aint i a woman?

hey girl hey.


today i just want to look at photos of strong, powerful women and read stories about strong, powerful women and hear strong, powerful, smart women speak.

today i am overcome by my pride in myself, in the women that surround me and guide me and blaze even in the most blinding light, in the younger women around me that are overwhelmingly inspiring, focused, leading lives of joy and purpose, but most importantly the women i don't have any ties to but still offer so much inspiration and love to the world that it's irresistible. poets, artists, singers, writers, activists, prime ministers, the list goes on and on.

today stir my soul sistren, make me sing and sing louder and like no one has ever heard.
keep singing.
i'll keep singing, keep going.
my place in the world rises up under my moving feet and delivers me home with every step.
keep going.
i move through this that you've colored with beauty, words, love, truth, heart, strength, fire.
i'm blinded.
keep stirring.

xx



"Ain't I A Woman?"

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.

- Sojourner Truth, 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio

oh hai

remember me?



no.

me neither.


august 7th was the last time i posted. that was shortly after i reinstalled ubertwitter on my phone. i really do think that thing is the death of blogs. or maybe just mine.

what have you been up to, you ask??* oh so much! i've started filming a movie, treked through ancient ruins of the american southwestern natives, won the award for highest jump off cliffs, hosted 3 nights of the most drunken collection of friends to the beat of only the most krunk hip hop, celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my boyfriend and my first kiss, eaten so many chiles i induced vertigo, attended 2 movie premieres in 24 hours, moved the equivalent of 5 apartments in 48 hours, got an amazing manicure, paid my back taxes, chased teenagers down the street innumerable times for multiple different reasons, and finished filming a movie.

what have i not done? gotten a real job.

hey! still looking!

at any rate, photos are to follow. and if you can't wait another minute to hear more from me, you can follow me on Twitter!! I got Barack Obama, Britney Spears, AND Corey Booker all into my moves....so you should really join the band wagon. my username is stephanieporto. i try to keep it creative.


xox


*i know you didn't really ask.

what the fuck is wrong with ubertwitter?

My universe almost collapsed trying to think about where I should post my frustration with the fact that I can't post a post on twitter. My first thought was twitter. Yikes. Here are some of the things I needed to tweet yesterday that I couldn't:

I got superbowl 38 halftime showed by a 2 year old on the street. Whoops I guess Ill start wearing a bra. (yeah right)

A bought lemonade (real deal lemonade) from an 8 year old selling it to raise money....wait for it...FOR THE WAR. Apparently its 1941.

There's something wrong with my ubertwitter.

No really. This isn't funny. What's going on with the twitterverse?

Xxs

soylent green is people

wow this really blows me away. it's like dominos out there.

i realize after reading the majority of my sentences that not nearly enough of them make sense.

'like dominos' refers to the domino effect that the recession is having. i wasn't referring to the game or the pizza chain.

after such a grim story i'd like to share these amazingly weird but awesome teenagers and their gift:



there is still wonder in the world.

i've kept quiet on this but...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?? (i don't know how many times i've asked this question)


just the language alone is staggering. "the most star-studded event ever", "guest list"? it's a funeral. he's died...your possession of this man has ended. Let go and give him to god.

Please don't mistake me. I have no hate for michael. he was a phenomenal and extraordinary person. I have no hate for anyone really. My qualm is really just that I wish his death, his family and friend's grief and everything else surrounding this event wasn't so circus-like. the elevation has reached a cartoon-like pitch and we've missed the entire point: this was a sad and lonesome person driven to such isolation that he was addicted to drugs, had an extremely limited capacity for adult relationships, and was filled with so much self-loathing he regularly disfigured himself. not to mention the probable idea that all this led him to take his own life. he was a public figure and an entertainer by trade...but there is a voracious and insatiable demand that's most prominently on display right now: an entertainer that fans have complete, unrestricted access to and a media environment that fosters the behavior. It transforms these people into caricatures of themselves. britney spears, michael jackson, madonna, paris hilton, marilyn monroe. no one person is to blame. Its very clear these people chose their paths. And there is no foul in cherishing their gifts and honoring their lives when they've passed but to reach these heights, to deify celebrities and at the same time create a public figure that is a cultural possession...can we just take a step back and learn from what that has done. I am in awe of MJ and his amazing talents and ability to genuinely love and reach so many around the world. But he was never at peace. he was always on display, always performing, always a spectacle. To fans out there who I've heard say things like 'this funeral is the hottest ticket in town', I'd like to hug them and say just let him out. Let him go into the universe and truly find peace.

june 25th??

i am a SLACKER. but hey. did everyone have a good 4th?? i did!



woo fuck yeah!

to get back in the swing of things today i read an article about fireflies, their flashes, and what's what. you can read it here. i recommend it. it's involuntarily adorable. although it made me curious why from species to species it varies which sex does the work of attracting while the other lays back like a lazy asshole. and why is it not that way for humans? it'd be better that way. i wish there were special dances or clothes or my ass would glow. how great would that be?!? so much better than this boring crap:



i fell asleep.

what if his name was justin timberlack?

i feel like he wouldn't be as hot.

hey, isn't that the NY senate?

basically.

i mean, why WOULDN'T you want to have kids?

good GOD. this is so so frightening. i mean it seriously terrifies me.



and yes, he really did that with the remote.


this just furthers my theory that video games, television, the internet, all of these things are all just poisonous to a kid.





really?









REALLY? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PARENTS ?!?!


and then they turn into this






well...what's the harm. i mean they seem like nice boys.

in case any of us forgot

that olivia malone's from california. a beautiful new shot alongside an amazing shot from the last photo shoot of marilyn monroe by george barris*:







*the real last. bert stern was just the last person to shoot her in a studio.

so a woman get's on the bus...

I feel like I need to write a book about these stories. the brooklyn bus system is a gold mine when it comes to complete lunatics and/or derelicts.

so like i was saying this woman gets on the bus



ha! good one. no not that lunatic but close. maybe in about 175 years she will be this lunatic.

ever have an old lady get on a bus and demand your seat? on a completely empty bus? when you're sitting alllll the way in the back? while you're on the phone? surrounded by 4 bags of groceries? and your dog?

yeah me too. i wonder if it was the same asshole.

about a week ago i posted something about how when you're older you just know what you want. this doesn't extend into the realm of things that other people have. i don't care how old (or young for that matter) you can't have my seat! especially when i am sweating, on the phone with my grandmother, and carrying my entire life with me like that weird creature from the labrynth.

of course there is no photo to be found. trash heap will have to do.




long story short, i did move. she wouldn't get out of my face! and i'm pretty sure she was trying to sit on me. so i moved! BUT MAN DID I BITCH. that'll teach her.



for the record that did not teach her.

one bad apple

jesus good god almighty i would be so pissed off.