Stuff!

Feb. 8th, 2010 07:32 pm
blue_lotus13: (Default)
I haven't updated because I have either (a) had company or (b) been company. A came into town for work earlier than planned, so he was able to attend a Pecha Kucha night with me. Pecha Kucha is a Japanese word meaning "chit chat" and it's a global movement that allows for informative presentations of about 6 minutes each. These presentations bring young global creatives together. Mari was doing a presentation on Winterlight at this one, so we went to sit in the balcony to watch and offer moral support. This Pecha Kucha was a little uneven, but still rather interesting. A lot of bloggers said that it was the weakest Pecha Kucha that Edmonton has ever had, but I still thought it was pretty interesting and I'd go to another one.

Other highlights of our time in Edmonton- taking A to Barb and Ernie's, where they make pancakes the size of dinner plates and bake the bacon in them. (Good if you're into that sort of thing)

We then drove to Calgary. Around Red Deer, we heard a radio ad for I need a wife , a personal assistant service for people living in the Red Deer region. This is one of the most sexist, stereotypical ads that I have ever heard in my life and I was dumbfounded. We checked out the website and found out it is legit!!!

A few other random highlights- I drove in Calgary! I was nervous driving into town, but this is partly because my memories of Calgary were shaped by my childhood. I went to Calgary a lot as a kid, and the highway always seemed really fast and intense. So I was a bit nervous, but since I've been driving around Edmonton for a year and a half by myself, it wasn't that scary, especially since I had a good navigator. The day after that, we even drove to the Calgary Farmers' market, which reminded me of a cross between Granville island and the Old Strathcona market in Edmonton.
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Last night I was watching some Saturday Night Live, because I couldn't fall asleep. I was really disgusted to see TWO skits with domestic violence in them. One was about Tiger Woods and his mistresses. The running gag was that Elin, his wife, was beating him. The other skit was about "Gossip Girl- Staten Island". It also involved two characters hitting each other.

I was not amused by any of this, especially since Rihanna was the musical guest, and today is the anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

Fortunately, two of my friends also noticed this and mentioned it on their twitter feeds.

Every time I get a glimpse of SNL, I wonder why it's still on. Half of the shit that they do isn't funny.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
Many of you have probably seen this, but this article on Feministing really sums up my feelings on Judd Apatow and Bromance.

I love Bromance. I love dudes. I love dudes with other dudes. But what I really don't love is the misogyny that comes out of that. I don't like lines like, "I can see your vagina" as an insult, which appeared in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

I don't like lines about "removing your tampon" or "getting a gyno check" as insults. These lines even appear in "How I met your mother", which I love with the passion of ten thousand suns.

I like humour, but I don't want to feel like I'm a second class citizen because I have lady parts. I shouldn't have to feel this way.
blue_lotus13: (alex)
I was in the Safeway parking lot when I spotted the most horrific decal I have ever seen. The decal was on a Suburban and it featured a cartoon of a woman wearing a bikini. The woman was on her back and her feet and hands were tied up, as if she was a calf that had been captured at a rodeo. The sign underneath the tied up woman read "Alberta Bound."

I was extremely horrified by the sheer sexism of this decal. A loud "Ew" escaped my mouth and I frantically looked around so I could point this horror out to someone. The guy stopped his car and got out. He was a big dude, and I even thought about commenting on his horrific decal, but then I decided it wasn't worth my time or effort.

Still, I had to mention it here because the sheer sexism and violence of that particular decal was jarring and disgusting for me. I wonder about the kind of person who could put this on his car. I suspect it's a person that I wouldn't like very much.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
I have problems with the word "douchebag." I know that it's pejorative and that it is an acceptable insult, but to me, it's a bit out there. Why should I want to call someone something that has to do with cleaning a vagina? I'm not really in favour of the process of douching, since it seems pretty pointless, but the term "douche" or "douchebag" has always irritated me.

Does anyone else think that this insult is fairly sexist? Am I the only one who feels this way?
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My friend April posted this link on her facebook and it's too good not to share.

Basically the video looks at the sexual implications in cleaning product commercials.

Have a look
blue_lotus13: (Default)
I am still quite sick, so I am taking it somewhat easy today, as I had very busy workdays on Thursday and Friday.

Yesterday I went to a session on computers at the Farm Women's Conference. Yvonne Tollens, the woman who gave the speech was really cool. I found out later that she was named one of Alberta's 50 most influential business people and won a national award for women entrepreneurs.

She had a background in agriculture, and her husband came from an IT background. They put their heads together and came up with an internationally recognized software which is used by farmers all over the world to track their cattle operations.

She told a lot of the women, some of whom had never been online, some of the ways to navigate around the web and some of the things they could learn to do.

Her motto is "If they can do it, I can do it", which makes sense to me.

Then she spoke about how these women should be campaigning for wireless Internet, and how rural communities need to be connected so they can access necessary information. She even said, "Being able to be connected to the Internet is as important for rural Canadians as power was when it first came out."

I totally agree. Shutting rural Canadians out of good Internet service decreases so many of their options and opportunities, especially with the continued growth of online learning, and the ability to access almost anything you want via the web. It's denying people access to information, and you can imagine how I feel about that.

I actually died a little bit inside when I found out how many of these women were still on dial-up Internet.


She also talked about how the women could create or engage in online business opportunities to earn extra money for their farms.

I was inspired by how eager the women in the audience were to learn about some of these things.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
Many of you have probably read this study, but here it is anyway Feminists have better romantic relationships
blue_lotus13: (craigannoyedconfused)
Last night, I couldn't fall asleep, so I flipped on the tv. It was about 1:00. and I was flipping through some channels. I flipped by late night "Showcase". "Showcase" is a Canadian channel that shows some artsy HBO programming. They show a lot of reruns during the day, and advertise their "Fridays without Borders" which basically means that they show softcore.

Now, I've never really seen a porn. I've seen movies, and have read many books and seen random clips on the Intenet, but have never rented or been around a rented porn movie.

So last night, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of a show called "Porno Valley." It's some kind of reality porn show, featuring porn actresses competing to be "Last Girl Standing." I guess it's also meant to show people more about porn production companies, since they had a few scenes with weirdos coming in off the street wondering how they could star in porn, talking to some of the production people etc.

In some of the "reality" segments, the porn star girls were naked and getting it on with each other. There was a scene in which the girls were supposed to stimulate an all girl orgy with each other. To get past censors, their vaginas were "blotted out" during certain scenes. I found this funny, because, yeah, that blotch really hides EVERYTHING. It's not like I couldn't see that another girl was putting her hand, tongue or other objects inside the blotch.

What really got me were the women's bodies. I'm a straight woman, but I tend to think the naked female body is quite beautiful. I love nudes, both male and female and tasteful nudity in art or film is a plus. (ANd I'm not just talking about Ewan McGregor's bits)

But these women weren't attractive at all to me; they had pneumatic fake breasts which seemed ridiculously out of proportion, no waists or curves and plastic looking faces and skin. I didn't really like their personalities during the "talking" segments, and so that made them even less attractive. Some of them didn't even have butts, just flat asses.

I found these nude bodies really disturbing. Is this what is supposed to be hot? Who is creating and marketing this fantasy?

I think about the Playboy books that came out a few years ago that featured models from the 60s and 70s. We had some at Chapters- There was a blondes, brunettes and a redheads book. I thumbed through them a couple of times. The women had real curves and looked interesting. How have we gone from those women to the women I saw on tv last night?

I know I don't see a lot of naked women, but this porn concept scares me.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
American magazines are neglecting women writers

And apparently the new editor of Harper's magazine sucks.

****
Yesterday I attended a talk by David Bouchard . (Coolest Website ever). He was a fantastic speaker and really got the teachers laughing and engaged. I'm a big fan of his books, so it was a treat to get to listen to him.

One of the other fantastic things about this event was that I ended up sitting behind a really nice couple that I know from Saskatoon.They moved here in July and are now teaching in different schools in GP. (Tanya Yungwirth and James Hudeyma for those playing along at home. Tanya may have dated Ryan or Dave back in the day- I can't remember) Anyway, so I got their phone number and hope to hang out with them soon.

I also found out that Ballet BC will be coming up here in the fall, which means that I might have a chance to visit with some of my dancer friends again.

I had the brilliant idea yesterday of trying to get some of the companies from Vancouver to tour here. A woman suggested I contact some of the dance schools to see if they're interested. I might just do that.

***
Last night I watched "Fast Food Nation". It was okay, but no screaming hell. I much preferred the book, but was curious to see how Erich Schlosser and Richard Linklater adapted a non-fiction book into a movie. I just found it pretty uneven, and it didn't have a good narrative arch, but it was pretty good at depicting the horror of a meat-packing plant.
***

I am LOVING my novel. I love the fact that I'm constantly surprised by what happens as I write it. I start working on a scene, and then I continue onwards and am surprised by the way the story unfolds. I wish I had more time to work on it, but it's the agri-show this weekend, and I must represent the paper, while wearing the ugliest shirt in the world. I'll post a picture later. It must be seen to be believed.
blue_lotus13: (womanly)
The high cost of manliness

Interesting article about masculinity.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
You should really be reading Feministing .
blue_lotus13: (godismywitness)
Dear Bust magazine ,

I'm sorry to have to end things like this, but I have to be truthful. I think we're on a break. And this time, it's not me, it's you. Lately, it seems that when I read you, I have the sort of feeling that one has when they go out for lunch with a love interest that's gone wrong. I keep on going out for lunch with you, thinking that the conversation will be good, thinking that we had a connection, but then during lunch I remember that you are vapid and that you bore me and make me feel dirty. Lately, it seems we have less and less in common, and frankly, you're too into yourself.

I knew that things were going sour once I saw the coke ring on your pages. I was immediately turned off and offended. I know that people do coke, but do I really need to see an endorsement of cocaine in the pages of a feminist magazine? I don't think so.

It didn't always used to be like this. I used to be excited by you and your content and feel that you were giving me a fresh, new perspective. I loved your articles and your movie, book and cd reviews. I'm a sex positive feminist and I liked that you were too. You made me think and what's sexier than that?

I must admit that you still have your good qualities. You publish and promote work by many of my friends, you're advocating DIY and you continue to promote some things I believe in. However, I knew that our love had faded when I saw your music issue and was not even tempted to take you home. And frankly, I've been seeing other magazines. Your place in my life has been filled by Bitch , a magazine that inspires me and compels me to think about the world and pop culture, which I love. In fact, Bitch was even in my bed, keeping me company last night! I might even cement our love by purchasing a subscription!

So, Bust , I think we're on a break. At least, until you think things through and get your act together.
blue_lotus13: (Default)
I recently read "No place for a lady" by Barbara Hodgson. This is the second book that I've read by Hodgson. She's a novelist, non-fiction writer and book designer. I first got interested in her books because I read an article about a new exhibit at the Vancouver Museum . The exhibit, which will be on until October 2006, is called "No place for a lady; tales of adventurous women travellers."

As it was a typical rainy Sunday in Vancouver, B* and I went to the museum to check out the exhibit. I've been to the Vancouver museum before for a lecture, but hadn't actually seen the exhibits. In the first room, there are some timelines about Vancouver's history, which were rather interesting. B* and I acknowledged that as we get older, we both find ourselves more interested in learning more about history, especially about the history of the places we happen to be or live in. Personally, I also find myself more interested in Canadian history, because I am constantly realizing how little I know about the history of my own country. History first came alive for me and really became interesting in university, when I took my first course in Asian history and fell in love with learning about China.

The exhibit "No place for a lady" is incredibly well done. There are old maps and historical documents, and old items such as bloomers, suitcases, jewellery etc. It's historically interesting, and very well documented. The exhibit is quite fun and has a lot of humour in it. I was personally amused by one party of two women, who crossed the desert using 102 camels to carry their supplies. I also learned a lot of interesting things- Bloomers were used because underwear was considered improper. There were guns designed especially for women. Women were some of the first travellers allowed to visit harems. The exhibit is worth a look, especially if you're a person with wanderlust or a passion for history.
blue_lotus13: (frida)
I would like to learn if there are any events/memorials in Vancouver for December 6th, the National Day of Rememberance/Action against Violence against Women. I remember hearing that there were none for the public in Vancouver. Please let me know if you can think of any. Thanks in advance.

Squee!

Aug. 12th, 2005 10:12 am
blue_lotus13: (pippi)
My article on women and tattoos is the cover story!!!!

(I might use some of the money from the article to get another tattoo. It just seems appropriate.)
blue_lotus13: (justingenius)
While reading a depressing article about the closing of Women in Print British Columbia's only women's book store, I came up with an idea for an article, which has already been accepted by Herizons . I'm going to write a short article about women's bookstores in Canada.

Oh, and my article about women and tattoos should be coming out soon. That issue goes to press in a few days. I'm excited.
blue_lotus13: (frida)
This is something that I've wanted to post about for a while. I'm curious to know what people do when they see domestic disputes in public. For example, when I see a man and woman having a fight, I tend to stop walking by and watch, especially if I think that it's going to erupt into violence. I want to let the people know that I'm watching. But I'm curious to know what others do. If you see a man hit a woman in public, should you call 9-11? Should you yell something to let them know that you saw and that it's wrong? I usually just stop and stare, but is there something else that I could do or that should be done.

*I realize that sometimes the woman hits the man, or that it's two men or two women having an argument. In this case, I'm more interested in how people combat violence against women, even though I am interested in how people work against violence in general.

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