Slut Walk 2012 Speech

This speech has been really hard to write. Hard because part of me wishes I didn’t have to write it. That part of me that wishes the need for this march would have faded in this last year. I love this gathering and I hope women around the world continue to gather like this in celebration. I just wish that the need for this was over. I wish that we lived in a world free of sexual harassment. A world free of rape.

Now I’m not silly enough to really believe that this would have changed in the last year. I just wish that in this last year I didn’t have to help 4 of my friends deal with rape or sexual harassment trauma’. That people I know weren’t still being constantly hurt. Hurt because some people don’t understand that No Means NO.

When I was a child my mother often would tell me No when I asked for things at the supermarket, especially lollies. Like a sugar craving kid I would ask her again and again. begging her. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASSSSSSEEEEEEEE. Exasperatedly she would turn to me and exclaim “I Said NO Which part of the word don’t you understand the N or the O?”

So I guess I ask those out there pressuring women and men. Which part is it that you have trouble with? Is it the N or the O? See maybe if I understand this we can bring greater education to the world about this issue. We can clarify this misunderstanding of the simple two letter word.

But I see the problem is you think they don’t mean it when they say no. That stop is just a joke. Cause you are king of the world and everything is yours to say and do. It’s owed to you.

Perhaps you could try shutting up. Not saying everything you think as you think of it. That your compliments are not needed or necessary. In fact they are creepy. You don’t have to tell me I look pretty with my make-up or without it. You definitely do not need to tell me my dress makes you think dirty things. I CAN live my life without your running commentary.

Don’t you get it I dress this way for ME.

I don’t do anything to please you. It is all for me.

Learn to keep your opinion to yourself. I don’t want to hear it. Not when I’m on the train reading my book. Not when I’m dancing at the bus to to my ipod. Not when I’m walking briskly down the street in the way to cold for this dress weather. Not even now. I don’t care what you think. Not now not EVER!

If I don’t want the compliments I definitely don’t want the insults.

I also want you to stop laying the blame for your mistakes and your stupidity on me. It is not my fault you can’t keep your mouth shut. It is not my fault you cannot keep it in your pants. Last time I checked most people can be around me without throwing themselves at me. I mean I know I’m hot, but everyone else seems to be able to keep their composure.
So please I need to know.. What part of No don’t you understand? Is it the N or the O?

I Love Creative People

OR Why I would Suck at being a Critic.

I have recently been volunteering at Bats Theatre here in wellington. Bats is an amazing theatre, I have a special fondness for black box theatres. Some of my greatest moments both in the stage and in the audience have been in black box theatres. Add in that at any given moment Bats is staffed by half of my friends makes it even more special and amazing for me. Then of course is all the amazing theatre that happens at Bats.

The benefit of volunteering is that I get to see heaps of plays now. Which is awesome, I could probably see three plays a night for the rest of my life and still wish I could see more! All the plays I’ve seen recently are wonderful independent NZ written shows on topics from Armageddon, to Robert Muldoon. I love these independent NZ plays cause you would never have seen them anywhere else. Some of them this might be the only time they get run. I just Love them.

At a recent play though that while it was very funny and entertaining I found one aspect of it deeply unsettling and semi homophobic. I have struggled to say anything about it since then. Not because I’m not capable of being outspoken. You all know I am! No my trouble is with the fact that these creative people put so much work into, so much love, how can I just dump on that? I don’t want to appear to be mean. I’m Creative, I put things out there all the time and I know how it feels to be heavily critisized.

I could never be a critic for this reason. I’ve always thought critics have an easy job sit there and point out flaws. I know now that it must be harder. I wonder if they sit there wondering if what they said is too harsh? Or just want to sit down and praise how amazing the writers are just for having written something and put it out in the world to be judged? I would be a wreck with the guilt and torn at the two wars within me. It’s easy when something is just rubbish, the hard part is when something is good, or has potential, if only this fatal flaw was pulled from it’s side.

Tonight thankfully I have no plays on just Rugby to attend. That is something I’m happy to criticize.

First CT post for Scraps of Ellay!

First CT post for Scraps of Ellay!

This is my first layout for Scraps of Ellay’s Creative Team, for which she has asked me to scrap also some of her older kit which are readily availble and you might not even know about! So first up I made a wonderful Layout using the Fayries kit(click on any images to head on over an buy this sexy kit)

SOE_Fayries_preview2

Here’s My Layout.

nodamselindistresssmall

This is both my first official layout as Scraps Of Ellay Creative Team Member and my layout for the Stuff to Scrap forum’s June template challenge. the journalling is one of my my favourite songs “Not a Pretty Girl” by Ani DiFranco. let me know if you can’t read the lyrics. This is made using Scraps Of Ellay‘s Fayrie Kit.

I also made the following layout with Sara Smile , which is on Scraps of Ellay up for sale

SOE_SS_fullpreview

My layout:

twilightsmall

I did this page in semi reverse order, I wasn’t that sure I knew what I wanted to scrap about just that I wanted to use this kit again. So I started scrappin. Playing with shapes and layers. It was after I had all the embellishments and papers down that I realized this page was perfect for this photo of twilight. The kits Is by Scraps Of Ellay, it’s her Sara Smile kit again.

I’ve made a quick page of this layout avaible for download untill the 24th you cand download it here: DOWNLOAD NOW

SO Sorry!

I have been so slack I just wasn’t feeling so hot and like blogging for a couple of weeks, and that was enough for me to fall out of practice. Seriously I have been meaning to post here for atleast a month or more, but I kept saying I’ll post tomorrow.. Well it’s “tomorrow” now! What have I been up to? Well lots and nothing all at once… A lot of web work which is slow and tedious at time and then makes me not want to look at the computer for a long time.  I have been doing some spinning, and knitting, and sewing.

Do I have pictures? No. Why? Cause my camera battery dies and i have yet been able to buy a new one yet.

I also started a new craft. Digital Scrapbooking or Digi-Scrappin which is.. well addictive. I have been doing lots of layouts and having lots of fun. I started a digital scrapbook(aka another blog) which you can view here. I am also on a Creative Team! but more about that in another post. So I’ll be posting updates about that all and about my designers new kits and such. there may even be freebies for Digi-Scrappin available here on this blog sometime soon.

I guess that’s all for today.

Hopefully I will be back soon!

A Spinning Journal

A Spinning Journal

dream

As you may have noticed I have been doing a lot of spinning lately, mostly on my Ashford Traditional wheel which is really something new for me and I’m really enjoying it. It does mean tho that I am getting flooded with all this new information, and fibres and techniques. As I was trying to remember how each item felt as I spun it, what I thought of the finished yarn, how I plyed it, and how it knit I realised I really need start keeping track of all. So I dug through my box of journals and journalling material and found the perfect journal.. only it wasn’t a journal. It was a hardback copy of Diana Diamond’s Good Sister which I picked up slightly damaged at a local library for 20 cents.  So I got down to work and dug through my Art Journal/Altered Books supplies and came up with the supllies I needed.

spin-journal-cover

I removed the dust cover and saved that for later art projectsand decided that this great three dimensional cardboard “dream” sticker that is meant for a wedding page was perfect for the cover. Using some other accents from the same pack to add some zing to cover. Next I wanted to cover the previous title along the binding, so i dug throgh all of my book binders tapes almost went with the black until I saw a tape that had been trwon in the box by accident it was silver and shiney. It was Duct Tape.

journal-button-closure

I knew that once this journal started getting big I was going to need a way to keep it closed, after a few thoughts I got out my drill. Using a 2mm drill bit (in retrospect  I should have maybe went with a 3mm) I drilled a hole through the front cover  and using a vintage shank button and a medium four holed button from and old shirt and elastic thread I attached the button.  On the oustide and on the back of the book in the same place using a 6mm drill bit made a hole atthe same height but a bit further in and attached a piece of leather thonging with a bit of glue. I made the leather long enough to wrap arounde the whole book once and a half. Closure done.

journal-cover-page

Next came the title page/ splash page of when you first open the book. Using two differnt but coordinating scarpbooking papers I  I went to covering the existing pages. I then wanted to put some kind of title page digging through some of my random free graphic I got from Smashing Magazine and fun fonts from Dafont I made this simple image in GIMP(free equivilant to photoshop).

journal-page-one

Then last thing to do was start the actual journalling so I dug out the left overs from my first handspun and start the entry for that. I had decided that there were a few things I was going to write about for at least each yarn I could write about more if need be. I also needed to cover the old writeing so I used some more of my scrap book papers also to combat with growing thickness I ripped out three pages after this one then glued those two pages together. That is that and my spinning journal.

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