TAKE BACK THE NIGHT 2009

Take Back The Night is an internationally held march and rally intended as a protest and direct action against rape and violence against women. Take Back The Night originated in 1973 in Germany as a response to a series of sexual assaults, rapes, and murders that occurred that year. Today, this protest has expanded world-wide, and is now organized internationally by local communities. As part of the movement, women will walk out without the fear of the night and demand that perpetrators of this violence are held accountable for their actions and that systmes and policies that support violence against women be made to change.

This year's Windsor, Ontario march is occuring TONIGHT (November 6th, 2009) from 8pm until 10pm starting at Dieppe Park.

From the facebook event: "This year we have decided to change the route, and format of the evening. We will begin at Dieppe Park on Riverside Dr, starting with opening remarks from our MC Ashley Degrandis, followed by Bhavin Billimoria from the White Ribbon campaign, who will speak about the reason men do not march with us, followed by our keynote speaker Charlene Senn which will be followed by a luminary memorial for the 500 Missing Aboriginal Women. We plan to venture through much of downtown Windsor, hitting some key spots. With the help from our very own Radical Cheerleaders we will walk down to Riverside, up Ferry, turning on Chatham to Pelisser rallying past the strip clubs. Pelisser will lead us to Wyandotte and to Ouelette. We will walk down Ouelette that will lead us back to Dieppe Park for a closing performance by the Radical Cheerleaders.

We will also be hosting a Bake Goods and Hot Chocolate Sale to raise some money to continue the TBTN events."

Back in action after a loooooong summer hiatus.

Wake-Up-Grrl started out as a school project, but as the semester progressed, I started receiving feedback outside of the classroom from all over the world, and I vowed to keep this blog going once the class came to an end. Unfortunately, I found myself in an unmotivated rut over the summer. I'm not sure if I was just pooped from school, busy with work, traveling and hanging out, or what, but my motivation to write here suffered quite a bit. Even my photo blog is currently not up to date (but I've been taking photos everyday, I promise!).

But, now that I'm back in school, my life is a bit more organized and structured once again, so I've decided that it's time for me to WAKE-UP and revitalize this blog! So for any of you loyal readers who have been wondering "what the hell happened to Cristina over the last four months?" I'm back! You can be expecting a new post either later tonight or early this week!

What exactly have I been up to, you ask? I got the amazing opportunity to study with the University of Windsor in New York City at NYU for three weeks in May and June. It was an amazing experience. There were some low points of the trip, and by the end of it, I was ready to come home, but besides that, the trip was a great learning experience. I also went to Calabria, Italy to visit family and friends for a couple of weeks in August. The photos are all up on my other blog, if you care to check them out.

I've been working like mad, which is good. Also, doing a lot of projects and activities with Broken City Lab. This summer we spent a lot of time creating planters out of recycled plastic bags. They will be featured in Fuse Magazine in 2010. We finally found some projectors, and are planning to get the Cross Border Communication project off the ground soon.
Tomorrow (Monday, September 14th, 2009) we're holding a psychogeography walk of the West End/University campus, entitled "Welcome To The Neighbourhood." If you're from Windsor, please come and check it out!

And I guess what's most exciting, is the project that we have lined up for this upcoming weekend in New York City! When I returned from NYC this Summer, Justin of BCL sent me a link to ConfluxCity2009 and suggested that we come up with some kind of proposal for their festival. After thinking it over one loooong day at work, I thought, "hmm...what if we proposed some kind of algorithmic psychogeography walk in the Subway system of New York?" Justin was all for it, so we wrote up a quick proposal and sent it in. Sure enough, we we're accepted into the festival, so Justin, Michelle, Danielle and I are heading down to The Big Apple this coming Friday. What's even more exciting is that we were also just chosen as one of the featured projects!

In terms of my radio life at CJAM. I've moved up from being an occasional host of Milk and Vodka (Part of the Women's Radio Collective), to the co-host of the roots/Americana show Steel Belted Radio with Jim Meloche (taking over for Dale Jacobs) and the co-host of indie rock/punk show The Washing Machine with Clara (taking over for Nicole Markham). Excitement!

So, there's my list of excuses as to why Wake-Up-Grrl has been neglected. At least I was keeping busy, right? Real posts to come! In the meantime, tell me what's been up with you!

Milk and Vodka with Cristina and Kate!

ESL - Prove Me Wrong*
The Sick Lipstick - Go To Bed*
Language Arts - Welcome to the Words You Want in Your Life*
Mika Miko - Wild Bore
Matt and Kim - Cinders
Sonic Youth - Little Trouble Girl
Shapes and Sizes - Alone/Alive*
Tanya Donelly and Dylan in The Movies - The Lovecats
Screaming Females - Starving Dog
Pack A.D. - Pilot's Blues*
Miss Tk and The Revenge - Nowhere to Go
Mirah and Spectratone International - Community
The Unsettlers - No No No Yes*
Teenage Fan Club and Donna Matthews - Personality Crisis
X - Sugarlight
Hole - Jennifer's Body
The Maynards - Dance Fight*
Vivian Girls - No

* Canadian Content

You can download/stream it: here!

Virginia Woolf, anyone?

LOL!

What the fuck Calvin Klein!?

I leave for New York in approximately two and a half days. Not gunna lie, but as excited as I am to check out all of the awesome museums and art there is, I'm especially excited to check out all of their street art, and all the 120 illegal billboards that have been repainted with original works by New York artists.

However, apparently these artists missed a billboard on the corner of Houston and Lafayette, because THIS:
is what catches you attention as you're crossing the street. REALLY CALVIN KLEIN!? That girl is like, 15. Max.
Gross.
There's a huge difference between "provocative" and just plain raunchy.

CANFEMCON!

Today Nicole and I hosted a special all Canadian Milk and Vodka!

Tracklist:
Bad Flirt - Mad, Mad Madeline
The Barmitzvah Brothers - Thrift Store Owner
Aspirations - Accident Prone
White Lung - Breaking Boxes
Tara Watts - Sunlight
Megan Hamilton - Moth
Immaculate Machine - The Neighbours Don't Mind
The Pack A.D. - June
Crystal Castles - Love and Caring
Lioness - What You Do Will Come Back To You
Dandi Wind - Bang of the Hounds
Mother Mother - Dirty Town
Shapes and Sizes - Island's Gone Bad
Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees - Trust Fund

If you missed out on all the awesome can/femcon, check out the archives at www.cjam.ca - May 4th - 5pm!

SMASH THE GLASS 2009 - PUNK NIGHT PHOTOS!

Cold White North

Brass Knuckles

Empty Hands

The Love and Terror Cult

Two Hand Fools

Screaming Females!

New video.


THIS IS ME PROCRASTINATING AT 6:30AM!

I'm going to see Screaming Females in Detroit and in New Jersey.

Smash The Glass 2009 - Phog Night Photos!

The Floral Prints

Erica Di Maio

A Young Wife

Perilelle

Lioness

FAM PRESENTS: Through Women's Eyes & Voices

Through Women's Eyes & Voices is a photography and music showcase happening at Milk Coffee Bar throughout the entire month of April. This event acts as a celebration of women's artistic output in our community.

Musical Showcases:
-All Shows: All-Ages/10PM/$5

Saturday, April 4th:
Corrina Keeling
Monique Belanger

Friday, April 17th:
Two For The Cascade
This Is Me, As A Woman

Saturday, April 25th:
Perilelle
Tara Watts

Photo Show & Sale runs the entire month of April and features the works of:
Roxi D-Lite
Alishia Fox
Anna Frenette
Bree Gaudette
Julia Hall
Corrina Keeling
Cristina Naccarato
Juliana Schewe
Melissa-Rae W
Tara Watts

Quick Reminder!

TONIGHT! (March 26th, 2009)
Indie/Folk/Electronic Night of SMASH THE GLASS @ Phog
TOMORROW NIGHT! (March 27th, 2009)
Punk/Hardcore/Ska Night of SMASH THE GLASS @ The Chubby Pickle

The SMASH THE GLASS 2009 ZINES are printed and ready. Pick up a copy tonight for FREE or ask me for one.

SATURDAY NIGHT!
PLAYBOY MANSION PARTY @ THE UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR PUB
Ew. Seriously, what the fuck?
Don't go to this.

Go to see Walls of Jericho at The Chubby Pickle On Sunday!!
Candace Kucsulain tears shit apart. She's super bad ass.

Amy Franceschini: Futurefarmers Cultivating Consciousness Since 1995

Amy Franceschini of San Francisco, is a contemporary American artist and designer who's practices span from drawing, painting, sculpture, design, net art, public art and gardening. She teaches media theory and practice courses at both Stanford University and San Francisco Art Institute.

In 1995, she founded Futurefarmers as a way to bring together multidisciplinary art practitioners to bring together new work. They are, "teachers, researchers, designers, gardeners, scientists, engineers, illustrators, people who know how to sew, pattern makers, cooks and bus drivers with a common interest in creating work that challenge current social, political and economic systems." Amy Franceschini explains, "The name [Futurefarmers] is a product of my childhood," explaining the influences of her father, a corporate farmer and owner of a pesticide company, and her mother, a New Age type devoted to the notion of organic farming.

Her Futurefarmers are comfortable with both traditional and new media, allowing them to employ a fertile approach to all of their projects. They also have an Artist in Residency Program, and have housed 19 artists from 8 countries who have created experimental and client based projects along with the Futurefarmers.

You can check out all of their projects on their website, but I figured I'd give you a taste by posting some their eco-friendly art projects for you.

CIVIC CYCLE 2008

Civic Cycle is a temporary bike share program, a public bike pump and a public forum to present existing city bike share programs as well as an open discussion to gather input on what San Francisco’s city bike program might look and operate like. The goal of this project is to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city’s image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.

RAINWATER HARVESTER/GREYWATER FEEDBACK LOOP

A water saving system made from salvaged materials storing two types of water–water that normally runs away while becoming hot and rain water. The water is stored in the 3 small recycling bins which can also be used as benches to sit upon. The hand crank device on the right is used to pump stored water back to the sink to be used at a later time. The sink is equip with a variable drain allowing you to decide to let your water run back into the storage units, into the greywater system to the garden or out to the city system.

VICTORY GARDENS

An ongoing project being developed with the City of San Francisco. The program began as a utopian proposal and has now become a pilot project that supports the transition of backyard, front yard, window boxes, rooftops and unused land into food production areas. Victory Gardens has the mission to create and support a citywide network of urban farmers by (1) growing, distributing and supporting home gardens, (2) educating through lessons, exhibitions and web sites and (3) planting demonstration gardens in highly visible public lands; garden at city hall, schools and Golden Gate Park.

Amy Franceschini is a perfect example of a strong and independent woman who is blending her creativity and eco-awareness to create artistic activism and strive for change.

Smash The Glass 2009

Smash the Glass; a non-profit musical showcase entitled to empower women. Smash the Glass is a response to the lack of support towards female musicians in our city. "Smashing the Glass," comes from an understanding of the glass ceiling theory that describes the fact that women are limited as to how far they can advance up organizational ranks, the 'ceiling' is glass because it is transparent because limitations are not immediately apparent.

This DIY project started as an idea in April, 2007, while Sonia Nizzer was sitting in Nancy Gobatto’s Generation X, Third Wave Feminism class and was brought to life by herself and a close group of friends. We are back this year, to offer a stage, a podium, a foundation of motivation, support and ambition to those women who just want a chance to show YOU what they've got! We encourage men and women, all ages, to support this event. This is about celebrating and encouraging the females around us!

The festival will be two days this year, starting March 26 @ Phog Lounge and moving to the Chubby Pickle on March 27th. We hope that all who enjoyed last year's event come out again this year to recognize women in music! Tune into CJAM 91.5fm from 5 to 6 tonight for a special Smash The Glass segment of Milk and Vodka by myself and Nicole Markham (performer). We'll be chatting about the festival and playing the artists who you should come and check out this weekend!

Each Night is $5
Doors at 7pm for both shows
First night is indie/accoustic/electronic
Second night is punk/hardcore/etc
All proceeds going to the Well-come Centre for Human Potential

March 26th - Phog Lounge - 19+

Lioness - Toronto Electronic
Perilelle - Windsor Triphop
A Young Wife - Toronto Indie Folk
Erica Di Maio - Windsor Acoustic
The Floral Prints - Windsor Indie Acoustic

March 27th - Chubby Pickle - All Ages

Two Hand Fools - Kent Ohio Folk Pop Punk
The Love and Terror Cult - Mississauga Experimental Grind(?)
Empty Hands - Kitchener Hardcore
Brass Knuckles - Windsor Ska
Cold White North - Columbus Ohio Folk Punk

FitnessFirst: Using Public Humiliation To Up Their Gym Memberships!

Imagine, after a long stressful day at work or school, you head over to the bus stop dying to sit down and breathe for a minute. Just as you sit, eager to rest your legs, you discover that the bench you're sitting on is actually hooked up to a SCALE that's displaying your weight to EVERY passerby in big, red, glowing numbers.

Fitness First, a gym chain in the Netherlands launched a new ad campaign, where they've hooked up the benches of bus stops to a scale that displays your weight to the public, and if you don't like what you see
, it tells you directly below where you can go to fix that problem.

Melissa on The F Word stated, "We’re sure Fitness First is expecting a huge spike in membership from this, but the effect is ruined the moment two people share the seat. That and, you know, trying to win people’s business by humiliating them."

Enough is enough! Not only are these people being publicly humiliated, but think about the damage this is doing to their self esteem. Like there aren't enough public advertisements ridiculing women who aren't a perfect size 2 (ie. facebook advertisements that are specifically targeted to women).

Many people let this issue slide because it's "health" related, but these are the issues that make girls develop eating disorders younger and younger, and quite frankly, I think we have enough little girls starving themselves trying to look like the photoshopped women they see in magazines.

International Women's Day Recap

Sonia and I baked 70 cupcakes, and we didn't have a single one left over.
Here are a few black and white photos I took from the event.
You can find some alternate photos on my photo blog, or in my flickr.

Nicole Markham

Bree Gaudette

Erica Di Maio

Amour AmourTara WattsPerilelle

This is Me as a WomanThank you, everyone who came out to Phog Lounge on Sunday night to help us celebrate International Women's Day!
Also, Nicole and I joined Kyle Lebel on his CJAM show, "Juxtaposition Jukebox" and played a special Women's Day track list. You can check out the set list here.