Identity Crisis + Why My Mop Turns Me On

My blog has a bit of an identity crisis. Or at least according to search engines, it does. But I'm not going to let the mechanics of Google pigeon hole me! When I set out to write a blog, I wanted to incorporate everything that I like so I would enjoy writing it: that includes music, fashion, cooking, (although I've been a lame duck on that one), books, writing, poems... and sometimes the news, which I occasionally glance at.

I often wonder, like a kid in the corner of the cafeteria without many friends, if this blog would be more popular if I picked one genre and stuck with it - like just music stuffs, (although I'm usually the last to pick up on the "it" bands, so I'm not much of a taste maker, more someone who gets really excited and jumps up and down when I see or hear something I like, which is typically after everyone else has jumped ship), or just outfit photos, but doing just outfit photos is boring to me. Granted, I like looking at blogs that are just outfit photos, and I do have an expectation that clothes and fashion inspiration are what I see when I go to those sights, and I go to them because I like them, but it makes me realize that I give potential readers very little expectation when they arrive.  I like to think of this blog as sort of a grab bag of goodies.  (no baddies here!)

So, I can either make it a plan to make my blog popular by focusing my efforts on one genre, then doubling those efforts for more and better content, or I can keep puttering along posting all the things I get excited about.

Hey! Wait! That's my THEME! "Things Amanda Gets Excited About." Maybe I should just rename this blog?

Until then, here's an outfit picture:

and just to keep it eclectic, here's a video:





And if your name is Elizabeth my awesome coworker who brought me Sonic today, or Scott from Little Rock, you'll know why I posted this particular gem.

I also have to share this next video.  I'm going to spend a chunk of my Friday night cleaning, and if you want to know why, Sarah Haskins of Target Women will TELL YOU!  (oh no - feminist humour!  my blog is all over the place!).




I'm seduced by my cleaning products. Who needs men? (again thanks to Elizabeth for that video tip).

Ok, I'm finished feeling silly/procrastinating. My dish sponge awaits. oh-yeah.

A Bro-Core Tutorial

Tonight I went downtown with my friend Alyssa to see a favorite band from high school years of yore, Copeland, play at Emo's.  It was so so crowded we couldn't get anywhere near the stage, so after watching through a doorway for a bit, being hit on by a 23 year old, (I feel old, or old fashioned: no younger men for me, even if I was single), we decided to take a stroll around 6th Street, which is always an easy means for giggles. 

After walking through a tour bus worth of frat boys and girls (seriously, was there a freshman party bus parked somewhere near by??), and almost choking on the scent of cologne and Bud Light, I began lamenting the tragedy of style that is "bro-core."  But Alyssa, like several other people I've talked to, didn't know what bro-core is!

It's time that everyone knows how to easily recognize and identify the bad fashion choice of many a 6th Street and UFC goer that is "bro-core."

Perusing Urban Dictionary's definition of Bro-Core has led me to believe that there is a genuine lack of knowledge as to the true nature of the scene, so I'm going to try and set the record straight.

First, a pictorial explanation:

One of the most common denominators of bro-core die-hards is a love of UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship.  This is where burly guys with no chest hair get into a giant octagon and kick each other until someone bleeds out.  If you're in the stands, you're probably bro-core. 

In the same vein of UFC, if someone likes UFC affiliated clothing, such as TapOut shirts with the logo prominently displayed across the chest and the shoulder blades, they are most likely bro-core.  

While the flourishes of the TapOut shirt may have been all the decoration a person outside of the bro-core mindset can stand, true bro-core affectionados like to go all out with their embellishments, especially when there are skulls, crosses, rhinestones, or all three involved as design elements. 

It's also imperative that one's rippling biceps be overflowing from their bro-core t-shirt, so a giant container of powdered muscle milk, possibly in a chocolate caramel swirl flavor, can be found on top of a bro-core adherent's refrigerator.  What's inside that fridge?  Probably a dead carcass.  Yum, protein! 

And don't forget why all that muscle is important - you never know when kicking tail during an MMA, (mixed martial arts), fight is going to need to be translated to a bar fight.  After all, some dudes are just asking to be tied into pretzels.

Worried about being that dude in a bar who might get tied into a pretzel by a real, live bro-core dude?  Chances are if a bar is playing Nickelback, then stay away.  Nicelback wrote every bro-core dude's favorite song, (it's their jam).

And when fists are waving in the air to the awesomeness that is throaty, campy rock, you can bet most of them will be adorned with hardcore, studded wrist bands.  The better for face smashing with!

But bro-core doesn't mean not sensitive.  The slew of Ed Hardy t-shirts on bro-core style savvy dudes, with messages of lost love and broken hearts, should tell a lady that this guy is both hard and sensitive.

He may even play you a love song from another one of his favorite bands, Hatebreed.  You'll just have to listen to the lyrics through all the growling.   I mean music.

Ed Hardy isn't the only type of tattoo that bro-core dudes like.  Tribal swirls and flames fan across the arms and backs of most true bro-core fans.

The bigger the hole, the bigger the bro.

While the popped collar is also associated with "frat-core," it can also be sported by bro-core dudes on nights when they need to step up their game and impress a lady.  

Of course, when I searched for this image, Google had their own associations with the style:

Google never lies!

So can bro-core be summed up in a matter of words?  Can hipster?  Can hippie? 

Well... yes.  Yes they can.  And bro-core is easily surmised as follows:

Any dude, who is in fact a dude, and not just a dude, who takes pride in his physique, enjoys sports with blood, intricate clothing details, and grunting a lot, cans safely call himself bro-core.  Bro-core dudes usually travel in packs, too.  Thus spawning offshoot terms such as bro-mance, bro-ciety, and single.  

And if you are offended by this post and find it personally insulting and in no way amusing, you yourself might be bro-core, as bro-core doesn't take bro-core lightly.


Happy 6th Street strolling :)