Lady Gaga is Fat

.....and other lies.

Love her.

I am the Editor of the 'Embassy of Ideas'. Please visit it here: http://www.pattifridayphotography.blogspot.com

Skirt Length on Women, Judgements and Respect

A photo exploring the way women are made to feel judged by the length of their skirt has 'gone viral' after it was posted by an artist from Vancouver.

Graphic design student Rosea Lake posted 'Judgements' earlier this month on her Tumblr account, and it has since been shared more than 200,000 times.

I am the Editor of the 'Embassy of Ideas'. Please visit it here: http://www.pattifridayphotography.blogspot.com

I Hate Bullies

Don't even ask. Just know that this is one thing 'I hate', and yes, I know that 'hate' is a strong word. (Bullying is a form of abuse. It comprises repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group abusing those who are less powerful. The power imbalance may be social power and/or physical power. The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a target. Bullying consists of three basic types of abuse - emotional, verbal and physical. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as psychological manipulation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways. Bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as peer abuse. Bullying can occur in any context in which human beings interact with each other. This includes school, church, the workplace, home and neighborhoods. Bullying can exist between social groups, social classes and even between countries.) Bully Be Gone!

Scary Scareb Sunday

In was a normal Sunday morning. Well, it was a normal Sunday morning and it wasn't a normal Sunday morning. My son is at a friend's house and my husband is at work and I'm alone with the dog savouring my morning coffee; the sun today is glorious - glorious for a Canadian February morning. I've even turned off the furnace and opened the window beside me. That's when my normal Sunday morning became the 'scary scareb sunday'. I had just gotten out of the longest and most incredible pampering shower, twisted my gloss-treated hair into a white fluffy towel, poured a second cup of joe and sat down to do a post. I think he may actual kill her. I grabbed my camera and thought about filming the dog in the backyard in an effort to capture his violent, abusive screaming - but decided to mind my own business, holding onto my lucky scareb to wish her safety. I mean. What would you do? The man and women living behind me in the most lovely home are scrapping it out like wild wolves. Things are slamming - fuck you - bitch - loser - and other horrible words are being shoved in her face. It's been going on for close to an hour now. I do not know them. What would you do? (I am NOT making this up.)

To Haiti With Love

Support the Haiti relief efforts with the Fashion for Haiti tee - 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this shirt go to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to support its ongoing commitment to rebuilding Haiti. Created on behalf of members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the ultra-soft Pima cotton tee is printed with "To Haiti with Love" on the chest with a map of the nation symbolizing the word "Haiti" above "Hope Help Heal Haiti". "Fashion for Haiti" is printed at the left sleeve. Available at RalphLauren.com and Rugby.com. $25. You can purchase one here. Hope. Help. Heal. Haiti. It's an investment in your wardrobe and their life.

Ethical Ocean

I just discovered the most interesting and fresh place to shop!!! (Thanks Andrea! xo) Ethical Ocean is a socially responsible online marketplace for eco-friendly and ethical products that are sourced from vendors around the world. In 2007, a group of travellers were packed like sardines into a small car en route to Montreal from Toronto. As they bounced down the highway, they bounced around ideas for businesses that would help to improve the world. The rest is history; two and a half years later, an idea that started small has grown in to a fully-functioning online ethical marketplace. Our six team members come from various backgrounds, but have come together under a common belief: that trade and ethics need not be separate; rather, the future of commerce will require the integration of ethics. It will be consumers who demand these type of products and services, and the businesses who combine economic and ethical motivations will flourish. These remarkable glasses were created from bottles rescued from the waste stream. Isn't that so cool!!!!??? They have been made on the shores of Great Slave Lake in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories since 1994. They use original northern patterns made by local artists. Each of their pieces are individually polished, stenciled and sand-blasted by hand. I think they'd make wonderful flower vases too! Oh...gotta go...the site is so intriguing. I know you'll find something very wonderful! LPxo

With Glowing Hearts (Hey, Who Has The Most Medals So Far?)

All you have to do is click here and follow along. Looks like those U.S. Athletes are winning so far!!! Congratulations...I just hope you lose in hockey. (wink wink hugs) You can keep track of the medal race by clicking on the link in my right side bar. And for those of you who have handicapped loved ones or friends, you have to tune in to see the Gold Medal Ceremony for Men's Moguls tonight Feb. 15th. (Australia Silver, U.S.A. Bronze) I won't spoil the story behind it. (get a tissue)

Abortion + My Book

My novel, 'BABIES', deals with some difficult themes. One of them is abortion. It was the hardest part of the book to write. (In fact, there's more to that story and what happened to me when I wrote one specific chapter. I'll save that for down the road)

On January 28, 2010, Ruth Proskauer Smith died in Manhatten at the age of 102. Smith co-founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, which later became the National Abortion Rights Action League and is today known as NARAL Pro-Choice America. Smith was born into a life of privilege and politics; her father Joseph Meyer Proskauer was a New York State Supreme Court Judge and a close associate of Governor Al Smith. Her mother, Alice Naumburg Proskauer, was an activist in the right-to-die movement who founded the Euthanasia Society of America, a cause that Smith would later take on herself. After graduating from Radcliffe, marrying, and getting divorced, Smith became involved in the reproductive rights movement as a fieldworker for Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts in the 1940s. She later became the executive secretary of that organization, and helped lead the fight to legalize contraceptives in Massachusetts, a state dominated by the interests of the Catholic Church. After losing that battle, Smith met Margaret Sanger ***, who introduced her to the radical concept of abortion rights as a vital part of reproductive health. Returning to her home state of New York in 1953, she directed family planning services at Mount Sinai Hospital, an experience that opened her eyes to the direct impact class had on abortion access. In 1969, Smith co-founded NARAL. Four year later, the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States, in no small part thanks to the dedication of groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Smith remained active in NARAL's New York chapter, and continued to advocate for the "right-to-die," contributing greatly to pro-euthanasia campaigns in the 1990s. Even as a centenarian, Smith worked, teaching other senior citizens about the Supreme Court as part of the City University of New York's Quest program (a job that was described quite charmingly in a New York Times profile in 2008).

***Sanger was an avid defender of free speech who was arrested at least eight times for expressing her views in a time when speaking publicly in favor of birth control was illegal.

PLEASE take a few moments to honor Ruth by watching this video. She has an urgent message for women everywhere. LPXO

Haiti Food Lines: The Feminine Kind

If you look at the lines waiting for food in Haiti today, you will notice a big difference. The chaos has disappeared, the violence, the shoving, the bullies, the starving aggression, the angry; testosterone-filled hunters and gatherers have been replaced with the calm, the nurturing, the lovely. Women. Imagine that.

LOVE HAITI

When you are lovin' your life, your family, your children, your car, your work, your meal, your outfit, your shoes, your fabric swatches, your hotel room, your iPhone....your crafts, your music....please save an asterisk smidge of LOVE for HAITI. All you have to do it open your heart a tiny bit and tuck that LOVE inside. Hold it close. LOVE HAITI. (click to enlarge the image and enjoy....print it and tack it on your inspiration board.)

Friday Night's Little Miracles At Home

Two little girls with messy 'Playtime with Bubby' hairdo's (stopping for a late, late, late dinner), scenes from my kitchen counter and cuddly, wet-nosed-pup poking out for a visit from under my skirted studio desk (what's all the commotion...I'm trying to sleep) - candles burning for those who are suffering. Little miracles everywhere.

I Will Live Out Loud

"I will not be silenced; I will live out loud. I will not edit or censor myself; I will tell the truth. I will not be safe; I will be dangerous, provocative, risky, and bold." - Ronna Detrick

missing loved ones?

Love Heals

Is your stomach uneasy too? Are things about to get worse? Do they actually know that the world 'is' coming to help them? Will the journalists who are so bravely reporting going to be safe? Will the Aid Workers aid with protection and without danger surrounding them? Will the emergency response personnel be able to get to everyone? There is one thing I know for sure. Love heals.

UPDATE: Friday, January 15, 2010. Can love really heal? I've just watched the most horrible thing on FOX news from last night. A woman lost 4 children in the Haitian earthquake and has now lost her 5th (and last) child in the aftermath. She is rolling around on the ground, wailing - obviously (now) insane, tormented, agonized, traumatized - and no one is there to help her or sedate her or hug her or ?. Will love be able to heal her? Even the reporter falls to pieces and can't finish the segment. Watch HERE.

New Pre-Fab Houses for Haiti

Why not offer this type of home to Haiti? (Please. I know. I'm jumping the gun and discussing things like this w-a-y too soon, but I know it will take a lot to get kits like this put together....and they weigh virtually nothing!!!!) They can be the smallest, basic plan - lightweight (made of styrofoam) and easy to transport and build. Earthquake & hurricane proof - safe, affordable. Read more......

IMPORTANT INFO: (Thank You Suzanne)

WORLD RELIEF ORGANIZATION -

Their representative in Haiti is Dr. Hubert Morquette, who operates King's Hospital in Port au Prince and also King's Garden Orphanage and school.
RED CROSS INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE FUND
SAMARITAN'S PURSE - This is a faith-based organization that has been working in Haiti for many years. They have people on the ground and a network in place. They've already sent two DC-3 cargo planes loaded with medical supplies and doctors. More to leave today.

Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti.

Earthquake Dome House

In today's NYTimes OP-ED there is an interesting article on not just the helping of Haiti, but also the responsibility of rebuilding the country...properly. We could do this. We really could. We could all work together, politics aside, to assist the Haitians with self-sufficiency and safe, affordable pre-fab housing. Now is the time to make things right there. And I believe the people of Haiti want our help. Japanese car-maker Toyota is into much more than just cars. In fact, Toyota has been in the home-building business for more than 20 years. These fabulous prefab designs (bottom photo) employ auto-manufacturing technologies that build totally modern and earth-quake resistant homes. These homes are not what I would call 'affordable' (they start at $200,000.00 - good for California?), but there must be a company out there who could create a much cheaper alternative. That way, we could build many quickly and economically. They don't have to be big homes! Another new design are the 'Dome' homes of Japan. (Check out more photos HERE) Dubbed the “habitat for the 21st century,” the Dome House is an igloo-shaped structure built from snap-together wall sections made of 100% expanded polystyrene foam (styrofoam). It might seem like an odd choice of material for a house, but the company lists a number of advantages that styrofoam has over traditional materials. Unlike wood and metal structures, for example, the styrofoam (non-crushing...if trapped, light-weight to push off oneself.) Dome House does not rust, rot or attract termites. It is also highly resistant to earthquakes and typhoons. In addition, the walls, which are treated with a flame retardant, emit no toxic fumes in a fire. The Dome house is ultra-low-cost (about $40,000 U.S.D.), environmental, gale/hurricane resistant and durable. This Dome Home excites me! I'd live in one!!! Perfect for Haiti - they only weigh 80kg each...easy to ship over to them and younger citizens could help construct them. (Here's an American Dome House company. More great info on Treehugger too!) Got 22 seconds? WATCH this! (even we bloggers could build one of these dome houses - perfect for Haitians! And we could paint them all pretty Caribbean colours.)

http://www.i-domehouse.com/

I Am Remembering

11 . 11. 11

Remember. One day every year, we pay special homage to those who died in service to their country. We remember these brave men and women for their courage and their devotion to ideals. We think of those who are in the military today, all around the world. Those much braver than us. We wear poppies, attend ceremonies, and visit memorials. We stand in front of our TV's and computer screens in silence. A tear may fall down our cheek. For one brief moment of our life, we remember why we must work for peace every day of the year. Don't ever forget them. Peace out.

Health Care For All (It's The Right Thing To Do)

"If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman." - Margaret Thatcher. Nancy Pelosi clapped her hands as she left the House floor late Saturday night. “That was easy,” the speaker said with a smile.
Congratulations America!

Highway of Heroes Poppy Pin

Trademarking a poppy? Artists worldwide beware: The Royal Canadian Legion may be coming after you with a lawsuit as they believe they 'own' the rights to the poppy image. Otherwise a lovely 'Highway of Heroes' pin would still be for sale to raise money for military families. This is absolute nonsense. Let's all boycott the 'poppy drive' (the little soft, velvety red poppies we stick in our jackets) by the Legion this month until they allow the 'highway of heroes pin' to be sold again!!! - just to show them that we can all share the poppy image to remember, express and raise funds for this worthy cause. Each November, Poppies blossom on the lapels and collars of over half of Canada’s entire population. Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Peace = sharing. Sharing the poppy (for goodness sake) to raise money for people in need shouldn't be a criminal act. I can't stand legal bullies. (who make decisions based on greed, ego and page 41 of the Poppy Manual.)

NOTE: To be clear. I am talking about a lapel pin of the 'highway of heroes sign with poppy on it' that the local credit union was selling to raise money for military families. They are no longer allowed to sell them. (trademark infringement) I think this is so wrong. If people want to design poppy items to sell to make money for military families, they should be able to.

Olympia Snowe

Senator Olympia Snowe said, “Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. But when history calls, history calls.” (I think 'Olympia Snowe' is a great name for a business, don't you?) Good for you Senator. You had the balls (and only a woman wearing icy blue and pearls could have them) to stand up for what is right for the people, despite your party line. Bravo.