The end of the year is upon us, which means it is time for zillions of top 10 lists. I always put one together for my radio show on UMFM: the top ten albums by or featuring female artists in 2009. Without further ado, the winners are:
Fantasies- Metric
Lungs- Florence + The Machine
Sainthood- Tegan and Sara
Two Suns- Bat for Lashes
It’s Blitz- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Some Are Lakes- Land of Talk
Music for Men- Gossip
Abnormally Attracted to Sin- Tori Amos
Middle Cyclone -Neko Case
Baby Darling Doll Face Honey- Band of Skulls
If you'd like to hear tracks from these albums, (prepare yourself for some shameless self promotion) tune in to Venus Envy on Thursday, January 7 at 8 pm on 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or http://www.umfm.com/
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Follow Friday
I did a blog post about Twitter not too long ago, so I figured I would expand on that posting by recommending 10 people on Twitter that you should follow. If you have interests similar to mine of course.
1. @bookninja A Canadian site all about books, from an alternative perspective.
2. @mashable Everything you need to know about social media. Ever.
3. @whedonesque All about the universe of Joss Whedon, otherwise known as the genius behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse and more.
4. @EW My favourite weekly magazine for entertainment news.
5. @bust_magazine As mentioned in a previous post, I love this unconventional women's magazine.
6. @theteganandsara Because I'm obsessed and you should be too.
7. @TheEllenShow Who doesn't want a little Ellen in their lives?
8. @CBCRadio3 All about indie music in Canada according to the CBC.
9. @iTunesCanada Now you can download that music and find out all about new releases.
10. @diablocody aka Brook Busey, cultural commentary with a little bit of sass.
Who do you like to follow on Twitter??
1. @bookninja A Canadian site all about books, from an alternative perspective.
2. @mashable Everything you need to know about social media. Ever.
3. @whedonesque All about the universe of Joss Whedon, otherwise known as the genius behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse and more.
4. @EW My favourite weekly magazine for entertainment news.
5. @bust_magazine As mentioned in a previous post, I love this unconventional women's magazine.
6. @theteganandsara Because I'm obsessed and you should be too.
7. @TheEllenShow Who doesn't want a little Ellen in their lives?
8. @CBCRadio3 All about indie music in Canada according to the CBC.
9. @iTunesCanada Now you can download that music and find out all about new releases.
10. @diablocody aka Brook Busey, cultural commentary with a little bit of sass.
Who do you like to follow on Twitter??
Did You Know
Creative Communications, the program I'm taking at Red River College, is quite intense and there isn't a lot of leisure time. I'm usually a big reader, and I enjoy reading a variety of things, but I find that during school, I don't read for pleasure a whole lot. At least not entire novels. But, I'm a trivia geek, so little gems like this book that I found in the discount section of McNally Robinson seem to be the perfect prescription for reading during the school term.
This book is put out by the Useless Information Society in Britain and contains all sorts of facts on a variety of subjects. A few of my favourite little tidbits:
This book is put out by the Useless Information Society in Britain and contains all sorts of facts on a variety of subjects. A few of my favourite little tidbits:
- The human brain continues to send out electrical signals for up to thirty-seven hours following death.
- Large doses of coffee can be fatal. 10 grams, or 100 cups over 4 hours can kill the average human.
- Cleopatra tested the efficacy of her poisons by trying them out on her slaves
- A human can detect one drop of perfume diffused throughout a 3 bedroom apartment
- A female mouse is called a doe
- Astronauts get taller when they are in space
Friday, December 4, 2009
The F Word
People seem to be afraid of the F word: FEMINISM. It's funny how many times someone has said to me, "I'm not a Feminist but..." and then made a very Feminist statement. Why are so many people afraid of labeling themselves Feminists? I think that it is in part because Feminism needs a little good PR...
Like many labels we put on ourselves or others, the term "Feminist" in popular culture has become a stereotype. Feminists are activists. They don't shave their armpits. They have strong opinions and they're not afraid to share them. They HATE men. Most of these things are true of some feminists, but it's that last one that really irks me. Most feminists DON'T hate men. Some do, and if you asked them about it, you'd probably get a quite legitimate reason for why they think that way. But many feminists love men, they support men and they believe that gender discrimination and rigid gender expectations hurt men too. For example, men aren't supposed to cry right? In the words of Mr. Duncan McMonagle- sez who? Men have just as many emotions as women, but they are taught to bottle them up, and that is just not healthy in the long term. I believe men can and should be Feminists, and the Feminism movement should be recruiting more XY members because really, how can you ever hope to get anywhere if half the population isn't on your side?
Speaking of getting the population on your side: I do believe activism has a place in this world, but I find that sometimes, really hardcore activism doesn't effectively communicate with the general public; it only speaks to people who are already activists. If you're trying to get your message out there and want to persuade people to agree with you, it's probably a better strategy to approach people with a tempered message - one that, in PR speak, highlights the what's in it for me.
Why should we as women consider ourselves Feminists? I think we owe it to ourselves to celebrate ourselves as women and I don't think it's too much to ask that the world treat us with respect. There are so many places on this planet where women are still treated as second-class citizens.
2) http://www.bitchmagazine.org/ is the site for Bitch Magazine and Bitch Media. The tagline for these is "a Feminist response to pop culture." The magazine itself tends to be a little more academic than Bust, but the website also features blogs, on all sorts of great subjects.
3) Feministing.com is an online community devoted to giving women a voice and a platform to express their opinions. Lots of social commentary, events listings, news etc. from a wide variety of Feminist sources.
4) http://www.guerillagirls.com/ The Guerilla Girls are a group of Feminist activists whose identities remain unknown because they're always wearing Gorilla masks. Their book Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes is just awesome. I have a copy if you ever want to take a peak.
5) Looking to network with Winnipeg Feminists? Check out the FemRev Collective on Facebook. They're an organization of Feminists of various backgrounds around the city and are the organizing committee for the Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Conference to be held in Winnipeg in 2011. They are always promoting relevant events around the city, so join their Facebook group and find out what's going on in the city.
Like many labels we put on ourselves or others, the term "Feminist" in popular culture has become a stereotype. Feminists are activists. They don't shave their armpits. They have strong opinions and they're not afraid to share them. They HATE men. Most of these things are true of some feminists, but it's that last one that really irks me. Most feminists DON'T hate men. Some do, and if you asked them about it, you'd probably get a quite legitimate reason for why they think that way. But many feminists love men, they support men and they believe that gender discrimination and rigid gender expectations hurt men too. For example, men aren't supposed to cry right? In the words of Mr. Duncan McMonagle- sez who? Men have just as many emotions as women, but they are taught to bottle them up, and that is just not healthy in the long term. I believe men can and should be Feminists, and the Feminism movement should be recruiting more XY members because really, how can you ever hope to get anywhere if half the population isn't on your side?
Why should we as women consider ourselves Feminists? I think we owe it to ourselves to celebrate ourselves as women and I don't think it's too much to ask that the world treat us with respect. There are so many places on this planet where women are still treated as second-class citizens.
We need to reclaim the word ladies (and gentlemen). Take the word away from people like Rush Limbaugh who equated Feminists to Femi-Nazis. Feminism comes in all sorts of different forms. Want to learn more? Check out these fabulous links. They show the many faces of Feminism that I think are pretty accessible to anyone.
1) http://www.bust.com/ is Bust Magazine, which has the tagline "for women who need to get something off their chest" is one of my favourite magazines. It looks at pop culture and contemporary issues with a critical eye. The tone is sassy and fun, and it's really approachable for all readers.
2) http://www.bitchmagazine.org/ is the site for Bitch Magazine and Bitch Media. The tagline for these is "a Feminist response to pop culture." The magazine itself tends to be a little more academic than Bust, but the website also features blogs, on all sorts of great subjects.
3) Feministing.com is an online community devoted to giving women a voice and a platform to express their opinions. Lots of social commentary, events listings, news etc. from a wide variety of Feminist sources.
4) http://www.guerillagirls.com/ The Guerilla Girls are a group of Feminist activists whose identities remain unknown because they're always wearing Gorilla masks. Their book Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes is just awesome. I have a copy if you ever want to take a peak.
5) Looking to network with Winnipeg Feminists? Check out the FemRev Collective on Facebook. They're an organization of Feminists of various backgrounds around the city and are the organizing committee for the Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Conference to be held in Winnipeg in 2011. They are always promoting relevant events around the city, so join their Facebook group and find out what's going on in the city.
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