It's apple season!

And you know what that means: you can clear your acne and reduce your pores.

Yup.

Turns out apple cider vinegar (which is made by crushing apples, adding yeast for a first fermentation into cider, and then fermenting again to turn the alcohol into vinegar) is great for curing a lot of ailments.

It makes a great toner & astringent, which I have been using on & off for years.

Essentially add 1 part water (boiled, to sterilize it and help any chemicals evaporate) to 1 part apple cider vinegar. Mix & store it in a glass container (which has also boiled so as to sterilize it). If you want, add some tea tree oil for extra cleansing... a few drops should do in 2 cups worth of astringent. Note that you will want to mix the concoction before using it if you do add the tea tree oil, as oil rises and you may end up dabbing your face with a very potent, oily cotton ball if you forget to mix.

Skirts, bruises and cooperation

I work, play and grow in Montreal, Quebec.

Quebec... land of the Desjardins Movement, and the most enviable cooperative in Canada (although my bias is evident). We love the idea of cooperation so much that we will it to become a paradigm, and hope to secure a place for cooperative education in elementary, high school and post-secondary curricula.

It is not surprising, then, that I would turn to an educational path which would ensure that I remain loyal to this collective entrepreneurship model.

I am also, as an urban dweller in an ever-youthful city, victim to the undertow of the hipsters ... who seem to comprise a disproportionately large segment of the Montreal population. Whatever trends they set seems to become intrinsic parts of the pop culture lexicon the following year, to most people's dismay (why, oh why, the black rimmed, glass-less glasses?).

Enter the Roller Derby. Imported from the US, it fit perfectly with the trashy-vintage-mystique espoused by hipsters circa 2008, and it has now taken the city by storm. I attended my first match a few weeks ago. Both my friend and I were incredibly confused by the high-contact short-skirted chaos going on over the flat track in front of us. Upon returning to our respective homes, we had to figure out the rules, and analyse whether this was steeped in as much feminism as everyone raved about.

Our research didn't go very much further than a google search engine, but it did result in the discovery of a documentary titled He*l on Wheels. It centers on the resurgence of roller derby in Texas, arguably the location of roller derby's rebirth in the early 00's.

The drama that unfolds amongst the team members and their derby style is, for one thing, starkly different from the Montreal league's. Watching the plot unfold, I felt the solution to the numerous conflicts resulting in the business model chosen by the leadership of the League was obvious: create a worker cooperative!

Well then - did the tone of the analysis ever shift after that! It turns out that the Texas Roller Girls did, in fact, choose a cooperative (-like) business model, though registered as a non-profit public charity. They are operating in line with the cooperative principles: the business is democratically owned by the skaters, and demonstrates concern for community through charity and local development initiatives.

And voilà : further proof that anything can be made into a cooperative.

Listen to Melissa (Melicious) Joulwan speak on the topic on the Business Success show here. (original air date January 25, 2007) The Texas Roller Girls mission statement can be found here.

BelleRuche

On the list of words I wish I had written myself:

You're Listening To The Worlds

I shy from the loudest voice
The serpent I avoid
Choose to fight a battle rare

It doesn't mean that I am bad
It doesn't mean that I am scared
It's just not worth the breath

I speak my mind when I'm at home
Censor when I'm not alone
Choose who I am open to

It doesn't mean that I am closed
It doesn't mean I've given up on hope
It's just not worth the breath

I hear when I must defend
When you've got naught to prove
I'll wait and listen to your view

It doesn't mean we must agree
It doesn't mean that you know me
It's just where it begins

We live in a time of change
Breathe in what remains
Left from worlds before

It doesn't mean we should destroy
Carry on mistakes ignored
It's just all too short

I cry when I can't express
This feeling of torment
When I can't get through to you

I do because I care
I do out of despair
Wish you could understand

I'm low when I get it wrong
When dreams have been shot down
When I reveal things I don't want to see

It doesn't mean I'm in denial
It doesn't mean I want to hide
But there's too much to bare

- Belleruche, You're Listening to the Worlds

Brujerias

Female emcee discovery of the day, out of the Bronx

La Bruja

She's speaking conscious and from the soul, be it through accapella spoken word, or to danceable / marketable latin hip hop and reggaeton beats. She's got Def Poetry and the Nuyorican Poet's Café under her belt and from the looks of her community outreach resumé, she seems on par with Eternia where education and engagement are concerned.

Take a second to appreciate the dimensions before you dismiss her, I think there's more to her than meets an initial listen. For Witch it Stands blew my mind, and made Gatita Negra feel like it was about a woman with affirmative, conscious and pretty solid sexual politics.

Sweet.

Feminist fuck you - employment edition

What could you need them for? What do you do aside from play cashier at the coop?

... are NOT two questions I like to hear when I am inquiring about quotes for business cards.

More than skin deep

You wouldn't tell by the bike-chain grease stained jeans and sameoldbeatermodel-everyday look I've been sporting recently, but I actually am obsessed with looking pretty. I have a thing for little bottles, rainbows of color lined up in little discs, silver cases and lipstick mirrors. My current fantasy involves something around lounging and eating local organic produce, perfectly manicured natural nails and hair that is not in a pony tail. And maybe, just maybe, a fresh wax and 10 minutes to put on a face in the morning.

And the fantasy to end all fantasies? Local and/or organic products IN my cosmetics. Because, you see, I fully realize that I am probably causing great injury to myself by trying to be pretty... I'm not just talking nicks from shaving and zits from nose-hair plucking, I mean actual chemical poisoning. And if I were so conscious, I'd also be thinking about the ecosystems I am harming by consuming the products I lather / smear / brush / scrub unto myself. ya know, whale fat in your lipstick, clear cut rain forests for palm oil, just what sodium lauryl sulfate does to the local water ways...

A few things have recently reminded me of the need to be conscious of what personal care products I choose to bring into my home and put on my body. First was an article about Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt's new book, No More Dirty Looks, which was published in the Montreal Mirror this week (link to article here). The second was a new installment of Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff specifically addressing cosmetics (here). The third was how my eyes ached and my conjunctiva did something extremely weird when I got shampoo in my eye the other day.

No way any of those are going to make me stop showering. So what are my options? As some of you know, I'm not a fan of switching from mainstream to the alternative if the alternative ends up costing more... Economic irrationality (ie, no seeking out hte hidden costs when the cash signs are right in front of my face) and a pretty slim budget make that pretty obvious.

So... if I can't switch from Old Spice to Druide and take personal and political offense to Kahina marketing argan oil he way they o with that type of a mark up, what then? Well do like the companies and get inspired by the kitchen!

I have been trying when time permits, to make my own lotions, masks, exfoliants and hair care products from certain kitchen staples. I will post one every week or so as I try new recipes out, and feel free to comment with yours!

So here goes recipe 1:

Coffee facial / body scrub

From what I have read, coffee does wonders for minimizing pores - who would have thought...

You'll need:

1 cup of coffee grounds
1/4 cup raw sugar
4 egg whites (or roughly 1/4 cup of coconut oil, for a vegan option)

The ground of your coffee is up to you, but remember you'll be rubbing it on your skin... I'd suggest nothing bigger than drip-coffee sized grounds.

Brew the coffee (yup, you can re-use the grounds from your morning cuppa joe) and let the grounds air dry. Mix in the sugar (it shouldn't dissolve) and the egg whites. If you're going the coconut oil way, make sure to have pre-'melted' the oil so it mixes in well, then sets.

And voilà!

I am not certain how long this product can be kept as it has not been sterilized, but if you work on the measurements you can either make smaller quantities and store in various jars in the fridge until you're ready to use.

What's a QPOC?

- Sorry I feel like I should know this but what's a QPOC?
- Um ... well, a queer person of color.
- Why would you label yourself that way?
- ...


At the moment, I gave a slightly tentative explanation that included a mention of Faye Estrella's spoken word piece, AgitateOttawa, carving out a space for ourselves in a non-homogeneous community, creating safe(r) space, and building friendship over shared experiences.

I tried to explain intersecting identities, the realities of privilege that exist in the queer / gay / lez / bi / questioning community, and the fact that sometimes sharing common sexualities is not enough to create insta-bonds on all life situations. That sympathy trumps empathy... and that sometimes neither is welcome and all you need is someone to kiss their cheek and answer from the gut the way your mamma would have (if you could talk to her about those things).

Mind you, I was struggling to gather my ideas as I had (1) just woken up and (2) was entirely aware that the person I was sharing this with was white, privileged (and far more aware and sensitive than I was of both those realities) and chose to "not identify with any given sexuality as labels are restrictive". In other words, opposed to the labels she 'obviously' carried as they did not allow her automatic entry into racialized spaces and reluctant to identify with 'hidden' labels as that would rid her of who knows what mobility and freedom. And she certainly could not kiss her cheek without looking like she was appropriating something from someone.

Mind you, I feel certain things are obvious. (1) My identities are not always acknowledged or interpreted according to my definitions of what they should inspire and represent. (2) That cannot change until I change, enact some element of self-determination, lead by example, and build a community of like-minded individuals in whom I will find power, friendship, and support. (3) In the QPOC community, I have found Emma Goldman rocking out the The Coup.

She (the person I was talking to, not Emma Goldman) said she found the 'QPOC' label problematic, as it created an Us and Them situation that needn't exist in what aspires to be an inclusive community.

By that point, I had no idea what to do with our exchange and, in one last vain attempt to appease her visions of angry brown people coming at her with accusation of white oppression, pointed out to her that QPOCs' white partners were always invited and more than welcome to our parties and events. I followed that by pointing out that we did, however, sometimes need our own spaces and exchanges. We needed to be known to exist and needed to represent ourselves because our experiences, though not homogeneous, were often similar and we needed each others' support. A support that rang true, felt familiar... I guess she would have only understood if I had said 'culturally appropriate', but I did not want to get my friends confused with a social service.

What still weighs heavy on my mind, days after this conversation took place, is many fold.

First, I cannot believe I had to justify and defend a self-assigned label. I am confused as to why I had to fight so hard to convince her that QPOC was a legitimate and necessary term, that it meant no harm to anyone and was merely a tool to let people out there know that such a community exists.

Second, I am left wondering why such a fan of community empowerment and DIY, who had such a keen awareness of 'oppressor / oppressed' dynamics and the need to break down barriers of accessibility had such issues with a label that could create a departure point for community building and empowerment. My intuition says that the label speaks to everything she is not (something she pointed out) and made the spaces we would create and identify somehow not accessible to her. Perhaps she is only now coming to terms with the fact that 'inclusive spaces' are often exclusive, and that safe spaces always depends on who walks in at the last minute. And I guess that when the 'other' starts calling the shots and drafting the definitions - when the tables are turned - things get a little murky.

To that I say: deal with it. There comes a time in all our lives when nice, progressive theory has to be put into practice and true intentions tested. It's nice to talk a good game, but so long as the true seat of privilege is right under the speaker's rump, nothing has changed. I do not wish harm on anyone, but you'll only know the change you speak of has come once you start feeling a little uncomfortable and start questioning - as most of us 'minorities' have - whether you belong in a given place.

Don't worry, resiliency will settle in and i can guarantee you that we can all live with a little less comfort than we are accustomed to.