The Usual Bad Habits

SEX WORKER'S ART SHOW

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:23:01 GMT

Oh, and all you folks from Chi town should go to the Sex Worker's Art Show on Saturday. For real. It's gonna be great.

get your tickets in advance- this show sells out!!
http://www.brownpapertickets.com

CHICAGO FOLKS, help the movement.

kumasi@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:36:28 GMT

Join us Friday, December 14th for Wine and Hors d'ouvers at the Mekhanskhen Gallery 5459 S. Drexel from 8pm to 11pm

We will exhibit pottery, wood prints, oil paintings, collage, sculpture, textiles, drawing, graffiti art & embroidery. Made by 12 different YWEP artists. Art and Prints will be available for Sale.

Our Artist Statement:
We titled this art show "Survival of the Artist..." to show how we are resilient to oppression and how we stand up and fight against it every day. Art is one method of resilience we use to show that we are multi-faceted and that what we do isn't who we are. We are de-humanized by those that say we are "prostitutes" and "criminals." YWEP doesn't believe in these terms. We rebel against them.

We believe all girls are priceless.
We support all girls who do what they have to do to survive.

Dics-We mean law enforcement. Because we are young women of color, because we hang out in certain neighborhoods, because we do what we have to do to survive, cops hassle us, stop us for no reason, and generally reduce our quality of life.
Dicts- The prefix "dict" means to label. We are labeled as certain things just because we are women (like "weak", "over-sensitive", etc.). The labeling and pigeonholing increases because we are women with life history in the sex trade. We battle someone else's value system attempting to define us and tell us how to be. Every day, we battle this oppression from many forms of government or state systems and institutions.
Dicks- We mean surviving in a patriarchal society.We are constantly surviving against misogyny, a strong hatred or prejudice against women.

We Refuse to be Disempowered! Come Celebrate our Resilience!

above poster made by Girls in Charge Member Naima

Tickets $25.00
To purchase tickets go to our website and follow the instructions
or Get them at Women and Children First 5233 N. Clark St.
Want to come to the show for free?
Sell 10 tickets and you can!
Contact Cindy@youarepriceless.org for more info

kumasi@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 21:16:31 GMT

Mindful just sent me an email saying "remember the self-talk!".
He's really into me talking to myself.

If he only knew.......

Life is good.....

kumasi@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:48:35 GMT

Celebrated my anniversary with el_houria

GO, seriously.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:48:31 GMT

Sex Worker’s Art Show Comes to Chicago!! Please forward WIDELY!!!!!!!!!!!

"The Sex Workers' Art Show is not simply a display of those in the sex
industry... but an active force in articulating, shaping, and contesting the meaning
of the identity "sex worker" in the public sphere" --Theatre Journal

"Annie Oakley doesn't need a gun. She's armed with fierce creativity,
political passion, big brains and exquisite sexiness. As the Sex Workers' Art
Show's director, Oakley leads a brilliant crew which serves up whore culture
at its most delicious and satisfying." --Annie Sprinkle, PhD

The Sex Workers' Art Show Tour is coming to Chicago! On Thursday, March 1, 2007-
Join us at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, for an amazing evening of poetry, performance
and talent. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
and the show starts at 8 p.m.

This year's incredible lineup of performers includes acclaimed Whitney Biennial
artist Julie Atlas Muz; award-winning author of How I Learned to Snap Kirk Read;
international burlesque sensation Miss Dirty Martini; operatic singer and performer
of queer black masculinity Reginald Lamar; author of Happy Baby Stephen Elliott;
member of the internationally renowned Japanese performance collective Dumb Type,
Cono Snatch Zubobinskaya; stripper historian and activist Jo Weldon; feminist smut
purveyor and queer film star Amber Dawn; and tour founder and ringmaster Annie Oakley.

The show is an eye-popping evening of visual and performance art created by people
who work in the sex industry to dispel the myth that they are anything short of
artists, innovators, and geniuses! The wildly successful cabaret-style show is hitting
the road again, bringing audiences a blend of spoken word, music, drag, burlesque,
and multimedia. Intelligent and hot, disturbing and hilarious performances offer
a wide range of perspectives on sex work, from celebration of prostitutes' rights
and sex-positivity to views from the darker sides of the industry.

The show includes people from all areas of the sex industry: strippers, prostitutes,
dommes, film stars, phone sex operators, internet models, etc. It smashes traditional
stereotypes and moves beyond "positive" and "negative" into
a fuller articulation of the complicated ways sex workers experience their jobs
and their lives. The Sex Workers' Art Show entertains, arouses, and amazes
while simultaneously offering scathing and insightful commentary on notions
of class, race, gender, labor and sexuality!

Ticket sales benefit the Young Women’s Empowerment Project. For more information
on YWEP, please see www.youarepriceless.org. For more about the Sex Worker’s Art
Show, go to www.sexworkersartshow.com or contact Shira Hassan at 773-818-8512 for
more information.

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:32:40 GMT

It's too early to tell the hilarious stories from the Hi, I'm Crazy Hospital. Well, those and the tragic one. Instead I'll try to forget the experience. 3 times in is sort of excessive and embarrassing but whatev-. Such is my life. Now someone find me a job that doesn't give me a nervous breakdown! And a roommate.

And more COLLAGES

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 09 May 2006 18:59:56 GMT

A Few COLLAGES finally

kumasi@gmail.com — Mon, 08 May 2006 18:08:33 GMT

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:18:41 GMT

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 20:24:17 GMT

Some serious mojo so I've been told.

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 14:57:52 GMT

Now this shit is funny:

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:39:21 GMT

I'm doing this really creepy thing for work where I'm trying to account for lost study participants. My boss wants me to hunt through the jails. You just go to a website, type in a name and you can find out who is in jail and for what and when they may be released and what tattoos they have and their stats AND what they look like. A frontal mug shot and a side mug shot. I dunno, I don't think one should be able to do such a thing. Isn't that some violation of privacy or something? I didn't even know you could do that. Anyway, so far no prisoners...

and so far no email back from Gia responding to my "this time are you coming to Chicago for real" email.

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:11:41 GMT

Why is it that people at my workplace steal each other's lunches? ALL THE TIME. I mean, what is this...the second grade? Plus it's just gross. Who wants to chow down on someone else's lunch. There's a bunch of fake adults walking around here.

kumasi@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:12:56 GMT

"It's not tacky it's camp".

No, it's just tacky.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:56:45 GMT

Someone just used the word "expired" to mean died. I hate all the words around "died" that are developed to avoid using "died". I don't understand.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:58:11 GMT

Dear Boss,

Thank you for leaving finally. I will be on my way home promptly.

Love,

Saltjam

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:44:46 GMT

I played the Game of Life last night. Anyone remember that from when they were kids? I highly recommend you play it as an adult. It's some serious brainwashing.

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 01:09:22 GMT

My laundry is going to smother me and leave me lying on the floor gasping for breath. Arg.

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 19:01:30 GMT

This day is dragging like no other.
3 more hours. Then I'm going to go home, look at all the laundry I have to do and have a panic attack.

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 21:22:32 GMT

I'm wearing pink today so everyone is being nice to me. I forgot about that wearing pink people being nice thing. I went out to take a book break from work and I passed those PIRG people that I always pass. Usually they say "do you have a minute to talk about racism?" Today though, since I am wearing pink and have an ugly fake diamond earring (I wear very ugly flashy earrings) on my right ear they said "do you have a moment to talk about "gay" rights?" I laughed. Those socialist worker paper selling people always ask me if I want to talk about racism too and I want to punch them. Apparently wearing pink makes me want to punch people. See, guys that wear pink are tough.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 21:41:07 GMT

Oh my goddd is today dragging. Tick. Tick. Somebody shoot me.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 15:56:41 GMT

Northwest airlines charged me a dollar for peanuts. I wish I was kidding. Like an airline doesn't have enough money to give peanuts away for free. They're fcking peanuts for christ's sake!

Everyone is Casper Wyoming says "sick" to mean cool or whatever. Example: "Oh my god mannnnn...that's SICK! That makes me laugh. Also there are people there who truly believe that they are "thugs". It's spectacular. They also say "way" to mean "very". Example: "Oh my god mannnnn...that's WAY sick!"

I got to look all badass in a tux.

Anyone want to see March of the Penguins with me? I loovvve penguins. We can smoke first of course.

I DJ'd at my half sister's wedding. It was pretty fun. Her and her husband's song was some Rod Stewart one. I forget how it goes.

I caught this grown woman stealing a magazine from me on the plane. I was sitting there in my seat with my eyes semi-shut. No one was sitting beside me...I was at a window seat. I had put a magazine and a book in that pocket that's on the chair ahead...you know, where the puke bag is...or, as they say the "motion discomfort" bag. Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I see this arm reach over and grab the magazine. At first I thought it was a kid so I was like ok, no big deal. BUT then I looked and it was an adult so I was like fck that..I mean who does that? So I wait awhile debating whether I should say something and finally I go to the woman that took it and is sitting in the seat across the aisle and in back of me and said "actually, when you're done with that magazine you can give it back to me." hahah. She was floored. All she could utter was "ah...ah...um..I thought you were asleep...oh...sorry, I didn't know it was your's." I love busting stupid people.

I got to get off the plane in Wyoming and walk down the stairs and outside instead of leaving directly into the building. I've always wanted to do that. Just like in the movies.

Again, they charged me a dollar for peanuts.

kumasi@gmail.com — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:39:32 GMT

I just opened a bag of Hot Jay's potato chips and they had regular chips inside. Weird. I want my money back.

kumasi@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 18:30:17 GMT

So that guy that escaped from prison wearing a guard's uniform robbed the bank that I go to. I'm sorry, I love bank robberies. It might not be so fun if I was there but it's the concept.

kumasi@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 13:38:40 GMT

If one more person says "hot enough for ya" I'm going to knock them upside the head.