Missed a Few Months...How....

Wow. I have never missed two months of blogging since I started this blog a few years ago. It is not that I don't have things to blog about, it is about the time factor.  Now that I am in the workforce full-time again, I have a position of management, I continue to write my thesis (despite sacrifices of my recreation time and other life activities), and I moved to a new adult, grown-up, professional apartment. All of this means less time to sit and write creatively for this online space. I don't want to be the type of person that abandons one's blog so I will quickly add this update and a photo from my new balcony and say that after I defend my thesis this Fall (cross my fingers and get to work), I shall be back to blog on a regular basis.

Thanks to my mum, Aunt Arta and others who may read, I do enjoy writing this blog so I shall be back. In the interim, I shall be staring out at this view and I sit and complete my fourth rewrite for my final thesis document.

Thanks to Photosynth, I can give you an almost 180 degree view of what I see every morning and night. Lucky me!

A bien tôt!

Canada Reads! Yes We Do!

It is Canada Reads time!

Five more books to add to my reading list.

One or two are twenty years old; several new to literature.

I love Canada Reads, in particular the radio debate.

Keeping books and radio alive!

The contenders:

(Excuse the fuzzy books.  Read them anyway.)

I, Mona Lisa

I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Several years ago I gave this book to my mother as a Christmas gift.  This holiday season while visiting family I saw it on the bookshelf and decided to read it myself.  It was chosen because my mother is a musician and a lover of art.  Having lived in Europe as a pre-teen, I have memories of my mother taking me around to well known art galleries, showing me well known works of art, and whispering in my ear or sharing with me the reasons why a particular painting was so famous, or controversial, or cutting edge for its time.  This book is staged around the famous painting Mona Lisa, which I saw first when my parents took me to the Louvre during the four years we lived in Belgium.  Paris and France is only a short skip away from Belgium.  The narrator is none other than Mona Lisa, and Kalogridis has written a fast paced, intriguing historical fiction account about the time period in which Da Vinci painted this piece of art, the woman in the frame, and her life surrounded by a mix if loving, creepy, controlling, concerned, self-serving and mysterious people.  A time period during which a women's servants could be her best friends, Kalogridis teaches the reader that there are secrets hidden within generations, but the secrets will always come to light.


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Bare: The Naked Truth About Stripping

Bare: The Naked Truth About Stripping by Elisabeth Eaves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Somewhere behind my desire to be both a reporter and a stripper lay an impulse to conceal.  Stripping - in competition with acting and espionage - is the ultimate job for someone who's instinct is to present different facades of who she might be.  There is nothing more illusory than a woman pretending to be a sexual fantasy for money." - p. 5

This book was on the wrong shelf when I entered a university library about a year ago.  It has been reminding me it is there waiting to be read for many months and I decided to pick it up over the holiday season.  It was on the apartment shelf as a classmate, during my first year of my Master's degree, announced in class one day that she was completing a PhD about women, their bodies and stripping because she stripped to pay her way through her bachelor's degree several years earlier.  I work hard to be an open person and I easily delight in meeting people whose lives are vastly different than mine and who are willing to share their stories of their life experience.  This book was perfect after I had spent several hours talking with my classmate to begin to build a healthier and more realistic perspective of stripping, the why, who, for what reasons, etc.

"I learned that no one is neutral about female bodies.  If they aren't sex objects used to sell every conceivable good, they are political objects, causing bitter debate on how to manage their fecundity.  And where not sexual or political, they are imbued with society's ideals with fears, turned into Miss Liberties, Virgin Mary's, and Wicked Witches.  Everyone had an opinion on what to do about female bodies, and sometimes it feels as if the only people who get in trouble for holding such opinions are young women themselves.  Some of us, though, have to live in them, and we each get by in our own way." - p. 6-7

Eaves explains how she first became involved in stripping and we meet several of her colleagues, who become friends, and their work as strippers, what purpose is serves in various lives, for some the cycle of dependence that is created in this industry, and the rules of safety that are continuously broken by purchasers and strippers alike.  Eaves teaches the reader that every woman had a line that she has drawn about the sexual work she is willing to perform, and sees many women move and bend this line under pressure from others and due to economic circumstances.

"And I was tempted to see sex work as more of a symptom of social illness than a cause.  The sex biz was nothing more that a sophisticated arbitrage operation, dealing in morals rather than financial instruments...At some point women had become artificially divided into two types - the good and the childbearing ones, carefully trained to disdain sex so that they wouldn't stray, and a separate, pro-sex class.  The second group were despised and disparaged so that the good women wouldn't want to join them.  One group of women ended up with respect but no freedom, and the other with freedom but no respect.  But economics abhors a vacuum, and the whore class...rushed in to fill the chasm between men's actual desires and the social structure that they, with women, had built.  I don't think the divide between the two types of women would go away until all the girls were raised to be free, responsible and unashamed of sex.  And until society had bridged the sex-ed gap - porn for boys and religion and romance for girls - there would always be Lusty Ladies [the stripper club Eaves worked at]." -. p. 138-139

A book that was telling and a strong mixture of social and political commentary shaken together with the lives of women and how their work infiltrates all aspects of their lives.  Give it a read!


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On the Road

Once again an inspirational song.  Many year ago a friend of mine, let's call him Joe (because that's his real name) introduced me to a new band after mocking my old school musical tastes.  Yes he did.  So I updated my music library (much like I had updated my wardrobe and bra selection several years earlier....another story...) and have purchased every album/CD/digital release since.  Oh yes, the band is Keane, a harmonious group with poignant lyrics, musical speed, a baby-faced lead singer, and songs that encourage you to ponder and question life.  Great motivators.  Love them.  Thank you 'Joe'.

Here is one song called On The Road from the album Strangeland, about finding your own road of life and helping others down theirs.  



P.S.  Keane, stop touring Europe and the US.  Come to Canada, more specifically, Winnipeg.  Thank you.

I Love Jezebel!

For all those people who were disgusted at the type, amount, bizarreness, and uneducated number of rape comments made during the American election, this article is for you and me!

Team Rape Lost Big Last Night

Listen Up!!!

Here are the websites of some of the bands, musicians and people I have seen perform while I have been in Winnipeg these past two years.  I have to say, of all the places I have lived (and there have been a few places), I have never lived in a city with such a plethora of musicians, who are so approachable and friendly, who create such a variety of sounds, and who have so many opportunities to perform in such a wide variety of venues, which creates opportunities for people like me to attend concerts.  Quite intense and incredible.  Wish I had more money and time to attend all of the events but alas, I can only attend 4-6 per month.  Poor me.  :)

While not all these musicians are Winnipeg or Manitoba based, they have visited here through various performance theatres or festivals and I have had the pleasure of seeing them.  Click on the name of the band or musician to be directed to their website and enjoy!

Joys Kills Sorrow
A delicious blend of musical skill and a sonorous trickle of vocals.  Just delightful.

From Google Images

Sarah Jarosz
A melange of traditional tunes with folk interpretations.  A person I would like in the corner of my house as my personal live musician as I have a huge crush on her...and I love her music.

Mary Gauthier
In your face sassy and political with a gritty, purposeful voice.

Dry Bones
Blue grass-ish for a lazy, quiet day....or dancing about alone in one's living room...or at a festival.

Dan Mangan
A mix of folk and rock.  Hard to sit still when listening to his works.  Easy to crush on as well.

From Google Images

Natacha Atlas
Electronica keyboards, Arabic sounds, dance beats, sultry lyrics, a good time.  She was born in Belgium, how cool is that!?!

David Francey
Meaningful.  His lyrics are so meaningful and purposeful, I just can't get enough of his music.  Live in concert, he is witty and honest, willing to call attention to inequities as he sees them.

Romi Mayes
Rock and roll coiled together with jazz and blues.  I am taking credit for the title of her last CD as she announced in her concert while live recording ten new songs that she did not have a title, as of yet.  She had just finished playing "Lucky Tonight" and I yelled out, 'how about 'I'm Gettin' Lucky Tonight'?'  She responded, 'that's a good idea, I'll think about it.'  Well she did and the CD is titled, Lucky Tonight.

Ruthie Foster
Her voice is reminiscent of the 1970's old guard of rockin' female musicians but with more rock n sassy.  Her cover of Adele's tune Set Fire to the Rain is hot.

From Google Images

JP Hoe
A musician I was introduced to in Calgary when he opened up for a Jann Arden concert, and here in Winnipeg, we have been re-introduced as he is from here and maintains this city as his home.  A delicious voice with lyrics that avoid cliches and stereotypes.  'Always' is one of his best.

Matt Andersen
He sings with the voices of thirty men, but it all comes out of one man.  Deep.  Billowing.  Incredible.

iron and wine
These musicians play a mean folk tune full of thoughtful words.  Truly songs that you perk up to and remember.

Kim Churchill
It's hard not to have a crush on this young man.  Speedy songs with bursts of instrumental sounds.  Thank you Australia!

Chic Gamine
A group of women that take turns sharing their vocal skills through an eclectic mix of songs.  From rockin' it out to soft French ballads, these musicians keep you wondering what sounds the next song with produce.

blind pilot
Indie folk in the cavern of a barn attic.  Yep.  That good.

From Google Images

MonkeyJunk 
Who calls themselves monkey junk?  These men do and they swamp, boogie and stir your soul until your body follows your feet, that are already dancing.  You can thank me later for this intro.

May you try out a few of these performers and never forget that intimate shows with honest musicians is always better than lights, sparkles and coordinated pre-fab dance moves.  Go local and enjoy!

The Right Words

Life is good.
Working on a few academic things: methods section, uploading summer data onto computer, planning the graduate student orientation, and even applying for jobs.
May the gods of employment smile down upon me in great measure.
Enjoying friends and meeting some interesting new people.
Still learning both professionally and personally.

In this midst of all this I listen to music.
This song popped up during this evening in a mix/shuffle.
It is a demure and calming song.
Putting the vision of one's life into perspective.

Thought you might enjoy it too thanks to CBC Radio 2



I had a friend tell me recently that she is really enjoying watching me walk through my life right now, seeing me move through the process of re-creation, deciding what do include in it, and observing the choices I am making.  She made me envious of myself.  Perhaps this is why I keep listening to this song, not because I am in a tearful, sorrowful place, but because I feel content and peaceful, throwing my heart and life out into the ocean and wondering what will be sent back anew and what will simply be new.

Remember:
The paradise you long for it's underneath your feet.
What you runnin' for?
Where've you been?

Anything Considered

Anything Considered by Peter Mayle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another Mayle book that was entertaining and a quick read.  A former business executive, Bennett, who has moved to southern France is swindled out if his life's fortune.  At the end of his financial rope, he places an add in the paper to find work and receives a proposition from a rich gentleman by the name of Julian Poe, who asks him to live the high life on his behalf in Monaco for the purposes of tax evasion and residence deception.  After one week of bliss, the mishandling of a metal suitcase with important information inside, causes the main character Bennett, to be thrown into a series of deceptive encounters in the attempts to get back the small case.  Partnering with a former military officer, Anna, they try to obtain the case and make a few dollars at the same time.  The best part of the book is seeing the smaller, remote French characters see more excitement in their village than there has ever been as the crime moves closer to the village in which Bennett lives.  Another enjoyable caper by Mayle!


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Chasing Cezanne

Chasing Cezanne by Peter Mayle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So far really good and a quick read.  Is the Cezanne missing?  If yes, why?  Taken into the heart of the art world.  Mayle impresses the reader with his knowledge of various fields once again.

Quick read that kept me busy while lying in bed ill with all by body parts aching.  A photographer accidentally sees a Cezanne being moved from the home of a wealthy client into a van, and with his attempts to solve the mystery of this strange scene, he interacts with varied characters, encounters he wrath of several rich and influential people, and travels through France, Britain and the USA.  A fun read, especially if you want to read more about the wonderful food and wines found in Southern France.  I need to have one of those eating trips through France!


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Twelve Drummers Drumming

Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A well written read by a Winnipeg author, C.C. Benison.  I would give this book 3.5 stars but that is not an option.  A tale of a pastor who has moved from London, UK to the more remote and quiet village of Thornford Regis, until a body turns up murdered and hidden in a Japanese drum.  Bringing back recent memories of his own wife's murder in London, Father Tom Christmas becomes the recipient and hunter of information to try to solve this crime.  With the help of a host of interesting, unique and well developed characters, the mystery is solved after the village has been turned topsy-turvy by the events surrounding the murder.  I will be awaiting C.C. Benison's next murder mystery, Eleven Pipers Piping as well as seeking out his other mystery novels.  A delightful read that gives one a glimpse into a small village in England that also has its drama.


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Thesis Proposal

After two years of grad school I am finally ready to propose my thesis.  I was ready at the end of June but with some missed paperwork the actual presentation will be taking place at the end of this week, August 10 at 10 AM in IGAC on the second floor.  Come if you are interested in Travel Bloggers and Serious Leisure.  Come if you are going to ask me simple questions that make me look intelligent and highly prepared.  Come if you can spare the time.  Don't come if you are going to be an academic snob and try to make me look bad.  Go bug someone else.

Good practice and good luck to me!

Confessions of a French Baker

Confessions of a French Baker: Breadmaking Secrets, Tips, and Recipes by Peter Mayle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For this read I going to my local (not French but as best as I can do in Winnipeg) baker to get some bread I can munch on while reading.  I love baking, I just have not baked a lot of bread.  More of a cookie, muffin, squares baker am I.

The introduction is a quick read and several of the recipes look delicious but I am in grad school in the heat of Manitoba.  To cook or to graduate?  Yep, another day, another time in my life I will have a home that smells of a French bakery.  For now, I shall return the book and head to the local french bakery to be a patisserie snob (I lived in Belgium as a pre-teen, I know my pastries).

Let me know of you try baking any of these delicious looking morsels and how it turned out.


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French Lessons: Adventures with knife, fork, and corkscrew

French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful light read by Peter Mayle who again entertains the reader with the festivals and holidays that he visits all over France.  From eating contests, to a running marathon with wine tastings along the route, to upper class semi-nude lunches, to the muddy and calming spa, Mayle's writing will put a spontaneous smile on your face, cause you to roll your eyes in disbelief, and generally love France and its inhabitants just a little bit more.  He also explains the Michelin Food Guide (yes, of the large rubber tires) that started in the 1920's rating restaurants and their food, services and ambience bestowing stars on the deserving.  Now a controversial publication in some culinary circles, many people still reach for it to peruse as the head to France for some travels, and Mayle takes the time to explain what this book means to the country and to its foodie citizens.

Give it a read and enjoy a writer who is able to present the quirks of a culture that loves many things and appears to celebrate them all.

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Get Along

As I was living in Cleveland, Ohio attending high school I remember the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots in Los Angeles as one of my first racial, social justice and political lessons as I saw that life was far more complicated than I understood.  Many of us, from a distance, saw that there had been progress throughout the decades with regards to relationships between races, but we were reminded during this time that the institutionalized, systemic racism and violence towards black people (as well as towards many races and between races) continued.

Recently I was in a conversation during which two people told me that racism happens, sexism happens, homophobia happens, classism happens, it will always happen and there is nothing that can be done.  It is part of life.  Of course I completely disagree.  Racism is a choice.  Sexism is a choice.  Homophobia is a choice.  Classism is a choice.  Agism is a choice.  Colonial ideas are a choice.  An inappropriate comment, a joke meant to demean, and a conversation during which we blame people for their experiences the subsequent traumatic fallout.  It is important to look for, watch and name instances during which we see people making excuses for intolerant behaviour.  Some ideas, words, and comments are so often repeated within a group, society or culture, that they become institutionalized and we believe them to be truths (called doxa by sociologists and anthropologists), but when looked at critically, they have merely been repeated so often that we assume these ideas to be truths.

Most recently I had an individual direct several accusations towards me.  Thank you to some strong and intelligent individuals, we were able to limit his destructive and bizarre behaviour.  Several people told me that this was a case of sexism.  At first I balked at the idea and rejected this notion.  After a few weeks, and in hearing the word domineering directed at me from this person, I conceded.  Upon closer observation I realized that this individual has rarely seen women in positions of leadership, and most certainly is not used to and does not agree with a women reminding him of his responsibilities.  Part of his doxa has been men are leaders, women are not.  It was difficult for me to admit that this was a sexist experience because part of my doxa is women (although few) as leaders, women in authority, and women from whom I have received and accepted advice.   His inane and immature response to me, being in a position of leadership above him, has been an interesting experience.  Doxa's clashing I suppose.      

My experience is nothing close to the trauma and far-reaching aftermath of Rodney King's, but having seen, heard and talked about the LA riots twenty years ago, I am able to identify, as many are, that experiences that parallel his still occur and we each have a choice to contribute to racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, agism, etc.; make excuses for these types of behaviours; ignore these types of behaviours; or have the courage to name them as intolerant and work to remove these inequitable ideas from our societies as doxa which we will no longer believe.

"Long after I am gone, people will remember me saying, can't we all just get along."

Rodney King

Taken from Google images

I shall add his book to the words I want to take the time from which to learn.

Taken from Amazaon.com

Ochre

While visiting with family in Calgary I began playing a game with my nephew.  There is always a Canadian dictionary at hand as one of my sisters enjoys reading them and learning new words.  In order to avoid playing yet another video game, which is often torturous for me, I grabbed the dictionary, flipped through it and began calling out words, asking my eight year old nephew what the word meant.  Refuse, meditate, spar, pronounce, all words we defined and talked about.  Then I spied the word 'ochre'.  I asked him what the word 'ochre' meant and he shared his response with me in about 15 seconds:

"Oh, that's the sound that Darth Vader makes when he is breathing in and out.  

Ohhh-ker.  Ohhh-ker.  Ohhh-ker!"

Just hilarious!  Amazing connection and of course, we imitated Darth Vader and his breathing for about five minutes in between bouts of laughter.  In the end I did share the actual dictionary definition of the word ochre, but that word, for me, will never be the same.

Ohhhhh-Ker!!!

Picture copied from http://www.google.ca/search?q=picture+of+darth+vader&hl=

en&client=safari&pwst=1&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ

&sa=X&ei=8NXWT7XzC8iQ2AWrr_mxDw&ved=0CHIQsAQ&biw=1056&bih=600

Gonna Be An Engineer

Cattle research done!
Thesis version two, almost done.
Sharing another video, below.

Last year I took the Smithsonian Folkways: American Roots Collection CD collection out of the library.  What a treat!  So many songs I had never heard but were the backbone of folk music, one of my favourite genres.  There were some really cool songs to listen to, some really weird ones, and one that I need to share with you.  It popped up on my playlist today while working and it makes me smile.

When I hear the lyrics I pretend I am a hippie woman at a Folk Festival with my long hair braided (its never long enough to do that, but hey, let me have my dreams), a daisy chain around my neck, a flowing hippie skirt, and maybe even a tambourine gently beating against my hip.  A woman by the name of Peggy Seeger appears on stage with a simple guitar.  She says hello at the microphone and dedicates this to all the women in the audience and beyond who want more choices in their lives.  Access higher (or well) paying jobs, be acknowledged for their intelligence and gifts, for others to see and thank them for their public contributions to the community, be provided with the space to make healthy choices, and live a full life in and outside their homes.

It is a sassy little ditty.

This is for all my engineering female family and friends out there (all 8 of you), and all the rest of us living better lives due to the work, lyrics, marches, sit-ins, folk festivals and potlucks of the 1960's.

I am now in graduate school due to your work.

Thanks!

Ah Alanis!

Ah Alanis!
The second most famous woman who taught us that getting mad and angry can be therapeutic.
Sinead O'Connor was the first of course.
Which is why when this song popped up on my iPod as I was working out, I listened to it several times.
Such lyrical therapy can be purchased for as little as $0.99.
Delightful.

This video is really not of any high quality but the lyrics, it is all about Alanis' lyrics.
The woman who started dancing and singing in malls in Ottawa has come a long way.
She has taught us all a thing or two about anger and crazy people.
And oh those users.
She has taught us a great deal about those people too.

Thank you Alanis and Sinead.
Thank you.

The Lyrics

Something so benign for me construed as cruelty 

Such a difference between who I am and who you see 

Conclusions you come to of me routinely incorrect 

I don’t know who you’re talking to with such fucking disrespect 

This shit’s making me crazy 

The way you nullify what’s in my head 

You say one thing do another 

And argue that’s not what you did 

Your way’s making me mental 

How you filter as skewed interpret 

I swear you won’t be happy til 

I am bound in a straight jacket 

Talking with you’s like talking to a sive that can’t hear me 

You fight me tooth and nail to disavow what’s happening 

Your resistance to a mirror I feel screaming from your body 

One day I’ll introduce myself and you’ll see you’ve not yet met me 

Grand dissonance 

The strings of my puppet are cut 

The end of an era 

Your discrediting’s lost my consent

My Sweet Curiosity

Amanda Hale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once again, I found this book walking back from the bathroom to my study carrel at a University library.  Two books caught my eye, both by the same author, this one called, My Sweet Curiosity.  Blending the history of Andreas Vesalius, the author of De humani corporis fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body), who is considered the founder of modern human anatomy; with the story Natalya, a medical student and her tumultuous relationship with her mother beginning with a bizarre birth story; and Dai Ling, a gifted cellist studying music in university with parents who sacrificed their lives in China to bring her to Canada.  Natalya and Dai Ling find each other and fall in love, and Dai Ling has to work through this revelation of being a lesbian within a traditional Chinese family structure.  Lost in tumultuous history's, each character, Natalya, Dai and Andreas, must navigate a labyrinth of ancestral choices that influences their current conditions, and reminds the reader that we come from a place we may not have chosen, but this history filled with people is desperate to hold on to us, despite our attempts to set ourselves free.

I will be looking for more Amanda Hale books as the intense research she completes on topics that I am unfamiliar with, teaches me about subjects I don't have time to research, as I turn each page.  Sounding the Blood, her first novel, is next.

http://amandahale.com/


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Almost 40!

Ok
I have four days left in my 30's
I wonder what my 40's will be like
I am guessing like most milestones, Sunday morning I will wake up feeling no different than I did Saturday night.
Still
This momentous occasion is worth a wee blog post
:)