Friday Post Stamp Parade

science

I have decided that i am really happy i watched a lot of Bill Nye, and read too many Magic School Bus episodes. But seriously people DO YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCIENCE.
I know very little about science, but i feel like other people know less.
apparently people believe that if you put warmer water in a freezer it will turn to ice faster. WRONG! physics people. PHYSICS!
Second apparently noise only travels up, or down. or something that sounds totally absurd to me.
Thank god for educational children's programing and books.

Travel Diary

I am so bad at diary-keeping. I spent a semester in London a couple years ago, and the journal I promised to store my memories in is ridiculously skimpy and vague.

One page reads,

Sunday September ?
Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath:

I am so tired. A man said "Jolly Good" to me.

Keats House:

[Just a smudge of soil on the page labelled "Keats Dirt!"]

The only time I got some serious ink down on the page was while I was trapped on a long bus ride from London to the Lake District. Even then, the diary mainly consists of strange ramblings, rather than insightful travel logging

October 17, 2006

Here I am again, setting out on yet another crazy lone adventure [...]I'm feeling like a bit of an idiot for taking a coach to Keswick. Christ, this is going to be a long ride. Also, I stink of orange.
NO! I am determined to enjoy myself like never before!!!!
Weee! Hurrah!

- omg, these seats recline! GLORY HALLY-LU-YA! This improves things immensely

- I'm so lazy. My brain is a blob of mush.
[drawing of a brain, with sections labelled:

• sleepin'
  
• slackin'
  
• procrastinatin'
• chillin'
  
• messin'
  
• skivin'
  
• thinkin']

- There are so many old ladies doddering about these North London streets. What's up with that?

- The woman behind me doesn't care for dimly lit cafes. She likes to see what's on her plate!

- I want my first husband to be named George, so that if I'm widowed I can mourn "Darling George" for years, just like Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair, or Rose Nylund in Golden Girls

- I wonder how much the drivers earn?

Agghh! I want to not be on this bus anymore, thanks. This has been a total old ladies wagon. When the old ladies get off at their stops they have people waiting for them with hugs and probably cars and hot dinners.
Bleh. I am jealous of old ladies because at best I'll find a McDonalds, then walk in the rain and dark to a mysterious hostel which may be difficult to find.
And I'm ALONE, ALOOOONE!

Starting to get motion sickness!
FUCK WHY IS THIS ROAD SO WINDING? I bet it is charming in daylight, but right now I FUCKING DESPISE IT."

Can't wait to show this writing to my grandchildren. Although, in a later entry on the same journey I describe the scenery as "outrageously bucolic." I think that turn of phrase alone should get me some offers from the travel mags.

P.S. I have just looked it up, and contrary to my statement in October 2006, George was Blanche's husband, not Rose's.

Jil Sander how you slay me!

orgasmic? for me, pretty darn close. Thank you Jil Sander.

Friday Post Stamp Parade

Flight of the Conchords Season 2

Letter from Planned Parenthood

Minutes ago, President Bush’s rule limiting the rights of patients to receive complete and accurate reproductive health information when they visit a federally funded health care provider was made official. And, unfortunately, it will take a great deal of work to reverse it — starting today. Please help.

We knew this was coming, of course. With your help, we’ve been fighting it for months. The rule is clearly a parting gift from Bush to the anti-choice fringe that supported him all these years.

Now, anti-choice medical staff can withhold information about abortion, birth control, and sex education from their patients. Facilities that receive family planning funding, like Planned Parenthood, will have to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control. For example, a doctor who opposes pre-marital sex could refuse to provide a prescription or even information about emergency contraception to an unmarried woman.

Frankly, we're livid. We believe that tricking women when they are most vulnerable is wrong — and the federal government shouldn't pay people to do it. Especially now, when so many people are already in crisis as a result of the economy, We can’t help but feel that this rule is a particularly low blow to the people who need our help, our support, and our most accurate and effective care the most.

Even with a new president and administration coming in soon, this won’t be easy to fix. It’s going to take more than a simple signature to reverse it. We’re starting our work today and we need your help. Please ask the Obama administration to reverse the new rule immediately.


Sincerely,
Planned Parenthood Action Fund

P.S. This is a particularly challenging time for so many. More and more people are turning to Planned Parenthood as they lose their jobs and their health insurance — and at a time when donations are down. Your financial support of the Action Fund’s advocacy efforts, if you can spare it, is much appreciated. Thank you.

Zara Union

My mom likes to send me emails about issues she thinks i would be interested in because they are more relevant to my life. Mostly young women work at ZARA. Really its not that different from my place of employment. H&M is not unionized. If it was there are a verity of complains i would have already made about conditions. I would at least do something about that bloody cash beeping.

Zara workers joined UNITE HERE in Fall 2007 in order to improve working
conditions at their store. They were tired of their unpredictable
schedules, working shortstaffed, bosses' favoritism, and disregard for
seniority.

Instead of respecting employees' right to join a union, since Fall 2007,
ZARA has engaged in conduct which may have violated the Quebec Labour
Code, including:

* *Firing four employees* who supported the union at ZARA's Rockland
Mall store in April and May 2008
* *Demoting two employees* who led a union drive at ZARA's downtown
Montreal store in August 2007
* Holding anti-union meetings at three Montreal stores in 2007-2008,
*in one case telling employees that joining a union is "treason"
against the company*.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Send a message to David Pastrana, President of Zara Canada, add your name to the petition.

Hey guys, I should share this important discovery!

I feel like I've shown off this video in the fairly recent past, but I certainly haven't posted it here yet. Every second of it is pure gold.

EDIT: I just realized that I should probably contextualize this better, in case you didn't grow up in Canada in the late 80s/ early 90s, or aren't a Rufus Wainwright fan. This is a song written and performed by young Rufus for the Canadian film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller. I remember enjoying it as a very small child, but I haven't seen it since then.

Equal Pay

loved this.

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Wile watching this video i could not help but think of all the places and incidents where these rights are not respected. Maybe if everyone knows their rights we can all work to have them realized for everyone everywhere.

Friday Post Stamp Parade

In the spirit of Sweet Juniper's Friday Morning Street Urchin Blogging, which I have enjoyed for a few years now, I'm starting this as an Official Thing. Enjoy the visual delights of my stamp collection! (I call it mine, but I have actually contributed nothing to it, and basically just admire the pretty pictures.)

Mike Huckabee on Jon Stewart

John Stewart has some great quotes in this part of the interview. Chchchcheck it out!

I just read an article about transparency in salaries to ensure women are not getting payed to little. Basically it advocated that women make pacts with each other and to always disclose how much they make. I am constantly surprised at how secretive people are about how much they make. My parents have very strong socialist and feminist values and for me these values have always been a given. It is not only to ensure women are payed freely that I believe salaries should be transparent, but because EVERYONE should have fair salary, and everyone should know if someone is not pulling their weight for the work they do, and likewise someone is not being payed enough to maintain a decent standard of living.
The end of the article urged readers to make this pact, or better yet, make a pact with yourself to always be open and honest when discussing your salary especially if you feel it could help someone else gain leverage and receive a more fair wage. who's with me?

Women and Advertising

Guest post! This piece comes from the illustrious keyboard of our friend Alex Lyons.

Advertising. Bill Hicks used to say, “if you work in advertising, kill yourself.” Haha, right? He wasn’t kidding, and I’m starting to realize why. At least once a day I’m flabbergasted by how women are portrayed in adverts, especially television commercials.

In the world of television commercials, women are relegated to either the kitchen, or to a Swiffer WetJet. They are subhumans who prepare nachos for her husband and his jock-douchebag friends while they watch “the game”. Also, women are the only ones who use a paper towel, and know how to bake some Tater Tots.


Tim just told me about Ford’s new campaign, it’s called: “Women Ain’t Aughta Drive!”

Oh, and by the way, did you see the one with the girl and her boobs? The blond one. With the impossible body, and botox smile? Yeah, well, she told me to drink Diet Coke. I suggest you do the same.

To be fair, the bulk of the commercials I’m referring to, and have a major fucking problem with, are for domestic products. That is, cleaning products, house decor, and things you stick in the oven. It’s true that I have seen women portrayed positively in commercials before, but when it comes to the domestic market, women are pigeonholed into replacing the toilet paper roll. Why are women still portrayed as the domestic goddess? Sure some women embrace the Victorian notion of domesticity, but as a man, I buy paper towels too. I like to put food in the oven. I’m sure I’m not the only one. So why, I ask you, do these companies only cater to the female demographic?

Because they’re sexist.

There is frequent discussion about the standards of beauty the media portrays, and while I have a problem with that, I think people generally ignore the gender roles some of these companies propagate.

I’d like to see a man in a store, thinking about what to make for dinner. I’d like to see a man dancing around his home, Risky Business style, cleaning up some dust. I actually wouldn’t care to see that, but you know what I mean.

What I want is balance. Not because I feel men are underrepresented in these kinds of adverts, but because women are being stereotyped. Certainly that kind of domestic woman exists, and that’s fine, but it’s not ALL women. How about some variety, Mr. Corporation? Is that too scary for you?

Get your head out of the middle ages, you sexist suckers of Satan’s serpent. And by serpent, I mean evil. You are all evil.

For Bill Hicks’ views on marketing and advertising, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo

How Condoms are made!

This is reassuring!

Ping/Pong

Celebrities love table tennis!

the Christmas Spirit!

Kate Beaton

We constantly talk about how advertisements give us a terrible image of reality, and how that leads to people feeling bad about themselves. I believe that despite this, we still don't fully understand how drastic unreal image is. Multiple articles on the internet (sent to me by Molly) show the before and after photos of Jessica Alba for a recent alcohol add. This is not the first time I have seen Photoshop before and after photographs. it is rather easy to find portfolios for photoshopers. Looking at Alba's waist makes me sick. Based on this second photo, women (and men) constantly believe their bodies can look like that. Yet Alba is actually double the size. Photoshop has gone so far that even her saucy expression is desperately different. Join me in feeling sick. Maybe after seeing this I will be less jealous of fashion photos. I think the point is not, very few people can look like that, but nobody will look like that without a photoshoper present.

Stalin and Layton

I was just on blogTo.com and got freaked out... does any one else see the creepy poster of Stalin and Layton. I don't even know how to understand that.
BlogTO.com has videos about the rallies in Toronto, if you want to learn more. I didn't go because i already had a full day.

I also found a TTC music Video, so i thought i would share the Top 3 TTC songs.

mini Feminists

in this episode of "smart girls at the party" Ruby talks about her interests and talents and how they are informed by feminism. It is super cute and relatable. Especially when Ruby sings the song she wrote. It reminds me of my sister and I and the feminist songs we wrote not much other than Ruby. Though i do still harbor a love for Barbie myself, i am disappointed that the show has been sponsored by Barbie.



For the record; High School Musical! all the way!

Charming

Tammi's little dance at 00:40.

I'm trying to reprogram my brain by watching this video repeatedly. Hopefully I can erase the damage caused by Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Whoopie.

the Hills

and now for something more lighthearted, photos from the honeymoon.

More Canada

I think North America has somehow fallen victim to a bizarre wormhole of political insanity.
Just a few short years ago, I remember being proud of my government for all the great, progressive things they were standing up for. Kyoto, gay marriage, not joining the Iraq war... At the same time I pitied the U.S and their disaster of a President.

How the tables have turned!

The election of Prime Minister Harper back in 2006 ruined my birthday, but at least it was aboveboard. What I've witnessed today has astonished and disgusted me. I can't believe the Governor General has sanctioned his craven behavior and allowed Parliament to be shut down for weeks, just to save his hide. He says this is for the good of Canada.

Thanks, Mr Harper, but I believe that in our constitutional democracy, it is not up to you to decide independently what is good for Canada. You aren't a king. We VOTED for our representatives (Remember that unwanted election you called just the other day? Remember how the Canadians you are supposedly appealing to did NOT give you a majority?) Our representatives have the prerogative to voice their lack of confidence in your leadership, and you have the responsibility to face criticism and the will of the majority of parliamentarians. You can't just shut down debate and democracy just because you are losing, and expect me to believe this is for my own good.

What a sick joke. To paraphrase Richard Harris' Oliver Cromwell: "God damn this [Prime Minister]!"

Or maybe I'll go with "You are no more capable of managing the affairs of this nation than you are of running a brothel!"

Canada

For your BIG FAT information...
Canada is no longer a democracy. We Canadians are living in some alternate world where Parliament has been disabled until mid January. Harper has power will out the vote of the House. If you want to learn more... turn on the tv, open a paper, or read this article. I don't even fully understand what is going on, but from what I gather Harper is doing nothing to help the economy except take away the fragile rights of working families, women, and all other marginalized groups. Layton, and Gills got mad, they decided to make a coalition. the coalition acually included Jack and Stephane Dion. They had plans to vote out Harper's government on grounds of mistrust on Monday. Yesterday evening Harper talked to the people... except he said nothing. Dion later released a super embarrassing video.

Isn't that embarrassing?
This morning Harper groveled and begged Governor General Michaelle Jean to let him dissolve the house. She agreed, heaven knows why. And now we live in some odd dictatorship.
We are all waiting to see what happens next. Oh Canadian Politics how you slay me.

Prop 8 the Musical

I laughed, I cried, I really really wanted to share this with everyone i know!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Julio

A good friend Julio left for Argentina yesterday.

today Molly and i dressed up as Julio. I am sure This will be a common occurrence since we have acquired a lot of his stuff.

In this photo we are both wearing Julio sweaters, Molly has Julio glasses, and is holding an advent calendar left by Julio.

ps; does this not look like a Christmas morning photo.

Fashion ICON

my new Fashion icon is Lady GaGa. Check out those shoulder pads, seriously creative and HOT.

Nirvana the Band

This show appears to kick ass! It is set and filmed in Toronto, and rather blaitant about that fact in i assume is only a humorous way.

Nirvana the Band the Show.com

oral sex

recently in conversation with a few different friends of mine, the issues of oral sex and it's virginal status. It is a sensitive topic and i often feel weird about imposing my understanding and beliefs about it on women who are still navigating their virginal status. Please read this blog entry feministing.com

"I am currently enrolled in an online psychology class about human sexuality. Since it is an online course there are message board discussions for class participation grades. The questions given are opinion based and meant to be controversial. I have been increasingly agitated by the responses by the class to some of these questions. The most recent question is as follows:

Does oral sex qualify as “sex?” Bill Clinton didn’t seem to think so, and a number of teens today see oral sex as a “loophole” of sorts—a safe alternative to intercourse. What is your opinion? Does the definition of sex differ in different contexts or situations to include or exclude oral sex?

I had to chuckle when I first read the question because, for me, if it has sex as part of it’s name, then yes, oral sex is sex. It’s like asking “is the hot tea, tea?”

I soon discovered that a majority of board posters personally defined sex as penetrative, favouring penis in vagina penetration with a specific bent on virginity. I pointed out that such a definition of sex is heterocentric and phallocentric and that it excludes individuals, such as lesbians. I also thought that it was a dangerous definition that in the past has been used to define what actions are and are not rape, therefore disregarding and devaluing experiences of sexual assault.

It turns out the class wasn’t having any of my explanation. Even when one individual who agreed with me went to Webster’s Dictionary to find an “official” definitions which read as follows:

SEX - 3 a: sexually motivated phenomena or behavior b: sexual intercourse

SEXUAL INTERCOURSE - 1 : heterosexual intercourse involving penetration of the vagina by the penis : coitus
2 : intercourse (as anal or oral intercourse) that does not involve penetration of the vagina by the penis

Individuals still held to claims of sex only meaning that which includes a penis penetrating something. People have flat out written that they do not think lesbians are having or can have sex. I am most disturbed with the fact that these individuals do not see what is wrong with their argument.

The bottom line is that it is heterocentric and phallocentric to define sex around the “all mighty” penis. These arguments logically lead to understandings of sexual behaviour that centre around men and their pleasure. If the penis is the tool that defines when sex is occuring, that this means that men alone are “having sex” while women “have sex done” to them. This definition ignores any number of sexual experiences and behaviours that include sexual orientation, preference, and physical ability and it is harmful to devalue these experiences of others.

I don’t know why I am so surprised that a majority of people posting define and want adherence to a definition that is heterosexual and sexist… All I have to do is glance at the front cover of a Cosmo magazine and remember how our society defines sex and who is favoured within that definition."

If you look at both maxim and cosmo, though for different sex's are both about heterosexual pleasure of the man.