It's arranged by category of product and looks to have excellent suggestions.

This is Real Simple's helpful guide to how to buy wardrobe essentials.

Actually, as a former subscriber to Real Simple magazine, I must say that I'm very impressed with their web site. I'll be reading more articles when I get a chance.

Thanks to SisterBang for the referral!

Lip Ink?

2007-04-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

Hi dears,
Someone just wrote to me about Lip Ink.

I've never heard of it, and I'm fascinated. She's going to send me more info, but have any of you tried it? Comments?

I did some research and came up with this UK company:

www.lipink.com

It looks like it's organic, and it looks like the starter kit is quite expensive (but that after that, re-fills are quite economical). The blonde model in the video is a little bit overwhelmed by her big red lips, but the other models are wearing more subtle colors that look lovely.

Do you have to scrub it off with another special product at the end of the day?

I wonder if I could get the company to send me a free starter kit for reviewing purposes...!

The First Commandment Of Sandals

2007-04-26T21:18:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Edie Falco is a really terrific actress, but oy vey, this schmatta has got to go.

Doesn't this sort of look like something you or I might wear to a funeral? I think it might be okay at a funeral, but not at the opening of a film festival. Not that any of us are going to openings of film festivals, I'm just sayin'. That little kick of flamenco dancer frill at the hem just doesn't redeem it.

Let's discuss the other fashion problems here. First, if we're going to wear an entirely sombre black dress, let's not throw some itsy-bitsy little necklace on and call that accessorizing. ESPECIALLY if we're going to be speaking in public. With something this austere, you want a bolder statement, methinks.

The hem is a universally unflattering length, but she could have made it less so by not breaking up her leg with those thick sandal straps. And she needs pantyhose or something to help with the pasty leg situation. Do you see how your eye moves down from the smooth line of black and then it's like three big chunks of white? Worst of all, it distracts from her face. She's also not wearing enough make-up to compete with the black, and she looks extremely washed out. So much to learn here! We love you, Edie! But you need some rouge!

All of that aside, THE SHOES DON'T FIT.

Now usually, the sin with sandals is when we get into the Toe-Overhang or the Heel Overhang -- both mortal sins that I'm SURE earns one time in Fashion Hell. PeaceBang has extremely short toes and often has to contend with her pinky toe slipping through the strap on sandals she's trying on and LOVES, but has to put sadly away until the day that plastic surgeons develop toe-elongation cosmetic enhancement. Her stubby toes are a serious impediment to fitting sandals well, so she feels the pain of those who suffer the same malady.
However, we must be strong. No matter how much we LOVE the sandal, we should not BUY and WEAR the sandal if it doesn't FIT.

Too small is just awful. Too big isn't much better, as you can see here.

I saw a photo of Beyonce Knowles the other day dancing her pants off in a pair of 4" heels, and those heels were a full two sizes too big. I could only imagine that the lovely Ms. Knowles shot that photo and fell forthwith on her keister.

The point, as always, is about not unintentionally upstaging ourselves so that when we're being present in ministry or wherever, people aren't sneaking surreptitious glances at our feet and thinking, "God god awmighty, look at those toes hanging out all over the floor. I hope she doesn't break one."

"Thy sandals shall fit thy feets," saith the LORD.

PeaceBang On Busted Halo NOW!

2007-04-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

If you're up and you have Sirius Radio, I'll be on Channel 159 talking with Father Dave Dwyer of "The Busted Halo Show" in about 15 minutes.

Love, PB

Interview Freak-Out

2007-04-26T09:18:00.001-04:00

Interview Freak-Out
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

My goodness, what an anxious letter THIS is! Let's see what this Job Seeking Reader has to say:

"Dear PeaceBang,

I'm going for a job interview this weekend and I'm freaking out mildly and I dont know what it says about my life that I keep wailing to myself 'PEACEBANG is the ONLY one who can HELLLLP' but that's the truth of hte matter.

So, what do you suggest? I need an outfit that can:
1. ride in the car for three hours
2. go to lunch at a nice-ish restaurant
3. go for a walking tour of the neighborhood and then one of the church (this second part is scheduled to last an hour! How is that possible? I'm thinking that we must be hitting the attic and the boiler room which for sure means dust...)
4. interview for 1.5 hours
5. go to dinner at someone's house

Do I wear the same thing all day? Or do I change out of travel clothes for the interview part? And then change again for the dinner after the interview? I feel like I'm going to the Oscars.

FYI: [The weather where I am going] will either be 40 degrees and raining or 70 degrees and sunny, but most likely both of these, and all the degrees in between, too.

Also, at the meals, what do I eat? Do I pull a Scarlett and have a big meal before so they don't see what a chow hound I am, and also so that I can TALK without my mouth being full?

Any wisdom you can throw my way -confidentially if it's ok as I"m job hunting on the sly more or less - would be so much appreciated."

Here's PeaceBang again, ya'll (I can't do fancy things with fonts or italics, since I'm unable to post through Blogger and am writing this through Flickr):

Well, my dear, that is indeed a doozie, and PeaceBang and her readers are *here for you.* We have ALL been there. We feel you.

First of all, if you can possibly steal a few moments to freshen up and change after your journey of three hours, do. At least spritz your face with some rose water, take a few moments alone to stretch and breathe, brush your teeth, blow your nose and apply fresh lipstick.
You'll feel ready for anything. You'll BE ready for anything!

I think a good outfit choice would be a patterned skirt (maybe an Indian print, nothing too florally-cutesy) , a classic cotton tank with some spandex in it to give it shape and dressiness factor, and a cardigan. You can leave the cardigan off on the trip so it will be fresh when you arrive. Wear a nice necklace, and keep the colors up top deep and neutral, which projects more authority and leadership than light colors (and certainly pastels!).

A nice pair of trousers with a lovely, colorful blouse and lightweight blazer would also work, just make sure your fabrics have some poly or spandex in them for wrinkle-management. Belts can also make blouses look very sharp, and a belted shirt or blouse under an open blazer is a nice look.

You might wear comfortable but nice sandals if it's not raining too hard-- not Clarkes, but something more dressy that you can still walk around comfortably in. I noticed a slew of choices at Macy's this past weekend. A really nice, substantial flat should also be fine.

Don't plan to change clothes only because your interviewing team may not have scheduled time for you to do so, and you want to feel that whatever outfit you choose can take you confidently through the entire ordeal... um, I mean, EXPERIENCE! :-)

If you do get some time alone before dinner, by all means shower, change, do whatever helps you to re-energize, but you may just get ten minutes. And wouldn't it be kinder to yourself to spend that ten minutes breathing and praying and discerning rather than scrambling into a new set of duds and worrying if things match?

If you want to change shoes for dinner, that would be nice. Sometimes I'll wear comfortable walking-around shoes at a day event and then just change my earrings and shoes for a dinner appearance.

As for eating before you eat, it's only true that you will be doing more talking and energetically reacting than actually dining. If you're hungry, there's nothing wrong with having soup or snacks beforehand on your own. Your digestion will be better for it, and so will your presence at dinner. And if you're seen picking at your food, you can always say you're too nervous to eat. Which is true! You're too nervous to eat... in front of a group of people who are interviewing you for a ministerial position! Riiight?
But honey, don't snarf down a bucket o' chicken or a big bag of Taco Bell before dinner: you'll just look puffy and you might get a grease spot on your blouse.

Seriously, though, you can always write to me (my e-mail address is always on the margins of the page, kittycats) and send photos.
This is a big occasion and we want you to feel 100% the shining star you are.

Blessings, and let us know how it goes!!
Kiss of Peace,
PB

(P.S. Readers, the photo is random. It is not a photo of our anonymous and reverend letter writer!)

Do You Have "A LOOK?"

2007-04-25T22:27:00.001-04:00

Do You Have "A LOOK?"
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

I adored Terrance McNally's play "Master Class," which features an imperious Maria Callas mentoring and tormenting three singers during a master class, and generally just oozing fabulous diva-dom.

(PeaceBang would like to say, as an editorial aside, that the word "diva" is ENTIRELY over-used today. Maria Callas was a DIVA. Kelly Clarkson is not a diva. Queen Latifah is a queen. And a diva. So is Michael Kors, for that matter, which is why we worship them. Celine Dion, for all her histrionics, is not a diva. Canada, I know that hurts. But it had to be said.)

Anyway, in the play, Maria Callas repeatedly accuses the students of not having a Look.
"You don't have a LOOK," she says, but in her Greek accent it sounds more like, "You don' hev alooook."

As I sat in the center of the orchestra watching Dixie Carter chew the hell out of this fantastic role the many years ago I saw it, I thought to myself, "UH-oh... I don' hevaloook." Heving a looook is hard to do when you're pretty much limited to Lane Bryant couture, but by God, Maria, from that day forward, I tried. I think my Look -- on the days that I have one -- could be described as "Vaguely Bohemian Plus-Sized Professional." Some days it's just "Please Give Me Some Credit For Accessorizing." And in the summer it's "21st Century Babushka."

I was fondly reminded of Maria Callas this afternoon when I stepped off the hospital elevator at the 4th floor and sucked in my breath when I saw none other than Holly Hobby walk by with a clipboard. She was middle-aged ("Holly! Girl, it's been so LONG!") and smiling, wearing a long jumper with a gingham-checked pinafore top, ankle socks and little tan lace-up booties. Not the sexed-up, high-heeled kind of little booties, but the kind Laura Ingalls might have actually worn to go milk the cows.

As I was taking all of this in out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the door Dr. Hobby was closing behind her was similarly adorned with a gingham heart plaque. And then I got it: this was her Look!
Whether Dr. Hobby just personally liked gingham hearts or was channeling that Jane Seymour pioneer doctor-lady character from that show whose name I've forgotten, or thought that her prairie fashion might be comforting to patients, I will never know. But this I do know: girl was rocking that gingham jumper with confidence and pride, and while I probably would have begged to be seen by another physician if I was under her care, she certainly had a Look.

I honestly think if she roughed it up with a few of those Jane Seymour buckskins, she might be able to pull it off. Even some denim. Something to break up the treacly little girl effect. But hey, give her credit for making a statement, however puzzling that statement may be.

Go get your Look on!

PeaceBang On "The Busted Halo Show" This Thursday

2007-04-25T12:27:00.000-04:00

Dearly beloved,

Yours Truly will be interviewed by Father Dave Dwyer on The Busted Halo Show on the Catholic Channel (Sirius Radio Chanel 159) on Thursday night, April 26, at 8:20 p.m.

I hope you can tune in.

Make-Up That Protects

2007-04-24T07:06:00.000-04:00

Continuing our thoughts about how to protect la visage from the ravages of le soleil, PeaceBang has been investigating the virtues and vices of make-up that forms a natural and protective barrier on the skin by way of minerals.

She recommends L'Oreal Bare Naturale, http://www1.epinions.com/content_246490828420
and she recommends Bare Minerals.
Both of these make-ups -- one drugstore available and affordable, and other available at finer cosmetics emporia -- are applied with the tap-swirl-buff method, or perhaps the swirl-tap-buff method. Tap! Buff! Swirl! Buff! Tap! In any order, it's all kinds of fun!

Believe me, though, the application is easy once you get the hang of it. You turn over the container and whap it on the bottom to get some of the powder going, open the top, swirl your brush into the product, tap the excess off (into the garbage can for me, else it gets all over the vanity table), and buff it over the face with circular motions. It provides terrific, natural coverage that hasn't yet irritated my very sensitive skin, and it has a natural SPF of 15!! PeaceBang calls that pretty swell.

(I've heard bad things about Neutrogena Mineral Sheers, btw, and don't recommend it.)

A word of caution: these mineral based powder make-ups won't work nearly as well if you don't regularly exfoliate and moisturize your skin. And a word of encouragement: hey fellas, PeaceBang thinks that you could totally get away with wearing this on your face without looking like you're wearing make-up. Let me know if you've tried it!

The lovely people at Illuminare provided PeaceBang with samples of their entire line of liquid mineral make-up for those of you who aren't so much into swirling, tapping and buffing.

Illuminare stakes claim as the first producers of liquid mineral make-up and their products are really terrific. They have three different formulas of foundation, all of which PeaceBang found to her liking and easily applied with a nifty little leopard-print sponge they provided.

Because the product is very concentrated, you do need to take a few moments to blend, blend, blend around the nose, mouth and eyes, especially. You need only to use a pea-sized drop and it will easily cover your whole face. The make-up is extremely pure, it provides excellent sun protection (but do use a sunscreen underneath, always), and fantastic coverage. In fact, I would even wear this stuff on stage.

It goes on a little dramatic at first, but it settles into the skin and looks beautiful. It provides a bit more coverage than I usually like ( I tend to use a blendable base only on the red areas of my face) but given that it's pure and provides SPF, I may become a convert.

Say amen, somebody!

Technical Difficulties Continue

2007-04-23T21:38:00.000-04:00

My friends,
PeaceBang is sorry to share with you her difficulties with blogger.com, google.com and how they interface with msn.com.

In God's kingdom, there will be no .coms at all. PeaceBang thinks that perhaps heaven is a place where you need no passwords and security codes, and never need to sign in.

Go be beautiful, and we'll figure it all out.

It all started back when I was forced to switch to the "new" Blogger, and then to get a google account, and then to start adding more passwords and so on to my already-complicated world of passwords.

Sorry not to be able to post or respond to comments regularly.

Blessings to all, PB

WomenSpirit Robe Sale!

2007-04-23T12:29:00.000-04:00

Darlings!

WomenSpirit robes is having a sale, 15% off from now 'til May 20th!!

www.womenspirit.com

Thanks to Sarah for the hot tip!

Here Comes The Sun, Little Darlings

2007-04-23T11:43:00.001-04:00

Here Comes The Sun, Little Darlings
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Here on the Eastern seaboard, Bostonian-type people are wandering around in a happy daze, squinting like little moles and bumping into each other because the sun is finally out and we can't *see* anything!

PeaceBang is sure she doesn't have to remind you that the sun is getting more and more dangerous to human Earthlings all the time. So darlings, for real, please make serious sun protection a non-optional part of your daily toilette.

Find a good sunscreen with UVA/UBA protection and apply it DAILY, paying special attention to your face. Make sure your nose is covered. Get back into your hairline, where so many cancerous moles can develop. Keep your head covered if you're going to be outdoors for a long period of time. Protect your ears.

If you have sensitive skin and react badly to chemical sunscreens, PeaceBang encourages you to look into titanium dioxide-based sunblock, or any other of the physical sunblocks that are widely available on the market. These will not irritate your skin like the more typical old-school sunscreens.

PeaceBang Recommends

Highly Recommended

http://tinyurl.com/2amb2t
Derma Doctor Body Guard SPF 30. This is a fantastic product by Dr. Audrey Kunin that treats your skin as it protects it. It does not go on white and greasy even on dark black skins, absorbs beautifully, and kept the very fair-skinned PeaceBang from burning this weekend, which is amazing. $25 for 4oz.

Murad Oilfree Sunblock SPF 30
Wonderful smell, easily available, goes on well and lasts. $30

Peter Thomas Roth Ultralite Oilfree Sunblock
Slightly medicinal smell, but goes on very well and doesn't have much of a greasy sheen to it. $26

Not So Recommended
Bliss Oilfree Sunban Face SPF 30+
This goes on very liquidy, and has a slightly chickeny smell. Yuck. $27

Jason's Sunbrella Sunblock
A great buy at $11 but goes on like clown white. While I was able to rub it into my fair skin and look slightly less conspicuously white than Marcel Marceau, I cannot recommend it for anyone but the lightest of skins, and even then it leaves a weird other-worldly glow that may lead your friends to suspect that you've been taking pinches of arsenic.

Please, readers, submit your own favorites in the comments section! I use Neutrogena and Aveeno products myself, and highly recommend the Neutrogena (Aveeno seems to sweat right off). However, in the interest of not having to buy too many skin care products, I like to take advantage of the generous sample policy offered by Sephora, where their salesclerks are always incredibly helpful and willing to discuss the finer points of titanium dioxide with me and to let me smell, feel and take notes on every kind of product they offer. Kisses to them!

An Extremely Effective Beauty Treatment

2007-04-23T11:12:00.001-04:00

Spring NYC 2007 088
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Absolutely free, available to anyone, anywhere, and good for your blood pressure, too!!

Reading Image In Times Of Crisis

2007-04-19T20:21:00.001-04:00

katie couric
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Ahh, you think that PeaceBang's insistence that clergypeople try to project an image consciously rather than unconsciously is silly, do you?

You think that PeaceBang banging the drum of being camera-ready in a highly visual world is frivolous, do ye?

You wonder why PeaceBang is trying so hard to get religious leaders to pay closer attention to the details of their voice, posture, presence and comportment, dost thou?

Today's New York Times, a periodical not exactly known for its frivolity, analyzes the television coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings by several major network anchors, including NBC's Katie Couric and ABC's Charles Gibson:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/arts/television/19watc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Charles Gibson is praised for his authenticity and for "keeping an even keel," while Brian Williams of the "NBC Nightly News" turns "long-winded and cloying" in personal interviews.

Miss Couric, "who anchored Monday's broadcast in white slacks and very little make-up to signal to viewers that she was hard at work in the field," is criticized for emoting on camera with "gauzy, sorrowful looks." Mr. Gibson is described as "rumpled, pleasant and serious" onscreen.

PeaceBang brings this article to your attention nout not to say that it is fair, or that it is even good journalism, or to start a kind of American Idol competition between news anchors, but simply to point out that contemporary Americans are becoming more and more expert readers of image, and more and more conscious of how those who seek their trust gain it through a combination of personal relationship, public trustworthiness, and that ineffable thing called "presence."

We must know all that we can about our own pastoral and leadership presence. We are responsible for it. We have been trained well, most of us, to be deeply in touch with our insides. Being in touch with our outsides is different work, and challenging work, but it matters. Oh, it matters, my friends.

Personal to Miss Couric: Yes, I agree with you that it was snide and sexist for the NY Times to comment on your make-up or lack thereof, but you're powerful enough to let that roll off your back, I hope. As for white slacks, why not a nice navy? At least 'til after Memorial Day? White seems a little beachy for such a tragic story.

Professor Lucinda Roy

2007-04-19T12:10:00.001-04:00

Professor Lucinda Roy
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Darlings, PeaceBang hasn't felt much like being your cheeky correspondent this week, but she feels that she should say aloud what we're all thinking,

"Professor Lucinda Roy, you are one class act."

Seriously. Amidst the horrors of the Virginia Tech massacre, Dr. Roy has spoken to the media several times about her experience with the profoundly troubled Cheo Seung-Hui. On every occasion that I've seen, she has been composed, articulate, compassionate, and dressed in a manner that communicates total respect for her profession and her school.

Let us watch, and learn, and hope to God that we are never put in a similar situation.

Lord have mercy.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

2007-04-18T21:47:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Maureen McCormick, honey, you don't NEED to go on "Celebrity Fit Club." You're fine; you don't need to go on a special television show to lose weight and humiliate yourself. Just cut back on the Twizzlers and the tuna melts. PeaceBang only wishes she was that "overweight!"

You may, however, choose to enroll in "Celebrity Eyeshadow Rehab," where they'll teach you that it's really not necessary to match your eye shadow to your dress. There can even be a big televised finale where you fling your hideous blue eyeshadow into the garbage, fully reformed.

Also, Maureen? White go-go boots? And... no, I'm not even going to talk about the dress. You're Marcia Brady and that gives you special immunity.

[Thanks to the Fug Girls for the photo]

Techno Wonkiness Continues

2007-04-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

Beloveds, my computer and its crazy little cookies and passwords and things are still mixed up, and this interferes with my ability to read and post to the blog and to my peacebang e-mail.

So far so good, but I had some e-mails from earlier this week that I hadn't seen and wanted to let you know what was going on.

The Footwear Anti-Christ Has Possessed My Soul

2007-04-14T21:02:00.001-04:00

The Footwear Anti-Christ Has Possessed My Soul
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

You can all light a candle and say a prayer for PeaceBang, who is sitting at her desk wearing a pair of GREEN CROCS.

I can hear you gasping across two continents and eight nations (Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Spain, New Zealand, the United States and Canada).

I know. I know. But they were on sale for $4.99 at the Christmas Tree Shop and I needed them for gardening and then I put them on because my feet hurt and lo and behold, I am wearing Crocs. I, the Anti-Croc Crusader. I, the Official Hater and Despiser of Crocs.

People, I am humbled.

But my feet feel great.

And Get Me a Pair While You're At It!!

2007-04-14T12:24:00.001-04:00

And Get Me a Pair While You're At It!!
Originally uploaded by Peacebang.

Thanks to m'dear Philocrites for sending this along...

From http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1607265,00.html:

"Women do spend $1,069--$246 more than men do--on clothing every year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004-2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey.
But that's chump change compared with what single men spend on car ownership ($846 more than single women), eating out ($752 more), alcoholic drinks ($280 more) and audiovisual gear ($143 more).
Cutting back on needless spending isn't a bad idea for anyone, but 'renegotiating your credit-card balances or getting a lower cost on your IRA probably saves you a lot more money,' says Christian Weller, an economist at the Center for American Progress. 'That's much more prudent advice to women than saying 'Don't go buying all those Prada shoes.'"

You have PeaceBang's full permission to join her in lusting after these Prada beauties. Because despite Jesus' admonition, darlings, lusting is FREE.

More On Capris, Eyebrows and My Identity

2007-04-13T15:16:00.001-04:00

You are delightful, readers o' mine.

I awoke this morn quite the Miss Crankypants but as soon as I read your comments on my last post, I cheered right up.

First, the matter of the capri-length pants.

Some more thoughts.
1. Shorter-length pants are sporty. Period. The only gals who can get away with dressing them up are 21-year old Hollywood types who might pair them with gold strappy sandals and a lap dog and therefore make them "dressy" by Los Angeles-area standards. To pull this off, you need a perma-tan, a sports car, a $3,000 little purse and long blonde hair. Do not try this at home.

For most of us, capri-length pants (and Lord have mercy, let's not get shorter than calf-length for ministry work!) are much too youthful and casual for Being Taken Seriously In. They look clean and polished on slim women of average height but for taller women, they look silly, and for short women, they make us look shorter. For heavy women, they're singularly inelegant.

You may love capris with sneakers, my doves, but they do not necessarily love you back. Unless you're on a picnic with congregants, PeaceBang sternly admonishes you to put down the sneakers and leave them for days off.

You may be seeing "shorts suits" in the fashion magazines, but that's a whole different animal. Suits with dressy shorts are an option being marketed to fashionable professional gals, but PeaceBang thinks that not only are they aesthetically hideous, they're fairly impossible for all but the most sartorially talented to pull off well, or at all.

Scott, you didn't appreciate the fact that the "before" picture of Eyebrow Boy made him look like an ax murderer? Where's your appreciation for the finer manipulative points of advertising?! How else should he look but hangdog, shadowy and ominous?
:::chortle, chortle:::

Ms. Dom from Seattle, I am indeed a real life minister. When I'm not channeling my irrepresible alter ego, PeaceBang, I'm serving this lovely congregation: www.firstparishnorwell.org and you're most welcome to acquaint yourself with the deep work of my heart on the sermons link. Not that blogging isn't also the deep work of my heart, but in a different way.

And hey everyone, YogaToes really do work! I've been using them for about a week now, for about an hour at a time, and my toe is in much better shape, and no foot pain!!