Rosie the Rioter

Ahh. It has been quite the past few days.

On Saturday evening, I took the bus downtown Toronto go see Major Lazer with my friends Pascal and David. We first met close to the distillery district at a lovely restaurant. The restaurant had a very nice homey feel to it, and the food was delicious and healthy. We took a cab to the Docks where Major Lazer was playing. Apart from the expensive drinks, I have no complaints about the experience. DJs Diversity and Sinden opened, and they were really enjoyable.  By the time Major Lazer hit the stage, the crowd was in full force and people were chanting for them. Ahh. Pure decadence.

Mary Wollstonecraft  (27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797)

Mary was born to a middle class family in London, England. Unfortunately, her father was an alcoholic that would hurt her mother in drunken rages, and Mary became her mother's protector. These events would shape Mary's life.

Through out her childhood and adolescence, she had a few intellectual friends that she could call upon for support and for intellectual stimulation. Fanny Blood was one of these friends, and she and her family allowed Mary to live with them for a few years. Mary and Fanny had dreams of forming a feminist utopia, whereby they would live together and support one another through their trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, this was to remain a dream, as neither had the funds to do so. Wollstonecraft, her sisters, and Fanny opened up a school in London (in a Dissenting Community*) .

Blood's health was not always good, and when she got married, her husband moved her to continental Europe to improve. Mary followed her, and tried to nurse her back to health. But alas, Fanny had died. And because Mary left the school, it had failed.

The death of Fanny Blood would provide the inspiration for her novel, Mary:A Fiction.

Mary was frustrated by the lack of job prospects for an educated but poor woman. She tried to be a governess for one year, but it left her wanting. After this experience, she made the decision to become an author. She got a job with a publisher, Joseph Johnson, with whom she would become very close. She learned French and German and translated texts. Through Johnson, Mary would meet intellectual luminaries like Thomas Paine and William Goodwin.

By this time Mary had fallen in love with an artist Henry Fusseli, even though he was married. She had made romantic overtures to him, only to be rejected. To escape her humiliation, she retreated to France at a time of the Revolution, which events would influence much of her later works. In 1790, she wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Man in response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France where Mary advocates feminism and republicanism. Her most famous work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was written in 1792, and is one of the earliest writings of modern feminism.

During her stay in France, she met Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had began a sexual relationship. She got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Fanny. While they were not married, Imlay had her registered as his wife to protect her in the Revolution. Imlay soon tired of the domesticity and family life and left Mary. Hearing that he had went to London, she went back to her home to find him. Not so surprisingly, he rejected her. His rejection was too much for Mary to bear, and she had tried to commit suicide, but was saved at the last moment by Imlay.  In an attempt to win back Imlay, she went to Scandanavia with her young daughter, so that she may recoup some of his losses. During her adventures, she wrote  Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in 1796. She returned, and when she realized that the relationship was indeed over, she attempted suicide again by throwing herself in the river, only to be rescued by a stranger. 

She became involved again in Johnson's literary circle and had became re-acquainted with Goodwin. This time, however, Goodwin and Wollstonecroft started a relationship. About Letters, "If ever there was a book calculated to make a man in love with its author, this appears to me to be the book. She speaks of her sorrows, in a way that fills us with melancholy, and dissolves us in tenderness, at the same time that she displays a genius which commands all our admiration."

Mary would become pregnant again by Goodwin, and they decided to get married so that their child would not face the prospect of bastardy. Though this revealed that Wollstonecraft was never married to Imlay, and they faced scorn from others amongst them.  After their marriage, they got adjoining homes so that they may retain their independence.

When Mary gave birth to her daughter, Mary (the future Mary Shelley), she developed an infection and died 10 days later of septicemia.

After her death, her loving husband had published her memoirs about her illegitimate child, suicides and problems, in hopes that the audience will look upon her with compassion.  However, this only heaped scorn upon Mary's life, and people were aghast at her illegitimate children. These views persisted until recently.

Sources: Wikipedia

Nun Too Special

Thank goodness for Friday.

The end of the week is always a relief, don't you think? You are free to spend your next 2 days as you please. Sleeping until it pleases you (or if you have children or dogs, until it pleases them), spend time with friends and being at your own leisure.

Today, I went to work as per the usual, taking the same bus, riding the same train, walking the same route to work. Redundancy is easy, since you needn't concentrate on anything surrounding you. Maybe that's a problem, I feel disconnected from the world sometimes, but make no effort to plug in. After work, I am more willing to reconnect, not in the mornings. Not a chance.

This evening I was at Symposium with 3 good friends to celebrate one friend not having pneumonia, but rather bronchitis. Any reason to celebrate is a good reason I should think.

My week was just a bit draining tis all. I have to get ready to move for next week. I don't need to bring much, just my clothes, and a money saving spirit (I haven't been praying to that one lately).




Joan Valois, Queen Consort of France (7 April 1498- 15 December 1498)
was born on this day April 23, 1464
died February 4, 1505

Joan was born the second daughter of Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy. At the age of 12, she was married to her father's second cousin, Louis of Orleans, whom had a very distant claim to the throne. However, Joan's brother, Charles VIII, died in 1498 without any male heirs, and since Salic Law prohibited women from inheriting the throne, they had to go through the male lineage to find a suitable candidate and Louis was that person.

Whilst, technically, Joan had a greater claim to the throne, it was Louis that would take it. Not soon after ascending the throne, he was trying to repudiate Joan and annul the marriage, in order to marry Charles' widow, Anne of Brittany. He had claimed that Joan was malformed, ugly and that he was unable to consummate the marriage. Understandably so, Joan was horrified and fought fiercely against these claims, providing men who said that the King boasted that he had "mounted my wife three or four times during the night". Later, the King claimed that he had been a victim of sorcery, whereby he claimed that his sexual performance was inhibited by it. To which Joan replied as to how he would know it is like to make love to her?

Unfortunately for Joan, the pope Alexander VI granted the annulment.

After this bitter defeat, Joan stepped aside and retreated to her dowry estate of Bourges. In 1502, she founded, "Sisters of the Annonciade", a Franciscan order of religious contemplatives. Joan did good works, devoted herself to God and religion and prayed for her husband.
She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1950.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_France,_Duchess_of_Berry
Accessed on April 24, 2010

Illustrious Dames of the Court of the Valois Kings
Katharine Prescott Wormeley Translator
Year: 1912
Pages: 215-216

Grammarring!

For the love of God, does ANYONE know how to write anything anymore? I know I am not the expert on grammar matters, and I do probably get things wrong sometimes. HOWEVER, I don't make the silly mistakes that are PLAGUING "literature" (Dan Brown is not literature, get over it), "newspapers" (I'm especially looking at you Asshole (Fox) News and affiliates) and advertisements.

Let's begin Grammar 101!

Their/They're/ There

Okay, so the awful, evil English language decided to confuse the hell out of people by having three words sound the exact same. This is how the separate the scholars from the men/women.

THEIR
1. a form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their rights as citizens; their departure for Rome.

THERE
[thair; unstressed ther] Show IPA
–adverb
1. in or at that place (opposed to here ): She is there now.
2. at that point in an action, speech, etc.: He stopped there for applause.
3. in that matter, particular, or respect: His anger was justified there.
4. into or to that place; thither: We went there last year.
5. (used by way of calling attention to something or someone): There they go.
6. in or at that place where you are: Well, hi there.
–pronoun
7. (used to introduce a sentence or clause in which the verb comes before its subject or has no complement): There is no hope.
8. that place: He comes from there, too.
9. that point.
–noun
10. that state or condition: I'll introduce you to her, but you're on your own from there on.
–adjective
11. (used for emphasis, esp. after a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective): Ask that man there.
–interjection
12. (used to express satisfaction, relief, encouragement, approval, consolation, etc.): There! It's done.


THEY'RE
They're is quite simply a contraction of THEY ARE. Not too hard.


Let's use all 3 in one sentence, shall we?

They're moving their house over there.

Translation:They are moving the house that they live in over to the place that I am pointing.


RANDOM APOSTROPHES

Okay, the world is out to get me with this one. Stop it. Apostrophes are like McDonald's burgers, they may look pretty, but only have them SPARINGLY and when NECESSARY.

Apostrophes imply OWNERSHIP of the item/items that are being listed after.
Apostrophe then an S is par for the course, unless the name or owner ends with an S, then you simply add the apostrophe.
GOOD
I am in awe of Natassia's awesomeness!
Bill Gates' head needs to be examined because Vista sucks.

BAD
Walk In's are welcome! (This is one I've seen around)
- NO. The Walk In's are not owning ANYTHING in this sentence. STOP IT!

THAN/ THEN

THAN
[than, then; unstressed thuhn, uhn] Show IPA
–conjunction (Conjunction Junction, what's your function?)
1. (used, as after comparative adjectives and adverbs, to introduce the second member of an unequal comparison): She's taller than I am.
2. (used after some adverbs and adjectives expressing choice or diversity, such as other, otherwise, else, anywhere, or different, to introduce an alternative or denote a difference in kind, place, style, identity, etc.): I had no choice other than that. You won't find such freedom anywhere else than in this country.
3. (used to introduce the rejected choice in expressions of preference): I'd rather walk than drive there.
4. except; other than: We had no choice than to return home.
5. when: We had barely arrived than we had to leave again.
–preposition
6. in relation to; by comparison with (usually fol. by a pronoun in the objective case): He is a person than whom I can imagine no one more courteous.

THEN
[then] Show IPA ,
Use then in a Sentence
–adverb
1. at that time: Prices were lower then.
2. immediately or soon afterward: The rain stopped and then started again.
3. next in order of time: We ate, then we started home.
4. at the same time: At first the water seemed blue, then gray.
5. next in order of place: Standing beside Charlie is my uncle, then my cousin, then my brother.
6. in addition; besides; also: I love my job, and then it pays so well.
7. in that case; as a consequence; in those circumstances: If you're sick, then you should stay in bed.
8. since that is so; as it appears; therefore: You have, then, found the mistake? You are leaving tonight then.

I'll use both in the same sentence, again.

"Then Bobby said, that Billy said, that Jenny said, that Kelly said, that you are so much better at grammar than Carla."

At that time Bobby said.........that you are more apt at grammar than Carla.

YOU'RE/ YOUR

YOUR
[yoor, yawr, yohr; unstressed yer] Show IPA
–pronoun
1. (a form of the possessive case of you used as an attributive adjective): Your jacket is in that closet. I like your idea. Compare yours.
2. one's (used to indicate that one belonging to oneself or to any person): The consulate is your best source of information. As you go down the hill, the library is on your left.
3. (used informally to indicate all members of a group, occupation, etc., or things of a particular type): Take your factory worker, for instance. Your power brakes don't need that much servicing.
Origin:

YOU'RE

Simply, it is a contraction of YOU ARE.

I'll use both again in ONE sentence.

"Your biggest problem is that you're not as awesome as I am"

It's funny that most of these grammar mistakes have to do with ownership, and that we are part of one of the most materialistic societies on earth, you'd think we'd learn how to own shit properly.

Yours in grammatical correctness,

Natassia

Jelly Belly!

Abortion is a tenuous subject which almost all people have an opinion on. Most people know whether we are for or against it. Though not of all us know what will we ACTUALLY do when the situation calls for it.

Abortion has been around for THOUSANDS of years. It is not novel nor new. Hippocrates talked about it in his oath, by the way Hippocrates was not against abortion. He was against a SPECIFIC type of abortion where the procedure was more dangerous then childbirth. It was Ancient Greece for crying out. They chucked ugly, deformed children off cliffs, you really think they were against abortion? Ancient Egypt had abortificients and birth control (we owe some of our knowledge of these things to them).

This is my roundabout way of saying, it is not going anywhere. Pre-Morgentaler women were desperate and did horrible things to themselves to force a miscarriage or abortion. One woman was quoted as saying "I would have let a guy with a Gray's Anatomy textbook give me one". Was it smart to let back alley butchers do it? No, but it simply speaks to the desperation of women, who decided that they could not have more children. Some women went the "traditional" route of hangers, vacuums, suctions, knitting needles. Others would work themselves to exhaustion, some used firecrackers??!!!!!!!, rotten food, and scissors.

A lot of anti-choicers like to scream hateful rhetoric about women opening our legs and bringing this upon ourselves and to take responsibility for these actions. I think that deciding against giving birth IS taking responsibility, but they will disagree with me. Our very human nature has us wanting to desire sex and sexual contact with others. Though nature and desire does not mean we get to shirk responsibilities, like I said, I think that abortion is being responsible.

Some anti-choicers like to point to science to say that human life begins at conception (NOW THEY TRUST SCIENCE? When its convenient for them? No, global warming isn't happening, God wouldn't do that. Nope no evolution). It has separate DNA yes so? If I spit on a spot, and someone else spits in the same spot it has different composition. Does that mean it is life too? Yeah, anti-choicers are big on consistency too. I love how these people howl and castigate women who try to enter clinics down in the state. Guess what assholes, you don't know what they are there for. You don't know their situation and it's none of your damn business. You don't want an abortion? Don't have one or DO ( When anti-choice choose http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html). These women go into use the services they railed against, they used the doctors that they personally have harassed and doctors treat them with kindness and compassion. That sounds way more Christ-like than your hateful nasty bullshit anti-choicers.

Abortions occur in the same amount where it is legal and illegal ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21255186/) There were 42 million abortions in 2003. 48 percent were deemed to have happened in un-safe conditions. 97 percent happened in developing nations. 70 000 women die a year from un-safe abortions. 5 million suffer from permanent injury. 70 000 women! Wars were started with less death than that. That figure doesn't even include the children left behind motherless. It doesn't include the families. Anti-choicers like to think that they care about families, and I sometimes think that they do. But they try to issue their condemnation on women for making their own decisions regarding their health.

I have an analogy that is similar.
Let's say a person was drunk got into a car and started driving. Let's also say that he didn't put on a seatbelt either. Double whammy. He gets into an accident. Are we going to let that person suffer the consequences of his very stupid actions? No. This fellow did TWO things that were illegal. But yet, we won't let them suffer. A woman decides to have sex (and I could venture the idea that she may have been raped but that accounts for less than 2 percent of all abortions so it's best to stay away) and could still use every protection available to her and still get pregnant. So she was responsible. Check. She wore protection. Check. She STILL got pregnant. Check. We should let the bitch suffer because obviously the only reason to have sex is to pro-create.

Makes. Total. Sense.

Yours in sisterhood,

Natassia

*By the way, abortion is birth control.

*The use of the term anti-choicer is totally appropriate. The term pro-life for the other side is a total misnomer. Pro-choicers are pro-life, it just happens to depend on whose life you value. Secondly, I don't believe a zygote or fetus is a life. It may be a potential for life yes, but life? No.

Interesting Historical Figure of the Week!

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)

We often hear that medieval Queens were subservient and completely devoted to their husbands. Not entirely valid. A Queen of a nation had special rights not given to most "ordinary" married women (sometimes to widows). Some Queens made use of their powers, other did not.

Eleanor was one of those women who took control.

As the heir to the duchy of Aquitaine, Eleanor grew up in a very vibrant and cosmopolitan court in Aquitaine. Her family had a great love for troubadours, courtly love and entertainments. Eleanor would adopt these for her own courts.

When she was 15, her father died and as was custom left here to the custody of the French King Louis VI (1081-1137). As her custodian, he had rights to her lands in Aquitaine and to arrange her future marriage. He married her to his son Louis VII (1120-1180), who was originally destined for the church, as his older brother had recently passed.

Eleanor was deemed too high spirited for the solemnity and stoicism of the court, especially in comparison with her monkish husband. Though, her husband adored her.

Eleanor and Louis became King and Queen soon after their wedding, and set off to the Holy Lands on a crusade. Legends tell a story of Eleanor and her entourage of ladies riding into battle as though she were an Amazon. *The legend is highly unlikely, but contributes to the great myth surrounding this formidable woman*

After the disastrous campaigns of the Crusades, Louis and Eleanor grew apart and after having 2 daughters, had their marriage annulled. The two daughters remained in custody of their father.

Less than 5 weeks after her annulment, she swiftly married Henry of Anjou, a claimant to the throne of England through his mother Matilda, who as a woman was unable to keep the throne of England to herself. While Eleanor would have had more control over her lands had she remained single, her person was at risk. Given that one simply could kidnap a woman and force her to marry you, Eleanor felt that her marriage to Henry would guarantee her safety.

Long story short, she gave birth to 4 sons, all of whom were constantly fighting for the throne. Uprisings were held against their father, Eleanor supported her sons (possibly because of her husband trying to replace her with a mistress, Rosamund Clifford*). During Henry's liaison with Rosamund, he was trying to pressure Eleanor with an annulment knowing full well that she'd have to release her lands to him, as he would likely force her into a convent. She used her gifts of williness to keep him at bay.

She was kept as a prisoner for many years due to her support, and while Henry would grant her leave for special holidays, she was moved around from castle to castle under rigorous surveillance. Henry died in 1189 and she was released from prison soon after, her favourite son, Richard I the Lionheart was the new King. He had no interest in remaining in England and follow the rigorous schedules of pomp and ceremony, he wanted a Crusade. He spent very little time in England during his reign of 10 years. Richard was captured, it was his MOTHER that arranged his ransom.

Richard was succeeded by his brother, John, which caused a bit of a dynastic crisis because John's older brother Geoffrey had a son, Arthur, who technically had a better claim to the throne than John. However, Arthur's mother was intensely disliked by the English. Arthur beseiged his grandmothers home and she was kept hostage until John ended it and kept his throne. Arthur fell into obscurity and disappeared.

After these incidents, Eleanor retreated to her favourite convent of Fontevrault, where she died at a remarkably old age.


* It is highly unlikely that Eleanor poisoned Rosamund.

Inaugural Post

Today started as per usual, I got up, brushed my teeth, went downstairs to watch television before I begin my long start to the day.

The inglorious suburbs ... there's no work here, just homes, strip malls and plenty of space for kidlets to play. I loathe Mississauga. Its lack of culture is astounding to the wannabee culture aficionado. The extreme planning of these communities leave no room for spontaneity. Rigorous planning rarely breeds character.

I start my morning commute on the Mississauga Chanceit (aptly nicknamed for its unpredictability at times). I got the friendly bus driver this morning, who I greeted with a cheery "Good Morning!" I do this with all bus drivers, in hopes that the days where I may be running for the bus they may wait for me. I sit down opposite the sun, I am grumpy in the mornings and a speck of sunshine is not conducive to my mood.

The bus drops us off at the GO Transit, where I catch the train into downtown Toronto. My bias is obvious, as I love the hustling, bustling city life. I believe there is beauty in chaos, and that is epitomized in the downtown core. Union Station a beacon of organized chaos reaches epic proportions of commuters at rush hours. There is only one direction you may go, safely that is.

I manage to avoid this by taking a shortcut. I walk from Union Station to my workplace. Ahhh, there has been major construction going on as of late. I see a construction worker with Bass Pro Shops hoodie, and giggle to myself.

Day at work goes as normal.

Nothing special, nothing too bad. Just a whole lot of meh.

The day ends with a quick retreat from the office. I am not alone in this, I am sure. As with most suburbanites, our desire to get home as soon as possible prevails. I've seen people jump into the train at the very last moment, even with a train leaving a mere 15 minutes later. Some people see their jobs as not a joy in their life, but a necessity in order to have the two cars and the suburban "dream".

I hasten my normal pace to get to the train station. I too wish to get home as soon as possible if only so I can do what I wish I could paid to do. That is write a bit, learn about history and surf the internet for time consuming websites.

I jump on the train with a few minutes to spare and pop open my recent book, a gift from a dear friend. The book, Medieval Queens by Lisa Hilton, has me enraptured and intrigued. Since my distaste for commuting has grown even stronger as of late, I force myself to only read that book only during those times. Thankfully, my commuting will not continue for much longer as I will be moving downtown for the summer, where an adventure begins.

I come home to the sound of the television blaring, the smell of dinner cooking, a warm smile and a dog wagging her tail. These are warm thoughts, and will be something greatly missed.

Until next time, keep fit and have fun!

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