Artists. We're a funny bunch.

This is a listing that I noticed in Akimbo* today. I suppose it's best described as a joke on the Toronto art community, which has gone a little overboard in recent years with glitzy, self-congratulatory award ceremonies:

"The Anonymous Art Awards, 2005 presented by Miklos Legrady and OCAD Student 2225233, along with Those Who Remain Anonymous.

The Anonymous Art Awards 2005 will celebrate and honor those artists who have shown excellence this year but wish to remain anonymous. The art community, while an endearing crowd, like all groups will enforce their own sense of social conformity. Some artists on the other hand are shy, socially inept, or badly confused.**

Anonymous art could be more interesting than art history; it's a known fact.This is an opportunity to let your imagination soar to what those anonymous works could be, would be, if we knew about them. Awards will be given in all categories of work. Unfortunately, since the work could lead to indentifying the artists,no work may be entered in the competition or shown to the public.

Since the winners will wish to remain anonymous, there'll be no need for prizes, no walking up to the podium under the glare of spotlights. In fact, since the winners won't show up at all, there's no point in expensive award presentations,which have been very successfully cancelled.

Thank you all for participating."

Yeah, whatever. Those OCAD students must be sniffing solvents again. Jokes which are at the expense of the art community always amuse me, though admittedly it's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.

*Akimbo is a web site and e-mail list that informs an interested public about cultural events throughout Canada, most of which take place in Toronto.

**Oh, wow, no stereotype here. And for the record, I'm not badly confused. Only slightly dazed.

In other news, I have some of my artwork appearing in a radical feminist anthology called "Red Light: Superheroes, Saints and Sluts". The book launch in Toronto takes place next Wednesday, October 5th. Richard & I have arranged the babysitter and am looking forward for a (radical) night out. Hopefully, Richard won't feel too emasculated by the time the evening ends . There's more information on the book at the publisher's web site.

As of September 16, we have finished with the orthotic molding helmet. At least, we've decided not to continue with the 18-23 hours/day wearing of the helmet -- am still considering whether Ridley should wear it at night just to preserve the "new and improved" shape of his head. It's been 12 weeks since he first wore the Helm of Molding, and the change to his head is remarkable.

Just to backtrack for a moment: at about 4.5-5 months of age, Ridley exhibited a rather noticably flattened back of the skull, caused by a "condition" called Positional plagiocephaly. I placed parenthesis around the word condition, as the flattening of his skull was not caused by a disease or anything such as that, but rather as the result being placed on his back to sleep. The flattening that occurred did not impact his brain development, but it did produce an oddly shaped head that would not (entirely) correct itself over time. Hence, the use of the orthotic molding helmet to reshape the head.

I know, it seems rather medieval to strap a baby into a helmet for nearly 24 hours a day. Believe me, I wrestled with the decision to go ahead with this treatment. "Is there anything wrong with a differently shaped head?", I pondered. "Was this merely a tyranny of the majority, insisting that we all conform to the notion of a conventionally-round head?" And then I decided to leave off the philosophical arguments and just help my son's head look a little less misshapened. He may want to shave his head one day, after all.

Here's a photo of the plaster cast that the orthotist at Sick Kids created of Ridley's head. This cast was used to create the custom molding helmet:


And here's Ridley's head, taken after 12 weeks of wearing the helmet:

There more information on Positional plagiocephaly on the Hospital for Sick Children's web site.

Many thanks to Milena for posting this on her blog. I nearly peed myself laughing when I saw it: http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/

The one above was created by Milena. I simply couldn't think of a funnier one:

"If you want an autograph, speak to my publicist."

Richard & I took Ridley out for his inaugeral bike ride this past weekend. As evidenced in the photo above, it wasn't an overwhelming success, but neither was it a complete disaster. We think his harness may have been a little too tight -- which would make anyone cranky.

Barbara Walters deserves to be bitch-slapped.

Today, whilst waiting in a local coffee shop for my lb. of french roast to be ground, I flipped through a copy of Glamour magazine. (Feminists can still read Glamour magazine ... we just do it with irony). What do my eyes alight upon but an article addressing the hot debate taking place south of the border on the topic of public breastfeeding, sparked by a comment made by Ms. Walters. On her show "The View", Walters stated that while she and her hairdresser were on a flight, the woman seated next to them breastfed her baby on board. She then claimed that this made her and her hairdresser “uncomfortable”.

Oh dear, Ms. Walters. Fine, you have a right to voice your opinion. You even have a right to be uncomfortable. However, we nursing mothers are not about to skulk back into the smelly shadows of some public washroom as if we were performing some perverse act. My baby needs to eat. Breasts provide his nourishment. That's what they're for, incidentally, Ms. Walters. They're not merely ornamental.

By now, half of the population of The Beaches (where I live in Toronto) has caught glimpses of my breasts as I nurse my baby in public. So what? I'm discreet ... or, at least, I'm as discreet as I can be with my generous bosom.

Anyway, here's more on the debate:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32659.asp

Rescue me from the potent siren call of "ironic baby wear". What is it that compels new age parents to adorn their children with anarchy symbols and the like? Is it because it's so funny, or is there some Freudian projection going on here? Who knows. It's just plain cute.

http://www.babywit.com/

Pictured are two of my personal favs.

The other day I came across some good breastfeeding information on the web from good ol' Dr. Jack (Newman), the Canadian guru of lactation. Ridley's turning 9-months in less than two weeks, and we're still nursing. I recall, back when he was 4-months and still being exclusively breastfed, that I wanted nothing more than to stop nursing. Now, however, it's no big deal at all. Easy, in fact. I'm willing to take it to a year, and then reassess. If he wants to continue to nurse into his toddlerhood, I'm okay with that.

Of course, he hasn't cut any teeth yet...

http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/breastfeeding-myths-1-drnewman.htm.

Wednesday morning, and the entire Linton-Martin clan has been levelled by a late summer cold. The phlegm is running thick and fast. (Not exactly...I just wanted an excuse to type the word phlegm...twice!).

Ridley's napping away at the moment. A big holla out to the makers of infant Dimetapp. Poor little puppy.

I just updated the "Links" section of this blog (see right hand margin) with links to some other, really nifty blogs. Everyone and their grandmother has a blog these days, it seems. These ones stand out, however. They are all art-related as many of you know that this is my big passion. Kudos to Kevin E. who directed me to the Drawn blog of contemporary illustrators. I just love that stuff.

When Ridley naps, I've been thumbing through one of my latest acquisitions, an anthology called Modern Arf which looks at the "unholy marriage of art and comics".

Geez, those disposable cameras sure suck. Remind me to never bother with one again. These photos have more grain than my breakfast cereal.

Here's a nice photo of Cindy and Ridley, both demonstrating how well they can sit-up without support. Impressive.

I brought a bunch of Rid's toys with us but, of course, the thing that amused him the most was the plastic changing pad. That, and sticking his hand into a glass of water, as seen in the photo below. The hand-in-water thing had him laughing for quite a while. Babies...who can understand the subtle nuance of their humour?

Yesterday, I had Ridley weighed and measured at the doctor's office, more for my own curiosity than anything else. He's 23 lbs. and his height & weight are still off the top of the charts. No wonder my back hurts.