Meghan Tonjes Is Fat (Oh And Gorgeous, By The Way)

This is Meghan Tonjes (pronounced as spelt). If you don't know who she is, she's a singer/songwriter and vlogger from Los Angeles who posts a lot of videos on youtube. Some of her singing, and some of her talking about things. All sorts of things, but a lot about things to do with self image and self confidence. And she started a youtube channel dedicated to the same idea called Project Lifesize. Also, she's appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

So, she's been quite busy over the last few years. And up until recently, I'd never heard of her. What I heard about first was the controversy over this photo, which she put up on her Instagram page as part of a series detailing her weight loss journey. Which got taken down. No warning, no explanation, except to say that someone had complained that it was 'offensive'. Whatever that meant - as I said, there was no explanation. I must admit I was puzzled, because I couldn't see anything particularly outrageous about it - it looks like hundreds of other photos that get put up every day on social media.

But she figured she knew why, and put up this video saying what she thought:-

And when I watched it, I thought 3 things. First, I thought she had a great smile, and was/is very pretty. Second, I thought that she's actually pretty smart as well. She has a problem, and she puts it across well without shouting or throwing a tantrum - which is getting quite rare on the internet these days. And, third, I noticed just a few musical instruments in the background. Reading the article again was when I registered that she is, as I said, a singer/songwriter, so I looked her up on youtube. Where this video comes from. And listened to a few of her songs - and then a few more. And watched some of her other F.A.T. (Frequently Asked Tonjes) videos, like this one. Well worth watching, all of them.

And, after that, I was pleased, annoyed, and challenged. Pleased because I'd found another good musician, annoyed that I hadn't found her before, and challenged because it made me wonder. How often do I behave like that? I didn't find that picture particularly outrageous, as I said, but how often do I respond to something that's essentially harmless as if it's really a problem. I don't know the answer, except to say 'too often'. And, also, how do I respond when someone else has a problem with me - do I respond as well as she did? Something to think about, I think - and keep thinking about. And working on changing. So I'm following her on youtube now. Not because I think she's attractive, though she is; but because she has a great voice, and she says things I could do with listening to.

By the way, Instagram restored her picture, and apologised. But they still didn't give an explanation, except to say that they 'sometimes get it wrong'. Hmm.

So, here's another few photos of her

 

Tweeting Or Twatting!

I joined Twitter earlier this year, on God's insistence; though, to be fair, I haven't really done much with it. But I thought I'd share a few thoughts about it anyway. Recently, I read this post and an article saying how it is on the verge of disappearing, which made me think.

It's been about almost as long as Facebook, and it's essentially easy to use; so, if it is going to disappear, why would that be? For the record, I don't think it is, nor do I think Facebook will. But, what is the difference?

The most obvious difference is that, due to it's format, it doesn't appear to have any ads. Which is kind of puzzling, cos you have to wonder how they can support themselves. The other main difference is that it is both more immediate and less social than Facebook - which, if it is shrinking would probably be why.

It's obvious why it is more immediate, but not quite so much why it is less social. The reason being, because of the limits of what you can put on there, you can't exactly have a conversation. Which ends up making it very self indulgent. There's not really any way you can develop a thought; you just have to say something and get it out there. Which makes it brilliant for advertising or publicity of any kind; but not so good for building relationships.

A bit like having a conversation via text tather than an actual phone call (remember those?). Which is why it should be remembered to be very careful what you say, because not only do the people who read it only have those words to go by; you don't even know who your readers are, necessarily. So, remember, more tweeting, less twatting - and by that, I mean both not hitting people over the head with your words, and not being a twat. Though I can't stop you.

Just my thoughts and musings on the matter. So, to finish, I'll give you this joke, which took 5 years to come to fruition...