John McCain Stands Up for Dirty Jokes

First they came for your guns. Now they’re coming for your dirty jokes. Or so thinks John McCain. The Arizona senator took a stand for sex jokes, valentines, and masculine pronouns in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week.

The perceived threat to such communications came from a set of campus sexual-assault policy reforms prescribed by the Departments of Education and Justice last month. It was written in response to a string of mishandled sexual assault cases at the University of Montana and designed as a blueprint for other rape-ridden campuses. For reporting purposes, the agreement defined sexual harassment as “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” an expansion from the separate, legal standard for sexual harassment under Title IX: harassment “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim’s access to an educational opportunity or benefit.” Conservative pundits and, apparently, McCain believe the new definition will impinge upon students’ free speech and, in a Tarantonion turn of phrase, “de-eroticize the university.”

But, as ThinkProgress explains, the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights has said over and over that the new definition will not govern the enforcement of sexual harassment policies. It's just to prevent students from being discouraged from reporting sexual harassment or assault, something we know happens all the time, and not just out of a totally rational fear of retaliation. Then let the universities decide whether it constitutes a hostile environment or not. 

Until that idea makes it into McCain’s skull, he is worried the expanded definition could mean that all kinds of banal encounters will qualify as sexual harassment. As outlined in his letter to Holder:

You hear that, girls who hate it when guys ask them out on dates? McCain’s got his eye on you.

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Chanel Couture: Karl’s ‘Stocking Shoes,’ and Other Shiny Solutions to Our Dirty World

Today's Chanel couture show, titled "The Old World and the New World," was all about contrasting the grimy, dilapidated present with a gleaming future full of impeccable models. Guests sat in creaky wooden chairs that were painted to look dusty; the effect was so realistic that publicists had to reassure guests like Rihanna and Kristen Stewart that it was indeed safe to park their Chanel-clad butts on them. Meanwhile, the floor of the Grand Palais was strewn with dirt and rubble, and the windows were made to appear broken. Then, when the show began, curtains parted to reveal a gleaming, Oz-type city on a raised stage.

Karl's utopian future.

Models emerged from this utopian backdrop in stiff, futuristic version of Chanel staples like tailored jackets and long prim dresses, rendered in reflective silver and white fabrics. The prints were pixellated and geometric, while hairdos and hats were square-shaped. The future, according to Karl, is shiny and clean and full of right angles.

Another highlight: What appeared to be some combination of leggings and/or very tight thigh-high boots were actually held up by garters, according to WWD — Karl is calling them “stocking shoes," which is a mouthful, so we shall call them shockings. Click through to see the full collection in our slideshow.

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Look at Charli XCX’s Gloriously Dirty Hair

Maybe you already are familiar with the British singer-songwriter because you watched her sultry cover of the Backstreet Boy's "I Want It That Way." But if you didn't, then let me introduce you to the talented young crooner and her incredible mound of hair. Watch the YouTube clip of her cover and see how she flips it from one side to the other. There's so much hair, and it's healthy. 

Initial analysis of her follicles suggests that she is the owner of naturally squiggly hair. But curly hair is prone to epic bouts of frizziness; hers is well-maintained and glossy. To keep the frizz at bay and her ends conditioned, there's a chance she gives it a daily dose of hair oil, like L'Oreal's Mythic Oil. She also probably rarely washes it (a universal truth for healthier follicles) and spritzes in some leave-in conditioner in the evenings before whipping the strands into braids. This nightly routine will help her curls keep their shape and structure for the next day.

To complete your Charli XCX transformation, also rim your eyes in black. On top, draw an exaggerated cat-eye shape with liquid liner, then lightly smudge a pencil liner (Clinique's has a built-in sponge smudger) along the waterline on the bottom. Midriff-baring T-shirt and schoolgirl-uniform skirt are optional.

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