Parody: Fotoshop by Adobé

 

 

This is definitely a case of funny but true. Incredibly well made, the video, by Jesse Rosten, is a sendup on the Photoshopping industry that takes place in the media at large - the results of which have been truly devastating to people of all races, sexual affiliations and genders. If we choose to, we can take this as an important lesson in not only how the notion of being oneself is disparaged within society, but like a virus, contaminates us individually. With such awareness, perhaps we can then begin to make choices that encourage us to be more accepting of ourselves as we really are. Have a look.

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Losing Femininity in the Elusive Search for Kansas

One thing that's been on my mind often lately is relationships. Whether they be familial, between strangers or with oneself, I find it interesting just how far we as a society have drifted from each other on a spiritual level. This profound chasm of fear has led us all to find enemies where none exist.

We have become so divorced from our divine creative force - true femininity that goes beyond the bounds of gender - that sometimes I wonder if we will ever find our way back from the precipice. This article outlines some of the very real concerns we face today as a result of losing our way. Enjoy.

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High Priestess in the Pulpit: A Theory on the Feminist Vegetarian/Vegan Movement

I was a vegetarian for about three years. When I think about the reasons for it, I found that my initial decision was to eat as low on the food chain as humanly possible in order to lessen the amount of suffering on the planet.

As a woman, I knew what it was to be subjected to sexism and objectified. Because of this, I didn't want to perpetuate the cycle any longer. I wanted to be a part of the solution if even in a small way.

I've often thought about the psychological reasons behind my choice and think this article explains it fairly well. Have a look. And for the French speakers. :)

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! As we begin the new year, so many of us are stressed out from all the holiday madness and need torecharge our batteries. One great way to do that is with meditation. One that not only works wonders for helping me to relax, but also provide an amazing detox for both body and soul is Eiriu Eolas (EE) for short. The instant results are incredibly healing  - in fact so much so that you'll actually want to do it again and again. Please note that the Beatha or BaHa (round breath) is NOT recommended for people who are pregnant, suffer from epilepsy or other neurological disorders.

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Still traveling, but back to blogging

I'm currently in Belgium - Antwerp, and having a blast. This country is abound with frites, chocolate and beer. This picture is actually in Vlissingen. Lovely... For those of you that still visit, I'm compiling a bunch of interesting new things to tell you about. Thanks for being patient.

t

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Video Game: Little Big Planet

How cute does is game look? If I were a video gamer, I'd definitely give this one a try. It's also rated for everyone to be able to play! Take a look: http://www.littlebigplanet.com/

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There's No Need To Fear...

Just a little fun... Oh, also:

underdogshow.com

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Pentagon Pundit Documents

For all who are interested, you can check out the text-searchable documents in the pentagon military analyst program that The Center for Media and Democracy has just released. It's located at: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pentagon_military_analyst_program:_Documents

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Making Life Creative

Ovation TV is a pretty cool site that has entertainment for the artist in all of us. While a lot of people don't consider themselves artistic, I do think that we all have the capacity to bring creativity to any and everything we do. Anyway, If you fancy a look (my trip to the UK coming out!): http://www.ovationtv.com/pages/37

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It's all coming back to me...

Hi all,

I 've been traveling the world and am slowly getting back to writing. I apologize for the long wait, but the good news is that I am returning with a fresh perspective of the world and how other countries/cultures see America. Everyone seems to have their eyes on us like a younger sibling and we, like the older sibling don't really take much notice. Hopefully this will change as the world continues to get smaller and as we keep reaching out to each other via the magic that is the internet.

To anyone who is the least bit apprehensive about traveling, I have just one thing to say to you. Go. Life is short and the people of the world for the most part are helpful and friendly. Yes people can be grumpy, quite a few of them live here. Don't listen to your television. Everyone is not out to get you. People still love Americans (especially the money they think we have!) If you find yourself lost, people will stop and give you directions. Some will even walk you to your destination. Strange foods are yummy. Oh, and any country offering "drinking water" is doing so for a reason.

Tomorrow isn't promised to us. Do what you want to do. Today.

Be well,

t

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Interview: The Church of Stop Shopping

I'm so excited to have been able to get an interview with Rev. Billy who's Church of Stop Shopping was the subject of the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? I found it to be hilarious and deliciously subversive...
(graphic courtesy of revbilly.com)

Are you actually a reverend or have you taken the role of reverend for your performance art? If it's the latter, why did you choose this particular method to get your message across?
We Stop Shopping. We resist consumerism. So we don't adhere to the labels that products must have. We have a church and a reverend and a choir, but we don't start with those labels. We ask that you experience yourselves with us, together having an experience of not shopping -- what we call the "Fabulous Worship!" - then make up descriptions and words later...


How are you and your choir able to devote so much time to the cause and still manage to make a living?
God bless you! This means that we are whipping up a lot of fire and brimstone, sound and fury, signifying Stop Shopping! To your question: We have set up a legal nonprofit. We accept donations through the website, approach foundations, pass the plate. The greatest source of value to our choir is the volunteerism of the singers, who have day jobs and families.


Your message is upsetting to many people. Have you ever felt that your personal safety was at risk?
All real change is found offensive by some. Jesus showed us to forgive. Gandhi and Dr. King and Cesar Chavez showed the way. Change must always have an instigator.


Freegans have recently become known to popular culture, have you ever considered joining forces with them since you both believe strongly in the same/similar issue?
We have eating styles and faith backgrounds from all over the map. Our group is like a subway car in Queens or a bus in South Central Los Angeles. We don't dictate life style value systems to our community. The one value we share is that we want to Consume less.


What was the impetus that caused you to form the Church of Stop Shopping?
Now more than ever we must change, the earth itself, creation itself, is demanding that we change how we live. We consider ourselves translators for the earth.


I see that The Church of Stop Shopping has expanded from it's original idea to include privatization and become much more political. How did this come about?
Nothing is more political that Stopping our Shopping. The present economic system, as run by the mega-corporations, needs for us to shop till we drop, to stay in personal debt, ,and in doing so to convert from citizens over to consumers. All things that we own in common, the post office, the parks, the armed services -- they are becoming privatized by the Consumerizers. If you say No! than they call you a protester. Citizens say No! sometimes because we know that we have our First Amendment freedoms. Take the test - go to your local park and shout what you believe! Change-a-lujah!


I loved that you went all the way to Disneyland for the cause and at the same time was really surprised to learn that they were open on Christmas! What gives you the courage to be so bold and to not fear being arrested?
We must always be willing to risk arrest. All the great Change leaders from Jesus to the present had that willingness, that faith. Police people often don't work for us - they represent those who own and defend property and money.


What advice would you give to someone who believes strongly in something and would like to start a movement, but feels alone and doesn't know where to start?
Talk to us at Revbilly.com. We have a chapter called "How To Start Your Own Church." People in many communities have begun their own Stop Shopping churches. It always starts with - what do you do well? We like to sing and preach. You might have more power in your dancing, in your skate-boarding, in your quiet writing.


What brings you comfort and joy?
People who come to our "Fabulous Worships," or who come to weddings and baptisms that we perform - when they come and have that experience with us! Amen!

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The Business of Being Born

Really insightful and riveting movie done by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. It details the history of how home births have been pushed aside in favor of using hospitals. It is also a great source of information in terms of explaining exactly what midwives do and the importance of the role they play not just today, but historically.
(graphic courtesy of Paulo Netto and The Business of Being Born)

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Email: Ohayo from Japan!

So I finally decided to stop waiting for the right circumstances to present itself and just do it. I'm in Kyoto! I'm getting by on ohayo (roughly good morning), kinichiwa (good afternoon), hai (yes) and arrigato (thank you). The people are very friendly for the most part and try really hard to communicate and point you in the right direction. I got lost today and couldn't find my hotel and the 2 really great people walked with me until I found it! I think that rarely happens in NYC :) The bathtubs are really deep like a swimming pool which is fun. I'm pretty good with the currency which I thought I'd have a harder time with. The pics I'm taking are just things that I think of as quintessentially Japanese. Even the bars are cute and ornate! Their temperature is about on track with ours. It's really interesting to see just how much American culture gets infused into other countries. They really do watch what we do (like a younger sibling). They play our music, wear fashions similar to ours, know our catch phrases - completely bizarre! I'm trying to think what we know about them... I don't know any of their popstars or music, forget about economic status. Their prices aren't much different from ours which is to say that it's just as easy to wonder where your money goes when you've just bought basics (food and transportation). I'm hoping to run into someone who speaks English well enough to tell me a little bit about their political and economic status.

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Interview: Carline Coon - With Her Consent

In my quest to learn more about the punk music and the punk movement, I came across Caroline Coon and was intrigued with finding out her thoughts... In addition to her website, you can also view her art work at Saatchi online.

As someone who has recently begun to understand the punk movement, I'd love to know from someone who was on the inside - What is punk to you?

Punk cannot be understood out of context of what preceded it, the 1960's countercultural movement of hippie Peace and Love psychedelia. By 1975 the corporate conservative media was saying, falsely, that the hippie permissive revolution had failed. In 1975 most teenagers not only believed what the tabloids said about hippies, they were also angry about their own impoverished circumstances. In reaction to Peace and Love they created the 'anarchism' of Hate and War. Instead of psychedelic music they crated the low-tech, stripped back speedy sound that I labeled 'Punk rock'. To me, the punk movement was the voice of the 1970's generation of engaged, creative teenagers.

How did you find yourself managing The Clash?

In 1979 the manager who helped create The Clash was exhausted. The Clash told me that they were breaking up. They were about to cancel their first USA Tour. To me The Clash breaking up would have been a disaster, utterly unnecessary and a tragic waste of superb talent. Further, The Dammed had broken up. The Sex Pistols had broken up. If The Clash broke up too, my well publicised theses that Punk rock would be the definitive sound of a generation would prove to be false. I said to The Clash that they absolutely must continue and that if their manager couldn't continue managing them then I would. And I did.

The music of The Clash was refreshingly political and gave the everyman a voice. As a woman, do you feel that your voice was represented as well and how?

In fact, the Punk generations' story could be told entirely through the voices of the women musicians. The most powerful political revolution of all time is Women's Liberation and in the 1970's most of the women musicians were influenced in one way or another by feminism. In the 1970's there was an explosion of women into the male-dominated rock space. See: Zillah Minx's film 'She's A Punk Rocker' and Dr Helen Reddington's book ‘The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era’. In the 1970's the rock press was sexist and women's contribution to rock culture was derided when it was not ignored. There has been much great writing on how women have fought to be included in rock music's cannon and the critical mass of women in Punk Rock made a huge difference. We should be eternally grateful to musicians like Zillah Ashworth - bass Rubella Ballet, Gaye Black - The Adverts, Gina Birch - The Raincoats, Jenny Bellestar - The Bellestars, Maeve Bayton - Mistakes, Sue Bradley - fiddle Reward System, Rhoda Dakar - Bodysnatchers, Ana Da Silva - The Raincoats, Heather de Lyon - drummer The Objects and Devil's Dyke, Karen Grey - Gymslips and The Renees, Kate Hayes - The Objects, Rachel Lovell - Dollymixtures, Lora Logic - Essential Logic, Suzanne Long - bass The Reptiles, June Miles-Kingston - drums The Modettes and Fun Boy Three, Ellie Medeiros - Stinky Toys, Liz Naylor - keyboards Gay Animals, Shirley O'Longhlin - The Raincoats, Tessa Pollit - bass The Slits, Heather Smith - The Dollymixtures, Poly Styrene - XRay Specks, Penelope Tobin, Jane Woodgate - Modettes, Enid Williams - bass Girls School, Pauline Black - The Selecter, Vi Subversa - Poison Girls, Sara Furse - No Man's Band, Mufti Berridge - drummer No Man's Band.

You were and I hear still are an activist. What influenced/influences you to not just be politically aware, but also to jump in and effect change?

It is obvious to me that the huge advantages I have as an individual in our enlightened, democratic society have been hard won. Everything I cherish in life was fought for by brave people who actually died for my human rights to freedom, free speech, equality, the vote.... This freedom cannot be taken for granted. There are people who would take all our freedoms away, given the chance. I believe that with human rights come duties and responsibility. The most important of our duties and responsibilities is our obligation to oppose reactionary authoritarianism and ensure that we preserve our human rights. It just takes everyone to do their bit. All our little bits of political activity, be they serious or fun, count!

I read on your site that you are campaigning to legalize currently illegal drugs. What led you to this conclusion and why do you think this is a more effective solution to the current drug problem?

My consciousness was raised about drugs when in 1966 a friend of mine was sent to prison for being in possession of a small about of cannabis. Prohibition is no solution to the drug 'problem'. Most people do not have a problem with moderate, pleasurable use of drugs. For the minority of people who do have a drug problem it should be a health issue not a criminal matter. Even when presently illegal drugs are brought within the law in a system of licensing and control, it will be illegal for children (those under the age of 18) to take drugs. All of us, whether we use drugs or not, should be concerned about the damage that the failed War of Drugs is doing to our society.

I love that your art has strong feminist and socio-political themes. What in your life compelled you to explore these subjects in your paintings?

Just the other day, on BBC Radio 4, a woman said 'there has never been a great woman artist.' She attempted to justify this outrageous ignorant and sexist statement by asserting that women are less capable of creating art than men. Incredibly, no one on the programme challenged her statement - they seemed to accept what she said. Misogyny and sexism are still 'in' our lives and in society. It it important, I think, to paint what I know - which is why there is a strong feminist thread through my work. As a viewer, a gazer at works of art, I love paintings which have socio-political themes! As a creator, I love making Art for Art's sake and I love doing purely decorative work. But mostly I love making art that argues and challenges and confronts and embroils itself with the issues of our time, our joys and tears.

I find myself to be a procrastinator when it comes to sitting down and doing collage/mixed media. Do you ever struggle with inertia - especially since one of your paintings can take up to 6 months to complete?

Oh, I understand! But, a certain amount of procrastination is good! Procrastination can be a valuable time of clarifying your ideas. Then again, if procrastination leads to doing nothing then that is a problem. Artists have to have the courage to do - they have to have the courage to fail. Sometimes the desire to be brilliant and a success can be very destructive. What does it matter if what you do is not brilliant or successful? They only way to get brilliant and successful - or at least, to do the very best work you can do - is to do a lot, fail a lot and learn to do better with experience and practice! It used to be a tradition for all young artists to copy great works of art. Paradoxically, in copying a great artist you can find your own style. I don't struggle with inertia exactly - maybe because I view my inertia time, or inactive time, as preparation for action. Sometimes I have struggled with depression and despair - and I have learned that the best way to live through periods of such darkness is to do something very basic like drawing. While I am painting one of my 'big' pictures I have others things on the go, too. I keep a note book full of notes and sketches for future work. This ensures that I am never short of ideas.

What brings you comfort and joy?

Aside from gooey cakes and an appreciative glance from someone I love? Well, while there are really terrible things happening on Earth, and it is necessary do everything within our means to reduce pain and destruction, what gives me comfort and joy are all the wonderful aspects of life. I do not let a day pass without giving thanks for all the amazing things we humans have created.

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Interview: Project Grab Bag

Project Grab Bag is an absolutely delicious company owned by Shannon Jefferson. Her beautiful handmade dolls were the first thing that caught my eye. So few people make these softies anymore and I remember distinctly wishing as a little girl (as I got poked nightly in the face and ribs) how wonderful it would be if my favorite doll had fewer plastic parts. If you have the imagination, Shannon will gladly do custom work. In her spare time, Shannon also teaches jewelry classes at the Peoria Art Guild so if you're in the area, you might want to check it out. (graphic courtesy of Project Grab Bag)

What inspires you to make dolls/work with fabric?
I've always loved vintage items in general, and have collected vintage fabrics, linens, and clothing for a long time. I was naturally drawn to making dolls because they have so many creative elements - designing the pattern, wild color combinations, hand stitched elements, and each is a unique piece when finished. A couple of my doll designs have come from customer requests, which is so inspiring and challenging at the same time. I really love it when a someone commissions me for a special project that requires new designs and techniques.

Do you have a day job in addition to Project Grab Bag, and if so what gives you the energy to do both?

Yes, and this is the most challenging part of trying to grow the business. I work a day job when necessary and seek jobs that don't distract me from Project Grab Bag. Several months of the year can be stressful when sales are low. I work through a temp agency doing VERY random jobs that will not lead to a fulltime career, as I have hopes to be fulltime with Project Grab Bag and put all of my efforts into growing it more each year. I also instruct jewelry class at my local art guild when I have the time. Having the energy doesn't seem like a choice. I have a great support team and get alot of encouragement to keep pushing forward, which helps so much.

What are your fears/apprehensions, and how do you work past them?

I try to keep positive and realize if you don't try you'll never know. So, I keep my worries and fears to a minimum. I didn't always feel this way, but found it necessary to accept that this is a tough business and the road will be bumpy at times.

Where does your dream for Project Grab Bag eventually take you?

Having a brick and mortor shop is a big dream of mine. I love that you can connect and have sucess online, but ultimately I want to own a shop with unique handcrafted items from all over the world. I would carry items made from artists and crafters that work with mainly recycled and upcycled materials. I'm currently working on a project of having clothing manufactured in a fair trade way. I was asked to work with the woman that distributes Project Grab Bag items in Australia on designing clothing that she has produced in Bali. Together we designed a screen printed shirt that will have beautiful handstitched elements added by some talented women in Bali. I also created unique appliques for each shirt that were shipped to them to be applied. I'm excited to market them here in the US and feel great about the process!!

What brings you comfort and joy?

I'm very close to my mother and boyfriend who bring me comfort and joy. The chance of Senator Obama being our next president brings me a hopeful feeling for our future too! Great food and great, bold wine is very comforting. And, with summer coming up I really enjoy doing a few art shows around the midwest.

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