I woke up with a migraine this morning that won’t go away.
This afternoon I decided I’d read a new book. It quickly put me to sleep, whereupon I was awakened repeatedly by:
– Some asshole parking in the lane honking their fucking horn over and over again
– Someone messaging my business page ON A SUNDAY causing the phone to buzz
– The pigeons on the roof all deciding to break dance all at once (wtf?)
– The Neighbour downstairs hawking up a lung or something
– Same person messaging my business page to say thanks in reply to my automated message (aw come the fuck on)
After this I just fucking gave up.
So I’m pissed off, sleepy and still have a migraine. I wanna kick a puppy right about now.
no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well
your neighbors running faster than you breath bloody in their throats the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body you only leave home when home won’t let you stay.
no one leaves home unless home chases you fire under feet hot blood in your belly it’s not something you ever thought of doing until the blade burnt threats into your neck and even then you carried the anthem under your breath only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets sobbing as each mouthful of paper made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.
you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land no one burns their palms under trains beneath carriages no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled means something more than journey. no one crawls under fences no one wants to be beaten pitied
no one chooses refugee camps or strip searches where your body is left aching or prison, because prison is safer than a city of fire and one prison guard in the night is better than a truckload of men who look like your father no one could take it no one could stomach it no one skin would be tough enough
the go home blacks refugees dirty immigrants asylum seekers sucking our country dry niggers with their hands out they smell strange savage messed up their country and now they want to mess ours up how do the words the dirty looks roll off your backs maybe because the blow is softer than a limb torn off
or the words are more tender than fourteen men between your legs or the insults are easier to swallow than rubble than bone than your child body in pieces. i want to go home, but home is the mouth of a shark home is the barrel of the gun and no one would leave home unless home chased you to the shore unless home told you to quicken your legs leave your clothes behind crawl through the desert wade through the oceans drown save be hunger beg forget pride your survival is more important
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear saying- leave, run away from me now i dont know what i’ve become but i know that anywhere is safer than here
Take small good things and magnify it. When someone smiles at you hold on to that. Ignore insult. Ignore anger. Ignore rudeness. Take sun and light and water from people and leave the trash. You have enough trash of your own. You don’t need anyone else’s.
Whether or not a protest is “peaceful” is decided by the state, not the protestors.
There’s a reason the Women’s March wasn’t considered a riot, and it has everything to do with white privilege and nothing to do with how “well behaved” we were. Police show up to peaceful BLM protests already in riot gear all the time.
“The abuser’s problem is not that he responds inappropriately to conflict. His abusiveness is operating prior to the conflict: it usually creates the conflict, and it determines the shape the conflict takes.”
― Lundy Bancroft, Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
Feminist with a to-do list ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏿 this little resistance pin was given to me by my good pal DT and I LOVE IT 🙌🏼 #efotdIRL by @wordforwordfactory | #etsyfindoftheday #efotd #efotdoninstagram #wordforwordfactory #resistance #feminist #feminism #pin #enamel (at Berkeley, California)
I tend to read most people’s posts hearing an American accent. Trinis I hear a Trini accent. Some of you post enough videos where I know what your voice sounds like so when I read your posts I hear your voice. I wonder what accent y’all read me with?
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, this twitter account is posting the names and photos (when available) of refugees turned away from America who became victims of Naziism. #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome
I’ve been kind of pissed off at a friend lately. She’s been doing some crazy stuff and I had a moment of epiphany today when I realised that the real reason I was so angry with her was because I felt that the burden of talking to her about it lay on my shoulders. Once I decided that it wasn’t my responsibility I felt a sense of relief and my anger pretty much dissolved.
We watched Moonlight last night. It was a beautiful movie. The story was beautiful (and sad but ultimately redeeming) and the cinematography was beautiful too. I highly recommend it.
I’ve found a way to get through my reading by using audiobooks. Reading is one of my favourite pastimes but since Chris and I have been together I find that I don’t get much of it done. I realise that it’s an alone-time activity for me and so even if I’m in bed and he’s watching a movie with headphones on or asleep, I still don’t get the same feeling as I did when I had my own room and could read alone. I’ve resolved that when we move out of here I’ll create a reading room/nook for myself. So while I’m working I listen to audiobooks all day. I used to have Netflix on but I’m finding I enjoy this more.
Sometimes I feel kind of guilty that I get to play in a studio all day. Especially when Chris is working so hard at a job that stresses him out so much. It had me thinking the other day of how many people never get to fulfill their potential because they have no choice but to just focus on survival. I always think back to something I read about certain ethnic groups in Africa where each person’s contribution is respected, and when a young person shows an affinity for something they become an apprentice and are guided and nurtured by an elder. All people have a place. Artists, musicians, healers… and everyone’s contribution is important. Every job is respected. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we did that?
Former President of Mexico, but yes, President Fox, drag his ass.
The @EPN Sr. Fox mentions is the twitter handle of the current president, Enrique Peña Nieto, who cancelled his D.C. trip after Trump threatened to cancel their meeting.
This is nuts.
As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.
My Mom talks about that re: when we lived in Brazil. My parents made friends with all sorts of folks (all colours/from all different countries) when we lived there, because Brazil is very multicultural (well, Rio is). And she said if she invited any white native Brazilians to anything (parties or card nights etc), they’d act all weird if it wasn’t just white people there.
Yeah that’s very typical of Brazil. From what I hear they’re even worse. I suspect it might be because they have a larger population of people of European ancestry AND because colour and class lines tend to align there a lot more. Whites maybe make up 1% of the population here. I dunno I’m guessing but they’re a VERY small minority. But god do they act like they shit ice cream.
Well this is interesting. I used the same technique in two slightly different ways. I like the left one better. I was experimenting all morning trying to get this effect to work and made some really ugly unusable pieces in the process. When I decided to throw all instructions and advice out the window I finally got the results I wanted. Funny how that works huh? Super psyched to have figured it out. Gonna have a ball with some color experiments now! #enameljewelry #handmade
I saw what looked like a cool yoga event on facebook and then I looked at the host and people who wanted to attend and I was like hell no cause it was all Trinidadian white people.
I am intensely uncomfortable around Trinidadian whites in a way that no white people anywhere else in the world make me feel.
Because when you grow up in an extremely multicultural society like Trinidad and you’re a tiny, tiny minority and still all yuh fucking friends is other white people then that is on purpose.
They segregate themselves and when you’re around them they act like… like everybody else who isn’t white is invisible. That’s how they make me feel. Invisible.
I’ve been to a lot of places in this world and nobody can make me feel as uncomfortable as my own fucking people. Go figure.
THEY CANCELED THE WHOLE MUSICAL INSTEAD OF JUST HIRING ACTORS WHO WEREN’T WHITE
Wow
As much as racial diversity is a good thing, you’re not gonna find an entire cast of acting Egyptians in New York…
do you, um… do you understand how large and diverse new york is? between 2008-2012, there were 39,000+ egyptians living in new york, new jersey, and long island. that number has probably only increased. it’s not difficult for me to imagine that many of them are either working actors or aspiring actors. and that’s just egyptian immigrants. these roles could be played by people of egyptian descent. i don’t have a statistic for you on that one, but again, new york is densely populated and very diverse. i can’t imagine it would be that difficult to find egyptian actors, especially if you put out a casting call specifically for egyptians
Also there are tons of North African Jews for the Israelites lmao
I personally know off the top of my head enough multi-talented MENA Jews to fully cast a historically accurate Broadway show and you’re telling me that a massive theater company with a large budget and financial backing couldn’t pull something together with an open casting call in New York City?
Bullshit.
imagine being this isolated from the world.
This is one of many consequences of the whitewashing of cities like New York and LA in media, too. When shows and movies consistently portray these cities as containing 95-100% white people even in background shots (hey Fantastic Beasts, how’re you doing!), folks like @minus-three wind up genuinely convinced that that is what those cities look like.
girls just wanna have fun-damental rights mug by sweatywisdom
i saw one or two signs with this slogan at the women’s march in oakland last saturday. did any of you go to a march in your town? what were your favorite signs? 🙂 this rad mug is gonna find it’s way into my cabinet one way or another.
I gotta tell you guys, the only way I’m not going crazy with everything I read on the news and see on social media these past few days is to keep reminding myself that it’s not my country. Which is just my way of keeping the fear at bay because let’s face it, the U.S. dominates this region of the world. Plus my family is there. I don’t know how y’all are dealing with it because this craziness is happening in your own home. I just wanna send you all good vibes, and love man. I know it’s not much but I have a lot of compassion for what y’all are dealing with.
I agree it’s extremely rude and there is no excuse for using the wrong name, but for reasons I will never understand, sometimes people get stuck in my head with the wrong name, and I continually slip up and use the name I think is correct vs. the correct name (this has been going on for years with one co-worker – luckily she is a good sport and it’s turned into an inside joke with the two of us).
She actually apologized and explained that she was in class with a girl named Natalie that had my same last name, which makes it really understandable and makes ME really glad I wasn’t snippy about it to her!
Made some pretty #leaf #earrings from those #copper shapes I hammered earlier using #sgrafitto technique. #limegreen #turquoise and #red make a pretty great combination! #enamel #handmade #jewelry
I just have to say that I am heartened by the response to the new jewelry I’ve been making lately (can you say SO heartened? It sounds weird but I’ve been drinking and it’s midnight so I’m probably not thinking straight) ANYWAY your feedback means a lot to me. I’m just exploring the many ways in which I can express my creativity and hoping it will resonate with SOMEONE, so the last few days have been incredibly encouraging. Thank you ❤
Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.
Alexa Irene Canady MD, First African-American and First Female Neurosurgeon.
You may never have heard of the incredibly accomplished Alexa Irene Canady, who was both the first female neurosurgeon and the first African American neurosurgeon in the United States.
In 1984, Canady officially made history when she became the first black person and the first woman to be certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. By 1987, she was Chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital in Michigan, where she worked as a pediatric neurosurgeon, and continued in that role until her retirement in 2001. But after a move to Florida, she learned she was the only pediatric neurosurgeon in the Pensacola area, so she came out of retirement to begin practicing again and serving her community as a part-time surgeon.
Just a reminder my dear friends are still very much in need. They lost their home and 3 pets, including a companion dog, to a fire just over two weeks ago on January 8th. No one was hurt. They did not have insurance. The house has since been demolished and nothing was able to be recovered in the ashes.
There are several fundraisers going on right now for this family. One of which is to redo Christmas for their 6 children since all of their gifts were lost. There’s also a clothing drive and food drive ongoing to their temporary address. If either of those interest you and you’re not far from Wallace NC please message me for details.
Another is a fund to rebuild a home on the same lot as this house. Many of you have already donated and shared the link to this fund. Thanks to your efforts the family has raised $24,000 toward a new home. Unfortunately they need a lot more to rebuild a home fit for 8 people and also accessible for their special needs son. The goal is $100,000. Please consider donating again or sharing again.
Looks great! You’re right, thinner layers would help make the color clearer. You could also try firing a layer of clear flux before the color, I’ve found that makes a big difference with copper. I’ve also had some success with intentionally over-firing slightly on the last flash-fire to get it to clear up some. Did you do a counter-enamel on these? I’d be curious to hear how they hold up with only 36 ga, that sounds way thinner than I’d be willing to go.
Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m using 36 ga only because I’m experimenting right now and obviously 36 ga is cheaper than 24 ga (which I have). I’ll definitely try it with a layer of clear flux first and see how that goes. I’d forgotten about overfiring clear enamel that’s a good suggestion. I enameled both front and back in the same clear enamel because I wasn’t sure which side would look better. It turns out that the raised side had more of an impact. I don’t think I’d be able to get that effect with a much thicker metal (as in drawing on the veins of the wings) so I’m going to have to buy some different gauges to see how I can make this technique work without having to resort to etching which is something I really don’t want to do right now. So far with the 36 ga they can easily snap in half but they’re incredibly light and wearable. I’m going to wait a few days to make sure they don’t crack and if they hold up I’ll know that I can upgrade the thickness in increments. I’ll post my results!
So… I think I wanted more transparency. So the solution is either to layer the enamel on thinner or to use lighter colours. I’m thinking thinner layers. I was being lazy and just wanted to fire it in one go. Anyhow, I’m happy with it still. I like the colours. I’m gonna try some other color combinations. #dragonfly #wing #enamel #earrings #copper #blue #green #handmade #jewelry
Pay attention to people who empathize with a Nazi getting punched and say things like “violence is never the answer” but stay silent on police brutality and disparage BLM.
Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins (2013)
“Do we imagine English history as a book with white pages and no black letters in?
We sometimes think of Tudor England in terms of gaudy costumes, the court of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and perhaps Shakespearian romance. Onyeka’s book acknowledges this predilection but challenges our perceptions.
Onyeka’s book is about the presence, status and origins of Africans in Tudor England. In it Onyeka argues that these people were present in cities and towns throughout England, but that they did not automatically occupy the lowest positions in Tudor society. This is important because the few modern historians who have written about Africans in Tudor England suggest that they were all slaves, or transient immigrants who were considered as dangerous strangers and the epitome of otherness. However, this book will show that some Africans in England had important occupations in Tudor society, and were employed by powerful people because of the skills they possessed. These people seem to have inherited some of their skills from the multicultural societies that they came from, but that does not mean all of those present in England were born in other countries: some were born in England.”
Onyeka Nubia (whose novels are published under the name Onyeka) is a British writer, law lecturer and historian. His books document the lives of Black Britons and his third novel, called The Phoenix, has been awarded the 2009 African Achievers award for Communication and Media for the psychological portrayal of the Black British experience.
I’m not gonna say life is perfect, but “We get a new Star Wars film every year” is the kind of thing you would tell someone in the ‘70s to convince them that the future is a utopia.
This is definitely one of the must-reads for any intersectional feminist. A bit dated at this point, but still important, it takes a look at the very issues of exclusion that have hindered the feminist movement since abolition days.
2. Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
Honestly, this will just be one of the best books you’ll ever read. It’s not only an important queer, feminist book, it’s also just a beautifully told story of struggle and love.
3. Woman, Native, Other by Trinh T. Minh-ha
Minh-ha delivers a full-frontal attack against the notion of erasure as a means of unified feminism. She argues for a feminism that fights against oppression of all kinds, because women all over the world face oppression at the hands of different forces and factors. And she attacks everything that “others” everything non-white or non-Western. It’s bold and awesome and a classic of postcolonial feminist theory.
4. Assata by Assata Shakur
Assata is part memoir of the radical awakening of a young black woman in the ‘60s and ‘70s, part personal testimony of a broken, racist justice system. In all its parts it’s a lyrical, addictive read that immerses you in one of the most important eras in the Black liberation struggle. By the end you’ll be outraged, angry, and itching for revolution.
5. Random Family by Adrian LeBlanc
Adrian LeBlanc took a lot of care with this book. Working over 10 years and forming close relationships with the families she writes about, LeBlanc offers up an intimate portrait of the lives of two women in a social class that often goes overlooked or misrepresented in popular U.S. culture and scholarly study. It’s importance is in the deeply personal rather treatment, rather than the almost zoological portrayals that often befall lower economic classes.
6. Sex Workers Unite! A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk by Melinda Chateauvert
Sex workers are often cast as unwilling victims. Melinda Chateauvert challenges this portrayal by showing that many sex workers are in fact empowered, legitimate workers and have been powerful agents of social change throughout history. This book will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about sex work.
7. The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions by Paula Gunn Allen
An oldie but a goodie, The Sacred Hoop is a corrective on the crucial role of indigenous women in history and tribal tradition. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s an important one that asserts the presence of Native American women.
8. This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa
This anthology is incredible! It’s got essays, interviews, poetry, and even visual art from women of so many different backgrounds. It’s kind of what intersectional feminism should look like in book form. Or, at least, darn close to it.
9. Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed
Need to check your assumptions about Islam and the treatment of women in the Middle East? Leila Ahmed’s book is an invitation to do just that. So many stereotypes and assumptions about Muslim women and their treatment under Islam abound, but one can hardly make snap judgements about Islam any more than you can about any other religion. Ahmed dives into the text itself and the history of the Western gaze that has led to misunderstanding about Islam and gender.
10. Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
With Gender Trouble, Judith Butler went straight for bold by questioning the very notion of gender as a part of feminism. If you took a Gender Studies course in college, it was probably on the syllabus. But it’s always worth another look, considering the book was originally written in the ‘90s, when Butler’s straight talk about the complexity of gender and sexuality was pretty ground-breaking. Since then, Butler’s reconsidered some of her ideas in newer books that are also worth picking up.
11. Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Not every book you read has to be a heavy non-fiction read. Actually getting a little fiction into your intersectional diet is a healthy way to dig into perspectives outside of your own on a more personal level. Brick Lane is a look at a young Bangladeshi woman coming of age in the middle of an arranged marriage and thrust into a new culture miles away from home. Whatever perspectives you’re looking to explore, there are so many stories out there that want to be read!
12. On Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw
Since an intersectional feminist’s work is never done, naturally, you can look forward to a new book on intersectionality straight from the woman herself. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s latest comes out in October this year.
Embarrassingly, the only one of these I’ve read is Random Family, but it’s SO GOOD. I think about it literally every day.
Also for that list might I add a few of these gems, which also contain womanist works (womanism is very different from Black feminism but both are movements for and by Black women):
Women, Culture, & Politics | Angela Davis
The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues | Angela Davis
Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, & the Sacred | M. Jacqui Alexander
The Womanist Idea | Layli Marpayan
But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women are White and All the Blacks are Men | Akasha Gloria Hull
Sylvia Winter: On Being Human as Praxis | Katherine McKittrick
When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America | Paula J. Giddings
Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman | Michele Wallace
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction,and the Meaning of Liberty | Dorothy Roberts
Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Line | Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Oh golly yes. I need these lists. Thank you.
Okay so I want to start an Intersectional Feminism Reading Group. Will start with the list from Bustle and go from there. Anyone want to join me? I’m thinking informal reading group based in Facebookland but with the option for in-person discussions each month. PM me if you’re interested. ALL GENDER IDENTITIES WELCOME.
In honor of the new year, I’ve decided to reblog my Top 10 Facts from 2016. I hope you enjoy them!
(In theory, you should… cuz they’re the ones you liked the most)
#9). Pencil Plants. Or Plant Pencils. I Don’t Care; You Decide.
There are pencils that turn into
plants when you’re done using them.
The ‘Sprout Pencil’ is the first sustainable pencil in the world that can be planted after use.
“We have chosen the seeds for our pencils with great care, and they germinate quickly: i.e. within 1-3 weeks, depending on the seed variety. Most plants can be grown both indoors and outdoors.”
It’s made of natural materials: the body is cedar wood, and the “lead” is a mixture of clay and graphite.
Sprout pencils are available in 22 varieties, including sunflower, mint, lavender, sage, forget-me-not, cherry tomato, sweet pea, cilantro, and wild strawberry.
What to do
“When the Sprout Pencil has become too short to write with, it is ready to be planted. Follow the simple instructions below and see your Sprout pencil sprout.”
They are also available in the colored pencil variety, which makes me oh-so-happy!
Patina is a thin layer of tarnish that forms on the surface of certain metals, such as copper and bronze, over time. (It can also be used to describe the finishing on wooden furniture, or any artistic process that purposely changes the surface of a piece through age or exposure.)
Pictured above is a statue of Joseph I of Portugal. The left photograph shows the statue with patina; the photograph on the right shows the natural bronze of the statue after being stripped of its patina.
I don’t know why I keep forgetting I have a heating pad. I was suffering through two days of shoulder pain and tonight I was like, Hey what about that thing you have that always makes you feel good when you have cramps or muscle aches? So I used it (still am) and I just got up to make some tea and shoulder pain 90% gone. Some kinda sorcery man.
I don’t know how I feel about punching nazis. I’m very anti-violence, but I just don’t think there’s any room for that kind of ideology. Ever. So… maybe my anti-violence ends at people who think the fact that I’m like, a person, is debatable.
I was working on a graphic design job today so I wasn’t able to get into the studio to do any enameling. But man I’m already addicted. It’s like, making jewelry, but you get to colour it! It’s so much fun y’all. Like I want to bring everyone to my studio (I can fit about one other person in there no seriously one) and we can just have fun making shit. Man I need to have a big-ass studio one day so I can do just that. Making shit is so much fun. It doesn’t even have to be good shit. The end result is so secondary you know?
The world is under a lot of stress right now. We all are. We’re all worried and scared and it’s a tough time to be alive. I just wanna send all of ya’ll a really big hug (I’ve been told I give the BEST. HUGS. EVER. *high five*) and let you know we’re gonna be ok. We have each other. *love bubbles*
WASHINGTON, DC. – JAN. 21: Organizers put the Women’s March on Washington in Washington D.C. on Saturday Jan. 21, 2017. (Photos by Alanna Vagianos, Huffington Post)
I got up at 5 this morning for no fucking reason. I figured I’d just start my day and get one with it. By 7 I was feeling dead tired so I went back to sleep. It’s now almost 11 and I feel like shit. I’ve wasted the whole morning trying to recover from my sleep schedule getting all fucked. The only reason I don’t feel guilty about still being in bed is because I worked all weekend. But yeah I gotta get up man. Or I’ll sleep for the rest of the day.
soulsistrin 