Home

Advertisement

Check this woman out
Click on any of these links:
Gospel of Thomai Storytellin' Feminist Producer Director / Producer W.O.W Imaging Re-touch Photos Travel Earlier reel incredible Edibles Poetry
Now
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
May. 8th, 2008 @ 10:21 pm overcoming sexist experiences
A white, male line producer I worked for said, "Women do not have the talent to direct- they just don't.   And working with female crews is worse than this pissing contest!"
Yeah.  He said that to me, while ranting about the pissing contest (one of many) he had gotten into that week. He said that while I waited to update him with a list of all the things I did via pure initiation.  He did that while I did work that fit the description of a position higher up on the call sheet than mine while carefully navigating the power ego trip waters of production.  I served the production.  He said that while I worked above and beyond the call of the job, and for a low  rate. yeah. 
He. Said. That. To. Me.
I guess he wont be my line producer when I direct.

The funny thing is
He is the biggest, loudest, craziest drama king I have ever worked with...and I have worked with hairstylists, drag queens, opera diva's, dancers, fashion designers, runaways, delinquents, punks. and women giving birth.  If a woman behaved as he did....yeah.
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
May. 6th, 2008 @ 07:57 am Screenwriting group at Yahoo is so fricken sexist
This group showed it's sexism back when Cody received her Oscar for Juno...many of them just couldn't get past her time as a stripper.  The comments were ignorant to say the least.
Since then more sexist comments have come up in comments.
I grew tired enough to post the following and leave the group.


Dear members who are upset about being called out for making offensive statements, who are now defending them,


You may want to take a look at this.
Drop ego from it & look objectively at the system.

I'd appreciate it if I didn't have to be hit with sexism EVERYWHERE but, the world isn't like that is it?  Ask yourself if you want to contribute to another's pain, feeling picked on, left out, pushed aside and made fun of for how we were born?  Do you really want to be with the bullies?

I choose to believe it's a matter of just not knowing what your contributing to when you defend mean comments, labels or statements.
I know you've learned that if you call me nigger, you are being a bigot, right?
It's not funny.

Describing women as receptacles or by their body parts is not funny- it's mean. Stop it.

When someone tells you that you've done something that caused harm, stop, apologize and correct. To defend it (on a public forum no less) is beyond callous.  It's sexist, bigoted bullying.
Please stop.


Now, if you choose to make fun of me for communicating discomfort, I can only hope you wont ever know what that feels like.

good luck,
T

and from 37 days- the telling of a grad student with white privilege who still got to experience sexism
"My face went instantly hot. I knew in an instant: This is what power really is. The power to deny the whole reality of someone else."
and that about sums it up.
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
May. 5th, 2008 @ 10:10 am feminist role model
When I was a girl
around 10 or so I had a photo of Barbara Walters on my wall.
She inspired so many of us.

She paved the way. 

I may give myself her book for mothers day.
What's happening here
skin tones
2 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
May. 2nd, 2008 @ 09:06 pm when will we hear about rev. Wrights sexist theories too?
Tags:
That Reverend Wright reminds me of Detroit.

It is a fine line between Afrocentric knowledge and Afrovictim conspiracy theory.

That Reverend reminds me that not everyone is aware that we all learn uniquely.  Yes culture can have it's affect.  Yes some cultures are more out loud and some are quiet.  We must remember that in every culture their are introverts and extroverts, people who learn in a visual, kinetic, audio and every combination known and unknown way. 

Obama cutting loose from his church must have triggered something.

I watched a Greek funeral scene in a film and started crying for my loss.  I left the church because of what they said and did.  I left their sexism knowing that was not the way for me to honor god.  But, that meant I sacrificed a lot of what I loved on this earth.  Thankfully that sacrifice made room for other cherished blessings.

yes we are all one.
no there is not just one way. 
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
May. 2nd, 2008 @ 10:54 am Affirmative Action Plea
Tags:
Not every industry is regulated. Small businesses, film production companies, internet start ups, are not forced to hire with a conscience regarding minorities.  It takes conscientious effort on the part of the business owner, producer, PM, and anyone who is in a position to hire, to be on the side of equal rights and positive social change.  It isn't that women and other minorities are not developing the skills, possessing the talent, the drive or eagerness to perform a job well, as a matter of fact, we tend to work harder to prove ourselves.  We do not have membership in the white boys club that hires, and greenlights so many jobs, careers and projects.  If you are choosing to be conscious in this lifetime and have a positive lasting effect, consider women and other minorities when creating opportunities. 
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 30th, 2008 @ 08:20 pm Scan10070

Scan10070
Originally uploaded by antigone.magazine
The bio and interview of Mrs. Obama on CNN made me sad.
She was Barracks mentor when they first met. Now she is the woman behind the man, his "rock" etc.
ugh
It isn't possible to count how many women have put their dreams and goals on hold so that the man they were with could achieve...I'm so tired of witnessing that scenario
Right now we have a chance to support a woman who has earned our support and faith.
I don't care that she is white.
I care that she supports GLBTQ rights, Choice, Universal Health Care
and she knows how to play the game.
Right now, she is the only one who is owning being a politician. I'm disgusted by politicians, who are politicking, saying they are not politicians- pullease.
What's happening here
skin tones
3 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 30th, 2008 @ 12:49 pm precious
Tags:


I remember when he was that little...
What's happening here
skin tones
2 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 29th, 2008 @ 06:59 am Living in the here and now. Constantly evolving.
Tags:
While talking to a friend I've known for more than a decade, she cut off what I was saying to tell me she couldn't believe that I responded gently to something I witnessed.  She did that thing that we tend to get from family members- she boxed me in and refused to experience me in the moment.  Her fantasy and projection was stronger than the reality of the situation.  She needs me to be the ball busting, boundary defining, roaring feminist, bad cop so she can be the sweet, hippy good cop. But, I've never fully categorized her as the hippy good cop, not even upon her insistence.  I know that she sometimes has problems defining boundaries, but, that doesn't define her and all her actions.  It defines some of her past experiences.  As for her characterization of me, it is in response to the role I've slipped into for her.  She hasn't been to any of the yoga classes I've taught, hasn't seen me at work in any capacity, she doesn't really know me as well as she thinks she does. I appreciate friends who are able to understand where I come from without forcing me into a box defined by their past perceptions or needs. After all, aren't we evolving?
What's happening here
skin tones
4 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 29th, 2008 @ 06:50 am New Speak in the News

NEW SPEAK TRANSLATOR:
Liberty = Corporate gain
Confidence = status quo, the white male continues to lead without remorse or accountability
Peace = lower taxes for the wealthy 1 percent
Difficult economic times = Recession
Congress = Scapegoat
Christian Values = Oppression
Allies = govt.s we control
Allies (2) = countries where we strategically place our armed FORCES
Economy = story time
Press conference = John McCain endorsement


What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 28th, 2008 @ 09:38 am chapters
Tags: ,
Chapter One:
Childhood: 5 years with both parents. 11 divorce war years 8 that icluded my secret stepfather. Great big extended family of cousins aunts, uncles. I loved them all, was loved by them all and learned wonderfully from each of them. Siblings...sisters were kind of mythic and out of reach in their tall stature and years older, brother and I had a psychic connection. Trips to ancestral land, summer camp and Mackinaw Isle.
Asthma and diabetes gave me and my best friend more zest and zeal than a hundred kids combined, regardless of what we were given to survive.  We were happy go lucky and high adventure.

Chapter Two:
The Avante Garde Era of my life. Free Spirited, highly creative, driven, joyous postmodern hummingbird with wings fashioned of tarnished steel. Metro Area, tri state area, Canada, Chicago, New York, Deeeeetroit (is a good place to be from). Ultra cool without trying, unaware of youthful beauty, charming without any intention to be.  Proving that a rich life can be lived without any attachment to money or material things. Locally celebrated by the avant garde "scene" & noticed by the mainstream.  Art was movement, words and installation.

Chapter Three:
Motherhood. Highly conscientious pregnancy. 3 years married. 2 years nursing Hanz. Glowing, channelling Mother Goddess, earthy energy. Near Death Experience, pronounced dead in May of 91? "dead" for 1 min. 50 sec. ...5 or 6 years or more with Fork and Sasha in NOLA, living a tapestry of potluck dinners, dancing in the streets, reading Dr. Seuss, Poetry readings and performance art, sister hood, good friends like family, support of community, support of the giving gracious spirits of NOLA, NOLA gives out Masters Degrees in the fine art of living with soul...i double majored...Fire and Water energy, Orishas, Oya, Process process process, travel documentaries, exotic, exoticsploitation, Los Angeles, alone replaced by all one in a more conceptual way here, steadfast and true, comittment, strength pulled up from the ground, in from the air all around....develop technical skills, business skills, multi media expands to include film/video/computer graphics. Advair and Singulair are invented and my struggles with breathing END! Los Angeles lacks soul...living with that and making ripples as i do ....writing becomes more philosophical, more Zen like, more like prayers for grace with ease in the world....


Chapter Four: The Maude (as in Harold n Maude) years- to be continued....
What's happening here
skin tones
2 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 27th, 2008 @ 07:34 am all inclusive, the omni present, objective, oya oh yeah- Christos Anesti
Tags: , , , , ,
God is not restricted to black white, good bad, male female.
God is energy, is spirit, omnipresence -
God = unconditional love.
Unconditional love includes the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet,
both your anger and your release.
God is your ancestors and mine.
Ancestors are not owned by anyone.
They can come to me and they can just as easily come to you.
If they are at all, they are not owned.
Past experiences are in the realm of unconditional love,
we are also there.
We are. More than DNA.
We can choose
that level of objectivity
while we live our day to day.
Thoughts of chosen ones, implying some are not chosen, is something else.
It triggers anger, resentment, resistance...it exposes humanities dis-ease.
Thoughts of gender assignment to spirit
and judgments from spirit
are not unconditional love.
We can apply unconditional love to such things
just as
we can employ bells and whistles, stretches and mantras
a candle for Elegba to take a message to Oya.
or
We can simply tap into that aspect of ourselves,
shift into that energy with ease.
I know traditionalists who'll attempt to cause me discomfort for
sharing such thoughts,
My head is ruled by Oya, aint no one going to hurt me with their thoughts.
Does anyone really think spirit was not with them on the ships or in chains?
Do they believe that someone had to burn a certain candle and offer a
certain oil, fruit, candy, liquor?
Maybe that would be true in efforts to attract a human.
Humans may require lures.
To be fully aware of
Spirit and ancestors
simply open
What's happening here
skin tones
1 comment
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 26th, 2008 @ 09:37 am mind your children
Tags: , , ,
( a theory )


It is not a coincidence that the people who opened a new perspective on drug use when they were in their teens are the same folks drugging their children more than ever.  They waited till they were decades older than past generations to become first time parents.  They were  taking prescribed, legal drugs that alter the mind and physically damage the brain in order to avoid stress, pain, anxiety, grief and any uncomfortable, natural process.  It's no coincidence that many of the parents who are too old (mental, emotional state) to enjoy the noise of youth, to run with and dance wildly with the little rough housers they brought into this world when they were past their personal prime (with the aid of prescribed drugs) are putting their little ones on mind-altering, personality shifting, mess your brain up permanently- drugs.  In some cases the child's brain chemistry is different than what we could expect from generations past (pre- recreational drug era).   Those children require a unique approach we are too self involved or ego driven to discover.  Others are just regular children, with brains that function just fine, who are being raised by people who just don't want to deal. 

The middle class suburbs and the lower class  ghettos are full of children stuck in a in a culture that doesn't allow them to be children, outside playing and making up games, being loud and wild.  This generation is exposed to different things in a different way than any before- radically different.  Meanwhile the institutions we force our children into have not kept up with the changing world around them.  We're trying to fit our children into unsuitable molds.  The system continues to suffer without the change that addresses how unique and different from past generations the new generations are.  How worldly, how exposed, how quick to learn and get over the boring details  -  How amazing they are.  They're approaching play in a new way.  We can learn from them.

What's happening here
skin tones
5 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 24th, 2008 @ 09:17 pm
little things amuse
  • click on a dot and the page goes swoop into the genie tool bar. I love that and can just play like a toddler for a minute, thoroughly amused
  • a young man opens the door and says, "good morning ma'am".  That is enough to make me beam.
  • Ralph is back to living on our corner, I was worried about him.  I can tell he is aware of that by the way he waves and smiles now.
  • I am open to happy surprises, let them come...happily surprised has a nice ring to it.
  • There is always a part of me that re-members- it is all a bunch of miracles, all the time, every day.
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 18th, 2008 @ 07:31 pm Sara Baras solea por bulerias

add some color to your day
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 18th, 2008 @ 05:32 pm what i love about it as it relates to lifestyle
work like crazy...high pressure, long hours, get a flow going, problem solve, put out fires, prevent fires, smooth things out, line up everything, order, cancel order, negotiate, multi task, love the crew, enjoy collaboration, have complete and total hyper focus on that production.

then wrap
which is like a review and
partial closure

followed by time to catch up at home
send out prayers, do laundry, cook a whole meal, get the printer working, make calls that don't relate to production, read a book, read blogs, catch up on TVO'd programs, respond to personal emails, Write write write, take a long bath
and just sit around in my robe drinking oat straw tea.

the very next day is opening up for the next gig...this is low key with faith that the next gig is coming exactly as it is best for me and my career, my path.
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 17th, 2008 @ 07:44 pm exist essential Boleyn alley
Tags: ,
  • She opened a strip cub and named it knee cheese
  • they opened her to examine her hymen and broke it in the process, it ruined her in their world
  • she had vision
  • at age 8 she walked to the court house alone to ask for a divorce from her adult husband
  • she is 11 years old and reads at the level of a college graduate
  • One day she'll grow up and marry a happy man
  • she wont be happy
  • she is 52 and loves feeling hot then cold then hot- better than she loved roller coasters and climbing trees as a child even
  • Her sister stayed at riverbend with their children while she went into the Quarters to work the Mardi Gras tourists
  • She recalls being chained with other women, forced to dance, forced to do other things she wiped from her memory as easily as it came up. She recalls teaching them to move in silky silence, chains n all- to their escape
  • She remembers running away, in the desert, she collapsed finally and drowned in a sand storm
  • She remembers slipping off the ship into the cold water that would kill her
  • Her memories are past lives of her patron saints that live in no book written by any man
  • She secretly learned to read. Secretly she taught the other girls and the slaves to read. She read the word revolutionary and it made her laugh
  • Her near death experience was beautiful for her, it was hard on her loved ones
  • She asked, "what do you re-member? what do you re-member?" every morning in the mirror
  • She was more brilliant in every way, than any of those that surrounded her.  She seduced power and lost (her head).  Or so it seemed, until her daughter was born a queen.
  • That queen would not be branded by a man
  • She could not pray to their oppressive god, she knew god was her eternal omnipresent mother.
  • she learned to make lists. it was in the 7 steps of the very successful
  • did you see how her child cried and cried as she painted, jealous of the medium that could pull her focus so
  • after working in the office of Panavision for 6 years, they finally let her pull focus (AC)
  • she was allowed to work with her passion and fell in love with the man who made it possible for her to do so
  • all day she listens to boys who say they are too creative to type, to answer phones and make appointments. At night she paints, dances, makes films and falls in a heap laughing about the boys who say they are too creative.  they just don't know survival.
  • She knows, you gotta have a visceral knowledge of survival, to truly thrive in all worlds
  • She refused to pay taxes for killing when they were not using taxes to alleviate suffering
  • she watched men overthrow kings, watched revolution after revolution replace one oppressor with another- all the while whispering life into the girls,
  •  whispering,   "e v o l u t  i o n"
What's happening here
skin tones
2 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 16th, 2008 @ 06:02 pm penis anyone?
2 minutes
2 commercials
one shows a bottle of beer fucking a slice of lime
the other says foot long and shows various people showing the distance (this big!) with their hands
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 13th, 2008 @ 07:29 am PANTS! a choice that was fought for.
Tags:
This site
reminds me to be grateful for the work of women before me.

This might seem sort of ridiculous, but this Thursday I’d like to take a moment of gratitude that I get to wear pants. It blows my frickin’ mind that there was a time when women like me—smart, ambitious, creative—were stuck wearing skirts seven days a week. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a princess-sleeve dress with a bell skirt, but I love it because I get to choose it.

Women first started wearing pants during World War II when they also filled in on jobs traditionally held by men. But when the men returned and the gender backlash commenced, women were back in skirts until the 60s when feminism’s second wave started to take hold and Audrey Hepburn made those black capris famous in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961).

As I’ve been on the road speaking at colleges, I frequently get a question like, “Can you be a feminist and wear lipstick or high heels?” Hell yeah, and you know why? Because you can CHOOSE to wear those things. Or CHOOSE not to wear those things. Or CHOOSE to wear them on every second Sunday.

Now if we could only expand the clothing options open to men…

shared from
Feministing
What's happening here
skin tones
4 comments
Join in
Permanent Link
Apr. 11th, 2008 @ 07:10 am apply joy
Tags: ,
*

she asked
how do I survive this suffering

and the answer came

as it always does

a thousand different ways

by also surviving the joys.
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link
Mar. 31st, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
working on a film
12 plus hour days
and
loving it

love the process
What's happening here
skin tones
Join in
Permanent Link

Advertisement