Bimbos Of The World...Rise!

Sometimes I come across little things that I find very funny, and even though I know nobody else is likely to find it as funny, I feel the need to pass them along:

I was riding my bike down Queen St, and turned South onto Portland, on my way to the studio. A car pulled up beside me at the Richmond light, wanting to turn right. Since I was in the curb lane (the pathetic, dangerous, slush-filled excuse for a bike lane), he was unable to turn right during the red light, and had to wait 'til it turned green. The light finally changed, and as I rolled past him, he opened his window and yelled "STUPID BIMBO!" which caught me off guard, and then made me laugh hysterically. Such an antiquated and ridiculous insult! Bimbo! Who calls someone a bimbo? And it wasn't even my fault! I wasn't doing anything dumb, I certainly don't look like a bimbo (maybe I'm chauvinist, but the word bimbo calls to mind a pretty blond with big boobs and vacant eyes).

Anyhow, then I started thinking about what he had said, and got angry. The word bimbo is one of those words like slut, twat, cunt, bitch or whore, which are specifically designed to be aimed at women. So basically, it not only implies that I have done something worthy of raising his ire, it also implies that I am somehow inferior for possessing a vagina. Nice.

And then I started thinking about my own chauvinistic certainty, that I, a small framed, plain looking brunette, couldn't possibly ever come across a bimbo. As if, somehow, for not possessing beauty, boobs and blond hair (the "triple B"), I am elevated above bimbo status. Amazing things the mind and the ego cook up together. Since I will never be a triple B, I have somehow smeared their gifts with ridicule, so I could look down on them and their shiny, ditsy perfection. Nice.

When I got home, I Google image searched the word bimbo, just out of curiousity. Here's what came up (you must click on the picture for detail--it's worth it):




How random is THAT collection of images??? Anyhow, by the time I finished laughing, and wiping the tears from my eyes, the whole event-- the insult, my anger and then self-doubt-- well, it all seemed really ...silly. So I guess no matter what you look like or what pair of chromosomes you possess, bimbo is a state of mind, and we can all get there, sometimes.

Hi Mom

This post is for my mom, who has been (unintentionally) boycotting hotmail, and now finds herself unable to log in and get her email, but who still likes to receive updates on the whereabouts/whatabouts of her youngest daughter.

(me)




But first, an aside: my mantoy donated his iMac to my folks at Christmas, as he has recently bought himself a new laptop. An incredibly generous gesture, by the way, I was (and they were) very moved. So I have been showing my dad how to set up itunes, and his new ipod nano, and a few other things on this "new" (4 year old) computer. It's funny, they have been Mac users for years because they keep inheriting our old computers, which are always Macs, but their previous laptop (my first mac) was going on 9 years old, so the learning curve is fairly steep. Now I keep getting these calls, which I love, where I have to walk him through various actions on the computer. I find myself saying things like "okay, now you're gonna wanna go ahead and open up the blah blah blah on your desktop" reverting into stereotypical, technical support call-centre speak, as I am oh-so unfortunately familiar with.

It is amusing me how easy it is to get frustrated when trying to describe simple tasks without being able to physically show the person what you want them to do. It's a bit like speaking a foreign language, one you are very rusty with. You have to search hard for the words, and you are limited to the most simple, commonly understood phrases. It's exhausting! Nonetheless, I am really enjoying it, and this computer thing is a something that me and him can bond over-- which hasn't happened very often.

I will also say that I have a whole new appreciation for those faceless strangers (who seem to always be named Andrew?) who help me with technical issues from Oregon, or Panama, or wherever it is that they do that stuff when you call Mac, or Bell, or d-link or whoever...Way to go ahead and go, you techno-geeks.

xo
K


Hi Mom

I thought you'd be interested in seeing this: I forgot to tell you about it today on the phone. It's a poster i was commissioned to design for a theatre production for a theatre company in T.O. Mike is doing their technical direction, and he recommended me to the producers for the graphic design, and this is what I came up with. It was hard-- they wanted me to use these stills shots from a workshop they had videotaped a few months before and I was stumped....like seriously stumped. I tried for HOURS to make them work, but it just looked cheap, low budget, amateurish....I was not up to the task, I guess. So then I tried to illustrate the stills, and sent them the first attempt (which I will also attach, for your amusement) but they hated it. I was pissed at the time (but not really, I kinda knew it wasn't right) The final version (the cassette tape) they loved, thankfully! I enjoyed the process of finding the right thing,very much.

The play is about this woman who is single, 40, living in a basement apartment, listening to self-help tapes one morning at breakfast. She is obviously a little looney, and eventually the tape starts to talk to her, as do some of the appliances in her kitchen...It is a dark comedy, in the vein of Lynch or Polanski, and it ends sort of with the, "well you're still crazy today, but you can start trying again tomorrow morning". I quite liked the script, and hope to get to see the show in the spring, when it's up.

So here are the posters: lemme know what you think.

love ya,

K



Early sketch, from still:




Crappy Still, superimposed over blank tv screen (didn't work!!!):




ok, clearly time for some inspiration:










First Final Version (voted down):



Final Version (hooray!):




Phew! Graphic design is HARD!

New Year's Eve MADNESS!

Actually, it was one of the most mellow New Years Eve's I can remember. Must be getting old-- we barely made it 'til midnight!!!

The day began with a lot of cooking! My New Year's resolution for 2007 was to cook more, so I had less than 12 hours to follow through (haha, just kidding...)

I made baked spaghetti with lavender (that's right, lavender....i may have thought it was rosemary when i put it in...shhhhh!) and it was pretty good. A bit dry, but isn't it always? And I made parsnip and onion fritters which I deep fried (with Mike's help-- gosh that boy can cook) and they were so good. We downed about 4 before we even left for the party. Deep frying is my new favourite method of cooking, which I have a feeling could be troublesome. I was eyeing some potatoes in my cupboard today thinking: deepfry???

I had fun peeling the parsnips (which is definitely the cutest of the vegetables, as evidenced by the following photo):



Like a teeny little parsnip sentry. Or perhaps a little elf village.

The rest of the shots are from the Maiwenn and Lucas' place, where we had a wonderful potluck celebration.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!