Month / March 2026

by Lexine

The Power Of Beauty

Penelope Cruz photographed by the late, great Herb Ritts for US Vogue, March 2001

When this cover hit newsstands 25 years ago this month, I gasped in awe. Not because of topless Penelope–that part didn’t catch my eye, actually. But it was the sultry pulchritude of Penelope with the blurb “The Power Of Beauty” that did. For as long as I’ve been reading women’s/fashion magazines, plenty of them, but especially Anna Wintour’s Vogue, have often touted beige-skinned, blue-eyed blondes with the thin lips and thinner hips as the “beauty ideal”. As a gullible teen who was none of that, there were times when those discriminating messages got to me. (Looking back at that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ass-backwards rich white males that owned Conde Nast and Hearst influenced that racist bullshit in my fashion/women’s titles.) 

Then here comes Penelope, with her dark hair, brown eyes, sunkissed skin, and full lips, fronting Vogue’s March 2001 issue. Her look was the antithesis of the Paltrows and Kidmans of Hollywood, and I adored her upon first sight. Penelope instantly joined my list of beauty idols of the time: Lucy Liu (the lone female Asian star at the time), Jessica Alba, Tyra Banks, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (who would get her own Vogue cover later that year), to name a few. I think I bought two copies of that issue–one to read and one that I left sealed in its plastic wrapping for keepsakes. (These were days when Vogue’s March and September issues were, like, 700 pages and came with a supplemental issue, thus the plastic wrapping). I still have both issues to this day. 

By the way, I remember reading the readers’ letters of that issue (remember those sections?), and one reader did complain about Penelope being topless on the cover. For me, I found it a lot more tasteful and classy than, oh, Melania Trump wearing a full wedding gown on her cover in 2005. And don’t get me started on those who later got Vogue covers that shouldn’t have gotten them in the first place *cough*Nicki*cough*

(Side note: this could be the last month I do these throwback magazine cover posts, but if I find something good for next month…👀)

by Lexine

Pics From The 107 Days Book Tour (Oakland, CA)

I almost passed up on attending this event. It was two weeks ago when I found out MVP Kamala Harris scheduled an event in her hometown for her 107 Days Book Tour. My initial reason for not needing to attend was that I had already seen her, albeit for free and unexpectedly, and how could I beat that? In the two weeks since, well…plenty has happened here in the States. And I had a feeling Harris wanted to talk about all that, so I went!

 

It was a lot more packed at the event than this pic shows
A menu of the drinks served.

I didn’t get to see that drinks menu until after the event, and if I only knew they had mocktails, I would’ve gone for that!

Sign that tells attendees that our likeness can be used in any way for the event, that they may own it “for eternity”, and that we can’t sue the venue for this.
Our should-be First Gentleman, Doug Emhoff (Harris’ husband)
View of the stage from my balcony seats

 

She’s back! My President has returned!! If a smile was energy, hers could power all of the Bay Area for days.

Close-up of MVP Harris in discussion
Harris listening to Congressman Simon

Plenty was talked about. How Congressman Simon (who moderated the event) first knew Harris. MVP’s days as a prosecutor in SF and rising up all the way to Vice-President. The Orange guy (of course), his “totalitarian” regime, the new war he started, and his “feckless” ways. (I like how she said that feckless was the only “F” word she could say as there were kids present at the event. Now I wonder what would’ve been said had it been an 18+ over event 😆) She also spoke about voter suppression, ICE raids in Minneapolis and elsewhere, her experiences while touring the South in the past year, and how all this chaos we’re witnessing in real time has been decades in the making.

However, my favorite part of the event was when Harris answered questions from the audience. Two of them came from adolescents. The first teen recently lost her mother to cancer, and MVP told them while it’s always tough to lose a loved one, what can’t be taken away are the moments they’ve shared together. The second teen wants to organize his peers to vote when they can, and how to proceed with it. Everyone applauded him and Harris told that him to “remember” that applause, because there could be a time when his idea may be met with no support. 🥹

It’s that kind of encouragement to our youth alone that make me go…goddammit, she really should’ve been President. Like, she could’ve still done a book tour, but her book would’ve had a different ending and she would’ve held the tour four or eight years from now. Alas, the racism, misogyny, and willful ignorance that still plague this country…

One thing I’m glad I didn’t see were hecklers, as there were none (I’m pleased to report). I legit was ready to cuss them out! Didn’t even see any protestors outside, which was a relief because, mind you, Oakland is right next to both Berkeley and SF, both of which has its fair share of antisemitic idiots that still–in the year of our fascist 2026–think she and Biden are responsible for the mess in Gaza.

Now, go check your voter registration, everyone. MVP said so! If you want to restore democracy, make sure you’re still registered to vote for it!