Book Review: Who is Ana Mendieta?

After giving it some thought, I'd like to make a little room in this blog for book reviews.  I have a fair number of books in my possession, many of which I am quite fond of.  This week, I'd like to introduce you to a recent favorite of mine - a graphic novel titled "Who is Ana Mendieta", the work of Christine Redfern and Caro Caron.

I was lucky enough, not only to see the original artwork for this graphic novel, but to have the chance to study it up close over a matter of about two months.  During this time, the panels were on display in the art gallery at which I work.  They told a compelling story in a cartoon style not quite like anything I'd seen before - elastic and raw, with so much punch and emotion I would almost forget it was all in black and white.  I found this format to be really effective at communicating the passionate and unapologetic nature of the story, and its heroine.

The novel itself reads as a biography of Ana Mendieta.  It focuses mostly on her years and work as an artist in the 70s and 80s, working in sculpture, film, and most notably her "earth-body" works.  It also focuses on her role in the feminist movement of the day, and the overall climate of that time in history.  While the biographical nature of the work, and the depiction of the influences surrounding Mendieta's life, make it seem at first like a snapshot of the time in which she lived, there is a story arc, which makes itself most clear toward the end.

A word of warning - this is a "graphic" novel in more than one sense.  Nudity and violence are not shied away from in the telling of this story, being as they are a significant part of it.  It is a very honest depiction, and the greater part of it is very beautiful.  Not gratuitous, but beautiful, brutal, and honest.  One of the big accomplishments of this novel, I think, is that there is so much focus on the beauty of Mendieta's life, such that it stays in the mind as strongly as the hardships and tragedy of it.

On either side of this story are longer pieces of text:  A forward by Lucy R. Lippard, and then an end part titled "Blind Spot - a note to readers".  At the very end is a newspaper-layout of articles giving more information on certain details of the story, illustrated with thumbnail cartoons from the main part of the novel.  Each of these sections holds interest, fleshing out the main narrative with smaller ones, using different formats to make it easier to take in piece by piece.  I am impressed by how well this technique works for this book.  It really is an accomplishment to be able to tell this story in a way that keeps the readers' attention, while providing the context of an incredibly complicated time in history.

Long story short, this book took me right in.  I wound up feeling as if I had a personal connection to this artist, whom I might otherwise never even have heard of.  The novel as a whole is fascinating and thoughtfully crafted, even as it delivers a hard emotional punch.  Not a book I'd recommend for all ages, but I feel it is important to have Ana Mendieta's story out there to be read like this.

Thanks for reading, Blogger world!  Before I go, the 365-part project continues :P -


February 19th, 2013:  Surrealist Jam in the Sun by ~Eseopia on deviantART


February 18th, 2013:  The Sun and Sands of Time by ~Eseopia on deviantART


February 17th, 2013:  Storm Before the Calm by ~Eseopia on deviantART

'Till next time!

Do I really have to sign up for everything?

February 16th 2013:  Priorities... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 15th 2013:  Another Day... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 14th 2013:  Wriggley Oversees... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

Hello blogger world!

I'm trying to edit this entry to make it sound more civilized.  I am writing today with regards to the amount of signing up that is involved in job hunting these days.  Some places still accept a resume and cover letter and let you let that be that.  Others, as I may have mentioned before, have full-on psych exams to fill out so they can make a profile of you, to go with your resume of course.  Ideally, this makes it so that if you want to apply for multiple jobs, you can just select whichever ones you want and they do the rest.  What really bothers me is the number of passwords I have out there.

There are a number of things you may have to sign up for during your job hunt.  With some places, you just have to create a profile with the company itself.  This on its own can lead to quite a few profiles depending on where and how many places you apply.  Some companies hire through job search/hiring sites like CareerBeacon.com.  This can potentially cut back on the number of passwords you need to create, but only when applying for jobs at places that hire through the site.  And of course, you have to sign up for the site itself.

One thing that has become a little bit irksome for me is when I find a job I want to apply for on one of these sites, only to find that it's been posted by another, similar site, who is doing the hiring for said company.  In theory it's good to have profiles on 2 sites instead of one, but I've often found the second site to be a little more weakly structured, and honestly, it's just one more layer of 'security' I don't feel comfortable being compelled to deal with.

Beyond that, I recently discovered a new potential layer of password-guarded security.  While applying for jobs at Michael's (arts and crafts), I was required to create a profile with PeopleAnswers (the site that created the questionnaire I had to fill out for my Michael's).  Granted, this ultimately made it easier to apply for job openings, but it occurs to me that my information is getting spread around quite a bit in an age where information is a hot commodity.

So let's review:  There's the company itself one may have to sign up for, and the job search site that lead you to that company (and potentially the job search site that posted on that job search site on behalf of that company), and even, potentially, the company that created the questionnaire you must fill out in order to create a profile on the original company's site.  So far I haven't run across that many levels of passwords, but in theory, it could very easily happen.

On that note, it's easy to feel gypped when job searching.  I can't help thinking someone out there (probably a few someones) are making money on my efforts to find gainful employment.  I'd like to be making money too here.  Every site I have to sign up on starts looking like a password guarded information eater.  Maybe I should ditch the job hunt and start an internet job search engine.

So that's been my pet peeve of late.  Thanks for reading!  :)

'Till next time, blogger world!

Venturing into the Talent Industry

February 9th - Coin Belt,... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 8th - Rise Above by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 7th - Time for Questions by ~Eseopia on deviantART

The game of catch-up continues.  In fact, what follows is a draft entry from a few months ago :P.  Enjoy!

Good Day Blogger world!

In addition to a few more entries to my picture-within-picture daily journal, I bring you another scenario from my job-searching experience.

I am creating a profile on Hennessey Casting.  This is fairly new experience for me, despite the fact that I've accumulated more than a few years of dance training.  I've been training as though I will ultimately audition for something, though my forays into actual auditions have been few as yet.

Understandably, Hennessey wants to know more about me than the typical recruitment site.  My dress size is something I'm going to have to do a little research on (I suspect they don't mean department-store vanity sizing).  There is also "Leg size".  I can only assume they mean length, and I'm uncertain where to start from.  Maybe they mean inseam.

So far this is kind of fun.  I get to talk about the things I like to do, like singing and dancing :).  I consider myself a competent singer, and years of training have given me dance abilities.  I'll have to make up a resume specifically for this - a res-CV of sorts.  I'll also have to get together some good photos of myself.  They need at least 2, and I know I at least have that many.  Hopefully I can give them a good idea of what I look like and what I do.

I'm non-union and self-represented.  Not sure what that'll do for my chances.  Doesn't exactly scream 'experience', but it's the truth.  The final multiple-choice question is "Are you human".  In any other context I'd take this as a security question, though in this case I suspect they recruit performing animals as well.

The last section to fill out is "More Wonderful Details about ME".  It says, "So, what's your 'thang'?  Fire Breathing?  Figure Skating?  Stunts?  Thirty hot dogs in under a minute?  I want to know!".  This section seems to be open to interpretation.  I try to think of what, specifically, a caster would be looking for.  Here's what I came up with:

"I am a visual artist, singer, and dancer with better-than-average flexibility.  I can do full splits, left or right leg, with front leg on 2 yoga blocks (full middle splits are also possible for me, but only after considerable warm-up).  I can bend backwards into bridge from a standing position."

I really ought to have paid more attention to this category of employment.  This is the first site like this that I've come across.  So far it seems very user-friendly.  Time will tell if it turns up anything, but it's not like I've had significantly better luck with other recruitment sites.  I'll have to explore more of those with you in future blog posts.  For now, I think I'll wrap this one up, hoping for some opportunities to come from my favorite sector - the cultural one.

Later Blogger world :)!

PS:  Taken aback that the Hennessey Casting website gives a non-existent physical address.  Went to all the trouble of signing up, so I guess I'll stay there a little while at least.  The twitter feed seems to have legit casting ops.  The phoney address is the only thing that throws me off, really.

About Work From Home Ads And Affiliate Programs

Hello Blogger world!

Sorry for being in absentia :(.  I return with more of a a game of catch-up to play than ever, but play I shall!

February 6th, 2013

February 5th, 2013

February 4th, 2013

Fortunately I haven't been completely idle in my blog work.  I've been composing entries sporadically, one of which I finished today:

I've seen these ads, as you probably have, boasting $55/hour earnings working part time online.  I've checked this out a couple of times.  Never taken it so far that I can actually say how effective it is, but it appears to be some website that claims to make it easy to make money through the Amazon Affiliate program.  The sense seems to be that they take care of the technical stuff, so you don't have to be a web designer or some such.  This kind of thing seems to be cropping up everywhere, not just on facebook.  Sifting through local online classifieds, these ads are all I see in some categories.  They promise work-from-home opportunities with handsome part-time earnings.  With the Facebook ads, they even specify that they are looking to "fill positions" in my local area.  Maybe they are, but I'm finding myself doubtful that the Amazon Affiliate program needs people specifically working in certain areas for this kind of thing.

I've looked into the Amazon Affiliate program.  THAT seems legitimate.  That they had any part in those Facebook ads is something I doubt, but the program does exist.  It's something you can plug into a website or going online concern that you already have, not something you can start from scratch with and expect to have it work.  You need to have a "thing" already.  With the Amazon Affiliate program, you can run ads for products related to your content.  You can even have your own little "shop".  I've searched some videos on this.  Here are a couple of youtube videos to give you an idea of what the Amazon Affiliate program is like (They are both pretty realistic.  Despite the title pic of the first video, the narrator points out right off the bat that she doesn't make a lot of money with the Amazon Affiliate program, though it is enough to make it worth it for her.)





This is for avid bloggers and people who know how to get traffic to websites.  Having a pre-existing  following is what really makes this work.

What these ads seem to promise is to make this process easier for everyday people.  But can they really do that kind of work for you - generating a following and everything?  And even if they can, is it worth paying them, or putting your trust in them?

The Amazon program isn't the only affiliate program out there either.  There are more than a few big companies out there who are willing to pay ordinary people a little extra to advertise for them.  That's what this comes down to.  Businesses want advertising time.  It's what allows Youtube to remain a free service, and it's why events have sponsors.  We've had it for quite some time, but now people not necessarily in the biz can benefit in a small way.  Maybe that can even be a big way, if you've got the mind for it.

Where am I going with this?  Bottom line, I still don't trust these work-from-home ads, but I think they're cropping up everywhere because they're just inside the boundary of legal.  Kind of like pyramid schemes.  If I were interested in affiliate programs (and I'm not saying I'm not) and had a going online concern with a following, then I would go straight to one of the programs themselves.  I don't believe there needs to be a middle man if this is really going to work.

Catch Up and Job Hunt

Good Day, Blogger world!

(I started this entry a while ago, so bear with me.  Most of it was written earlier today, and only edited just now.)

I actually just got back from Cayo Coco, Cuba.  Hadn't counted on having zero internet access for most of the week, so I am REALLY playing catch up now.  At this particular moment in time, I have gotten caught up on another online job application process.  Wasn't the first thing on my to-do list, but I have to grab these things as they go by.

Job application in the digital age is always more time-consuming than you think - kind of a series of nesting-doll steps, where you don't know where or when the process will end.  Time was you just passed in a resume.  These days you have to create a site profile just to apply to work in a store.  That's how this all started.  I saw the ad on Facebook:  The Home Depot, looking for workers.  Sounds not bad.  I go to the site, from which I can apply to any Home Depot in the country. With some business you can apply to locations in other countries, but I guess The Home Depot is more of a down home type of outfit.

At first it looked pretty straight forward:  Create a profile, upload a resume, write a little cover letter...discover my references list is crooked because one 'tab' is off, even though I've corrected it repeatedly >_<.  Hit back, find that the information I entered just now has disappeared, (had intended to copy the fresh new cover letter I was typing, so of course that didn't happen), get frustrated, give up, go back to the resume screen, submit it as is and hope the original cover letter made it too....I'm currently at the part where the "machine" has tried (unsuccessfully), to fill in my work history from my resume.  This might take longer than I thought.

Now I've gotten to the "Education" section.  Better try on the part of the machine.  I must fill in the name of the institution, then the "Subject or Area of Study", "Qualification", and grad year.  The term "Qualification" threw me just a bit.  The machine had chosen the word "BACHELOR" for this slot.  Just "BACHELOR".  So I'm going to assume they mean the qualification I achieved (ie, what I earned).  Sometimes you have to interpret.  I think they'll understand, though sometimes I wonder if there's any "they" to "understand".  The way the machine has interpreted my resume, I must think (and hope) that there is.

There is the constant reminder that by pressing "next" I am submitting the Home Depot Privacy Policy.  That's another potential time sink - the Terms and Conditions, followed by the Privacy Policy.  I generally give these a look, but not much more.  It is ever so slightly infuriating when certain sites (so far not this one) feel the need to tell you that you "MUST" read these terms to know what you're agreeing to.  Terms that could easily take at least an hour to read.  Terms not designed for the human mind to take in and process in one, two or even three tries.  There must actually be that many people out there looking for a loop hole, or else we are all just hopelessly entangled in a web of fine print.  In the meantime, I have a job to apply for.

OK, on too...a questionaire.   What kind of employment am I seeking.  Full Time, Part Time, Temporary/Contract, or "Flexible".  Since I can only choose one, I'm taking a chance on "Flexible".  I'm hoping this is similar to "All of the above", because I'd like to keep my options open.  Now they want to know how effective their recruitment techniques are.  How did I hear about this job?  The list is lengthy - The Home Depot is not one to be left out of the loop.  They have a list of possibilities beginning with "Online".  "Online - JobBoom.com", "Online - Monster.ca", "Online - Workopolis",...I'll have to go with "Online - Other (banner, ad, adword)".  OK, almost done, I think.  Yes, I do, once again, consent to the Privacy Policy.

"Please Answer a few additional questions".

It's a survey, and it's optional.  *Procrastinates on Deviantart*

I'll bite.  It's an equal opportunity survey.  Questions pertaining to my gender, ethnic background, whether I am disabled or otherwise challenged... and that's it.  Short, which is nice.


Overall, the Home Depot application process was not bad.  They have me on file now, so hopefully that'll make other applications easier.

The new job market can be by turns amusing and infuriating.  It's convenient to be able to do some much online, but harder to know where one's information is going.  Some of the recruitment techniques out there seem a little extreme, like the veritable psych test that began the last Chapters/Indigo/Smithbooks application I filled out.  Then there are those ads that are big on pep talks but never quite get around to telling you things like the name of the company or what, specifically, the job is.  These are just some of the things I get to thinking about while on the hunt for additional income.

Well, this ended up being a long one.  Thanks for reading to the end, and for visiting my humble blog :).  Later Blogger world!

Space Jam

Just finished 2 more entries for my year of pictures and I'm abuzz with the exhiliration :)!  Well, exhiliration and stress - equal parts.  I also just discovered how stupid easy it is to move pictures around on this blog :P!  I learn something new every day.

I saw the performance of Chris Hadfield, Ed Robertson, and the Wexford Gleeks on video this morning.  Obviously it was cool, but I hadn't expected to like the song as much as I did.  I was into the inspiration and the wonder of it all to a degree that I hadn't expected. (Just heard they're just about to air it on CBC radio 2, which I'm listening to at this moment). Here's the link to that if you haven't seen it yet:

Premiere of ISS Is Somebody Singing

I liked the part of the song where they reference how outer space exploration had its roots in conflict, but now we're all in it together, with so many different nations represented at the Space Station.  Just started following Chris Hadfield on twitter, and it's fun to see what he tweets, as you may have heard.  Awful good of him to share this with us all ^_^.

I think I'll make this a short one today - or is it already long?  Either way, glad to have the last of the January pics posted - and only 8 days into February ^_^.  Hopefully I can pick up the pace a little more after this.  I'll have to get snowed in with my drawing implements.

Later blogger world!

Not finished yet....

Good evening/morning/day blogger world :)!

I had to put my picture-within-picture project on hold for longer than I would have liked, but I haven't given up yet!  Hence how this posting is a double feature - pictures for January 28th and 29th, which I actually feel pretty good about.   I used a sketch from the life drawing session I went to on the 28th as part of my design for the 28th, but the rest of that one and the next one were done this evening.  We'll see how fast I can get caught up :P.

I've been busy trying to attain employment such as will allow me to stop going broke, which is why I've gotten so behind.  Haven't given up on that either, but I had to do a little project in the process of chasing after this one job, which I actually feel somewhat optimistic about.  More optimistic than I've felt about a job opportunity in a while, at least.  In the meantime, residual income does find its way to me through Cafepress, and other sources occasionally.  I'm still going broke, but it's happening slowly.

In anticipation of Valentine's Day (depending on how you feel about this holiday, I suppose), I've made a new mug design.  I made the original heart design a while ago, a combination of pen work and Photoshop colouring, and I was thinking it would look so good on a black mug.  Then I realized I could put more than one on a mug, like this:


3 Beating Hearts Mug Design by ~Eseopia on deviantART

Or like this:


2 Beating Hearts Mug Design by ~Eseopia on deviantART

Both of these designs are now available on mugs through my Deviantart print shop (holy shameless self promotion, Batman! :D).   I should mention that the original singular version is available too, as mugs and other items :).


Inkblot Beating Heart by ~Eseopia on deviantART

So now that I've plugged this design to within an inch of its life, I think I should wrap this up.  I feel kind of proud of this one, in case you hadn't guessed ^_^.  Hopefully I'll bring you two more nested pictures next posting  Catching up slowly but surely.....

Later blogger world!