punk rock feminism rules, okay?

Whenever I listen to Bikini Kill I get all angsty and want to start a revolution of sorts.

These are the kinds of women I think girls should be looking up to. Not afraid to be abrasive, loud and characteristically "un-ladylike." They do not feel any pressure to conform towards gender norms, and they let themselves be heard.. no matter how vulgar the lyrics may be perceived. There are really no female bands quite like them anymore, and if there are please make me aware of them and open my ignorant mind.

I remember I made a mix CD for a friend of mine and included a Bikini Kill song on it. When I asked him what he thought he said "they're so... angry.. and.. amazing!" Which I think perfectly sums up why they are so great. I wish I could be a part of the Olympia music scene... SIIIIGH.

I was looking for a good live performance video but the sound quality is pretty crappy on youtube. I'll settle for this video montage to "rebel girl."

P.S. ex-Bikini Kill member Kathleen Hanna is now a current member of Le Tigre, which you probably have heard of. They are also mind blowingly awesome.

NYC the place to be, the food is good and the art is free

The title wasn't supposed to rhyme but it did and I'm not objecting.  I love Toronto so much but when I get back from New York I feel like I'm going back to the farm.  Perhaps the reason I love Toronto is because it's a nice cultural escape from the 'burbs, and the reason I love NYC is because it's a bigger / better Toronto.  Whatevs, I don't want to leave.

I went to some great sights and fell in love with central park.  I also went to art gallery district in Chelsea and had the best time ever.  You can get into them for free and I got to see such unique pieces.

Art in wiry metal sculpture form:

Art in graffiti form:

Art in gigantic florescent installation form:

and my personal fave, Art in giant black ball form:

Seriously though, when you're in New York, go to Chelsea!!

painful reading

Oh my god.  I really didn't want to ever have a ranting post but I have to... okay..

what the hell.. is up with TWILIGHT?!  I don't even know where to begin!  In normal circumstances, I read a book I don't like and move on.  But this shit keeps slapping me in the face everywhere I look!  Only cool people have Twilight STATIONARY?!  Obviously my curiosity got the better of me and I actually read Twilight.  All. Four. Books.

To briefly explain, Twilight is censored vampire erotica for pre-teens as told by a Mormon.  Not kidding.  She writes about as good as a preteen too.  And let me tell you, I have never read anything more blatantly sexist.. it even trumps books that are supposed to take place when women weren't allowed to vote.  It's about two lovebirds: Edward the 100 year old vampire virgin and Bella the 17 year old bane of my existence.  They have no interests, no hobbies, no friends.. they just love each other because he likes the smell of her blood and she is the most insecure woman to ever exist.  She validates her life by his presence.  She has no goals for herself other than to become a vampire so they can love each other for their entire immortal existence (!!!!!)

What pisses me off the most is that this is what most girls reading it (ages 13-18) think love is.  They traded in mutual respect, commitment, friendship and attraction for the less used model of OBSESSIVE CRAZY. 

The only thing Edward says (paraphrased, though sadly not by much) : "I love you.. I love you.. I'm so angry at myself for putting you in danger.. I must flee forever into the abyss to hide my shame.  You're better off without my chiseled features and controlling existence.  Allow me to protect you from afar, feeble minded female mortal."

The only thing Bella says:  "I love you so much it hurts my weak mind.  I feel dizzy and my woman legs can't carry me.  Lift me, oh strong protector of the night."

And the movie was just close-ups of their faces for two hours in various intense expressions.

EFF MINUS! (F-)

2wenty 5ive

1. I love cats.

2.  My mom, her sister, my sister, and I have all had serious near death experiences when we were kids.  

3.  My right ear is higher than my left ear.  For a long time I just thought that every pair of sunglasses I ever tried on were crooked.

4.  When I was little I was scared of the eye doctor because I thought she could see my thoughts when she looked in my eyes.

5.  I'm a mild germaphobe.  (mild compared to Howie Mandell)

6.  My career choices change every few weeks but there are five main ones in steady rotation.

7.  I like animals more than people.. I know there are lots of folks who say that but I think I'm one of the few who mean it.

8.  I struggle with anxiety and depression.

9.  The positive thing that comes from number 8 is how introspective I became as a result.  I question myself and my beliefs constantly to the point that I am very confident in my final conclusion.

10.  I hate trends with the fiery burn of a thousand suns.  Not the trends themselves, but in the sense that people's taste and opinions change with what's "in for fall." 

11.  I have to listen to classical music when I'm driving in rush hour because it prevents me from getting road rage.

12.  I didn't like school from my first day of preschool to present, and yet I'm still in university.

13.  I can't keep in my laughter when I hear or read a funny word, no matter what the circumstance.  

14.  When I saw other kids littering at my public school I would yell at them until they picked it up, plus two other pieces of garbage.

15.  I get really neurotic when my house is slightly messy and clean everything up.. that being said, my bedroom is constantly a disaster and I don't mind.

16.  It seems that the older I get, the harder time I have sticking up for myself.  

17. (in regards to number 16)  My mom loves to tell the story of how I beat up a boy in grade 3 when I was in grade 1 because he took my swing.

18.  I am very shy and awkward when I meet new people, and it usually takes me a really long time to be myself around someone I just met recently.

19.  I worry about things beyond my control, a lot.

20.  When I was six I went through a phase where I would jump off the highest point of the playground at school with my umbrella so i can fly like Mary Poppins.  This happened every day for a good 3 months... thank goodness for sand playgrounds (why are those rare now?)

21.  I visit my grandparents often, and every time I have to spend at least an hour looking at old pictures.. I know every album by heart.

22.  I can never laugh at the "evil monkey" joke on Family Guy because this was a genuine fear of mine when I was a tater.  NIGHTMARES CONSTANTLY!

23.  The only kids I like are my cousins.  I find all others annoying and sticky.

24.  I can't take pictures of myself.  I look at people with albums of just themselves in a variety of (mildly) different poses and can't fathom it.  I'm too awkward to pose for myself.

25.  I have episodic insomnia, which is why I'm writing this so late.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR.. and last year.

Today I saw Slumdog Millionaire.  I had no desire to see this movie, because I thought it would be the stereotypical "feel-good" movie about some kid from the hood who makes it big.  You really can't blame me though, considering the plot is about a guy from the slums in India getting on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.  But it is phenomenal.. honestly.  By far the best movie I've seen all year (including 2008.)  I had no shame for this movie, I sobbed like a baby.  The last time that happened was in the scene of Big Daddy where the kid gets taken away by the Children's Aid worker.. I really wish that wasn't the truth..

See it! NEVER STOP SEEING IT!

<3

I really love Magneta Lane so much.  Despite my status as a RAGING feminist (you heard!) , I like them for reasons other than being an all-girl band.  The lead singer Lexi has some of the most amazing vocals I've heard in awhile.  Not to mention these girls can actually play their instruments. Unfortunately what I have found while frequenting small local shows is that girls in the band are often a gimmick.  It honestly makes me really sad.  There are so many talented women out there, and this is the outcome.. mediocre voices and half-assed  "keyboardists."  So obviously, finding this band of talented musicians was a nice change.  I want them to become really popular (more so than they are now) so the Toronto mainstream music scene can stop being so obsessed with Emily Haines. She's talented yes, but her solo album was so incredibly boring.       

I guess the fact that they are super foxy doesn't hurt. 

Photo courtesy of Magneta Lane myspace page.

Huge nerd

I realized that I will instantly love a book if there is an interesting concept in it.  I could hate the style, the plot, the characters.. and still say it is good if it makes me think in a way that I never have before.

For example, my favourite book by Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five.  It has the most amazing perspective on time/space continuums that it almost gave me a headache trying to understand it.  It is not sequential, but constant.  A circle instead of a timeline.  There is no "past" in the way that we understand the word.  It still exists because it happened, and continues to happen in our minds.  There is significantly more to this but it is hard to explain without being Vonnegut himself.

"I am a Tralfamadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains.  All time is all time.  It does not change.  It does not lend itself to warning or explanations.  It simply is."

Alan Moore's Watchmen has a concept of time that resonates well with Vonnegut's.  Well, at least the Dr. Manhattan character does.  

"There is no future.  There is no past.  Don't you see?  Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet.  Your earliest memory isn't gone, it's still there.  You still see it."

A Watchmen movie is coming out soon, and I'm wondering if these convoluted theories will translate well onto film.  I hope so, because it would be a shame if they didn't.  Movies based on books or graphic novels tend to leave out key elements in order to leave a margin of space for special effects or whatever else.

Well, at least the trailers and posters look awesome.

A first.

I was inspired by my sister to start a blog of my very own.  It's not the first thing she inspired me to do, and probably won't be the last.