The Happy Tutor was kind enough to link to my pinups a while back, and in the process referred to me as:
Krista, herself a red-head (or passing for one?)
My first thought was:
About Krista
Welcome to Thinkery, est. 2003. At the moment, I'm an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Syracuse University. I'm interested in new media, historical conceptions of authorship, and human/machine agency. I write about all of that elsewhere, mostly, and keep this space for other areas of investigation about the world: namely, cooking, gardening, and travel.flickr
And I thought we were all going to get the exceptional benefit of seeing you, coyly displaying your suspenders of course.
I was once begged to dye my hair a pre-raphaelite red. In order to be painted. I didn’t, and I wasn’t, but it did my self-image no end of good!
I had two redheaded grandmothers, and what color is *my* hair? Muddy copper.
What that says about my personality I’m not sure I care to know.
Well, I would like to say that I am a mind-reading Svengali, but actually, I have seen you, in a picture you posted of a beautiful three year old girl in her Dad’s arms. She had straight dirty blond hair. The picture struck me because I am probably within 5 years of your Dad’s age, and he looked to me like someone I might have known, back then, when I might have had a beard and worn those kind of woollen work clothes. So, yes, I confess, I have not only seen you, but imagined holding a childish little you — like your Dad did, with your blonde head buried in my shoulder. (Yes, I am sentimental as can be about kids; they are my favorite people. Maybe it gets back to spanking somehow.)
So, you can imagine my Fatherly shock and dismay when the little blond kid grows up and tries to pass herself off as a red-headed vamp.
See, there’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout – cultural connotation of Redhead as Vamp. I hadn’t thought about that particular one when I posted this. (Come to think of it, though, I had it very much in mind when I first started this whole hair-dyeing business.) I have little intention of currently passing as a vamp. I’m just a Birkenstocks-and-jeans student, actually. Vampishness is too much work right now.
Now, I will admit to a fascination with vamps on this site, and you might even get me to admit to vampishness in my persona. I suppose it’s my fascination with the stereotype of Vamp as Uppity Woman, perhaps one step away from your own dear Candidia.
I know what a charismatic man the Happy Tutor is, and believe me, millions of women of all genders throw themselves at his feet, but please recognize that we are happily married. He has your Red-headed Vamps printed out and posted all over our bedroom. He calls them “Models of Excellence.” You can’t imagine how much time I am having to spend on getting the look exactly right. I am a natural blonde and it is not easy passing for a red-head, even when the audience is willing and eager to suspend its disbelief. Any beauty tips would be greatly appreciated.
I think I may have seen the vampy K once.
When? That one time that I dressed up for class?
Right (if we’re thinking of the same time): long black dress with a slit, high heels. I thought it was in preparatin to celebrate something and when I inquired, you thought I was asking you to go out and celebrate the end of class?
Ah, master minds at communication. ha.
Totally braced
Sitting here very early this morning, rocking, chewing my knuckle, turning small domestic hiccough into crisis of Jobian proportions, sliding down the slimebank towards the morass. And then I find THIS. And I laughed. A lot. I should have said…
what exactly is the defintion for vampy?