I love me some Grace Jones.
I do.
She's strange, and androgenous, and she can pull off some getups that no one else possibly could. She's a living, walking and talking Benetton ad.
That's why I laughed when I read that she had a Diva meltdown when someone stepped on her trailing fur coat at a Bond event recently.
Ohhh, Grace...take on PETA.
I'd pay cash money to see her go off on someone who dared to throw red paint on her Chinchilla.
Some Jones goodness;
Grace with Pavarotti
La Vie En Rose
...and Demolition Man
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I found this video over at Mental_floss...
...and it made me think of a couple of things.
I'm not a Halloween person, or even a big holiday person in general, but it made me think of how for some people like Jen Singer Halloween can be a pain in the ass.
Expensive, and not just in the candy way...because, well...people can be turds.
And it also reminded me of a time when I worked in a school in a very hoity toity neighbourhood. I remember those parents complaining about people from neighbourhoods that weren't so well to do, taking their kids into their neighbourhood to trick or treat.
Believe me when I tell you that these people didn't have a cash flow problem, and didn't even have to stand at the door for that matter. They had Filipino nannies to slave that for them.
They would complain to me, and I would inwardly roll my eyes, because I think it had less to do with how expensive it was, than it had to do with not wanting "those" people coming through their neighbourhood. So, when one of the veteran teachers told one of "those" parents, "Oh, big deal...so you have to give some poor kids candy for one night out of the year, boo hoo", I had to stifle a guffaw.
Recently, I sent a scathing letter about a few experiences we had with a bank representative.
However, I didn't mail the letter until we had moved all of our business out of that bank.
When the person dealing with the complaint asked why I had waited so long to complain, I told her that I wasn't about to write the things I did, while that person had access to our money, accounts and credit rating.
The person told me that my fear of this happening was unfounded.
Really?
Tell this guy.
If this could happen with a call centre employee, imagine what someone with more power could do if they were malicious enough.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Migr@tions, an international multimedia competition on the theme of immigration launched by the CBC.
The documentary by Boban Chaldovich of Serbia called "Outside of Europe" is particularly interesting to me.
It's about the exclusionary nature of EU immigration policies, and the responsibilities that are placed on periphery countries to handle the flow of migrants, using Ukraine as a case study.
The site is easy to navigate by just going over the yellow dots on the map of the world with your mouse for more information about particular documentaries.
(Thanks Anna)
" The city's newest firearms amnesty was launched yesterday, in the shape of a four-week, guns-for-cameras program sponsored by the Henry's photo store chain.
Anyone who turns in a gun - legal or illegal - will receive a digital camera and photography lessons."
Am I the only one who finds this endeavour hilarious?
I'm sure that Toronto "gangstas" are frustrated artists just dying for an opportunity to express themselves through photography.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
WTF, Broccoli...
Look closely at the broccoli florets...very closely...and then I will tell you about my artist friend who, when doing a mural will paint Stalin, Hitler and Lenin into the crowd.....you know who you are, you little minx!
(Closer photos found at Bread & Honey)
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
I've never been a victim of domestic violence.
I had one boyfriend who slapped me, and was immediately dead to me.
But, domestic violence isn't always physical...and contrary to popular belief, neither is it exclusively a woman's issue, although many people believe it to be.
This month, twice...it was brought round to the front of my face.
A few weeks ago, I was on my way to the parking lot when I heard arguing in another language. A man shouting, and a woman begging. I didn't know which house it was coming from, but I heard it. Then, just as I got to the gate, I heard a thud..a punch..fist to skin thud..that made me stop and turn. The begging stopped. I didn't know what to do.
Call 911?
I didn't even know which house it was coming from.
What happened? Who is she?
I don't know.
...and then, a few days ago, an older woman I employ casually came to my office asking for work. When I looked up it took a moment to register that the whole left side of her face was bruised, and the inside white of her left eye was bloody.
She had been putting up with "it" for 40 years, and enough was enough.
Now she's alone. Now she really needs work.
I work with shelter families, and not all women who are in shelters are physically abused.
Some just need to get out of their situation, and they don't have the means...but, most are.
What happens to women who are continuously abused is that they can, and often do, lose the ability to make decisions. They lose the confidence to do even the simplest things because they've been controlled for so long.
So, when people say..."oh, she should just leave"...it's a simplistic thing to say.
Leaving, especially if you have children, is monumentally difficult....but, there's help out there for women who need it.
Which brings me to something else...and I know that perhaps I shouldn't put them in the same post, but it's domestic abuse as well.
Women physically attack, abuse and provoke as well.
...they do.
Not only that...women have been known to, and do manipulate.
You know why?
Because women can be just as nasty as any man can, and sometimes waaaaay more creatively than just slapping you around.
A false accusation can ruin a person's life.
You don't have to do the crime to have your life ruined...all you need to be is accused.
"The Globe editorialists' indignation suggests a certain naiveté about the prevalence of this practice. They would profit from spending a few days in family court, where, in the interest of tipping custody battles in their own interest, women's false allegations of domestic violence and sexual abuse of children against their former partners are so rife - and virtually never punished - that it is apparently the best-kept secret crime in the western world. Oh, perhaps these men are not beaten up with baseball bats, but they do lose their homes, their children, often their jobs and friends, spend time in jail, are rarely given the benefit of the doubt - and many of them kill themselves from despair."
I know that some people will perceive part of this post as "blaming the victim", because it's a popular defense that is supposed to immediately shut you up about questioning anything declared by a woman or child who claims abuse, as though neither have been known to ever allow an untruth pass through their lips.
People lie, and some will lie maliciously.
...and that's an atrocious thing to do when so many people struggle with the real thing.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
My mother had a lot of these "...and his orchestra" type albums, and the photos always fascinated me.
Click on the image for more from Retrolounge
Father has son jailed for being lazy
A man has taken his son to court in Nigeria for being idle – with the result that his son was jailed for six months.
Damn.
70% of teenagers in this country would be in jail if that applied here.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Third Sex
Perhaps England's population is not big enough to accept a 3rd sex.
With South Asia's population they've had to.
...and I was attacked by unicorns in the magic forest....
DMX a.k.a Earl Simmons may have fathered another child outside of his marriage.
The last time, he said:
"She raped me," the rapper told S2S editor Jamie Foster Brown. "I mean, you know, that might sound like some bullsh*t. No man has ever been... you know what I mean, like never? Is that the only thing in the world that's not possible?" Mrs. Simmons recalled an earlier encounter with the woman. "Before the stuff hit the fan, she came up to us while we were in court and said 'I work for kids that are sickly,' said Tashera. "So he said 'Give her my number.' That's how it goes all the time. At first, I said OK. But, then I thought she looked deranged and obsessed with him."
While his wife "blocks out" the experience to cope, X gained a more valuable lesson: "Turn on the light before I go to sleep," he said.
I wonder what happened this time?
Alien abduction?
10 People Who Survived the Impossible
Vesna Vulovic:
The Stewardess Who Survived a bombing at 33,000 feet
On January 26, 1972, a Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 departed from Copenhagen for Belgrade (via Zagreb) with 28 passengers and crew. At an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet, a bomb in the cargo section planted by the Ustashe Croatian separatist group exploded. The plane disintegrated and fell into the mountains below.
In what must be one of the greatest survival stories of all time, stewardess Vesna Vulovic survived the 33,000 foot descent in the tail section of the plane.
....I just want to get through the week....
(click on text for more)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
I've always loved Second City.
Their current show Barack To The Future sounds good.
The Canadian leg of Second City has spawned so many great comedians who leave Canada because...well, we're haters.
...yeah, I said it.
Second City gave these people their start:
Dan Ackroyd, John Candy, Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood (Ok, she stayed in Canada to play those really Canadian roles, eh?), Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin (ok...whatever, we adopted her....she's a citizen(I think), Rick Moranis, Mike Myers (Before that Guru movie..he used to be funny), Catherine O'Hara, Ivan Reitman, Martin Short, David Steinberg, Dave Thomas.
Second City is my opportunity to see a possible future American star.
Kidding.
Sort of.
"Her eyes have captivated the world since she appeared on our cover (National Geographic) in 1985."
National Geographic tells her story.
Battle in Seattle
(Click on heading or image for trailer)
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Conference of 1999, happened on November 30, 1999, when the World Trade Organization (WTO) met at the Washington State Convention and Trade Centre in Seattle, Washington.
Monumental street protests outside the hotels and the Seattle Convention Centre ensued. The demonstrations put the crowd at over 40,000 which is pretty substantial in it's potential to become out of control and violent.
Even though I know that protests are a very important part of a democratic society, and are vital in keeping the rights of free speech...there are some, whom I feel have no business being at any protest.
Children, the elderly, and pregnant women.
In the film, Charlize Theron's character is a pregnant shop clerk who gets caught up in the protest and is injured.
...and that's not even mentioning those who get caught in the crossfire who wanted nothing to do with the protests at all...shopkeepers whose property is damaged, and workers who only showed up to do their jobs, which happen to be on the path that the protesters take.
So, while we often imagine protests as peaceful, where people join hands and sing "Kumbaya" in unity of what they feel is right, often things escalate and tip into mob like behaviour, and can...often do, turn violent and dangerous.
...but without them, where would we be?
Friday, October 17, 2008
Ok.
I know this picture is rather large, but I had to post it.
I had to post it because it represents all that is wrong with the fashion industry.
From the no heel, S&M porn boots/latex leggings to the Judy Jetson does the anorexia/bulimia conference...it's just ridiculous, plastic, and painfully pathetic in it's insecurity (..and I don't only mean of standing and walking).
No amount of money can buy out the need for approval from people who aren't your friends and probably don't like you anyway.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Baboon Gangs Terrorize South African CapeA criminal gang being blamed for countless burglaries, thefts and vandalism in South Africa is made up entirely of baboons.
Residents of Cape Peninsula said the gang is at least 350 baboons strong.
The reason there's so many is that they are the country's last colony of coastal baboons and are a protected species.
I haven't seen Lakeview Terrace, and I really wasn't planning to, until now.
I read this review from Racialicious, and decided that I have to rent it when it comes out on DVD.
I have to see it because it's made the reviewer so angry.
I don't really understand why there cannot be any evidence of black on white racism depicted in movies. How dare filmmakers show this?
Ditto on psychological thrillers with psychos who are not white...ok, Arabs and Eastern Europeans have always been ok with Hollywood as crazies, to suit whatever propaganda is needed at the time.
An interracial couple whose neighbours might not approve of their relationship?
How could that possibly exist in this day and age?....much less a racial minority who feels that way...and problems in a marriage? No way?!? Really?
This can only be perceived as a diabolical conspiracy by "the man" to make black women look bad on the whole...not just characters in a movie.
The movie might actually be crap...but, until I read that review, I wasn't going to bother.
Remember that stupid movie with Kate Hudson and Matthew McWhatsisname?
The one where she uses some website to combine pictures of him and her to see what their baby would look like?
Now, you can too...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Madonna And Guy Richie To Divorce, Gwyneth Paltrow To Weep, Alex Rodriguez To Shrug Nervously...
"Gwyneth Paltrow, who is in Madonna’s “smug fake accent” club (as treasurer), evidently tried to keep the couple together. Says a source:
‘Gwyneth begged Madonna all summer not to be an idiot and let this marriage fall apart.’"
LOL...Well, I for one, will be looking forward to Guy Ritchie's next film.
More proof that people are stupid, in the stupidest ways:John Travolta cancelled filming on his new movie after rioting broke out on set.
The actor was set to shoot part of 'From Paris With Love' - which highlights social problems in French ghettos - in Les Bosquets, a high-rise estate north of the French capital, and jobs as extras and support staff were offered to the residents of the area.
However, before filming could begin violence broke out among the workers, who burnt 10 cars set to feature in the movie.
A spokesman for the movie said: "All 10 of the vehicles set to be used were burnt out and there were threats aimed at crew.
"There's now no possibility of Mr. Travolta or any of the other stars of the film operating in such a dangerous area.
"The scenes we were meant to do here will now be shot elsewhere."
John, 54, was due to star in the film with 'The Tudors' star Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
It was hoped the movie would help draw attention to France's lower classes, but filming was only permitted in Les Bosquets on the condition locals were used as extras and meals for the crew were made by local companies.
You know...John...in Montreal, they speak French...and there are still great tax breaks for the arts in Quebec.
Ask Margaret Atwood.
The Strange Life of H.H. HolmesSunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Avert your eyes...
Madonna enters...
key God Save the Queen music...
I don't know who's worse...Madonna, who doesn't want to have any contact with the help, or the pretentious little back up dancer Robyn with a "y".
'Every Heartbeat' singer Robyn, who performed before Madonna on the tour's European leg, revealed she and the show's crew were under strict orders not to approach the pop icon, speak to her or ask for autographs and pictures.
She added to a Swedish newspaper: "My worst nightmare would be to turn into a Madonna because of her constant chasing of the latest trends. As an artist I do not want to be someone who does not feel safe in the creative process."
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Keith Sweat is a real parent...
"Her name is Lisa Wu-Hartwell. She is the ex-wife of singer Keith Sweat and the current wife of NFL player Ed Hartwell.Lisa currently stars in the reality television show “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” on Bravo"
The drama on Bravo’s new The Real Housewives of Atlanta series began long before the cameras ever started rolling.Lisa Wu Hartwell, one of the five women showcased in Bravo’s latest Real Housewives incarnation, tells me she was hoping to have all three of her children on the show, but her ex-husband, late-’80s R&B hitmaker Keith Sweat, has gotten in the way.Hartwell and Sweat have two sons together, 13-year-old Jordan and 11-year-old Justin. “He didn’t sign a waiver,” Hartwell complains. “He’s like, ‘Lisa, it’s nothing personal. I just really don’t know how they’re going to edit and if they’re going to make you look crazy. I just don’t want the kids to be, you know, overexposed or anything.’ “
What?
A non-custodial parent actually being able to do some damage control?
I can hardly believe it.
No kid needs to be on a reality show.
Not one.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
The out of touch Canadian art elite speak out...
Yeah, if Harper was about to take away the trough I've been feeding at for decades, I'd be upset too.
(That shit about voting for Duceppe is just out of it.)
A Japanese restaurant has taken an unusual approach to employing waiters - they have two trained monkeys who wait on their clientele.
I love the monkies...but, I don't want them touching my food
Monday, October 06, 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
I've never been a fan of Stephen Leacock's work...so sue me.
I'm Canadian, and it doesn't matter how many CBC readings I hear done by Stuart McLean, I still can't appreciate him.
Probably because to me, he represents the small town Ontario that I don't care for...and really, they didn't/don't care much for us.
When I say "us", I mean non-British immigrants, and many of his statements were quite racist. While Canadians like to say that he was "a product of his time" as an excuse, because he was so celebrated all over the world...There's a tinge of that "something" in his writing that never grabbed me.
That's why I find it delicious that the school that was named for him is as diverse as it is:
Apparently, we imitate animals differently all over the world.
Click on the image to hear how other cultures imitate animals.
(Found at List of the Day)
Friday, October 03, 2008
The Canadian Leadership Debate
I only caught the last half hour.
Jack Layton constantly speaking in the 3rd person was pretty humourous.
Jack Layton wants you to vote NDP.
Jack Layton wants you to know that he's concerned about what's happening at the "kitchen table".
Jack Layton Jack Layton Jack Layton.
Gilles Duceppe knows that he's not going to be the Prime Minister, and says so...more than once...in the half hour that I'm watching.
Stephane Dion is desperately hanging on to Chretien's decision to stay out of Iraq...which is ironic, since we're there anyway. But, if he's elected, could further deceive Americans into thinking that most Canadians speak French.
Stephen Harper thinks that Canadians are more concerned with the stock market than they are jobs or mortgages...yeah, I'm worried about my shares...LOL
Elizabeth May makes sense but is more or less dismissed.
It's a sad state of affairs people.
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