Woman and Child First

And Now For Some Sillyness

The drawings, film footage/animation and the humour of this cartoon are a testimony to the delightful brilliance of a younger world.

 

Welcome Back, Me

My sincere apologies for my remissness (I just made that word up) in attending to Woman and Child First. It's been coming second to life in general: work in my private practice, kids, cats, Christmas etc. You know the story.

I'm back.

A Happy Wiggly Tribute

The Wiggles celebrate their 20th Anniversary this year.  To celebrate, Triple J radio /ABC are releasing an album featuring "some of Australia's best songwriters" interpreting the sweet tunes of the said four blokes.

Just as exciting for my clan is that my cousin's son, Sam is one of those artists. He does his own mash-up of Fruit Salad (get it?) and it lashings of fun.  Have a happy dance folks here.

What fun, let's dance and hey a great way to start the weekend. 

Losing A Child

The death of a child. This surely must be a parent's darkest hour. But people have gone through this, survived and gone on to live rich, meaningful lives.

 Christian's Beach is a website that offers solace to those who have lost children. After the death of their son, Christian, the website owners (CarlyMarie and Sam) struggled to make any sense of it.

Then one night, CarlyMarie dreamt she saw her son playing on the beach with some friends who had died. When she walked toward the group, they ran away but as she approached the spot where they had been playing, she looked down to see "Christian" written in the sand.

She decided to write his name for herself in the sand and then photograph it. Her family still gain much peace from seeing this picture in their home.

On the request of a grieving parent, she will write their child's name in the sand, on a gorgeous West Australian beach, and photograph it for them.  Memorials can also be created. 

I think it's one of the sweetest idea's I've heard for helping people come to terms with an extremely painful and unique form of grief. As Carly Marie writes, " It is a simple act that recognises a life." 

An act that can give a sense of not only peace but something quite individually beautiful.

 

We're All From Venus And Neurosexism Is So Yesterday

It was a Sydney Morning Herald  front page subheading that grabbed me whilst standing in a cue yesterday. 

As brain research sheds more light on how we operate, it becomes clear that there's actually very little difference in the "hard-wiring" of male and female brains.

And to say otherwise is to be a boring and walking cliche and you will be vastly and embarrassingly out of date within 18 months.  

However.

A book about to be published by a researcher from Melbourne Uni states there are no major neurological differences between men and women. Cordelia Fine is the author of Delusions of Gender and she challenges any "hard-wiring" at all. The wiring is actually soft, not hard, she says.

Yes there are basic behavioural differences between girls and boys. They are exaggerated not because of 'hard-wiring' but because of a culture that has to delegate gender roles. Such is the view from Chicago Associate professor Lise Eliot who has written Pink Brain Blue Brain.

In short, the case against sexism and racism is always the same. As a race, humans - all of us - are more alike than we are different.

For such a viewpoint to hold any credit, science has to keep proving it.  And science is.

I like to think this science will have wonderful and wide reaching implications for the teaching and educating of children. Our brains are "flexible ...changeable" says Fine. Boys can be good at verbal tasks, girls can read maps. It goes on and on, just how much alike we can be, if only we were taught to be human and not put into boxes of boys or girls.

But it's interesting isn't it? How insecure we are - to constantly need the nod of 'hard science' to finally and conclusively prove the bleeding obvious.

Cordelia Fine pictured.

 

 

Sisterhood by Kate Wilson

Sometimes I find myself almost panicking about the media's narrow and twisted portrayals of young women, the sexualization of girls and the backlash against women that it all represents.

 I caught up with a precious friend from high school on the weekend and spent a number of moments panicking about it again. Chris assured me I would work it out.  

Another dear friend  Maree sent me this link today. I'm comforted, reassured and inspired by this. There are more of us than a tiddly wee few who want sharper awareness, change and guts shown by and for women.

A heartfelt and very strong poem performed by Kate Wilson:

 

Sunday Best (And Happy Election Day)

 

Word of the Day : Philogyny

 philogyny, noun 

Love or liking for women (opposite of misogyny).

"We will therefore, draw a curtain over this scene, from that philogyny which is in us, and proceed to matters which, instead of dishonouring the human species, will greatly raise it and ennoble it."

    - Henry Fielding, The Life and Death of Jonathon Wild, The Great

Origin:

    philogyny combines two Greek words: phil, love and gyn, woman

Image of Artemis by Mercurius TJ

Kids Biz, Asteroid Close Ups and National Geographic

Next time I come here, I will reincarnate as a National Geographic photographer. 

But until then, can I refer your attentions to the website please - it's packed to busting with fabulous material - and in particular the bits for kids.

Oh and the games, for bigger kids as well. Hey but the photographs, some of which can be downloaded as wallpaper, are just grand.

Oh Oh New Songs!

Just when I thought the whole world had turned into miserable versions of Paris Hilton or Christine Freaking Aguilera (Please God, can you make them go away?) I discover these marvelous pieces of sound and picture.

They feature women doing something other than being porn stars. Rebellious hey. Who woulda, I mean who woulda thought. 

Ms Dynamite is even regarded as feminist in da rap and hip hop crib ugh. And Boy Does That Community Need a Feminist.

Here's Mark Ronson and The Business Intl. Female depictions are by MNDR and remind me in a delightful way of Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson of the B52's. But you know what? This is just a great and playful clip.

 Dy-na-mi-tee next folks. Try and get this one out of your head after you play it - it's gorgeous...

Asking The Right Questions

 How often do you enquire as to how you are going - on an emotional level?

How often do you make a check-in with yourself and ask the real questions? 

For instance: How am I going? What do I need to do today to lift myself? 

These exercises are entirely necessary if one is learning to manage depression. Buy hey and c'mon. These questions are just necessary. This is daily practice.

Give yourself some attention. Ask the real questions, wait for the answer and then act on your own advice.

Contemplative Sculpture.

Beer Swilling Hairdresser Becomes Australia's First Bloke

No. Really, this is too good to be true. Someone stop me from rolling into the chair legs on the floor. I've gone completely insane with laughing happiness.

How delightful to live in this country. Surely this must be one of the funniest nations on the planet. And no, I'm not being sarcastic or facetious, I just adore that Julia Gillard's man - Tim Mathieson - is a hairdresser who loves a beer and who obviously has no problem with his girl being now the Prime Minister. 

"She will absolutely be a fantastic prime minister," he told Melbourne's Herald Sun. "She has the right mindset and she is very consultative. I am so proud to be her partner and to be able to support her today."

And this. 

His former colleague Grace Rominan: "He was a very bubbly guy. He did styling -- cutting and blow-drying...I'm just so glad that she chose someone outside of politics. He's such a great guy and I know he will make her very happy."

From here. Where else but Oz would this sort of story come from? It makes living 154 million miles from anywhere else all worth it.

Woman First And No Children

 You know, I often hum to myself:

         "Oh I was born in the thick of it,  

The most misogynist of all the lands", 

and yet the same nation has just thrown up it's first ever female prime minister, who's not married (has an increasingly groovy looking partner) and has no children um - by choice.

 What's a right thinking girl to do? Well me, I've been snickering more often and walking about like a taller person.

Julia Gillard, pictured. Here's a bit of background.

Shadow In All Of Us

Not all of counselling and therapy is about feeling good about yourself.

Sometimes you have to look at the dark spots within, the things you'd like to keep secret and hidden. The things that only you have responsibility over. Once taken, such voluntary ownership can set a good woman (oh and man too!) free. Once taken, such responsibility can make you all grow-ed up.

The Shadow Self.

Carl Baby Jung coined the term.Shadow is not the pretty social face we put on, but the real crappy stuff that once owned and accepted, can make us fully and wholly integrated human beans.

Dealings of the shadow self are difficult at the beginning. Please note the "beginning" may comprise 3 decades of complete denial.  But after that, it's all good. Such dealings can lead to very-ok experiences of acceptance, release and then freedom. Drugs? I don't think so! Gimme the dark stuff lassie!

Photo from Color Me Katie's art project on shadows here.

Dreamings From Bluecray

Motorcycles, Music and Wisdom in the Land

I dreamt of a billabong, still water clear
a tiny brown platypus sitting so near
hidden by reeds and tall growing sedge
I watched him dive freely away from his ledge.
As he entered the waters all bubbles and glee
I became that dear platypus and he became me
Then waking quite quickly, a smile in my mind
I “knew” what it meant to be one of his kind
A blessing a story a picture a song
this vision stays with me
tho’ the dream is long gone.

Thanks to al @ bluecray for this sweet interlude!