Inspired by Fluid Hair Salon, Edmonton, Canada!

Last night, I wrote a blog post about Edmonton, Alberta's Fluid Hair Salon and an ad campaign that they had run showing a woman who appeared to have been beaten and a man who appeared to have beaten her. I was harsh. I didn't like the ad. But, then I thought about it, and I realized that Sarah Cameron, the owner of the salon, had a point when she said:

"Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

So, I did a little cutting edge, satirical art of my own! Thanks for the inspiration Sarah Cameron! I owe you one! It may be a little crude, and there are some kinks to work out, but it's a start. I hope you like my creations.

Fluid Hair Fuck Up

Holy GEEZ! Have you seen this ad for Fluid Hair Salon in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada? Okay, let me just say straight out, this ad idea is messed up beyond all belief. How on earth did someone think that this could possibly be a good ad idea!

The owner of Fluid Salon, Sarah Cameron says, "Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

Um, what?? Is it cutting edge advertising? No. Other than showing up a beat up women and a mean looking dude, this looks like your typical crappy Vogue magazine ad. Blah. Satirical look at real life situations?? Huh? If by satire you mean "Ha! This woman with a black eye is hilarious! You should not look at her black eye though, you should be looking at her hair, which we did! Isn't that hair great?! We are such a great salon! She looks great even when beaten black and blue! We are awesome!" Is it to everyone's taste? I would seriously question anyone who likes this ad, or who decides to go to this frickin' salon based on this ad.

Sarah Cameron seems to believe this is art. Well, whatever. If she believes that, that is her view. Art, advertising, any way you cut it is a bad, bad idea for a campaign to promote a salon. Essentially it is a glorification of violence that make hip-hop videos look tame, selling a crap salon run by an arrogant women who seems to think her salon is adding to the artistic edginess of the world through a crappy paid advertising campaign. It is nothing more or nothing less. She got a New York ad agency to do this up for her. She has to justify spending those big bucks I suppose. "Abuse? No, no, no...ART! It's art! Controversy? Oh, THAT. Well, if it sells my salon, then I'm all for it! Look at me! Look at me! Look at my salon! You will love us and become life long customers because we spent all of this cash on an ad campaign from...NEW YORK CITY! Aren't we cutting edge?"

Ad agencies in New York don't make art. They make campaigns. They sell junk and ideas. They aren't interested in the viewer in anyway other than seeing them as a target audience who will buy stuff from their clients. That's what puts money in their pockets and what puts money in the pockets of the clients. Can they be artistic? Yes. Are they art? That's up for debate. Is this art? In the eyes of Sarah Cameron it is. So, ladies, be sure that after your man has beat you to a pulp that you go to Fluid Hair Salon! You will be so glad that you did because even though your man treats you like scum, Fluid Hair will make you feel alright, and you will look good even after a thorough beating!

Our Children's Future VS. Sanity and Reality: Challenging the Edmonton Public School Board

Well, you know, I've been a wee bit busy and stuff, and it's distracted me somewhat from becoming enraged enough by something to write a blog about it. But, I just read something that changed that, and here is my blog about it.

What has me so enraged that I actually stopped being so lazy and took to the keyboard? Well, that damn Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) in Alberta, Canada wishes to create a safe and inclusive environment for all of their students. What BEASTS! What ANIMALS! How could the Edmonton Public School Board wish to create a school system where a diverse range of children can study together and create a bright and better future for all?? Someone REALLY should protest this.

And, alas, thankfully, someone has! Apparently all of this talk of inclusion was far too much for whoever the frick is behind a weird little, seemingly anonymous website titled "Our Children's Future-Standing Up for Moral Standards in Edmonton".The first red flag is always the "moral standards". When this phrase is used, especially in conjunction with anything to do with children, you know bigotry and hatred is what is to follow.

Apparently, the problem this person/these people have is that under a proposal by the Edmonton Public School Board in a policy on sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual "minority" students and same sex parented families will be (among other things, such as being accepted and protected from discrimination) AFFIRMED by the EPSB. Now, this lovely group or person or entity or whatever that is behind this site states:

We agree that all people regardless of sexual orientation have to be treated lovingly and not subjected to bullying however we will not affirm their unique identities, families, cultures or communities.  Affirming this type of sexual orientation violates the basic tenet of our belief systems, which is not a series of man-made rules and evolving human ethical standards, but the Holy Bible which clearly prohibits this type of sexual behaviour in both the Old and New Testaments.

Gotcha. And your narrow minded beliefs should come first and foremost, is that correct? That appears to be the belief, and they are calling on other like (narrow) minded people to do their duty and write to school board members to tell them that they shouldn't be treating these gays and lesbians and such with the dignity and respect they deserve because it goes against their beliefs. Look, telling people that your beliefs (religious) trump THEIR reality (sexual orientation) is NOT treating them lovingly. It is discriminatory. Telling someone that you will not accept them based on their sexual orientation is pretty mean and low. I always question the moral standards of someone who says something like that. We clearly do NOT share the same morals, and for that I am very glad.

So, here is what the proposal by the Edmonton Public School Board looks like and I think it looks not too bad at all:
http://www.epsb.ca/policy/aaadraft_ifa.bp.shtml

If you go to http://www.ourchildrensfuture.ca/ you will see that the site's creator(s) have done a fine job of listing all of the school board members which they are asking other bigots to write to and explain why the school board members should listen to bigots and not give GLBT (etc) students and their families the support and recognition they deserve.You may wish to contact them regarding the issue as well, what the heck. There is also a survey you can take, apparently, to give your views on the EPSB's proposal at this survey link. May as well plug in your answers there, too!

I hope that if you are reading my blog, you feel the same way as I do. I think this is a positive inititative by the Edmonton Public School Board and I want to see it put in place, not only in Edmonton, but across the country. I want to see kids feel at home at school, not as outcasts, and definitely not as being immoral just because of their sexual orientation. And I don't want to see people that believe discrimination and bigotry constitute "moral standards" from hijacking public school systems.

All Heart Maintenance. Part II.

Yesterday, I made a blog entry about the Chris and Karleena Perry "letter incident" in St. Albert, Alberta, and the craziest thing happened:

People read it!

Three hundred or so people visited my blog, if not out and out read it. This was a new experience. I am used to having maybe one or two people read what I write in these pages. Ten readers would have been amazing. Three hundred? To me, that's the equivalent of being in a rock band and filling up a stadium!

But, I realized something as the result of seeing that so many people took a gander at my thoughts on the subject. I look at some of the words that I wrote about the Perry's, in particular, the nonchalant way I talked about boycotting their business, and I see it in a different light. It has a new meaning now. Do I think that by me writing that people will run out and boycott their business? I hope not. I don't think so. I don't think anything I write has that power. I'm not the Pope (thank goodness)!

I disagree with what the Perry's wrote, to say the VERY least. I was critical. Others have been critical. But, do they deserve to lose their business over this? I don't think so. It's unfortunate that they feel the way they do. I spoke out. That should probably be the end of it. I don't wish them ill will. I don't want to be vengeful towards them, and I sure hope that there has been no threats against made by anyone else at all. Yesterday, I feel that I might have got caught up in wanting to be mean to them for coming across so mean in their letter. In other words, I felt vengeful. That isn't right, is it?

I also feel a bit bad about even mentioning their children. I do hope that they will not feel the way their parents seem to. But, I also don't want to see them caught up in this whole deal. That isn't really fair, is it? I hope they aren't being implicated in this at all. I hope it isn't personally affecting them. Even when I say "the Perry's"....is that right? I mean, it is, technically...but, does that imply that I feel the whole family should be criticized? No. Chris and Karleena are the ones who wrote what they wrote, not the kids. So...sorry kids, if I did what I now know I didn't want to do.

There are many reasons that I have felt so passionately about this letter and what was said. I could go on about why, but I won't. But, ever since I read the letter, I have thought and thought...and thought about it. It angered me, it surprised me...shocked me...upset me. That is why I wrote about it yesterday. That is why I write about it now. I may write about it more, who knows. I may do that because it touches on my current situation...the place that I find myself right now in the world. It hit very close to some issues that I have been dealing with, and thinking about, and analyzing, and OVER analyzing in my brain.

Funny world, it is. A letter written in St. Albert, Alberta, in a small newspaper can have such an impact on a guy on the other side of the world. For that, I am glad that the St. Albert Gazette printed that letter, and, I guess, glad that the Perry's wrote that letter. What an odd turn of events, no?