I am a Neglectful Blogger

I have barely paid any attention to this blog. Unfortunately I have also be neglecting everything other than working with some youth on a web design project for the last several weeks. It is fun and I like working with them, but I wish that it didn't burn me out so totally.

I have, however, been reading and watching and doing some interesting things, and spending time with some fabulous people.

Last month I went to the Allied Media Conference. While I claim to be conference and activist phobic, I have been part of quite a few gatherings over the last several years. This one was one of my favorites. I really enjoyed thinking about connections between cultural production and radical movement building. I felt challenged, intrigued and excited by all that I saw and did. 
During one of the workshops I learned about The Pinky Show, which is an amazing site filled with videos that make complex issues like militarization and colonialism really interesting and accessible. And Cute. I also spent a lot of time at the conference with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, who is a bomb ass writer and performer, and one of the co-founders of Mangos with Chili and The Femme Sharks. It was fun to not be the loudest or most foul mouthed brown girl in the room at any given time.

But my favorite AMC moment was hearing about this amazing radical participatory research project conducted by the women and girls of the Young Women's Empowerment Project in Chicago. The research they presented was about modes of resilliance and resistance practiced by young women in Chicago impacted by the sex trade and street economies. In addition to the report, there is a 'zine with tips and information on self care and harm reduction. I fucking learned how to give myself a vaginal exam and give DIY stitches. I felt blessed and inspired by the creativity and fierceness of the project and presentation.

This week I have my friend Charlotte Cooper staying at my house. It is divine to hear her scheme, dream and plot big fat revolution.

I have been slowly and surely working on a couple of stories and learning about book making. Maybe once I feel more focused, I will have something to show for those efforts.