2012 in review

january

• looking like a forlorn flapper
• adjusting to the fact that all of my very close friends had moved away
• enjoying the harsh cold québécois winter

recommended reading

1. Instead of an interview with Xtra by Rae Spoon (Jan 3, 2012)
2. They is me by Ivan Coyote (Jan 10, 2012)
3. If the Clothes Fit: A Feminist Takes on Fashion by Minh-Ha T. Pham (January 17, 2012)
4. Homai Vyarawalla, Pioneering Indian Photojournalist, Dies at 98 by Haresh Pandya (January 28, 2012)
5. If the clothes fit by Arabelle Sicardi (January 31, 2012)

soundtrack:

february

• mastering the art of looking – and being – surly
• went to a phenomenal exhibition on fashion in Québécois art, did a short radio report on it

recommended reading

1. The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League by Lawrence Lai (February 2, 2012)
2. Islamophobia in Canada: A Primer By Fathima Cader and Sumayya Kassamali (February 2, 2012)
3. Honor Codes and Dress Codes by Sharday Mosurinjohn (February 10, 2012)
4. Better Homes & Bloggers: Are lifestyle blogs a new way for women to compare themselves and come up short? by Holly Hilgenberg (February 18, 2012)
5. When Anger is all I have and why anger is my feminist stand by Flavia Dozan (February 22, 2012)
6. The Artists: Notes on a lost style of acting by David Denby (February 27, 2012)

soundtrack:

none of dem (robyn) covered by austra

march

• produced my first original radio documentary on photobooths
• spent a lot of time ranting on the internet

recommended reading

• Cultural Theft by Clem Bastow (March 2, 2012)
• what if I told you it was an accident? by jes sasche (March 15, 2012)
• Vogue’s Haute Mess Editorial: A Not-So-Subtle Swipe at Black Women by LJ Knight (March 12, 2012)
• The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole (March 21, 2012)

soundtrack:

april

• went out west for the very very first time to visit my best friend morgan
• visited toronto!
• celebrated james & rachel‘s wedding
• aforementioned radio documentary was rebroadcast nationally! on one of my favourite shows!
• read an awful lot, as proven below:

recommended reading:

1. She Told Us So: Nafissatou Diallo and Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s New Case by Valerie Jean-Charles (April 3, 2012)
2. Interview with Jenny Zhang at Chictopia (April 4, 2012)
3. Trying to understand a tragedy by Mary Burnet (April 23, 2012)
4. The Colour of the Student Movement – “Maîtres Chez Nous”  by Lee Way (April 23, 2012)
5. The changing face of beauty: the rise of make-up for darker skin by Anita Bhagwandas (April 24, 2012)
6. Carmen Miranda’s Ethnic Masquerade in The Gang’s All Here by ShienLee (Apr 25, 2012)
7. Femme Post III on [real] Cuntext (April 26, 2012)
8. Resistance is not violence: Putting property damage and economic disruption in perspective by Mona Luxion (April 28, 2012)

soundtrack:

may

• followed quebec politics incredibly closely
• reported on student strike protests and arrests in quebec city
• went to my little sister’s bachelorette party in a gorgeous cabin on the lake, went swimming in MAY!
• saw a Frida Kahlo self-portrait be unveiled, interviewed the man who travels with that painting

recommended reading

1. Femme: In Praise of Higher Expectations by Zoe Whittall (May 5, 2012)
2. What Fashion’s “Ethnic” Prints Are Really Called by Connie Wang (May 19, 2012)
3. Women Are Heroes: A Global Portrait of Strength in Hardship by French Guerrilla Artist-Activist JR by Maria Popova (May 24, 2012)

soundtrack

june

justyne, jasmine, julia and myriam. best wedding party ever.

• chopped off my hair for the 1st time in ages, felt (and looked!) so good.
• went to europe for the 1st time as an adult, since i lived there as a kid
• met amazing people in pamplona, wasted hours in bookstores and art galleries and wandering along cobblestone streets
• rented a scooter and rode along the atlantic coast in france…
• headed back to canada in time to be a bridesmaid for the very first time, for my little sister jasmine!

recommended reading:

1. Une autre raison de s’indigner by Sophie Le-Phat Ho, Kevin Lo, Faiz Abhuani, Amber Berson, Dominique Desjardins, Gwenaëlle Denis, Farha Najah (June 1, 2012)
2. How To Be A Reverse-Racist: An Actual Step by Step List For Oppressing White People by A.D Song and Mia McKenzie (June 27, 2012)
3. Life, death and the meaning of a wedding dress by Laura Snelgrove (June 15, 2012)

soundtrack:

july

• interviewed olympic swimmers
• interviewed some of my favourite musicians
• had all kinds of wonderful people visit me – namely teresa & meg!
• went for lots of bike rides

recommended reading

1. Field Notes on Fashion and Occupy by Maryam Monalisa Gharavi (July 9, 2012)
2. Turbans on the Runway: What does it mean for Sikhs? by Sonny Singh Brooklynwala (July 10, 2012)
3. Be a fan, not a jerk at Untitled Teen Mag (July 17, 2012)
4. Doing Femme: Fiona Apple by iris (July 16, 2012)
5. Make up, my bane and saviour by Teresa (July 25, 2012)

soundtrack:

august

• celebrated my 5-year anniversary with simon
• covered an election campaign as a journalist for the first time ever (was particularly amused by this story)
• had a nice visit with carmelle
• did not spend enough time in the sun, did not spend enough time outdoors
• spent far too much time thinking about/working on election coverage
• struggled with how to deal with that stress, and how my body was manifesting it…

recommended reading:

1. How To Talk to People Who Are In Wheelchairs by Monica (August 2, 2012)
2. Hate Crimes Always Have A Logic: On The Oak Creek Gurudwara Shootings by Harsha Walia (August 6, 2012)
3. At Least Pussy Riot Won the West by Kriston Capps (August 16, 2012)
4. Manic Pixie Dream Dissidents: How the World Misunderstands Pussy Riot by Sarah Kendzior (August 20, 2012)

september

• went to visit my family in ottawa
• thought i was going to have some time off, struggled with the ups and downs of being a freelancer
• worked on some pitches and ideas

recommended reading

1. «Nous sommes tous responsables» de l’attentat du Métropolis par Catherine Lalonde (8 septembre 2012)
2. What can’t be published by Stacey May Fowles (September 14, 2012)
3. Special Victims by Elizabeth Greenwood (September 14, 2012)
4. Accessibility to fashion and the visibility of bloggers by GraceLizaBetty (September 18, 2012)
5. The Good Girls Revolt: The Untold Story of the 1970 Lawsuit That Changed the Modern Workplace by Maria Popova (September 19, 2012)
6. Ariel Pink And Beta Male Misogyny by Joe Kennedy (September 24, 2012)
7. I wrote this thing about Grimes’ “Genesis” and it never ran so here you go by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd (September 28, 2012)

soundtrack:

october

• got sick
• went for a hike in the woods
• thought/wrote a lot about feminism…

recommended reading

1. What the Girls spat on Twitter tells us about feminism by Bim Adewunmi at The Guardian (October 8th, 2012)
2. A problem that stubbornly refuses to budge by Reni Eddo-Lodge (October 8th, 2012)
3. Bullying: It’s not just for kids (October 6, 2012) sidenote: this was also the most popular thing i shared on tumblr this year, with over 7000 notes
4. Her Body Is Not Your Playground: Why the Photoshopped Frida Nudes Are Not Okay by Mia McKenzie (October 25, 2012)
5. Trolls and the spaces created by trolling by Nora Loreto (October 24, 2012)
6. Real Talk: Am I living radically? by Katie West (October 26th, 2012)

soundtrack:

november

• followed the american elections a bit too closely
• went to the vintage clothing fair in ottawa with steph
• spent some quality time with my sisters
• started working on a big project…
• took a week off and went on a mini road trip with simon

recommended reading:

1. Die Antwoord’s revival of blackface does South Africa no favours by Adam Haupt (November 2, 2012)
2. An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo’s Unibrow by Sarah Mortimer at Shameless Magazine (November 6, 2012)
3. An Unedited Rant About Looking Into Fatshion’s Navel by Natalie (November 11, 2012)
4. Doing Antiracism Wrong at Jezebel at Postbourgie (November 12, 2012)
5. Are we becoming cyborgs?

soundtrack:

december

• visited and interviewed my grandparents in valleyfield
• caught up with karina
• put together Threads: Fur, fabric and fashion in Quebec for CBC Radio
• celebrated my 27th birthday!
• got a really fucking good haircut, as pictured above

recommended reading:

1. The Natives are restless: Wondering why? by âpihtawikosisân (December 11, 2012)
2. For the last time, stop conflating violence & mental illness by s.e. smith (Dec 17, 2012)
3. Foreign Tokens: The Blackamoor Brooch by Rama Musa (Dec 17, 2012)
4. Parsing the online comments on #IdleNoMore: How Canadians are failing a tolerance test by David Newland (December 20, 2012)
5. White Men are Not in Decline by Sarah Jane Glynn (December 20, 2012)

soundtrack:

all in all, not too shabby!

2011 in review

for those of you who have been following my adventures via livejournal for the past decade, you know i’m quite fond of taking the time to look back and reflect on the last year this time of year. it’s not so much about “the new year” for me, but moreso about taking stock of what i’ve accomplished in my private life in semi-public ways… my birthday is on the 26th of december, and one of the (few) advantages is that i feel more like i’m reflecting on my year than a compulsory calendar year pros/cons list, you know? i usually do that in friends-locked posts on livejournal, but this time around i thought i’d make a more “public” version.

on top of that, i’m also finding that as social media grows and changes, in the era of endless scrolling and constant connectivity, it’s really hard to find links you’ve shared over the year. so this is a combination of a personal archive for me and a best of the year for you! get ready! it’s a doozy. i’ve tried to keep it as fashion focused as possible, but you should know by now how all of my interests run into and over each other. enjoy!

january

• my best femme iris came to visit ❤
• delicious food and fun craft nights with sarah
• celebrated my belated birthday with some of my all-time favourite people
• went to visit simon’s aunt and uncle in their beautiful home in the country, walks in the woods

recommended reading:

1. What is Glitter Politic? by Majestic Legay (january 11th, 2011)

february

• tried lots of winter survival tips, like writing letters and making mulled wine
• had my fantastic family come visit for carnaval in quebec city
• participated in fa(t)shion february

recommended reading:

1. fa(t)shion february and unfashionability by j. bee at sassyfrass circus (February 1st, 2011)
2. living single at crunk feminist collective (February 7th, 2011)

march

• played with the new 35 mm holga camera karina gave me (as pictured above and in april, may, june, july photos)
• went to the sugar shack!
• really really wanted to chop all my hair off
• read a whole lots of zines

recommended reading:

1. Helpful tips: How not to be a boorish body-policing jerk by Leslie Kinzel (March 22nd, 2011)

april

• torn between my desire to devote myself entirely to writing and journalism… and being paid a living wage.
• bike rides and visits to lévis to see sarah
• thinking a lot about apartment renovations
• working really hard!

recommended reading:

1. On Punk Pants: Duration, Devotion and Distinction by mimi thi nguyen at Threadbared (april 4th, 2011)
2. passive aggressive status updates: a fine example of girl hate by amber forrester at fight boredom! (april 27th, 2011)
3. I was here then i wasn’t here then i went somewhere then i came back then i went away then i came back and now i’m going again to paris to read books and be alone by Jenny Zhang at Fashion for Writers (April 27th, 2011)

may

• visited my sisters in ottawa
• saw austra and bumped into an old friend from 8th grade! isabelle!
• met amber at slutwalk in montreal
• hahaha “planked”

recommended reading:

1. The Faux Vintage Photograph by Nathan Jungerson at The Society Pages (May 11th, 2011) *** this may be my favourite piece of non-fiction writing of the year****
2. Slutwalk March or not march by Harsha Walia at Rabble (May 18th, 2011)
3. Things to do if you are a hustling class artist or other person with no trust fund or much of an economic safety net by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (May 23rd, 2011)

june

• launched three major projects i had been helping work on since the fall
• fell in love with biking once again
• was kind of bummed about sarah leaving, but decided to make the best of it
• took so many rolls of film!
• spent a lot of time thinking about and planning a certain incredible event

recommended reading:

1. Pointing out small-scale problems at better living through beyoncé (June 3rd, 2011)
2. Understanding Vancouver’s Hockey Riot by Dave Zirin at the Nation (June 16th, 2011)
3. Communities of care, organizations for liberation by Yashna Maya Padamsee (June 19th, 2011)
4. wedding day as a celebration of love, not of coupledom by me at simon et julia (June 21st, 2011)

july

• left my job at exmuro feeling satisfied and accomplished
• chopped off and donated 14 inches of my hair
• made my very first radio documentary on that very subject
• had dinner with and was reinspired by neil bissoondath

recommended reading:

1. Sustainable Style Series via jesse anne o (july 26th, 2011)

august

• had the most incredible party of my life aka got married!
• saw so many wonderful people, morgan, my sisters, everyone
• slow danced with nicole brossard
• went for a roadtrip in the eastern townships

recommended reading:

1. Moving toward the ugly: a politic beyond desirability by Mia Mingus at Leaving Evidence (August 22nd, 2011)

september

• started working nearly full time in radio + loved it
• beginning of my weekly writing dates with karina at librarie st-jean
• biked 60 km with simon!
• went without power for nearly eleven days (!!!) after post tropical storm irene

recommended reading:

1. An Open Letter to my local Hipstersby Sarah Hunt at Media Indigena (September 20th, 2011)
2. Urban Outfitters is obsessed with Navajos by Adrienne Keene at Native Appropriations (September 23rd, 2011)
3. Unintentionally Eating the Other by Minh-Ha T. Pham at Threadbared (September 12, 2011)
4. Antifeminist Frills by Eline at A Fluffy Blog (September 22, 2011)
5. Fashion is a feminist issue by Greta Christina (September 2nd, 2011)

october

• celebrated karina’s birthday
• first halloween in ages i didn’t dress up (i was sick & busy)

recommended reading:

1. Occupy Together in the age of conspiracy by Syed Hussan at Rabble (October 13th, 2011)
2. Fauxgress Watch: “Born this way” by Rachel at Social Justice League (October 10th, 2011)
3. An Open Letter to Urban Outfitters on Columbus Day by Sasha Houston Brown at Racialicious (October 10th, 2011)
4. Fat babes illustrated by Natalie at Definatalie (October 23, 2011)

november

• enjoyed the very mild weather
• had a fantastic house show featuring nick ferrio & his feelings + tin vespers
• had a few friend crushes
• did a short radio series on food in the north

recommended reading:

1. Not every girl is a riot grrrl by Lindsay Zoladz (November 16th, 2011)

december

• visited trenton for the first time of the year
• took a lot of time for myself
• said goodbye to my best friend karina as she headed off to sudbury
• celebrated my champagne birthday with lots of sequins and glamour and fun

recommended reading:

1. Why the “Native” Fashion Trend is pissing off real Native Americans by Lisa Hix at Collector’s Weekly (December 1st, 2011)
2. Make your own stuff by Maranda Elizabeth (December 3rd, 2011)
3. “Hello, I Love you” or “Why Fashion Blogging Smells like Raw Fish” by isabel at hipster musings (December 23rd, 2011)

phew! what a year. a new pair of glasses, three haircuts, tons of babes and incredible amounts of personal challenges and accomplishments. it took me way longer than anticipated to put that together. i’ll be sharing my favourite music of the year elsewhere in the next month or so, and best things i’ve read/seen in 2011 but i think those articles should sate your palates for the time being.

what were some of the best things you read or saw this year? i love lists! share yours with me. here’s one of my all-time favourites:

Woody Guthrie’s 1943 “New Years Rulin’s.” Found in one of his journals dated January 31st, 1942.

goodbye 2011! hello 2012!