Dirtgoddess

Dear Self,

Did you receive the postcard I sent?
No? It must be lost in the mail.
The vacation was most relaxing. It was wonderful to get away and not have to work. I see that you survived without me for the week. No terrible crisis arose while I was gone.
It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that you missed me. I missed you too. Really.
I do appreciate the extra sleep you let me get on Sunday after I arrived home.

Thanks again,

Your Brain

Josephine Tovey
July 17, 2008

For an organisation that’s so passionate about chicks, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a shaky reputation with women.

On Monday the high-profile animal rights organisation held a demonstration out the front of the George Street KFC, involving three young women wearing nothing but lacy knickers and nipple tape in a cage with the sign “Chicks Agree: Boycott KFC”.

PETA has also invited a former Big Brother housemate, Brigitte Stavaruk, to strip for its campaign, said a report in The Daily Telegraph yesterday. PETA offered the job to her because of her “big assets” - including her big personality, of course.

This is the sophisticated publicity technique the organisation has been perfecting over the past decade, with scores of their campaigns using the female body to try to raise awareness about animal rights. Not in a John-and-Yoko, dimply-bottoms-out-for-peace kind of way, but in a “put a hot naked chick next to a product you’re trying to sell” way.

Last year in the United States a semi-nude woman painted to look like a snake protested outside an exotic leather goods store in Florida, while in Washington, bikini-clad protesters sat in cages, holding egg-shaped signs that read, “Chicks Suffer for Eggs”. Then there was their internet video campaign, which featured a young women addressing Congress about animal rights - while stripping.

Closer to home, the Australian pop star and actress Sophie Monk appeared naked, lying on a bed of chillies, encouraging people to “spice up your life - go vegetarian”.

Unsurprisingly, they’ve had more impact raising the ire of progressive young women. More than one feminist blogger has asked why a pro-vegetarian organisation treats women like pieces of meat.

Whether or not you think the campaigns are sexist, they do raise a bigger question of whether this is really an effective way to get a message across to your audience.

Communicating any message to a highly media-savvy, cause-weary audience is a challenge that faces all groups wanting to effect social change. The ABC show The Gruen Transfer attests to the modern audience’s knowingness and cynicism about publicity techniques. But the success of the show also demonstrates that most of us have a secret admiration for those advertisers or publicists who can really surprise us, and capture our imagination.

So, in this environment, it is hard to understand why PETA still uses the oldest, laziest and, many would argue, most sexist trick in the book. A feminist commentator, Ann Friedman, summarises the message behind these ads: “It’s OK to buck the stereotype of real men eat red meat, because here are some naked ladies to reassure you that you’re still a superhetero manly man!”

Indeed, the not-so-subtle message behind these ads is that animal rights are not just for those with hairy armpits and dreadlocks, but are sexy, fun and mainstream. Or it could just be, “Hey look over here! Boobies! And by the way, battery farming is bad!”

But it’s the last part of that message that usually gets lost, as most people tend to focus on the first half. If it did work, every 14-year-old boy in Australia would be demanding tofu for dinner.

A straw poll on the meaning of Monday’s PETA demonstration among friends at the pub threw up responses including “the Catholic church’s treatment of women” and “an ad for a new line of lacy underwear”. Attention was grabbed, but the message was lost.

It’s always hard for activists to get the media attention they need without resorting to stunts. The five-day Climate Camp protest in Newcastle this week, targeting the biggest single issue facing the planet, only made the papers once there had been conflict with the cops.

In a society so obsessed with female youth and beauty, it’s almost understandable that those wanting to communicate an urgent message would go for what’s easy and cheap and proven to get the media’s attention.

However, the point of activism and advertising is not just to get people to look; it’s to encourage them to change their behaviour. And for that purpose, humour, creativity and God forbid, an appeal to our intelligence, are going to win every time. For the sake of chicks everywhere, let’s hope PETA gets that message soon.

This story was found at: smh.com.au

Dear Self,

The past three months have been crazy busy. I have not been feeling as if I am functioning at full capacity. I think my synapses are all out of whack.

So for the sanity of us both, I am taking a vacation. Just for a week. It actually started yesterday, but seeing how the mail does not deliver on Sundays, you are just getting this letter today. I plan to be back either Saturday or Sunday, depends on the weather and travel arrangements.

Please do not worry, I’ve left you with a competent back up system to get you through the week. But please do not overwork yourself. It might cause a meltdown. The back up system can only handle the basics. That means get plenty of rest, watch a few silly tv shows, read some books, clean up a little. No involved art projects, serious reading materials, planning, abstract or critical thinking or staying up late. I mean it!

I will see you in a week.

Love always,

Your Brain.

I know I’m a little late writing about this, but this past week was the last one with my sister, so I was trying to spend all the quality minutes I could with her.

I don’t recall ever being so completely exhausted and trying to pack. No, not even for burning man, 3 van and the stuff of 5 people. This was just 3 and for a weekend. I forgot silly stuff like dish soap.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the energy to do all the projects I wanted.  The one I liked best and did do was Christmas in July.

The original placement was partially on a rut in the ground and the wind helped cause this fun. Thankfully nothing broke or blew away.

It definitely could have used more lights at night.

I’ve already gotten 2 postcards back. You know I really did it just to get mail. But I am considering doing this for Recycled Rainbow as well.

We camped out next to train tracks, and I thought they would be the nice, slow, infrequent ones we have here, but no, these were high-speed, loud and very frequent, especially on Friday night.

The spot was nice, but the locals left a little to be desired by way of manners. I speak of my adventure out to the grocery store. I think they must have smelled my hippie-ness or something.

Stuffing my face with s’mores just like I said I would was great.
And so was all the DJing. Awesome stuff everyone.
I’m always amazed what we can do unplugged.

I thought I would do a garden post, since it finally looks like I have stuff growing. Whether I get results is still up in the air. I worry that I started everything too late. I should just remember this is experimentation. I will eventually get the hang of it. I hope to try a fall/winter garden this year. That means I need to get moving on digging up the rest of the front yard. The tomato plants in the picture above where given to me by my neighbor. I think he took pity on me and my scraggly patch of dirt.

I have lettuce growing on my porch in the earth box my dad was kind enough to send me. The lettuce has survived most of the heat. I think it helps to not get full sunlight all day.

I think these might be squashes, zucchini and summer squash.

This is my sad final attempt to grow peppers. They just weren’t meant to be this year.

The melons I planted are taking over the little bed I planted them in. I didn’t think they would actually grow or I would have given them more room. Oh well, now I know for next year. I wonder if I will reap any actual melon flesh or just lots of green foilage? There’s also a big weed plant/flower of some sort growing amongst them. I don’t have the heart to rip it out.

Another experiment I wasn’t sure I would get results. I know they look woefully neglected here. Something is eating holes in my leaves. Not sure what it could be. I’m researched out on gardening. I’ll look it up this winter perhaps. It’s not killing the plants, so I’m not terribly worried.

These are my beans. No giant beanstalks for me.

These are the first flowers I planted this summer. No blooms yet. Sad.

One day these might be giant sunflowers. I read they follow the sun with their big flower heads.

None of the daisies I planted sprouted up. I do still have this one I bought last year.

More unbloomed flowers.