Friday, October 31, 2014

Where There's Fog There's A Zombie


Happy Halloween Everyone!


Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Tim Cook Speaks Up Comes Out


Best part of his essay.

My Queasy Jian Ghomeshi Disappointment

We might act like it does not take a leap of courage to get naked (or partially undressed) and physical with another human, but the truth is, it does.  It's an act of faith and trust.  We are vulnerable. Each person trusting the other with tenderness, love, physicality, physical nurturing, a union of sensual instinct; a chemical calling - a sexual experience.  Privacy. Confidentiality. Loyalty. 

I'm queasy over all the news about Jian Ghomeshi. With a capital 'Q'.




Why oh why did this have to be Jian? Ladies and Gentlemen, you know we think he's hot. Sexy. Smart. We have listened in and thoroughly enjoyed him. We marvel in his talent. Canadians, we were (ARE) so proud to call him our own. 

My post today is not whether we all believe or disbelieve. (You can read Jian's comments below and all the current Jian news here.)  It's about how disappointed I am that women continue to be hurt sexually, physically, financially, emotionally and verbally - everywhere every day.

Consent or not. 

And they are afraid to come forward. Nervous about 'telling'. 

I am sickened by it. Nauseous. 

When we give ourselves to another it's because we feel something. Something good. 

Please stop fucking with this. 

Queasy, 
Patti




This is the very short post from Jian Ghomeshi's Facebook Oct. 30, 2014:

I want to thank you for your support and assure you that I intend to meet these allegations directly.

I don’t intend to discuss this matter any further with the media.

This is the post from Jian Ghomeshi's Facebook Oct. 26, 2014:

Dear everyone,

I am writing today because I want you to be the first to know some news.

This has been the hardest time of my life. I am reeling from the loss of my father. I am in deep personal pain and worried about my mom. And now my world has been rocked by so much more. 

Today, I was fired from the CBC.

For almost 8 years I have been the host of a show I co-created on CBC called Q. It has been my pride and joy. My fantastic team on Q are super-talented and have helped build something beautiful.

I have always operated on the principle of doing my best to maintain a dignity and a commitment to openness and truth, both on and off the air. I have conducted major interviews, supported Canadian talent, and spoken out loudly in my audio essays about ideas, issues, and my love for this country. All of that is available for anyone to hear or watch. I have known, of course, that not everyone always agrees with my opinions or my style, but I've never been anything but honest. I have doggedly defended the CBC and embraced public broadcasting. This is a brand I’ve been honoured to help grow.

All this has now changed.

Today I was fired from the company where I've been working for almost 14 years – stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues. I was given the choice to walk away quietly and to publicly suggest that this was my decision. But I am not going to do that. Because that would be untrue. Because I’ve been fired. And because I've done nothing wrong.

I’ve been fired from the CBC because of the risk of my private sex life being made public as a result of a campaign of false allegations pursued by a jilted ex girlfriend and a freelance writer.

As friends and family of mine, you are owed the truth.

I have commenced legal proceedings against the CBC, what’s important to me is that you know what happened and why.

Forgive me if what follows may be shocking to some.

I have always been interested in a variety of activities in the bedroom but I only participate in sexual practices that are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners.

About two years ago I started seeing a woman in her late 20s. Our relationship was affectionate, casual and passionate. We saw each other on and off over the period of a year and began engaging in adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission. We discussed our interests at length before engaging in rough sex (forms of BDSM). We talked about using safe words and regularly checked in with each other about our comfort levels. She encouraged our role-play and often was the initiator. We joked about our relations being like a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey or a story from Lynn Coady's Giller-Prize winning book last year. I don’t wish to get into any more detail because it is truly not anyone's business what two consenting adults do. I have never discussed my private life before. Sexual preferences are a human right.

Despite a strong connection between us it became clear to me that our on-and-off dating was unlikely to grow into a larger relationship and I ended things in the beginning of this year. She was upset by this and sent me messages indicating her disappointment that I would not commit to more, and her anger that I was seeing others.

After this, in the early spring there began a campaign of harassment, vengeance and demonization against me that would lead to months of anxiety.

It came to light that a woman had begun anonymously reaching out to people that I had dated (via Facebook) to tell them she had been a victim of abusive relations with me. In other words, someone was reframing what had been an ongoing consensual relationship as something nefarious. I learned – through one of my friends who got in contact with this person – that someone had rifled through my phone on one occasion and taken down the names of any woman I had seemed to have been dating in recent years. This person had begun methodically contacting them to try to build a story against me. Increasingly, female friends and ex-girlfriends of mine told me about these attempts to smear me.

Someone also began colluding with a freelance writer who was known not to be a fan of mine and, together, they set out to try to find corroborators to build a case to defame me. She found some sympathetic ears by painting herself as a victim and turned this into a campaign. The writer boldly started contacting my friends, acquaintances and even work colleagues – all of whom came to me to tell me this was happening and all of whom recognized it as a trumped up way to attack me and undermine my reputation. Everyone contacted would ask the same question, if I had engaged in non-consensual behavior why was the place to address this the media?

The writer tried to peddle the story and, at one point, a major Canadian media publication did due diligence but never printed a story. One assumes they recognized these attempts to recast my sexual behaviour were fabrications. Still, the spectre of mud being flung onto the Internet where online outrage can demonize someone before facts can refute false allegations has been what I've had to live with.

And this leads us to today and this moment. I’ve lived with the threat that this stuff would be thrown out there to defame me. And I would sue. But it would do the reputational damage to me it was intended to do (the ex has even tried to contact me to say that she now wishes to refute any of these categorically untrue allegations). But with me bringing it to light, in the coming days you will prospectively hear about how I engage in all kinds of unsavoury aggressive acts in the bedroom. And the implication may be made that this happens non-consensually. And that will be a lie. But it will be salacious gossip in a world driven by a hunger for "scandal". And there will be those who choose to believe it and to hate me or to laugh at me. And there will be an attempt to pile on. And there will be the claim that there are a few women involved (those who colluded with my ex) in an attempt to show a "pattern of behaviour". And it will be based in lies but damage will be done. But I am telling you this story in the hopes that the truth will, finally, conquer all.

I have been open with the CBC about this since these categorically untrue allegations ramped up. I have never believed it was anyone's business what I do in my private affairs but I wanted my bosses to be aware that this attempt to smear me was out there. CBC has been part of the team of friends and lawyers assembled to deal with this for months. On Thursday I voluntarily showed evidence that everything I have done has been consensual. I did this in good faith and because I know, as I have always known, that I have nothing to hide. This when the CBC decided to fire me.

CBC execs confirmed that the information provided showed that there was consent. In fact, they later said to me and my team that there is no question in their minds that there has always been consent. They said they’re not concerned about the legal side. But then they said that this type of sexual behavior was unbecoming of a prominent host on the CBC. They said that I was being dismissed for "the risk of the perception that may come from a story that could come out." To recap, I am being fired in my prime from the show I love and built and threw myself into for years because of what I do in my private life.

Let me be the first to say that my tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks. They may be strange, enticing, weird, normal, or outright offensive to others. We all have our secret life. But that is my private life. That is my personal life. And no one, and certainly no employer, should have dominion over what people do consensually in their private life.

And so, with no formal allegations, no formal complaints, no complaints, not one, to the HR department at the CBC (they told us they’d done a thorough check and were satisfied), and no charges, I have lost my job based on a campaign of vengeance. Two weeks after the death of my beautiful father I have been fired from the CBC because of what I do in my private life.

I have loved the CBC. The Q team are the best group of people in the land. My colleagues and producers and on-air talent at the CBC are unparalleled in being some of the best in the business. I have always tried to be a good soldier and do a good job for my country. I am still in shock. But I am telling this story to you so the truth is heard. And to bring an end to the nightmare.




Editor's Note:  I enjoyed this article from Jannie Robinson -  Why the Jian Ghomeshi case could be a blessing in disguise.

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Frosted Sheep and The Visual Historian




October is ending fresh and frosted.
The last few months I have been so fortunate
to be incredibly scheduled doing portraits and client work.
I always say that I 'just' live life and photograph it
and now I've come to another realization.
My photography is essentially an ongoing folder
of life; I am documenting families, businesses and landscapes.
I am a 'Visual Historian'.


I hope that some day in the far, far off future
People will learn about life now
by viewing and studying my photographs.


I am so very grateful for Clients who gave me the space
and creative freedom to do the work
as an Artist



If my photography ever becomes
like an assignment void of art soul
I am afraid I would have to hang up my cameras.



I do believe that the people who have asked
me to join them with my camera
have understood immediately that the best
artistic images come alive
when the Artist is given the complete freedom
to create.


I have new ideas forming
and my art career is becoming much more clear

Through time and experiences we all learn
by narrowing our world back and out
the thing we are really, really good at
and the thing we feel compelled to create

I communicate with 
my camera
and words
I feel happy these days.

Happy too that my blog again surpassed
readership - the best ever - for 
October 2014.


Thank You Dear Friend
PFXO


(I've come a long way since October 28, 1992)


Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday

Friday, October 24, 2014

Justin Trudeau Addresses Ottawa Shooting In Speech (FULL TEXT) Oct 22, 2014



October 22, 2014

I am deeply saddened by today’s horrific events here in Ottawa, and unreservedly condemn these brutal and heartless acts of violence.
This attack is unforgivable. Should any other perpetrators or co-conspirators exist, they must be caught and be punished to the full force of our laws. I’ve extended an offer of full support to the government, along with any assistance members of our party can provide at this time.

My thoughts and prayers, along with those of my colleagues, go out to the family and friends of the victims of today’s horrific shooting, including Corporal Nathan Frank Cirillo, who was standing dutifully, guarding one of our nation’s most sacred monuments.

Words cannot express the deep sadness we feel today over his loss.

To the brave women and men who rushed to the scene to confront the shooter, and help keep us safe, I can say only thank you. Thank you for your selfless courage and your professionalism in a time of crisis.

In the days that follow, there will be questions, anger and perhaps confusion. This is natural, but we cannot let it get the better of us. Losing ourselves to fear and speculation is the intention of those who commit these heinous acts.

They mean to shake us. We will remain resolved.

They want us to forget ourselves. Instead, we should remember.

We should remember who we are. We are a proud democracy, a welcoming and peaceful nation, and a country of open arms and open hearts. We are a nation of fairness, justice and the rule of law.

We will not be intimidated into changing that.

If anything, these are the values and principles to which we must hold on even tighter. Our dedication to democracy and the institutions we have built is the foundation of our society. And a continued belief in both will guide us correctly into the future. Staying true to our values in a time of crisis will make us an example to the world.

Criminals cannot and will not dictate to us how we act as a nation, how we govern ourselves or how we treat each other. They cannot and will not dictate our values. And they do not get to decide how we use our shared public spaces.

Today we heard about a loss of innocence in Canada. This is inaccurate. Canada is not innocent to the threats we face, and we know that we are not immune. What is true is that we have not let those threats shape us, and we have never bowed to those who mean to undermine our values and way of life.

We have remained Canadians. And this should be how we will carry on.

We deserve answers to how and why this happen. They will be vital in preventing any potential future attack.

To our friends and fellow citizens in the Muslim community, Canadians know acts such as these committed in the name of Islam are an aberration of your faith. Continued mutual cooperation and respect will help prevent the influence of distorted ideological propaganda posing as religion. We will walk forward together, not apart.

In the coming days, we will be inundated with pictures and videos showing what happened today. But there is one in particular we should remember: the picture in our minds we have of a Canadian guarding Canadians. That is who we truly are. That is who we will continue to be.










Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday

Monday, October 20, 2014

Swan Photograph Series


I have just created a NEW series
of photographs featuring the majestic swans
I met at the Cobourg waterfront yacht club.

So beautiful. Damn!

These are now available in my 
prints, framed prints or on canvas

Loving this town.
Cobourg, Ontario
So worth loving.



Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks. Custom trimmed with 1" border for framing.

A few of them designed with these letters and numbers that shaped who I am. 
371921DV = Signature Sociology


Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Cobourg Ontario Pictorial IV

































Shelter Valley Farm
Maria Wang, Bakery & Catering
































260 George Street, Cobourg





































Loving this town.
Cobourg, Ontario
So worth loving.


PFXO

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Reading. Listening. Learning. Improving. Hanging out with successful people. Photographer. Pirate. Bubby. CANADA @pattifriday
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