Friday, December 31, 2010
New Blog!
This is long overdue, but if you've enjoyed this site please follow my latest adventure in blogging, now on WordPress!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
What's Up / Must Come Down
Here are the latest and greatest things I'm up to right now, which also serve as good excuses reasons for me to not blog with any kind of regularity:
1. Craft Sales
Two upcoming sales with potential for two more. First things first: have some crafts to sell. Diversifying my wares from jewelry and magnets to also include body scrub, bath salts, cocoa butter minibars, beeswax candles, and stuffed toys. Consider it market research.
2. Board Work
Had my first Board Meeting and am now the head of a 4-member subcommittee. Report to the board due mid-November. Need to promote current projects and write at least one op-ed for publication. Lots of work to do in the next few months, and happily have some really bright and enthusiastic people to do it with.
3. Union Work
Bargaining. Committee.
4. Online Makeover
Attended a great educational conference and learned about how to develop a more effective online presence, realized I have a lot of work ahead of me. Need a plan. Need to move this blog off Blogger. Do I keep my personal social networks active and create a new snazzier alter ego? What about this great network of community leaders and activists I've built up? Do I really have to delete all those fun time pics off my facebook and stop updating my status with TOOL lyrics?? :S
5. Self Improvement
After recommending it to a bunch of people I've decided to take my own advice and re-read The Artists' Way, which is a book but also a 3-month course. This time I will get all the artists' way to the very artists' end, dammit. It's going well. Weekly homework and assignments. Earlier mornings for writing and reflection. Inevitable emotional fireworks and feeling fidgety, but more hope for a future that maybe isn't so far away.
6. Home Improvement
Someone told me about a website about how to get your domestic life in order and maintain it - keeping house, cleaning, meals, errands, chores, daily/weekly routines...and the all-important decluttering. To my surprise I have completely bought in and am SHOCKED to find myself WANTING TO CLEAN. No, like, I feel wrong if I don't scrub the toilet every morning. I have SEVEN boxes of clutter packed up for charity. I will have to write about this...am staggered by the personal politics at play here, and my unexpected reaction: blissful domesticity...without valium.
7. Garden
Must rescue from current jungle state. Harvest remaining edibles. Put patch to bed for winter. Any day now I will find the time.
8. Paid Work
Oh right. Yeah. Working a fulltime job is a fulltime job.
Tried to join a free oil painting class but never heard back.
Have been invited to join a group art project. Doing drop-in art journaling sessions instead.
Someone mentioned improv classes....sounds fun, would love to try...
I once read that the key to improv is to always say "yes" to whatever situation arises. Just keep saying "yes, and..." and interesting things will happen. Makes me curious to see that Jim Carrey movie Yes Man. Sometimes I feel like the insanely ecstatic guy on the poster, but the synopsis seems to suggest there's some kind of tragic lesson to be learned by being too agreeable. Hm.
1. Craft Sales
Two upcoming sales with potential for two more. First things first: have some crafts to sell. Diversifying my wares from jewelry and magnets to also include body scrub, bath salts, cocoa butter minibars, beeswax candles, and stuffed toys. Consider it market research.
2. Board Work
Had my first Board Meeting and am now the head of a 4-member subcommittee. Report to the board due mid-November. Need to promote current projects and write at least one op-ed for publication. Lots of work to do in the next few months, and happily have some really bright and enthusiastic people to do it with.
3. Union Work
Bargaining. Committee.
4. Online Makeover
Attended a great educational conference and learned about how to develop a more effective online presence, realized I have a lot of work ahead of me. Need a plan. Need to move this blog off Blogger. Do I keep my personal social networks active and create a new snazzier alter ego? What about this great network of community leaders and activists I've built up? Do I really have to delete all those fun time pics off my facebook and stop updating my status with TOOL lyrics?? :S
5. Self Improvement
After recommending it to a bunch of people I've decided to take my own advice and re-read The Artists' Way, which is a book but also a 3-month course. This time I will get all the artists' way to the very artists' end, dammit. It's going well. Weekly homework and assignments. Earlier mornings for writing and reflection. Inevitable emotional fireworks and feeling fidgety, but more hope for a future that maybe isn't so far away.
6. Home Improvement
Someone told me about a website about how to get your domestic life in order and maintain it - keeping house, cleaning, meals, errands, chores, daily/weekly routines...and the all-important decluttering. To my surprise I have completely bought in and am SHOCKED to find myself WANTING TO CLEAN. No, like, I feel wrong if I don't scrub the toilet every morning. I have SEVEN boxes of clutter packed up for charity. I will have to write about this...am staggered by the personal politics at play here, and my unexpected reaction: blissful domesticity...without valium.
7. Garden
Must rescue from current jungle state. Harvest remaining edibles. Put patch to bed for winter. Any day now I will find the time.
8. Paid Work
Oh right. Yeah. Working a fulltime job is a fulltime job.
Tried to join a free oil painting class but never heard back.
Have been invited to join a group art project. Doing drop-in art journaling sessions instead.
Someone mentioned improv classes....sounds fun, would love to try...
I once read that the key to improv is to always say "yes" to whatever situation arises. Just keep saying "yes, and..." and interesting things will happen. Makes me curious to see that Jim Carrey movie Yes Man. Sometimes I feel like the insanely ecstatic guy on the poster, but the synopsis seems to suggest there's some kind of tragic lesson to be learned by being too agreeable. Hm.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Showing My Stripes
I was not very popular in elementary school. In fact I was picked on quite a lot. I didn't hang out with the popular kids, do the cool things they did or wear the cool clothes they all had. I didn't read the magazines the other girls did and so had no idea I was meant to be obsessing about makeup, clothes, or the latest hairstyle and how to achieve it.
I was awkward, and as I was often reminded by the meanest kids, a loner. Being taunted with the title "loner" is all the more cruel when it's uttered by the same people who ostracized you in the first place. So I sat on the outside looking in, hoping to someday be worthy of their friendship, and hoping to become invisible in the meantime.
But at some point I started to realize that my shame was not worth the effort, and that the schoolyard hierarchy did not dictate my lot in life. I think it began with one short conversation.
There was a girl in my grade who was, to me, perfection. She was blonde, pretty and athletic. She was popular and included in all of the important cool events and activities that I had no part in.
When we were in about grade 5 or 6, as we lined up after recess, this beautiful blonde athletic girl stood next to me and we chatted. And out of the blue she said to me, "you have such nice ears. I wish I had ears like yours."
That this flawless creature before me could possibly envy me for any reason was shocking enough, but she then admitted to me that she was very self-concious about her ears. She thought they stuck out too much and she avoided putting her hair up in a ponytail for fear of drawing attention to them.
I looked at her ears and, just for a moment, I saw them through her eyes. They did stick out a little. I saw her embarrassment and sensed the shame in her voice. I saw that we were not that different really, and I realized that we're all insecure about something. I at least had one thing not to be insecure about: I had nice ears.
A few years later I came across a shirt that I really liked. I found it at one of the stores all of the popular girls shopped at, that I didn't usually bother to look in. This shirt was so cool. It was tight and pink and orange and stripy, and the height of tween fashion in 1994. I knew it was a departure from the safe preppy stuff I usually wore, but I got the shirt anyway. It looked good. I loved it.
This shirt hung in my closet for months. I knew it would attract a lot of attention, and attention was still risky. Until finally, on the last day of school in grade 8, on my last day at the school where I'd spent my days since the beginning of kindergarten, I decided I felt good enough about myself not to care what anybody said. I wore the shirt to school.
The scandal was already in full swing before I even got to class. A couple of girls had seen me on the walk to school and had started spreading the gossip. That unpopular girl is wearing a COOL shirt. Who does she think she is? Does she think she's cool? She is so not cool. She should not be wearing that shirt. She's like, sooo not worthy.
I heard all the whispers. I knew what they were saying. It was nothing new. Only this time they were talking about something that mattered - the fact that I had challenged their monopoly on coolness. That I just thought it was a nice shirt, and wanted to wear it, and didn't care that they thought I was a "poser," or whatever insult they thought I deserved for my transgression. I knew I wasn't any of those things, even if they didn't. That was what really mattered.
The girl who years before had complained about her ears was in my class. I was surprised when she came over to sit with me during lunch when nobody else would, at great personal risk of depopularization. She told me that everyone was talking about me, about how they thought I shouldn't be wearing that shirt because it was cool and I wasn't. "I know," I said. She smiled and said, "I think it looks nice on you." And I never forgot what a kind gesture that was. I went home that day feeling like a million bucks, because I really didn't care what the gossipers thought. I could say that and actually mean it.
It's difficult to "just be yourself" no matter how many times we're told to do it. Sometimes being yourself doesn't fit in with what other people are doing, or what other people expect of you. It can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or challenging. It feels great and liberating when you express who you are, but it leaves you wide open. Everyone will know who you are! And they might not like the real you. The point is though, some people will. Some people will care for you no matter what shirt you wear, what career or spouse or hobby you choose or what crazy places your life takes you. They will support you when you are most vulnerable. Those are the people who deserve your attention.
We have this idea that it's the big milestones that matter in our lives - the graduations, the weddings, the promotions, great successes and adventures - but often it's the small moments that make life what it is. It can take only seconds to influence a life, whether it's with cruel words or encouraging ones. Our interactions with each other really do matter that much, and the words we choose can really be that important. It's a frightening prospect, but you could change someone's life tomorrow and not know it. You could even change your own.
This is an extreme example, but a relevant one I think: Hitler carried and collected resentment his entire life. One of the harshest blows was when, as a young man, he was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and told he could not paint. His dreams of being an artist were crushed. Years later he took this pain, along with the rest of his accumulated grief, into a political career where he found another use for it. I often wonder how history could have been different had Hitler been encouraged to create instead of compelled to destroy.
There is healing in living authentically, and encouraging others to do the same. We all benefit when we support each other and remember not to give up on ourselves, especially when aspects of our true selves are ready to take those first tentative steps away from the sidelines into the spotlight.
I was awkward, and as I was often reminded by the meanest kids, a loner. Being taunted with the title "loner" is all the more cruel when it's uttered by the same people who ostracized you in the first place. So I sat on the outside looking in, hoping to someday be worthy of their friendship, and hoping to become invisible in the meantime.
But at some point I started to realize that my shame was not worth the effort, and that the schoolyard hierarchy did not dictate my lot in life. I think it began with one short conversation.
There was a girl in my grade who was, to me, perfection. She was blonde, pretty and athletic. She was popular and included in all of the important cool events and activities that I had no part in.
When we were in about grade 5 or 6, as we lined up after recess, this beautiful blonde athletic girl stood next to me and we chatted. And out of the blue she said to me, "you have such nice ears. I wish I had ears like yours."
That this flawless creature before me could possibly envy me for any reason was shocking enough, but she then admitted to me that she was very self-concious about her ears. She thought they stuck out too much and she avoided putting her hair up in a ponytail for fear of drawing attention to them.
I looked at her ears and, just for a moment, I saw them through her eyes. They did stick out a little. I saw her embarrassment and sensed the shame in her voice. I saw that we were not that different really, and I realized that we're all insecure about something. I at least had one thing not to be insecure about: I had nice ears.
A few years later I came across a shirt that I really liked. I found it at one of the stores all of the popular girls shopped at, that I didn't usually bother to look in. This shirt was so cool. It was tight and pink and orange and stripy, and the height of tween fashion in 1994. I knew it was a departure from the safe preppy stuff I usually wore, but I got the shirt anyway. It looked good. I loved it.
This shirt hung in my closet for months. I knew it would attract a lot of attention, and attention was still risky. Until finally, on the last day of school in grade 8, on my last day at the school where I'd spent my days since the beginning of kindergarten, I decided I felt good enough about myself not to care what anybody said. I wore the shirt to school.
The scandal was already in full swing before I even got to class. A couple of girls had seen me on the walk to school and had started spreading the gossip. That unpopular girl is wearing a COOL shirt. Who does she think she is? Does she think she's cool? She is so not cool. She should not be wearing that shirt. She's like, sooo not worthy.
I heard all the whispers. I knew what they were saying. It was nothing new. Only this time they were talking about something that mattered - the fact that I had challenged their monopoly on coolness. That I just thought it was a nice shirt, and wanted to wear it, and didn't care that they thought I was a "poser," or whatever insult they thought I deserved for my transgression. I knew I wasn't any of those things, even if they didn't. That was what really mattered.
The girl who years before had complained about her ears was in my class. I was surprised when she came over to sit with me during lunch when nobody else would, at great personal risk of depopularization. She told me that everyone was talking about me, about how they thought I shouldn't be wearing that shirt because it was cool and I wasn't. "I know," I said. She smiled and said, "I think it looks nice on you." And I never forgot what a kind gesture that was. I went home that day feeling like a million bucks, because I really didn't care what the gossipers thought. I could say that and actually mean it.
It's difficult to "just be yourself" no matter how many times we're told to do it. Sometimes being yourself doesn't fit in with what other people are doing, or what other people expect of you. It can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or challenging. It feels great and liberating when you express who you are, but it leaves you wide open. Everyone will know who you are! And they might not like the real you. The point is though, some people will. Some people will care for you no matter what shirt you wear, what career or spouse or hobby you choose or what crazy places your life takes you. They will support you when you are most vulnerable. Those are the people who deserve your attention.
We have this idea that it's the big milestones that matter in our lives - the graduations, the weddings, the promotions, great successes and adventures - but often it's the small moments that make life what it is. It can take only seconds to influence a life, whether it's with cruel words or encouraging ones. Our interactions with each other really do matter that much, and the words we choose can really be that important. It's a frightening prospect, but you could change someone's life tomorrow and not know it. You could even change your own.
This is an extreme example, but a relevant one I think: Hitler carried and collected resentment his entire life. One of the harshest blows was when, as a young man, he was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and told he could not paint. His dreams of being an artist were crushed. Years later he took this pain, along with the rest of his accumulated grief, into a political career where he found another use for it. I often wonder how history could have been different had Hitler been encouraged to create instead of compelled to destroy.
"The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich" by Adolf Hitler, 1914
There is healing in living authentically, and encouraging others to do the same. We all benefit when we support each other and remember not to give up on ourselves, especially when aspects of our true selves are ready to take those first tentative steps away from the sidelines into the spotlight.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Trashing a Monster: Carelessness vs. Living With Care
This is a glass that I rescued from the garbage.
It's nothing fancy or rare. You can find them in Ikea without much trouble. But of all the items I own, to me, it is one of the most beautiful.
Minutes before I pulled it from the trash, its previous owner noticed a minute chip around the rim and immediately, without any hesitation or second thought, threw it away. And I remember feeling completely appalled. Not because the act itself was a huge deal or particularly outrageous, but because to me it perfectly encapsulated the attitude of the person who did it. In that moment I saw who he really was.
What I saw was a man commit an act of flippant carelessness, and wastefulness. He who valued nothing while attempting to convey an image and impression of flawless perfection, because the external facade was always what really mattered to him. It was a demonstration of ungratefulness by a man who never understood that the objects in his life were not all disposable. Someone who did not consider alternate possibilities or alternatives. Someone to whom a glass is always a glass and a chipped glass is always garbage.
This man became a monster in my life. Not necessarily because of any nameable crime against me personally, but because of who he was and the sort of people - monsters all - who he came to represent for me. Those who live their lives carelessly.
Being "careless" is not the same as being "carefree," though we often confuse the two. It is often associated with wealth and prestige but is not limited to the rich. It is a basic disregard for others, a deep-rooted lack of empathy, a self-serving self-centered approach to living that allows for dependence, greed and an inflated sense of entitlement. It is ugliness in action, and it corrupts the world one interaction at a time.
I rescued this glass from the trash and saw in it all of the beauty and possibility that this man neglected to consider. I've kept it for many years and filled it with tea, pens, toothbrushes, and meaning. I cherish it as a testament to how that man chose not to live his life, and how I intend to live mine: with care.
It's nothing fancy or rare. You can find them in Ikea without much trouble. But of all the items I own, to me, it is one of the most beautiful.
Minutes before I pulled it from the trash, its previous owner noticed a minute chip around the rim and immediately, without any hesitation or second thought, threw it away. And I remember feeling completely appalled. Not because the act itself was a huge deal or particularly outrageous, but because to me it perfectly encapsulated the attitude of the person who did it. In that moment I saw who he really was.
What I saw was a man commit an act of flippant carelessness, and wastefulness. He who valued nothing while attempting to convey an image and impression of flawless perfection, because the external facade was always what really mattered to him. It was a demonstration of ungratefulness by a man who never understood that the objects in his life were not all disposable. Someone who did not consider alternate possibilities or alternatives. Someone to whom a glass is always a glass and a chipped glass is always garbage.
This man became a monster in my life. Not necessarily because of any nameable crime against me personally, but because of who he was and the sort of people - monsters all - who he came to represent for me. Those who live their lives carelessly.
Being "careless" is not the same as being "carefree," though we often confuse the two. It is often associated with wealth and prestige but is not limited to the rich. It is a basic disregard for others, a deep-rooted lack of empathy, a self-serving self-centered approach to living that allows for dependence, greed and an inflated sense of entitlement. It is ugliness in action, and it corrupts the world one interaction at a time.
I rescued this glass from the trash and saw in it all of the beauty and possibility that this man neglected to consider. I've kept it for many years and filled it with tea, pens, toothbrushes, and meaning. I cherish it as a testament to how that man chose not to live his life, and how I intend to live mine: with care.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
putting the WORK into social netWORKing
Oh my holy bejeezus.
The sad thing is I really want to use facebook as my 'home base' to update everything else, but that is currently impossible given inter-platform competitiveness and politics and behind-the-curviness and all that.
I will just have to tweet. Until this is tweaked.
*shaking angry fist*
I hate you all, you sick twisted social-network-tangle-making bastards!
Don't ever leave me!
*sob sob*
The sad thing is I really want to use facebook as my 'home base' to update everything else, but that is currently impossible given inter-platform competitiveness and politics and behind-the-curviness and all that.
I will just have to tweet. Until this is tweaked.
*shaking angry fist*
I hate you all, you sick twisted social-network-tangle-making bastards!
Don't ever leave me!
*sob sob*
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
oh to hell with it #igiveup
Alright. Okay. Fine.
I get it now. I didn't get it before...but I get it now. My comparison of Twitter to Facebook status updates was misguided. Twitter is not just a limited version of Facebook.
Despite all the attention Facebook gets for singlehandedly tearing down the rights to - and expectation of - privacy online, it is kind of a closed circuit. Likely because of all the privacy concerns, most people keep access to their profiles limited to their facebook friends. And regardless, a lot of the site's content is only viewable if you yourself are a member of Facebook.
Twitter, on the other hand, is more of a public forum. It might even be the long-lost electronic public sphere that everyone had almost given up on in the face of rampant commercialization of internet space...paid blogs, ads splashed on YouTube videos, corporate viral marketing efforts disguised as random user content, etc. Sure, it is promoted as the latest marketing wonder-tool, but as far as I can tell having corporate Twitter accounts around doesn't exactly encroach on the cyber-territory of little guys like myself.
So yes. I wish I'd had a Twitter feed going during the G20 when my disgust and disbelief at the mainstream news coverage bubbled over into a frantic flurry of Facebook updates. My attempts to correct the misinformation spewing into people's homes as they hid from the reality of what actually took place on the street would probably have been more effective on Twitter:
[I have not yet been able to find a clip of this mind-boggling moment I witnessed on CP24. There is a riot (supposedly) going on outside, if you believe what the police are saying, and someone claims the police are beating innocent people "right over there" and the guy points to an alleyway across the street. So the reporter did what any serious journalist would do in that situation: discredited the guy as obviously crazy, and darted inside away from the action to do a fluff piece about how her fellow reporters are now safe and sound after being kettled by police for hours. Really?? Stellar job, gumshoe.]
So yes. The opportunity to be a part of a sort of alternative media phenomenon is pretty cool. The opportunity to have your shout outs heard by people who wouldn't normally hear what you have to say is kind of great.
More importantly though, my Google Buzz account will not sync with my Facebook updates. :(
What this means is that every time I update my Facebook, I also need to update my Buzz feed. I have to post everything twice. Don't ask me why or how I came to have a Buzz account or I might tell you: it turned up on my Gmail inbox one day and I couldn't help but get sucked in. I have swallowed the Google kool-aid, and my brand loyalty runs deep. I heart G<3<3gle and their simple, user-friendly, highly convenient and slick web tools.
The point is though, this ridiculousness is never ending and I am drawn in despite myself. For century after century civilizations have attempted to collect and accumulate all knowledge ever known in books and libraries. The ultimate, unattainable goal has always been to end up with all human knowledge in one place at one time. Then came the internet, where we attempt to accumulate all human knowledge in all places at all times.
And here we are, in 2010, just trying to get our silly social networking feeds working together with minimal fiddling and headaches. Until the next one comes along. Chaos: 1. Humans: nothing.
So anyway... Despite my boycott, as explained in my first post, I think I'm going to start a Twitter account. I can sync my Facebook and Buzz feeds to Twitter, meaning I will only have to post things once!!
The downside is that I rely on Facebook quite a bit to learn about and promote upcoming events, demos, community groups, etc. I am not so sure how that works in Twitterland or if it will be as useful.
Oh wait...I just found this article that suggests linking everything to Gmail/Buzz. Seems easy enough, but what I hate about Buzz is it doesn't post images or links very well in the way Facebook does. You don't get a preview of the link's text or even a picture sometimes if you post a website to share. Google FAIL.
So yes. Here goes nothing. Maybe literally.
I get it now. I didn't get it before...but I get it now. My comparison of Twitter to Facebook status updates was misguided. Twitter is not just a limited version of Facebook.
Despite all the attention Facebook gets for singlehandedly tearing down the rights to - and expectation of - privacy online, it is kind of a closed circuit. Likely because of all the privacy concerns, most people keep access to their profiles limited to their facebook friends. And regardless, a lot of the site's content is only viewable if you yourself are a member of Facebook.
Twitter, on the other hand, is more of a public forum. It might even be the long-lost electronic public sphere that everyone had almost given up on in the face of rampant commercialization of internet space...paid blogs, ads splashed on YouTube videos, corporate viral marketing efforts disguised as random user content, etc. Sure, it is promoted as the latest marketing wonder-tool, but as far as I can tell having corporate Twitter accounts around doesn't exactly encroach on the cyber-territory of little guys like myself.
So yes. I wish I'd had a Twitter feed going during the G20 when my disgust and disbelief at the mainstream news coverage bubbled over into a frantic flurry of Facebook updates. My attempts to correct the misinformation spewing into people's homes as they hid from the reality of what actually took place on the street would probably have been more effective on Twitter:
June 26 at 11:00pm
the media's using the phrase "the violence" when they really mean "the protest" - a ridiculously tiny percent of the demonstrators damaged property and even those jackasses didn't hurt any people (wish I could say the same for G20 leaders)
June 27 at 12:48pm
most pictures of "the violence" coming from the mainstream are of riot police standing around...where are all the rioters? there are clips and pics of individual black blocers smashing windows - where is evidence of the violent mass "mob"?
June 27 at 1:05pm
Mike McCormick, President of the TO Police Association, just said on CP24 that he could definitely confirm that every single person arrested had comitted a crime. (The media is not distinguishing between people "detained" without charges and actual arrests.) He could not, however, confirm that the smoke coming out of the tear gas guns, was in fact actually tear gas... Wow.
June 27 at 5:09pm
"muzzle blasts" are "individual applications of tear gas" according to a police spokesperson
[Ah "muzzle blasts"...the sneaky phrase that reporters babbled endlessly like squawking parrots. Tear gas. It was tear gas. Not harmless compressed air, but a chemical weapon. Targeted in individual doses not out of kindness for the public's wellbeing, but to make it more discreet and more difficult to identify that it was used at all. Tweet tweet!]
June 27 at 6:32pm
CityTV reporting that journalists volunteered to be arrested just to get out of Queen & Spadina protest area - how is the group supposed to "disburse" if the police are trapping them in?
June 27 at 7:49pm
is anyone else watching this? action starts on the street, a CP24 reporter asks a person on the street what just happened - they tell her they'd been chased by police and people were being beaten - the reporter says "no" embarassed and apologizes that her interviewee had not been "pre-screened" and "could say anything"... - then quickly moves inside to interview fellow journalists
[I have not yet been able to find a clip of this mind-boggling moment I witnessed on CP24. There is a riot (supposedly) going on outside, if you believe what the police are saying, and someone claims the police are beating innocent people "right over there" and the guy points to an alleyway across the street. So the reporter did what any serious journalist would do in that situation: discredited the guy as obviously crazy, and darted inside away from the action to do a fluff piece about how her fellow reporters are now safe and sound after being kettled by police for hours. Really?? Stellar job, gumshoe.]
So yes. The opportunity to be a part of a sort of alternative media phenomenon is pretty cool. The opportunity to have your shout outs heard by people who wouldn't normally hear what you have to say is kind of great.
More importantly though, my Google Buzz account will not sync with my Facebook updates. :(
What this means is that every time I update my Facebook, I also need to update my Buzz feed. I have to post everything twice. Don't ask me why or how I came to have a Buzz account or I might tell you: it turned up on my Gmail inbox one day and I couldn't help but get sucked in. I have swallowed the Google kool-aid, and my brand loyalty runs deep. I heart G<3<3gle and their simple, user-friendly, highly convenient and slick web tools.
The point is though, this ridiculousness is never ending and I am drawn in despite myself. For century after century civilizations have attempted to collect and accumulate all knowledge ever known in books and libraries. The ultimate, unattainable goal has always been to end up with all human knowledge in one place at one time. Then came the internet, where we attempt to accumulate all human knowledge in all places at all times.
And here we are, in 2010, just trying to get our silly social networking feeds working together with minimal fiddling and headaches. Until the next one comes along. Chaos: 1. Humans: nothing.
So anyway... Despite my boycott, as explained in my first post, I think I'm going to start a Twitter account. I can sync my Facebook and Buzz feeds to Twitter, meaning I will only have to post things once!!
The downside is that I rely on Facebook quite a bit to learn about and promote upcoming events, demos, community groups, etc. I am not so sure how that works in Twitterland or if it will be as useful.
Oh wait...I just found this article that suggests linking everything to Gmail/Buzz. Seems easy enough, but what I hate about Buzz is it doesn't post images or links very well in the way Facebook does. You don't get a preview of the link's text or even a picture sometimes if you post a website to share. Google FAIL.
So yes. Here goes nothing. Maybe literally.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Guest Post for That's Women's Work
I've had the wonderful opportunity to guest blog for That's Women's Work, a local non-profit startup focused on promoting and empowering women artists.
Signing on to write the post was surprisinglyintimidating scary...which is what told me it was something I really needed to do. I think I was right.
You can read my post here.
Signing on to write the post was surprisingly
You can read my post here.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The excitement never ends
More news!
I am pleased to share that I have been selected as a Board Member of Media Action, which is an organization that seeks to improve gender equity through media analysis and by promoting media literacy. I've followed their work for years now and am excited to have the opportunity to be more actively involved.
I recently helped out with a Media Action initiative called Informed Opinions. Although women have made great strides in terms of career options and career success, the expert opinions we hear in the media are still most often male. This is a big concern because expert opinions influence policy - women's voices and perspectives need to be heard. The Informed Opinions research looked into why women are under represented in this area, what the numbers are, and the program now offers services and resources (workshops, mentoring, etc.) to help more women share their expertise in the media.
So what could possibly be more exciting than all that? I'll tell you what:
I tried making pickles today and I think it went well. I haven't tasted them yet but at least they look kinda cool. These are garlic dill pickles made with local cucumbers, organic garlic, and my own homegrown dill. I have not invested in any fancy pickling ingredients so the brine ingredients are mostly courtesy of my local supermarket, except for some additive-free sea salt I had previously bought at the St. Lawrence market.
My biggest concern was listening for the "pop" noise the lid makes that tells you the jar has sealed... The lids of these jars don't seem to have a nice obvious indent on them when they're sealed so I found it hard to tell if they were safe or not. I boiled the jars a second time to be sure and I think at least 3 of the 4 are okay. I will just have to eat the rest I suppose...wouldn't want them to go to waste...
Here is the next thing I might try to pickle:
I don't quite have a peck of purple peppers to pickle, but hopefully I will get at least a couple more before the plant gives up. I have lots of hot peppers growing now though - can't wait to start bringing those in.
I am pleased to share that I have been selected as a Board Member of Media Action, which is an organization that seeks to improve gender equity through media analysis and by promoting media literacy. I've followed their work for years now and am excited to have the opportunity to be more actively involved.
I recently helped out with a Media Action initiative called Informed Opinions. Although women have made great strides in terms of career options and career success, the expert opinions we hear in the media are still most often male. This is a big concern because expert opinions influence policy - women's voices and perspectives need to be heard. The Informed Opinions research looked into why women are under represented in this area, what the numbers are, and the program now offers services and resources (workshops, mentoring, etc.) to help more women share their expertise in the media.
So what could possibly be more exciting than all that? I'll tell you what:
PICKLES!!!
I tried making pickles today and I think it went well. I haven't tasted them yet but at least they look kinda cool. These are garlic dill pickles made with local cucumbers, organic garlic, and my own homegrown dill. I have not invested in any fancy pickling ingredients so the brine ingredients are mostly courtesy of my local supermarket, except for some additive-free sea salt I had previously bought at the St. Lawrence market.
My biggest concern was listening for the "pop" noise the lid makes that tells you the jar has sealed... The lids of these jars don't seem to have a nice obvious indent on them when they're sealed so I found it hard to tell if they were safe or not. I boiled the jars a second time to be sure and I think at least 3 of the 4 are okay. I will just have to eat the rest I suppose...wouldn't want them to go to waste...
Here is the next thing I might try to pickle:
The first of my "Purple Beauty" Sweet Peppers
I don't quite have a peck of purple peppers to pickle, but hopefully I will get at least a couple more before the plant gives up. I have lots of hot peppers growing now though - can't wait to start bringing those in.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
August Aupdate
Here's what's going on with me lately...
Guerrilla Gardening is done for the season. Despite a little bad luck with weather we ended up planting some fantastic gardens! I was designated "Queen Communicator" of the group this year and took the lead on keeping the facebook page and blog up to date. Also designed a new banner for the blog, which you can see here.
Last week I attended a free workshop on canning veggies, preserving fruit and drying herbs. It was organized by Young Urban Farmers and very educational. Plus we got to bring home freshly brewed pickled beets and blueberry preserve, as well as some herbs for drying. I had always been intimidated by the whole boiling and sterilizing thing but having seen it demonstrated I realized it isn't that complicated really, and you don't need a lot of fancy equipment. I bought some cucumbers at the farmer's market today and am looking forward to turning them into pickles.
This weekend a couple of my friends got married to each other after 11 years of dating and it was lovely. One wedding down, one more next weekend. This is nothing compared to last year's insane wedding bonanza! I am still convinced that attending someone else's wedding is much more fun than getting married, but having never been married I can only theorize.
Today is Simcoe Day! So instead of going to work I went for my first fruit pick as a Not Far From the Tree gleaner. I had a good time, met some nice folks, came home with a bunch of beautiful little blue plums, and did something today that scared me - namely, clambering onto a big tall garbage bin to reach the fruit because the homeowners hadn't left us a ladder. Volunteering is waay more exciting when you have to sign a waiver first.
I am taking a week off work after next weekend to spend time outside absorbing sunshine and watching trees, maybe reading, knitting or meditating. I know I will likely end up doing practical things like house cleaning and working on projects (see below) and purchasing things I need to purchase, but I hope to spend most of my time relaxing. It is a lofty goal but I will try!
I have signed up to be a guest-blogger on the That's Women's Work blog. There will be a different guest blog every day this month and mine will be August 29th. Now all I need to do is figure out what to write...
I have been recruited to help coordinate an art project for the Junction Arts Festival happening this September. I am really excited to be involved!
I have signed up to do a charity craft show in November. Last year I had a table at the same event and did pretty well for my first real craft sale EVER. This year I think I may change up my offerings and try bath products. I have a couple of recipes up my sleeve and I think they would sell rather well, knock on wood and all that.
I have started to pay more attention to CBC Radio. I have decided that CBC 3 is awesome and am inching closer to hipsterdom as I write this. Here are some songs I am digging that you can listen to by clicking the link:
Latin America by Holy Fuck
The Kite by batterie
Broken Transit Broken Soil by The Buttless Chaps (augh I hate the band name so much)
Two-Day Booze by BISON b.c.
My garden is finally doing pretty well! It was a slow start, and I was getting a bit discouraged, but my little seedlings are now looking quite nice. I got a few pea pods early in the season, and now I have lots of romaine lettuce, basil and dill to pick. I have a few shallots too and can snip the greens off once in a while. The donated rhubarb has recovered nicely after some dubiousness, and the donated black raspberry plant is very excited about its new home - I've had to cut it back already. My balcony planters are also producing sage, chives and rosemary. I think the strawberry plants are done but they seem to be flowering again so who knows. Looks like I will soon have some hot peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. I planted some cute little butternut squash seedlings kind of late and they have morphed into enormous trailing vines that are cruising all over the place. I can't wait to see if I actually get some squash!
I have discovered that I love drinking coconut water. It is apparently very healthy, besides the added sugar you get in most brands of the canned stuff. It is very high in electrolytes, is said to be an effective hangover cure, and can actually be injected intravenously instead of saline. I already use coconut oil for cooking, moisturizing, and to help keep my cat healthy. Is there nothing coconuts can't do?
...And that's what's going on with me lately.
Guerrilla Gardening is done for the season. Despite a little bad luck with weather we ended up planting some fantastic gardens! I was designated "Queen Communicator" of the group this year and took the lead on keeping the facebook page and blog up to date. Also designed a new banner for the blog, which you can see here.
GG garden in the spot I picked at College/Bathurst right across from Sneaky Dees.
Last week I attended a free workshop on canning veggies, preserving fruit and drying herbs. It was organized by Young Urban Farmers and very educational. Plus we got to bring home freshly brewed pickled beets and blueberry preserve, as well as some herbs for drying. I had always been intimidated by the whole boiling and sterilizing thing but having seen it demonstrated I realized it isn't that complicated really, and you don't need a lot of fancy equipment. I bought some cucumbers at the farmer's market today and am looking forward to turning them into pickles.
An artist's conception of what delicious and pretty things I could make with my new pickling and preserving skillz...
This weekend a couple of my friends got married to each other after 11 years of dating and it was lovely. One wedding down, one more next weekend. This is nothing compared to last year's insane wedding bonanza! I am still convinced that attending someone else's wedding is much more fun than getting married, but having never been married I can only theorize.
Today is Simcoe Day! So instead of going to work I went for my first fruit pick as a Not Far From the Tree gleaner. I had a good time, met some nice folks, came home with a bunch of beautiful little blue plums, and did something today that scared me - namely, clambering onto a big tall garbage bin to reach the fruit because the homeowners hadn't left us a ladder. Volunteering is waay more exciting when you have to sign a waiver first.
I am taking a week off work after next weekend to spend time outside absorbing sunshine and watching trees, maybe reading, knitting or meditating. I know I will likely end up doing practical things like house cleaning and working on projects (see below) and purchasing things I need to purchase, but I hope to spend most of my time relaxing. It is a lofty goal but I will try!
I have signed up to be a guest-blogger on the That's Women's Work blog. There will be a different guest blog every day this month and mine will be August 29th. Now all I need to do is figure out what to write...
I have been recruited to help coordinate an art project for the Junction Arts Festival happening this September. I am really excited to be involved!
Making buttons with my friends at last year's Junction Arts Fest.
I have signed up to do a charity craft show in November. Last year I had a table at the same event and did pretty well for my first real craft sale EVER. This year I think I may change up my offerings and try bath products. I have a couple of recipes up my sleeve and I think they would sell rather well, knock on wood and all that.
I have started to pay more attention to CBC Radio. I have decided that CBC 3 is awesome and am inching closer to hipsterdom as I write this. Here are some songs I am digging that you can listen to by clicking the link:
Latin America by Holy Fuck
The Kite by batterie
Broken Transit Broken Soil by The Buttless Chaps (augh I hate the band name so much)
Two-Day Booze by BISON b.c.
My garden is finally doing pretty well! It was a slow start, and I was getting a bit discouraged, but my little seedlings are now looking quite nice. I got a few pea pods early in the season, and now I have lots of romaine lettuce, basil and dill to pick. I have a few shallots too and can snip the greens off once in a while. The donated rhubarb has recovered nicely after some dubiousness, and the donated black raspberry plant is very excited about its new home - I've had to cut it back already. My balcony planters are also producing sage, chives and rosemary. I think the strawberry plants are done but they seem to be flowering again so who knows. Looks like I will soon have some hot peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. I planted some cute little butternut squash seedlings kind of late and they have morphed into enormous trailing vines that are cruising all over the place. I can't wait to see if I actually get some squash!
I have discovered that I love drinking coconut water. It is apparently very healthy, besides the added sugar you get in most brands of the canned stuff. It is very high in electrolytes, is said to be an effective hangover cure, and can actually be injected intravenously instead of saline. I already use coconut oil for cooking, moisturizing, and to help keep my cat healthy. Is there nothing coconuts can't do?
...And that's what's going on with me lately.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Open Letter
Here is a letter I sent to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association via their incident reporting form (which you can find on their G20 complaints resource page).
I am extremely concerned about the chilling effect that the G20 security measures had on Toronto both before, during and after the summit. I am outraged that my civil liberties were impeded, as were the rights of so many people. I am joining others in demanding a full independent public inquiry to investigate the G20 security tactics, mass arrests, and the poor and degrading treatment reported by detainees.
It is our right to move freely and assemble peacefully – these actions were discouraged during the weeks leading up to the summit through scare tactics and intimidation. Government and police authorities equated peaceful protest with rioting and crime, impeded free movement through the downtown core around the security zone, and made it known that anyone who came too close to the security zone would be treated with suspicion (having their ID checked, bags searched, and via the rumour of a 'secret law' possibly arrested).
The mainstream media was complicit in this and many Toronto citizens left town or avoided the downtown area out of fear. No Canadian should be afraid to walk around freely in their city. If people are afraid of criminals, the police are not doing their job in protecting the public; if they are afraid of the police, then doubly so.
Toronto streets get more surveillance cameras for G20
- Toronto Star, May 14th
Toronto police show off summit security
- CBC News, June 3rd
G20 activists accuse CSIS of intimidation
- CBC News, June 10th
Tourists' camera draws security squad
- Toronto Sun, June 21st
Hospitals prepare for G20 casualties
- CBC News, June 24th
Downtowners looking to get out of town for the weekend
- InsideToronto, June 24th
As people who have lived in police states tell us, police brutality is much harder when there are plenty of witnesses. By intimidating people away from downtown, security forces had already begun to “kettle” the streets, intensifying the situation and confusing absent citizens between peaceful protesters and criminal troublemakers.
This translated into a belief among many Torontonians that if you ventured downtown during the summit, whatever the reason, you were looking for trouble. Before the summit even began, there was already an underlying implication that any punishment received was invited simply by being downtown.
I suspect that the police were not immune to this culture of fear, even as participants in its creation. Warnings of a terrorist threat, the militarization of the city, confusion caused by Black Bloc groups and a general lack of distinction between lawful protesters and criminals by those in command all combined and resulted in an environment of fear and mistrust. Many police were required to wear heavy gear and stand for hours in summer heat, and we are now learning that there was confusion and ambiguity in the chain of command that resulted in orders that were sometimes unclear - I'm sure these factors made the police's jobs even more stressful. These factors were not conducive to a peaceful outcome.
During the G20 summit hundreds of people were arrested and, for most, their only crime was refusing to be intimidated off the streets of their own city by the police. The threat of property damage to storefronts by a small splinter group is no excuse for this outrageous violation of Canadians' basic rights.
The police conducted searches, collected personal information, and detained/arrested people illegally. Protesters and bystanders alike were intimidated, mistreated and assaulted. This was not a case of many isolated incidents by individual officers, but an organized strategy. Whether or not it was applied with the direct intent of suppressing political dissent, whoever is responsible must be held accountable.
I am particularly disturbed by the reports and videos suggesting that hundreds of riot police descended on Queen's Park to intimidate, arrest, and forcefully remove protestors on June 26th. Queen's Park had been designated a “Free Speech Zone” by the same authorities who orchestrated the police's actions that day. The concept that free speech can be limited to a particular part of the city in what is supposedly a free and democratic society is wrong to begin with, but the violent actions of police against people who were gathered peacefully in what was meant to be a safe area where they would be permitted to protest freely is unconscionable.
After the city witnessed property crime and historic mass arrests, the chilling effect became even more severe. On Monday June 28th I was invited to participate in a rally supporting those who had been illegally detained and were being denied their basic human rights. Not only were their arrests likely illegal and in violation with the Charter, there were countless reports of degrading and inhumane treatment at the holding facility including harassment, excessive confinement, denial of water, food and medication, and assault.
The fear of being arrested for practicing my basic right to protest was so palpable that I wrote the number for legal aid on my body as friends tried to persuade me not to attend the rally. I was horrified to realize that my fear was real, supported by fact, and that by attending a public demonstration to support something I believed in I was risking arrest and possibly putting myself in physical danger.
Although the G20 summit was over, the police presence at the rally on June 28th was in full force. Police in full riot gear blocked College Street on the west side of the intersection of Yonge and College. At earlier G20 protests, regular police officers with bicycles had been used to block traffic, and riot police had been used to block people. I believe that the use of riot police to block the road was an act of intimidation in an attempt to discourage people from attending the protest.
As were the riot police with zip-tie handcuffs clearly visible who were stationed inside College subway station at the exit which led to the protest area.
As were the on-duty police officers roaming College Park around the food court which led to the protest area.
Because of the blockade on the road, anyone coming from Yonge Street, one of the city's 2 main arteries, or east of Yonge Street, had to cross a line of riot police to get to the protest happening outside of Toronto Police Headquarters. This was unnecessary for public safety and likely stifled dissent.
I heard someone say that they had paid the $3 fare to enter the subway system in order to bypass the police line and cross the street underground in order to get to the protest. Who knows how many people who wanted to protest did not because they thought it would cost them $3 just to have access to the area where it was happening. This further suggests a concerted effort on the part of government and police authorities to crush political dissent surrounding the G20 and the G20 protests.
I will continue to demand a full public independent inquiry in the hope that it can shed light on what happened to my city, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure that our right to peacefully assemble remains a guaranteed right as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I am extremely concerned about the chilling effect that the G20 security measures had on Toronto both before, during and after the summit. I am outraged that my civil liberties were impeded, as were the rights of so many people. I am joining others in demanding a full independent public inquiry to investigate the G20 security tactics, mass arrests, and the poor and degrading treatment reported by detainees.
It is our right to move freely and assemble peacefully – these actions were discouraged during the weeks leading up to the summit through scare tactics and intimidation. Government and police authorities equated peaceful protest with rioting and crime, impeded free movement through the downtown core around the security zone, and made it known that anyone who came too close to the security zone would be treated with suspicion (having their ID checked, bags searched, and via the rumour of a 'secret law' possibly arrested).
The mainstream media was complicit in this and many Toronto citizens left town or avoided the downtown area out of fear. No Canadian should be afraid to walk around freely in their city. If people are afraid of criminals, the police are not doing their job in protecting the public; if they are afraid of the police, then doubly so.
Toronto streets get more surveillance cameras for G20
- Toronto Star, May 14th
Toronto police show off summit security
- CBC News, June 3rd
G20 activists accuse CSIS of intimidation
- CBC News, June 10th
Tourists' camera draws security squad
- Toronto Sun, June 21st
Hospitals prepare for G20 casualties
- CBC News, June 24th
Downtowners looking to get out of town for the weekend
- InsideToronto, June 24th
As people who have lived in police states tell us, police brutality is much harder when there are plenty of witnesses. By intimidating people away from downtown, security forces had already begun to “kettle” the streets, intensifying the situation and confusing absent citizens between peaceful protesters and criminal troublemakers.
This translated into a belief among many Torontonians that if you ventured downtown during the summit, whatever the reason, you were looking for trouble. Before the summit even began, there was already an underlying implication that any punishment received was invited simply by being downtown.
I suspect that the police were not immune to this culture of fear, even as participants in its creation. Warnings of a terrorist threat, the militarization of the city, confusion caused by Black Bloc groups and a general lack of distinction between lawful protesters and criminals by those in command all combined and resulted in an environment of fear and mistrust. Many police were required to wear heavy gear and stand for hours in summer heat, and we are now learning that there was confusion and ambiguity in the chain of command that resulted in orders that were sometimes unclear - I'm sure these factors made the police's jobs even more stressful. These factors were not conducive to a peaceful outcome.
During the G20 summit hundreds of people were arrested and, for most, their only crime was refusing to be intimidated off the streets of their own city by the police. The threat of property damage to storefronts by a small splinter group is no excuse for this outrageous violation of Canadians' basic rights.
The police conducted searches, collected personal information, and detained/arrested people illegally. Protesters and bystanders alike were intimidated, mistreated and assaulted. This was not a case of many isolated incidents by individual officers, but an organized strategy. Whether or not it was applied with the direct intent of suppressing political dissent, whoever is responsible must be held accountable.
I am particularly disturbed by the reports and videos suggesting that hundreds of riot police descended on Queen's Park to intimidate, arrest, and forcefully remove protestors on June 26th. Queen's Park had been designated a “Free Speech Zone” by the same authorities who orchestrated the police's actions that day. The concept that free speech can be limited to a particular part of the city in what is supposedly a free and democratic society is wrong to begin with, but the violent actions of police against people who were gathered peacefully in what was meant to be a safe area where they would be permitted to protest freely is unconscionable.
After the city witnessed property crime and historic mass arrests, the chilling effect became even more severe. On Monday June 28th I was invited to participate in a rally supporting those who had been illegally detained and were being denied their basic human rights. Not only were their arrests likely illegal and in violation with the Charter, there were countless reports of degrading and inhumane treatment at the holding facility including harassment, excessive confinement, denial of water, food and medication, and assault.
The fear of being arrested for practicing my basic right to protest was so palpable that I wrote the number for legal aid on my body as friends tried to persuade me not to attend the rally. I was horrified to realize that my fear was real, supported by fact, and that by attending a public demonstration to support something I believed in I was risking arrest and possibly putting myself in physical danger.
Although the G20 summit was over, the police presence at the rally on June 28th was in full force. Police in full riot gear blocked College Street on the west side of the intersection of Yonge and College. At earlier G20 protests, regular police officers with bicycles had been used to block traffic, and riot police had been used to block people. I believe that the use of riot police to block the road was an act of intimidation in an attempt to discourage people from attending the protest.
As were the riot police with zip-tie handcuffs clearly visible who were stationed inside College subway station at the exit which led to the protest area.
As were the on-duty police officers roaming College Park around the food court which led to the protest area.
Because of the blockade on the road, anyone coming from Yonge Street, one of the city's 2 main arteries, or east of Yonge Street, had to cross a line of riot police to get to the protest happening outside of Toronto Police Headquarters. This was unnecessary for public safety and likely stifled dissent.
I heard someone say that they had paid the $3 fare to enter the subway system in order to bypass the police line and cross the street underground in order to get to the protest. Who knows how many people who wanted to protest did not because they thought it would cost them $3 just to have access to the area where it was happening. This further suggests a concerted effort on the part of government and police authorities to crush political dissent surrounding the G20 and the G20 protests.
I will continue to demand a full public independent inquiry in the hope that it can shed light on what happened to my city, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure that our right to peacefully assemble remains a guaranteed right as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Friday, July 2, 2010
G20 video
I didn't catch anything tooo exciting but here it is.
From the vimeo blurb:
Taken the evening of June 25th to the afternoon of June 26th, 2010. Getting marched on by riot police for standing on a street was very surreal. I was thinking the same thing as the guy in red - "Are they actually saying 'move'?" How is this possible? Or legal? Or justified? As you can see we're just casually milling about taking photos.
Later on I almost drop my camera when we're suddenly charged by the police without warning and one protester is dragged behind the line. They let him go a few minutes later.
G20 Protests in Toronto from KT on Vimeo.
From the vimeo blurb:
Taken the evening of June 25th to the afternoon of June 26th, 2010. Getting marched on by riot police for standing on a street was very surreal. I was thinking the same thing as the guy in red - "Are they actually saying 'move'?" How is this possible? Or legal? Or justified? As you can see we're just casually milling about taking photos.
Later on I almost drop my camera when we're suddenly charged by the police without warning and one protester is dragged behind the line. They let him go a few minutes later.
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