tag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:/blogs/music-tarot-and-even-stranger-occurrences?p=1Music, Tarot and Even Stranger Occurrences....2023-04-10T19:30:00-04:00Joy Thompsonfalsetag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/71871052023-04-10T19:30:00-04:002023-10-16T10:58:48-04:00The Hills Are Aliiiiiiive......<p>Well let's hope not because who on earth would want a sentient mountain? Anyway, we're putting on a show! This is the first (and last, surely) time I'll be putting on a habit. Come and see me in dedicated Catholicism and Latin in Hillcrest Village Community Players production of The <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.hillcrestvillageplayers.ca/products/the-sound-of-music" data-link-type="url">Sound of Music</a>. It's something to do that will be sonically and aesthetically pleasing and to be honest is a pretty good morality tale on doing what you know is right. The details are on my events page -insert witty My Favourite Things joke here-</p><p>Until Next Time,</p><p>The Person for Whom This Website is Named</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/71446062023-01-27T17:00:00-05:002023-01-27T17:00:02-05:00A lil' Radio, A lil' Gig, A lil New Year Jingle Jangle.....<p>Climbing (slowly) back into the saddle and you can bear witness to that (with your ears at least) tomorrow morning for <a contents="The When We Wake Show" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://covefm.com/show/cove-fm-saturday-morning/">The When We Wake Show</a> with <a contents="Andrew Shaver" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/whenwewakeradio/?hl=en">Andrew Shaver</a> in <a contents="Hubbards" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.familyfuncanada.com/halifax/17-things-to-do-in-hubbards-nova-scotia/">Hubbards</a>, Nova Scotia just outside Halifax at 8:30am Eastern Standard Time or 9:30am Atlantic Time if you have the fortitude to wake from your slumber... you can catch it on the dial (if it transmits to you) or <a contents="online" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://covefm.com/">online</a>. They'll be playing my tune <a contents="Doo-Wop Days" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6joWv4xpDLFrLPZZRROF2u">Doo-Wop Days</a> with a lil' intro from moi as I quickly recant my inspiration for the song.</p>
<p>In February (on the 19th specifically) I'll be playing a sort of Emo/Anti-Valentine's show with <a contents="Jorge Gavidia-Morales" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/jazzy.jorge.g/?hl=en">Jorge Gavidia-Morales</a> <a contents="Jesse Daly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.jesseeveryday.com/">Jesse Daly</a> and <a contents="Noemi" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/noemimusique/?hl=en">Noemi</a> at <a contents="Tranzac Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tranzac.org/">Tranzac Club</a>, more details in my Calendar. Let's hope the music continues to flow this year, God knows we need it (in Toronto and elsewhere) with the hell that Doug Ford and John Tory are <a contents="unleashing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thegrindmag.ca.idea.register.ca/letter-from-editors">unleashing</a>. Don't forget to send that hell right back to them by <a contents="writing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/office-of-the-mayor/">writing</a> <a contents="them" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/premier">them</a> both and sharing your <a contents="thoughts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTOfxWChcvI">thoughts</a> and check out Toronto's new <a contents="indie paper The Grind" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.blogto.com/city/2022/10/toronto-new-alt-weekly-print-magazine-available-ttc-subway/">indie paper The Grind</a> to keep up to date on what you can do to make Toronto a city for all of us. You can donate to The Grind's efforts <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-grind-torontos-new-free-alt-newspaper">here</a>. It's a Labour of love folks and in the end, isn't that what it's all about anyway?</p>
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<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/70937102022-11-02T19:30:00-04:002022-11-02T19:40:05-04:00What Do You Mean Hallowe'en is Over?<p> </p>
<p>Well shit!! I hate that for us and by us I mean the dark troubled souls trying to make this world a little brighter and a little better. We need the catharsis. I'll just keep pretending it's October, it looks as though the leaves and Climate Change are supporting me in this endeavour anyhow. Music is coming, by the by, however slowly (contigent on cash flow not ideas) hopefully there will be something to squawk about by years' end. FAIR WARNING: It will NOT be Christmas-y</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/d7354b14c15cacfbda1bb1b64741860319b509c5/original/20221031-212259-05.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/0c7bee158555b0208a7394969df08cd0f14d4735/original/20221031-212233-02.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_xl justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/70378592022-08-14T19:17:27-04:002022-08-14T19:18:06-04:00It's Soulful Sunday... (or at least Oprah said so)<p>Who am I to argue with her? So here's some positive resources if you're going through it and need some relief. Sending you some big love, live well and prosper energy! <3 </p>
<p><a contents="On Struggle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/PcE0rk5jfYI">On Struggle</a></p>
<p><a contents="On Motivation" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.oberlo.ca/blog/how-to-motivate-yourself">On Motivation</a></p>
<p><a contents="Motivation Books" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.elle.com/culture/books/g31667192/books-to-cheer-you-up/">Motivational Books</a></p>
<p><a contents="Watch This Movie" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/Aux_hRJYED8">Watch This Movie</a></p>
<p><a contents="Or Watch This Movie (sensing a trend?)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/35MvdHBWjwU">Or Watch This Movie</a></p>
<p><a contents="Laugh" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/Dpj_rIurYao">Laugh</a></p>
<p><a contents="Be Sweet to Yourself" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itslennnie/video/7121324656258288938?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7089474482197218822">Be Sweet to Yourself</a></p>
<p><a contents="Laugh More" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/mU7IUprPqag">Laugh More</a></p>
<p>Farewell and good luck!</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/70366632022-08-12T19:00:00-04:002022-08-12T19:00:02-04:00Full Moon in...HELLLLLLLLP!!!!!<p>Yeah, <a contents="Full Moons" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.allure.com/story/full-super-moon-august-2022-aquarius-astrology">Full Moons</a> don't go well for me. I'm usually either angry or exhausted, suffering from insomnia or feeling suffocated or <a contents="anxious" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.healthline.com/health/full-moon-effects#full-moon-and-mental-health">anxious</a>. The energy is more often than not, <a contents="too much" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bustle.com/life/6-weird-ways-the-moon-can-affect-your-mood-17020547">too much</a>. I should try to spend them by the water but that's not necessarily the safest thing to do living in a big city, cruising by the beach at midnight...maybe not. However, a walk in a wooded area or near the lake earlier in the day might have helped. I am flooded (pun intended) with Water Placements. </p>
<p>Anyways, all this to say I'm grateful to no longer be a raging bitch and I'm hoping once the moon transitions to Waning Pisces I can focus on more artistic endeavours. Hopefully heading back to the studio soon because if there's one thing I'm going to do it's leave my legacy on wax. Okay, maybe virtual wax but whatever....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/69963182022-06-18T19:00:00-04:002022-06-18T19:00:01-04:00The Muse Has Left Me....<p>..the blog <a contents="left me" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJWzXzDlHc">left me</a> too. I accidentally closed it and it doesn't save drafts so <a contents="#FML" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTOfxWChcvI">#FML</a> I suppose. Anyway blah blah blah, writer's block, blah blah blah, been going on for a while, blah blah blah, world is shit, blah blah blah <a contents="Summer Solstice" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q66FBSrue8">Summer Solstice</a> here come the #bestsummerever posts from people desperate to make you wish you were them because they themselves don't want to be them. (I said all this in a much more elaborate and crafty way but the internet ate it so you get the <a contents="Dollarama" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYIHrY8K8Wk">Dollarama</a> version.) </p>
<p>I hope my summer is <a contents="more than decent" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq09UkPRdFY">more than decent</a>, I hope I get a chance to be at least a little of the adventurous, curious person I was before the pandemic started and a wave of thoughtless people entered my life. If I have an affirmation it is this.... "May this summer be as good as a post-workout high." That's the ask, let's see if they answer. Oh, and I really would like my muse back too, it's hard enough out here (pimp or otherwise).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-The Same Person It Always Is</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/69954272022-06-16T19:00:00-04:002022-06-16T19:00:01-04:00By the time you read this....<p>...it will probably be August but, it's June now and still <a contents="Gemini Season" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTOfxWChcvI">Gemini Season</a>. I have a gig in July, <a contents="(Cancer Season)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvH9Ccqk5qc">(Cancer Season)</a> at a Farmer's Market, so if you want some fruit and music, check my <a contents="calendar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://joythompsonmusic.com/calendar">calendar</a>. Otherwise, I am still trying to avoid Covid <a contents="(and have so far)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKuJUxGntRI">(and have so far)</a>. I am gyming, I am reading, I am trying to become a well-rounded, fit individual that doesn't absolutely hate it here. It is very hard, but I am trying. To <a contents="anyone out " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLDehtTqyig">anyone out </a>there also trying, may fortune be ever in our favour and may the Gods finally smile down upon us.</p>
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<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/69495232022-04-15T20:59:11-04:002022-04-15T20:59:11-04:00Tiktok Shock, (well not shocking really)<p>Well, I'm back folks, wish it was under better circumstances....</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it's happening again, I'm being <a contents="shadowbanned" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banning">shadowbanned</a> on Tiktok. It's their absolute favourite thing to do to Black Creators, although they do extend the discourteousness to other POC, the LGBTQ and the Disabled. Tiktok is a MESS, and not one of those cute little messes you can clean up in 20minutes before the neighbours come over either. No, no, it's a grand Amelia Bedelia-sized, tornado ransacked your house type of mess.</p>
<p><a contents="Black Creators" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://bandzoogle.com/controlpanel/visual_editor#/pages/3070784/features/blog-feature-424976/controlpanel/blog_features/424976/posts/new">Black Creators</a> have been talking about the <a contents="indignity of being shadowbanned" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tiktok-algorithm-prevents-user-declaring-support-black-lives-matter-n1273413">indignity of being shadowbanned</a>, having our sounds taken, used and profited off by White Creators and being locked out of monetization and/or randomly banned or blocked from our accounts since 2020. At first tiktok claimed they didn't know what we were talking about and then I suppose, the Olivia Pope of the app said it was a <a contents="glitch in the system" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2020/04/14/does-tiktok-have-a-race-problem/?sh=1601bd443260">glitch in the system</a>. However, much like racism and institutions of White Supremacy themselves, it is not so much that the system has a glitch or does not work properly as it is that the system is working exactly how White Supremacists designed it to. </p>
<p>The Tiktok system alienates Black Creators and other BIPOC, LGBTQ, Disabled Folks and anyone who doesn't fit into their White, Capitalist narrative as directed. Tiktok is marketed as a happy, and engaging app (it's slogan is "Real people, Real videos" where anyone has a chance to shine or to make a name for themselves doing or talking about what they do or talk about best. Yet it at it's core it is a playground for White Supremacy, cruelty and bullying. Scores of Black Creators have reported being punished for responding to racist, hateful, incensing comments and videos calling them "monkeys" or the "n-word" or other degrading, disrespectful language, if you in any way doubt this look no further than any Black Cosplay Creator's account, for there are always plenty of faceless trolls waiting in the wings to attack, belittle and attempt to degrade them for participating in something that every other ethnicity is apparently welcome to join in on.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury Tiktok will take the sounds and dances made by Black Creators and make them viral with White Creators. Look no further than this <a contents="Jimmy Fallon incident" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.blackenterprise.com/jimmy-fallon-invites-black-tiktokers-to-dance-on-the-tonight-show/">Jimmy Fallon incident</a>. Over and over Tiktok has denied Black Creators the space to create what speaks to and sparks our own souls, whether it be singing, dancing, tarot reading, songwriting, writing books, talking about books, whatever the nerdy or benign case Tiktok has proudly stifled our journeys and when not stifling our journeys Tiktok and many of their White Creators are profiting off them.</p>
<p>The answer to this racist conundrum is simple enough, <strong>EVERYONE</strong> (barring racists and bigots) deserves a voice and everyone has an audience be it big or small, it is the moral and legal responsibility of Tiktok to honour this truth and to level the playing field to a place where Black Creators, Indigenous Creators, Queer Creators, Trans Creators, Disabled Creators and POC Creators are given the same opportunity to shine as Cisgender, Heterosexual, Abled-Bodied, White Men and Women. Period.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/68384952021-12-12T14:36:31-05:002021-12-12T14:36:31-05:00Among Other Things (Like The Earth Being Uninhabitable) Lacking Empathy is A Strong Indicator of Psychopathy....<p>A few quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. on White Liberalism to start us off....</p>
<p> "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."</p>
<p>"I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."</p>
<p>"I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality."</p>
<p>"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."</p>
<p> “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”</p>
<p>"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."</p>
<p>We are in a Climate Emergency. The Land Defenders and Water Defenders are doing what they've always done, they are trying to protect the Earth. <a contents="Wet'suwet'en" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/aljg-k4vLJo">Wet'suwet'en</a> is unceded territory. If you are visiting or living in <a contents="British Columbia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/FKhwJr7WUI0">British Columbia</a> and posting photos and videos of happy times of <a contents='"Beautiful British Columbia" ' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/C-DitozPh98">"Beautiful British Columbia" </a>enjoying the land, the water, the air and the climate, yet you remain quiet on the raid on Wet'suwet'en land and the attack on Wet'suwet'en People, and quiet on the fight to save <a contents="Old Growth Forests" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/9RfAWKrJ2xE">Old Growth Forests</a> you are a colonizer. If you enjoy the splendor of the province but remain quiet on the systems of oppression against the people of Turtle Island and the land itself, you are a colonizer and you are complicit in these systems of oppression. Do better. Be better.</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/68029022021-11-14T19:00:00-05:002021-11-14T19:00:01-05:00THE GYM!!<p>Go there. That's it, that's the post. For mental and physical health it's the only sustainable thing at this time. Lord do I miss the days of Open Mics (ugly cries) Fringe Festival, Novel Writing Classes and Salsa Lessons but everything is closed almost two years later because some idiots refuse to get vaxxed so we can nip this stupid virus and its horrid mutations in the bud. I despise those people and I gym. That's the plan and the post.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67949372021-11-02T19:00:00-04:002021-11-02T19:00:02-04:00Surprise! We're In November....<p>The month I hate most of all (second to February). It's post Summer, post Fall, post Halloween. The sn*w whispers begin, it's Sc*rpio Season, it's a bunch of people who you never liked anyways trying to convince you that everything is fun and happy while you wait with baited breath for a White Christmas that never comes. I hate November. I really didn't have much to add beyond that, just to re-commit to my Halloween extension promise and to remind you that Doug Ford still sucks (don't fall for his crap) and that I'm really going to put my nose to the grindstone this month to try to get the things I want out of life. It's been a crappy, hurtful hand of late and I'm long since ready to win. "Success is mine!" quoth she "Even if I have to drag in its unwilling, evasive carcass with my cold, dead hands," or I'm going to sit blank-faced, blinking at the wall all month, either way Happy November(?)</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67939202021-11-01T19:00:00-04:002021-11-01T19:00:01-04:00So Sad To Bid Adieu to Halloween Season....<p>I had never experienced Halloween as a season before, this was my first time. My whole life I looked at Halloween as one particular day that was incredibly disappointing because I was always the only one in my vicinity to dress up. So I would put on my costume and head to school or work feeling like a complete fool being the only one on the subway or bus in costume. Sometimes when I would look around the subway car and see no one wearing a costume I would psyche myself out and have to double-triple check my phone to make sure it was indeed Halloween weekend.</p>
<p>Halloween has often been a source of embarrassment, misfortune and honestly a major bummer for me, trying to find the right costume only to go to a club or event and have a lousy time surrounded by either people who couldn't be bother to dress up or people who couldn't be bothered to hold their liquor (DISCLAIMER: you will NEVER catch this belligerent byotch in a club again as long as I shall live). But this year, for some reason, (I'm pointing the finger at the pandemic) it seemed like people were really embracing it. I saw way more people in costume this Halloween than I have in years. People were cosplaying on tiktok, instagram and twitter and everyone seemed to be having a genuinely good time embracing the dark, goth, miserable side of life (which shockingly I am very well aligned with). It has been a very freeing time, reading tarot for myself and other folks, unapologetically stocking up on crows and moody lighting and candles and Dollarama and just generally watching dark, spooky weird shit unabashedly. I feel like this Halloween Season I was finally able to embrace how miserable this pandemic has truly made me feel and really lean into that and that's been incredibly healthy. </p>
<p>I'll be honest as a (former) I-love-Christmas-girl I am absolutely not ready for the fake, saccharine energy that Christmas has to offer this year. I'm not inclined to put on my reds and greens, blast the Christmas music I ordinarily adore and act like life is some big, sparkly party when I have grown incredibly disenchanted with the people and the systems that make up our big flying rock. So I think I will linger in Halloween Season a little bit longer. If anyone needs me I'll be holed up at home with my candles, tarot and introduction to the classics. I figure I'll rewatch The Dead Don't Die or start with Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Thing, I've never seen the last two and I think they are just nihilistic enough to bring a certain sense of calm to this impending Christmas season that we will all have to face sooner or later, ready or not.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67630882021-10-01T18:30:00-04:002021-10-01T18:40:03-04:00IT IS TIME FOR A NEW SONG.....THANK GOD MY NEW SINGLE IS OUT!!! <p>And it's a country song y'all! Well don't get mad about it, check it out. I poured my whole heart (bottle of wine) into this sitting with the gals (and years later in my classroom in Music School). Ain't nothing like a <a contents="Cheap Bottle of Wine" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cheapbottleofwine.hearnow.com/">Cheap Bottle of Wine</a> and some laffs with friends amirite? Go on, indulge me......</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy</p>
<p>xo (socially distanced)</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67292342021-08-27T19:00:00-04:002021-10-27T15:16:50-04:00Back in the Saddle....<p>************I'M SO SAD THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO PERMIT ISSUES. HOPEFULLY I'LL BE ABLE TO PLAY LIVE AGAIN SOON I REALLY MISS IT. PLEASE GET VAXXED SO WE CAN STOP THESE MUTATIONS AND GET BACK TO SOME SEMBLANCE OF NORMAL LIFE.************</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goin' back to the stage where I belong. A couple gigs coming up, the first I can confirm (check my <a contents="Calendar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://joythompsonmusic.com/calendar">Calendar</a> for details and directions) is located at Tranzac Club and will take place on September 26th. I've been invited to play their 50th Anniversary Celebration Weekend and as it's my favourite music venue (Drom Taberna being a close second) I jumped at the chance. I'll also be releasing another song (hopefully it will be out on streaming platforms by gig time) Glad to finally be knee-deep (or ankle deep) in the music again. Save the date and swing by if you can, Toronto hosts a very long winter and the music always helps us muddle through.</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67196482021-08-17T19:00:00-04:002021-08-17T19:00:11-04:00Back In The Studio!!<p>Now, that may seem small but I oughta tell you that the words "I'm going to the studio" and "I'm going to the gym" have been a dream of mine to say for over a year and I have been so thrilled to be able to utter both those phrases again. I'll be headed back to the studio this weekend for the second time since the pandemic hit and I can't wait to work on some new material. I reckon I'll lay down some guitar as a guide track for at least one additional song so I can wrap up at least the first half of my new album as soon as humanely possible. No point leaving anything to chance as Covid combined with Climate Change doesn't leave me much time at all. </p>
<p>Thus far the album has 6 tracks ongoing. (I've listed them below) One is very done, one is pretty much done, two are just starting and two need a serious gutting. I'll have to try to get a copy of them all to see where I can tweak and improve. It's also important to hear how they flow together and if they're cohesive. These are all parts of the process that I truly enjoy and what better time than now to get some guitar practice in since I'm not entirely comfortable in big groups just yet (read not at all).</p>
<p>I've handily recorded samples of my newer tunes on<a contents=" tiktok" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@joythompsonmusic/video/6979072240109276422?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1"> tiktok</a> and can review them to help me decide on what to record. Honestly if I had the money and the means I would record them all. There's very little I love more than performing, (whether it be singing or acting) and writing songs. Truly the world is absolutely horrific right now and seems, quite frankly, hopeless. With that in mind I intend to pump in as much creative energy and beauty as I possibly can, for as long as I possibly can for however little or lot it matters. Beauty and creativity always inspires more beauty and creativity and even with the worst of things going on, <strong>especially</strong> with the worst of things going on we could always use more of both.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Current Songs on the Docket:</p>
<p>Cheap Bottle of Wine</p>
<p>A Letter</p>
<p>Memories</p>
<p>Mistake</p>
<p>IDEC</p>
<p>Open Up</p>
<p>P.S My friends (who you heard on<a contents=" A Letter" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/14SWZprXseDDxc88vPPQHK"> A Letter</a>) have started a Cumbia band and had their first show (safely) on the weekend. They're called <a contents="Cachada" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/cachadaband/">Cachada</a> and they're a lot of fun, check 'em out if you're interested!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/67048452021-08-02T19:00:00-04:002021-08-02T19:00:04-04:00This.Is.Tough<p>I'm having a challenging time and I feel like if I read more and exercise that will really help, of course first I need the motivation to read more and exercise, it's kind of tricky staying focused (on books particularly) when there's so many options out there. The internet definitely didn't help my ADD at all, I'm going to have a figure out a way around all that. Wish me luck and let me know if you have any tips.</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66876702021-07-14T19:00:00-04:002021-07-14T19:00:11-04:00FEAAAAAAR THE WALKING DEAD.......<p>Yeah, by the walking dead I mean the anti-vaxxers. They're terrifying! I'm double-vaxxed now and I am freaking loving it. You should go get vaxxed yourself, I could post a bunch of data here and videos to support my suggestion but I'm tired of doing leg work for other people, so google it.</p>
<p>After you get vaxxed you should treat yourself to these Fear Street movies on Netflix, if you're a fan of the old school horror genre (and I am, not the torture porn of nowadays). Very entertaining stuff, well the first one was at least, I've not yet seen the second but I'm excited for this resurgence as I read a lot of Christopher Pike as a teenager, no R.L Stine unfortunately but they're part and parcel and I might be inclined to check out some of the Stine now, given the Netflix factor. Well that's it for me. Have a good season, or month or week or whatnot.</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66749382021-06-30T19:00:00-04:002021-06-30T19:00:01-04:00Yeah, Nope....<p>I'm getting mighty tired of all this bullshit. The genocides on Turtle Island and Palestinian soil. The cruelty to houseless people in Toronto, the attacks on Muslim communities for daring to enjoy their daily lives. Having to fight and trick Tiktok as a Black Content Creator to get them to share even 1/16th of my videos like they share White Content Creators. They other day Tiktok literally used a video of a Black Educator that they banned to talk about racism, it's all so sickening.</p>
<p>Being anything other than Straight and White on this continent (that was stolen by the way) is fucking exhausting, exhausting on a daily basis, from macro to micro aggressions it never ends and I am so damn tired. All I want to do is make music and talk about comic books and action movies and my obsession with Nightmare on Elm Street. I want to be able to do what White girls can do, posting selfies about vacations and new handbags and hair colours. But instead everything is a constant fucking battle because colonizers don't like the fact that I have dark skin and dare to live in the world.</p>
<p>Everything is a fucking battle because colonizers couldn't stand that Indigenous Folx were minding their business being caretakers of their land. Everything is a fucking battle because I've been told so many times to "Go back to your country" and because of colonizers I have no idea where the fuck that even is. I just want to make music and enjoy my damn life but here we fucking are.</p>
<p>I truly wish those cryogenic chambers in Demolition Man were real because I would absolutely take a 40-60 year nap from all this cruel, capitalist garbage. I've grown tired of trying to incite people to care about other people, I've grown particularly tired of trying to incite non-marginalized people to give a rat's ass about what marginalized people go through every single day and the myriad of ways we are casually suppressed, erased, depleted and used so I've released myself of that burden.</p>
<p>For the rest of the year I'm focusing on me and what I need to survive and thrive, I deserve to be happy simply because I am here not to mention the unrelenting garbage hurled at me simply because of the colour of my skin. Black Women spend so much of our lives sacrificing ourselves for others and honestly it needs to stop. It is not our job to save the world, and it's time for others to step up to the plate, particularly those whose ancestors colonized us and Indigenous people and decimated this side of the planet in doing so. As a wise woman once said, "I'm doing me" y'all can sort yourselves out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deuces</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66554242021-06-10T19:00:00-04:002021-06-10T19:00:03-04:00I Just Want A Patio, Some Ribs and My Constitutional Rights ...<p>That's it, that's the post. It's been a long, dark tea time of the soul and I am very much looking forward to seeing friends without having to go on elongated walks in the freezing cold or whatnot. This lockdown has been incessant (it's been ongoing in Toronto/Ontario in some form since December) all because Doug Ford is an absolute fucking moron.</p>
<p>Mental health is on the decline and businesses have been shuttering like crazy all because Doug is an absolute idiot who won't listen to experts. There's no reason small businesses should ever have been closed, at 25% capacity, yes but closed, no. Now big businesses like Walmart and Canadian Tire? Absolutely they should have been curbside pick-up only (Canadian Tire to their credit has been). It is infinitely easier to control the volume in a small business than to try to regulate the virtual dance parties that seem to be going on in a damn Walmart.</p>
<p>Here's the bottom line, Doug Ford is a Rich, White Cis-Het Man who only cares about other Rich, White Cis-Het Men, "these are the facts." If you voted for him, I'm sorry to say but you may be an idiot, because you really screwed the pooch and hurt a lot of people in the process. Do better next time, truly. It's time for people to realize and understand that voting with only your interests in mind damns the whole world as well as yourself. </p>
<p>Real Talk: You are not an island and you wouldn't have the wine to drink with the dinner you are eating had the vineyard and/or farmer not made or prepared it nor the truck driver not delivered it to the Grocery Store or Wine Rack where the store clerk then sold it to you, all those people should be kept in mind when you are voting, not just yourself.</p>
<p>We are in this toxic, abhorrent situation because of solipsism and individualism and we will not get out of it without abandoning those same notions. For the love of God can we please just do better? Feeding everyone, clothing everyone and giving everyone a place to live should be the bare minimum, people. The bare minimum.</p>
<p>Just as an aside it behooves you to know that Doug Ford's latest dictatorial act (and I truly mean that) involves smothering your constitutional rights in the form of blocking advocacy groups that purchase political advertising, say for example Teachers or Nurses, who he has unequivocally dumped on and endangered via, <a contents="well everything" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pressprogress.ca/doug-fords-2021-budget-confirms-over-1-billion-in-cuts-to-education-ontario-school-boards-say/">well everything</a>, <a contents="I mean, everything." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-ontario-health-care-bill-74-public-hearing-1.5076811">I mean, everything.</a> </p>
<p>Now if you haven't been living under a rock in Ontario then surely you know how hard Frontline Workers have been fighting for Paid Sick Days, Vaccinating Hot Spots in conjunction with the Teachers fighting for proper safety measures including diminished class sizes in schools.</p>
<p>You would also be aware of just how acutely Doug Ford ignored every single one of those logical pleas and continued to do whatever he could to help his rich friends, (including giving the Westons COVID testing kits to sell in Shoppers Drug Mart when they were donated to the province) and as the horror show spins on, Doug Ford went to court to try to stop the unions like Teachers and Nurses from running any ads against him (ostensibly detailing his litany of sins to those who were unaware) during Election season. He lost.</p>
<p>Judge Ed Morgan (quite appropriately) ruled Doug Ford's dictatorial efforts unconstitutional, however almost immediately Doug Ford and his cabinet of clowns decided to overturn that rule using the "notwithstanding" clause in the Charter. The "notwithstanding clause" is a clause which a government can use to override personal rights including rights involving free expression (such as this).</p>
<p>This notwithstanding clause is a clause that has never been used as all previous governments (presumably) had some modicum of common sense and decency and perhaps assumed that the Judge presiding had an inkling of an idea what they were doing. Not Doug Ford however. <a contents="Never Doug Ford" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@marcuscolby/video/6972284227001928966?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">Never Doug Ford</a>.</p>
<p>Prithee hear me as I say this with my chest, if you voted for this (and I hesitate to call him this after all the suffering he has caused) <strong>man</strong> it is time for your Mea Culpa, it is time to do right by all those around you, all the future those around you and do right by yourself. <strong>Vote NDP,</strong> tell your friends, tell your family, tell the dog next door. It's time to live in an Ontario that values <strong>everyone</strong> not just people who conform to the creed, skin colour, ability or sexuality of your choice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>J</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66441832021-05-30T12:35:49-04:002021-05-30T12:37:51-04:00215.<p>If you've heard the news regarding the mass grave of CHILDREN found buried near a Residential School and you're mad (and sad) as hell I have a course od action for you....</p>
<p>1. Write to Justin Trudeau, Your MP and Jagmeet Singh</p>
<p>Justin is our Prime Minister (obviously) your MP is your representative in Parliament charged with bringing your issues forth and Jagmeet Singh is the Leader of The Opposition, charged with holding Trudeau and his government accountable. </p>
<p>2. You can find out who your MP (Member of Parliament) is by going to <a contents="ourcommons" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.ourcommons.ca">ourcommons</a>.ca and plugging in your postal code.</p>
<p>3. If you are unclear what to write or how to proceed I've included my letter below</p>
<p>4. We can hold our leaders accountable in fact it is our duty as citizens of this country. Let's try to make this country better for everyone however we can and remember, no act of kindness is too small, ever.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good Afternoon, </p>
<p>I am writing with absolute horror and disgust regarding the grave of 215 children recently found. I am very disturbed that this has only merited a tweet or two from the Prime Minister of this country, Justin Trudeau. </p>
<p>The Canadian flag should he flying at half mast, the country should be in mourning but this simply highlights the way your government (Liberals) views Indigenous lives. The lack of humanity in your response is part of the reason why the crime of MMIW rages on. I am writing to demand that you do something concrete to protect Indigenous Women's rights and the rights of Indigenous children. This is not the "distant past" as Prime Minister Trudeau has erroneously eluded to, this is an ongoing struggle against genocide. </p>
<p>I am writing to demand reparations for survivors and victims (and their families) of Residential Schools. </p>
<p>I am writing to demand you stop fighting the survivors of St. Anne's residential school in court with OUR tax dollars and that you give the people and their families their due. </p>
<p>I am writing to demand clean Drinking Water for ALL First Nations Communities in Canada. </p>
<p>Mr. Trudeau you have been virtue signaling regarding BIPOC issues and Reconciliation for over four years and have done absolutely nothing beyond that. </p>
<p>You are certainly making it clear that those blackface incidents were a lot more than some "dumb choices" you claim to regret. </p>
<p>It is time you do right by the Indigenous People of this country and I will not be voting for any party that doesn't. I'll be sharing my views with as many people as I can until something concrete is done in the way of providing reparations to Residential School Survivors, in the way of making concrete, effective legislation to prevent the Murder and Abuse of Indigenous Women, I will be naming and shaming you and your party until First Nations Communities receive Clean Drinking Water. </p>
<p>This is a national tragedy. It is a week that should be filled with acknowledgement, amplification of Indigenous voices and true acts of reconciliation. I will say that the fact that our Prime Minister sent a few mindless tweets instead of addressing the nation when the bodies of 215 innocent children were found tells us everything we need to know about how Prime Minister Trudeau views Indigenous Communities Communities BIPOC. Shame on you!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66354112021-05-20T19:00:00-04:002021-05-20T19:00:16-04:00"Taking A Break, She Needs a Break...."<p>You and me both, Penny, <a contents="you and me both" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1cwaUesOWwQQJId1WGifcN?si=98fa429f10604296">you and me both</a>. Trying to take a breather from Instagram and twitter for a minute so I don't lose absolutely all my hope in humanity. This situation in Palestine and the genocide of Palestinian people under US funding and world complicity is really kind of destroying my mental health. Black People like myself know what it feels like to be dehumanized and devalued and to have the world co-sign on their belief of your lack of humanity. This hurts. This really really hurts. I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Meanwhile on Canadian soil (Turtle Island) there are so many atrocities being committed against Ontarians with regard to covid19 whether it's the indignities unhoused people are suffering through in Toronto (co-signed by John Tory and Joe Cressy) or the inequities non-White, poor folks have experienced from Doug Ford while he prioritizes the vaccinations of the rich class and his millionaire friends like the Westons (owners of Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws) Jeff Bezos, whom has an Amazon factory in Peel region that has infected over 900 employees and still refuses to give paid sick leave even though he makes more in an hour than most of us will see our entire lives, and the police state and privatized health care he is trying desperately to institute (charging for Rapid Covid Testing anyone?). First of all if you're still buying from Amazon you are complicit in the dehumanization and degradation of so many people that it's (in my mind) a literal crime, secondly Doug Ford belongs in <a contents="prison." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.flare.com/news/doug-ford-changes-for-ontario/">prison.</a></p>
<p>So here I am curving insta and twitter in a desperate attempt to regain my sanity and some sense of hope so I can keep fighting the good fight. I just wish more people cared, that's what hurts me the most. The amount of misery and degradation heaped upon those who are deemed lesser than because of our skin colour, financial situation, religious beliefs, gender, sexuality, birthplace but most upsettingly those that stand by and do nothing, say nothing, move through their lives as though nothing at all is happening. That hurts, that truly hurts me most of all.</p>
<p>Anyway so I'm gonna step back from the 'gram and twitter for a few days and hope to gain some clarity or at the very least to be less despondent. Wish me luck and please <a contents="I beg you" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://linktr.ee/letstalkpalestine">I beg you</a>, <a contents="support" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://linktr.ee/FREEPALESTINE">support</a> the people of Palestine anyway you can, they need you right now and they deserve our <a contents="help" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/medicalaidpal/?utm_medium=copy_link">help</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Free Palestine,</strong></p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66221282021-05-07T19:00:00-04:002021-05-07T19:00:08-04:00Oh, I Had a Birthday<p>Yeah it was on May 2cd, that was like, a superhero ago (I'm now measuring time by Marvel Cinematic Universe episodes). Anyway, it was fine enough, the fact that I am stuck inside kind of got me down but I tried to make the best of it. Lately I've been playing a lot more music so that helps, and recording a lot of cute lil' tiktok vids (despite their obviously, racist, sexist, misogynist, transphobic, fatphobic algorithm and enforcement policies). I doubt I've mentioned this before but I really love editing, I could happily spend all day editing videos, I just love looking at the finished product. I guess I'm a storyteller and there's so many ways to weave a tale, through music, songwriting, poetry, drawing, painting and video and I enjoy each medium immensely. So <a contents="tiktok-ing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thelilredsquirrel/video/6958572541585722629?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">tiktok-ing</a> is saving me (and many others) from a hopeless drop into entropic ennui and misery. In the immortal words of Buzz Gunderson "<a contents="You gotta do something" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thelilredsquirrel/video/6958495840675613957?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">You gotta do something</a>" right?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-J</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66221122021-05-05T19:00:00-04:002021-05-05T19:00:05-04:00Shall We Dance?<p>That's a rhetorical question because we're still in lockdown over here (FOREVERRRRRR) but I really wish we could because I miss salsa something fierce these days. There's no cool way to explain how it feels to step into a class and start warming up with other people also there to learn something new and exciting just based on their sheer desire to enjoy life a little more. I really really miss it. I'm holding tight but it's <a contents="tough in here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thelilredsquirrel/video/6957145793383927045?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">tough in here</a>, man. After another <a contents="birthday in lockdown" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thelilredsquirrel/video/6957773564913192197?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">birthday in lockdown</a> the realization of losing a year to this pandemic has really settled. I'm doing my best to keep learning and <a contents="enjoying things" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thelilredsquirrel/video/6958599830323186950?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1">enjoying things</a> on my own through reading, painting, dancing and of course singing and performing but I really and truly long for the days where I can walk into a classroom and dance with a partner again, or step onto a stage and play with other musicians. Times are tough, real tough and I guess that's all there is to it. If y'all have any movie recommendations now is the time to drop 'em baby, preferably anything with dancing, music or some sort of passion for life. Hook a sista up, friend and stay safe and sane out (in) there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-J</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66040342021-04-23T19:00:00-04:002021-04-23T19:00:02-04:00A Love Letter.....<p>Dear Little Black Girl,</p>
<p>You are something special. Your dark skin, your shining eyes, your hopeful gaze as you run excitedly towards everything you see. You are someone beautiful, you have promise, potential and magic within you. You are someone joyful, they will try to break you, try to erase you, invalidate you and your existence but they are wrong. You come from the continent of creation, you are from the nation which birthed this earth, you are the blueprint and you are the map. You, little Black Girl are the way home. Cherish yourself for you deserve all the flowers. Guard your heart, but not too much that you don't let in the beautiful things that you so richly deserve, the wonderful experiences, the joyful moments that will keep your heart beating strong. You, little Black Girl, you are magic and you are irreplaceable, never ever forget it.</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66101332021-04-22T19:00:00-04:002021-04-22T19:00:07-04:00I Mean, It's Something....<p>George Floyd liked to call himself Big Floyd, I know this because I watched one of his videos where he talked about himself that way. He said that Big Floyd loves everyone, he talked about putting good into the world. George was a multi-faceted person, that's something that Black People haven't been given the opportunity to be in North America and most of the world. To be people, varied and interesting and difficult and loving and vulnerable and tough and strange and multi-faceted, with layers upon layers upon layers.</p>
<p>I'd like to write blogs primarily on music how I write, how I create, how I produce, making lip balms and skin care, about learning salsa and silks. I'd like to do blogs about my search for a kitten, the adorable birds that show up on my balcony, my obsession with the MCU and Fast and Furious Franchise or my new appreciation of painting but instead myself (like so many other Black and Indigenous people) are hurled into this constant conversation of racism by people who choose to see us as less than human because of their own (very obvious) shortcomings. Right now the Premier of my province has decided that "Carding" is a good way to combat COVID19. So with the already stressful COVID situation I (and other Black and Brown folks) now have to worry about being harassed or murdered by police as we step out to get fresh air and try to find some semblance of mental health in this godforsaken (Ford orchestrated) nightmare. We would just like to have a normal fucking day where we get to be people but alas we do not have that privilege.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Big Floyd should be here today, he deserved to be alive by virtue of the fact that he was a human being and every one of us has inalienable rights whether racist, bigoted people believe it or not. So many White Folks do their best to criminalize Black People, anytime something happens to us according to certain White Folks it's always our fault, we "shouldn't have resisted" we "shouldn't have talked back" "shouldn't have been walking down that street" shouldn't have been bird-watching" "shouldn't have been sleeping in our cars" "shouldn't have been driving around without a license plate or with a broken tail light" "shouldn't have been driving at night" "shouldn't have been carrying a gun in an open carry state" "shouldn't have been sleeping in our beds at night" according to some of you it's all our fault all the time. That's because you don't see us as people, that's a <strong>you</strong> problem that you are making an <strong>us</strong> problem. That's a <strong>YOU</strong> problem that you are making an <strong>US</strong> problem.</p>
<p>Well I don't have any patience left for racist, bigoted nonsense. I will not turn the other cheek, I will not wish you the best. It's defund and abolish the fucking police, end systemic racism, house the unhoused, period. I am grateful to see Derek Chauvin held accountable for his reprehensible actions but I am horrified that it took the ENTIRE WORLD to get us to this point and that so many of us held our collective breath to see if a man who plainly committed murder on camera would be charged with it. Black People deserve better. I said Black People deserve better and we will never stop fighting for what we deserve, it's high time the world joins us. It's not enough to say you are not racist, it's time for you to be actively anti-racist, it's time to do the work required. Black People did not create racism, it is not our job nor the job of BIPOC to fix it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66040262021-04-21T19:00:00-04:002021-04-21T19:00:02-04:00This Post is For Black Women...<p>Hi Friend,</p>
<p>I know you are doing your goddamn best to put your best foot forward every day. I know you try to bring light, levity, talent, innovation and creativity into yours and others' lives. I know that the majority of the time no one notices and even moreso it seems like not one damn person cares what you contribute, I know, I feel that too. I want you to know that I see you when you aren't seen, I hear you when you aren't heard and I value you when you aren't valued. You are worthy of love, care and happiness and thank you for everything you do. You make this terrible world a bit better and that is NOT an easy thing to do.</p>
<p>-Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p>P.S Please know it's okay to want to give up and just sit in your misery. It's okay to cry until your chest shakes, it's okay to be soft and vulnerable. You are okay just as you are. You are a full multi-faceted person who exists in multitudes whether their shady asses see it or not. Keep being you, there is soooo much value in that for yourself and for all of your Black sisters who need and want you here too.</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65913632021-04-19T19:00:00-04:002021-04-19T19:00:06-04:00"No One Hath Asked Me But I Did Want Everyone To Know..."<p>(The great <a contents="Stanzi Potenza" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/stanzipotenza/">Stanzi Potenza</a> by the way, I did not craft that opener) Anyways this one's a quickie, here's a few playlists to boost your mood. If you need a <a contents="hype man" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nZibGBBYvSdqJzgWTQ9K4?si=97a3af576d214bab">hype man</a> if you need to <a contents="old school vibe a little..." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/31wO0KCo1HOjBBlGPlsQNz?si=f493aa6801f1476d">old school vibe a little...</a> if you need to <a contents="rage against the dying of the light" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6a0npPII6RrY1txxH8lsVM?si=f6dea770c2ea48d0">rage against the dying of the light</a> or if <a contents="a little nostalgia would set you right" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KvjVRxEFfEh1nOCHrs89A?si=35df6978abe94573">a little nostalgia would set you right</a>.(that rhymed, thank you very much) Finally we have the archetypal <a contents="crying in the rain, or around the rain or near the rain or crying while staring out at the rain playlist" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jek0XM2eEXWk9BLOMU4zn?si=71755e35fcca4784">crying in the rain, or around the rain or near the rain or crying while staring out at the rain playlist</a>. We all need one of those but please, use these playlists responsibly, we're in a fucking pandemic after all, emotions may vary.</p>
<p>Your Comrade in Arms,</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65934812021-04-16T19:00:00-04:002021-04-16T19:00:09-04:00BUT WHAT DO I DOOOOOOOO........ (AKA Live Through This)<p>Okay,so part of that title was just a smoke screen to reference Hole's 1994 album which really does cover a lot of ground on how shitty it is to be a woman in this world. But that's not what this post is about, this post is about <a contents="REJECTION!!!!!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/8yBfAeadqjI"><strong>REJECTION!!!!!</strong></a></p>
<p>Yep that's right, <a contents="REJECTION" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/v37KOsj6SG4"><strong>REJECTION</strong></a> ( I know right?, why do I keep yelling it? because this is how you hear it in your head, that's why) this post is about choosing someone that doesn't choose you, wanting someone that doesn't want you, caring about someone that doesn't care about you. Some people find out about this in a marriage, some people find out in a romantic relationship, some people find out in an alleged friendship or from a family member and some in an unrequited love situation, whatever the deal the hand sucks.</p>
<p>It's hurtful knowing that you care about someone who either doesn't care much or cares very little for you. It's heart-wrenching knowing that you'd like someone in your life in whatever context when that person doesn't want to be there. Well there's no solution. I'm sorry but there isn't. It hurts, it sucks but it heals with time much like all things, it may always sting a little but it will never feel as fresh as the moments when you experienced it and it won't spend forever immobilizing you and locking you in a prison of self-doubt. It's not the end of the world unless you want it to be.</p>
<p>It's hard to come back swinging from something like this, so often it's best not to swing, try slowly crawling out when you're ready a little bit at a time. The most important thing is giving ourselves space to heal when we need it, jumping back into life again is just a band-aid reaction that will eventually cause an infection. The trick is to feel it, suffer it and know that eventually it won't feel that way. This is the hardest part to it (trust me, I know) but human <a contents="resiliency" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/dgk7nmI_nXI">resiliency</a> goes with the territory, we can and will be okay, it's possible. I know it sucks, I feel it, let it suck, until it doesn't.</p>
<p>-Joy (here and there)</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/66040232021-04-14T19:00:00-04:002021-04-14T19:00:06-04:00I Am Buggin'<p>That's it, that's the post. I'm a Woman and I'm Black, that makes me a Black Woman and sometimes every single fucking aspect of being both in North America sucks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Person</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65913372021-04-12T19:00:00-04:002021-04-12T19:00:02-04:00HOW TO DEAL.....<p>Oh this isn't an instructional post, I genuinely thought you'd help a sista out here. You see my usual coping mechanisms revolve around going to the gym, taking a writing class, taking a salsa class, taking a silks class, learning something new, going to the studio, blah blah beefcakes...</p>
<p>As you can very well see, none of these options are available to me now and I'm quite put out about it. Oh how I long for the days of haphazardly watching Netflix on my phone as I suffer away on the elliptical, it was hardly suffering to be honest, I quite enjoyed it frankly (except those first few years after the accident) but I thought it best to be dramatic. Yes I yearn for the days awaiting the start of a new salsa class (actually I rather hate the waiting beforehand, it gives me slight anxiety) but whatever and whatnot the point is I miss stuff!</p>
<p>A doer of stuff, a maker of things, a stuff maker. I just absolutely adore doing stuff, learning stuff, creating stuff, discovering stuff and COVID19 has really destroyed that opportunity for me in nearly every conceivable way. I don't have a super positive Tracy Flick-esque ending to this blog splat, this is literally just to say that I am buggin' and I am spent and boy do I wish people would vote NDP and understand <a contents="Socialism" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBYmeLBWjeI">Socialism</a> as a concept that is meant to help us and not hurt us.</p>
<p>People really seem to look at Socialism like it's <a contents="Capitalism" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyWvjszBOw">Capitalism</a> when Capitalism is Capitalism and <a contents="Capitalism" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/qhh3CMkngkY">Capitalism</a> has the worst baby in the world <a contents="Lil' White Supremacy " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyWvjszBOw">Lil' White Supremacy </a>who is very much like that freaky over-sized baby of days of quarantine yore. I just want people to give a fuck about other people, not to the extent that everyone is partying with everyone and chilling with people they absolutely cannot stand but to the extent that horrible human rights issues that other people go through bother them.</p>
<p>I want it to bother people if someone doesn't have a home, I want it to bother people if someone experiences racial violence, I need it to bother people if someone experiences sexual violence, or to agitate people that someone sunk all their money and heart into a small business to watch the Ontario Government work in concert with COVID19 to destroy it. I want it to irritate people that a vulnerable person has been stuck in their house for a year and still isn't on the list for a vaccine, etc.. etc... and I can't help but notice that the longer we move away from that mindset the longer COVID19 digs in its heels and the more eggs (read variants) it hatches to thwart our attempts at separateness. We really just have to do better, and we really do need to give a shit about other people. I am absolutely convinced that we don't have a shot in hell at getting out of this mess unless we do.</p>
<p>Your Comrade in Arms,</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65911142021-04-09T19:00:00-04:002021-04-09T19:00:10-04:00Why, Why Why MEEEEEEEEEEEE (And Other Self-Pitying Soliloquies)<p>I'm a Taurus. You should know this by now because I use nearly every damn opportunity to tell you but what you may not know is that my Moon is in Pisces and My Rising is Cancer. Baby that is A LOT of water and with water (as I'm sure you know) comes tears, many many tears. In fact the Water Signs are absolutely profound at the poor me attitude, it goes a little something like this....</p>
<p>Cancer: Why are you doing this to meeeee?</p>
<p>Pisces: Why am I doing this to meeee?</p>
<p>Scorpio: Why is everyone so mean to meeee? (is mean to everyone)</p>
<p>Yep, the Water Signs have this self-pitying shit on lock, Air Signs are pretty good at it too only they disguise it under self-flagellation and toxic, self-sabotaging behaviour.</p>
<p>But you can see where the self-pity comes from. It took me a long, very sad time not to automatically default into self-pity in nearly every miserable situation. In fact it still acts as a default often but I don't spend too much time there, to be quite honest I get bored. There's not much constructive benefit to feeling sorry for yourself when you think about it, it doesn't really get you any place and with a Mercury in Aries and a Signature Leo I like to get places, man.</p>
<p>So what I've learned is to allot time for self-pity but in a very Virgo way. Honey set that timer, cry, bitch, kvetch, journal then get to doing something about it. Because between you and me I find when I sit too long in that feeling it really lowers my vibration, a moment becomes a feeling which becomes an experience which becomes a (very toxic) environment and it's not even the truth of that situation, <strong>it's just a moment</strong> so it truly helps when you treat it as such. </p>
<p>The other day in a particular state of self-pity I watched <a contents="this movie" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fYfBZSnG1Y">this movie</a> and it hit me like a brick. For context Demi Moore plays a lieutenant trying to get past training in the Marines and she is the first woman to do so, she gets A LOT of flack, zero help, zero cheerleading, zero ambiguous moral support and she doesn't spend one second feeling sorry for herself. Not one damn second. It's real Angelina Jolie energy and it's inspiring (one of these days I'm going to do a blog on inspiring movies) So if you're feeling like crap and you haven't identified yet that the crap isn't you and you're wallowing in your state like some kind of Gwyneth Paltrow, let me <a contents="WAKE YOU UP (and myself, frankly)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/UrfpkvvRTns">WAKE YOU UP (and myself, frankly)</a>. Feeling bad is easy, it's what a capitalist society wants you to feel so you'll buy more shit. But you don't need more shit, you just need to ground yourself and focus on the things that make you happy, you do what you can about the things that make you unhappy and do your best to give yourself the grace that no one gave you.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/474a742318a9813cfe5615961b51f80c0ec27f58/original/91jawo1gm3l-sl1500.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Your Comrade in Arms,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65910572021-04-07T19:00:00-04:002021-04-07T19:00:03-04:00UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS!!!!!!!!!!<p>Sorry, didn't mean to yell, it's just that my Mercury is in Aries and I really can't stand how y'all hold your tongues on everything. We're in a pandemic and an apocalypse, if there was ever a time to speak up, now would be it guys! Now.would.be.it. I mean you can <a contents="speak up" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvYAGFc7PA">speak up</a> in any situation but let's start with the <a contents="uncomfortable ones" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT9xtrLLPFc">uncomfortable ones</a> and go from there. </p>
<p>Now it seems to me that the majority of you don't like speaking up because of the reaction you'll receive from others,(that's fair) let's examine that for a minute, what is it about the reaction that frightens you? That they won't like you? That they won't listen to you? That they think you suck? What if I told you that it didn't matter. What if I told you that unless they're a vital person in your life that their opinion of you holds no weight and even if they ARE a vital person in your life that they shouldn't hold that title without harnessing the ability to truly listen to you and give credence to your thoughts and feelings.</p>
<p>What if I told you that your feelings have value and your thoughts and opinions matter and are important to this landscape? What if I told you that anyone who truly deserves to be in your life will give a flying fuck about your opinion and will actively encourage you to speak your mind? Well I'm telling you that right now.</p>
<p>Speaking your mind will weed out the low vibrational people in your life and make way for those who are on your <a contents="frequency" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9YmLmYzeEI">frequency</a>, and it is vitally important to share space with those who<a contents=" share your values, who have their own dreams" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/bAykS2oh8Dg"> share your values, who have their own dreams</a> and their own goals. Let's use music as an example, there are certain frequencies that we can't hear at certain stages and ages in life, if you look at this from an emotional perspective, if you're vibrating in a negative frequency then connecting with someone on a higher frequency will be more difficult, it will be hard to get in the space to understand them and where they are coming from. Similarly if you are vibrating at a low frequency you are calling in other low vibe people like the Bat Signal in Gotham, and low vibe people love a pity party and I can tell you from excessive experience, <a contents="pity parties suck." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/uqMgzjOKiuc">pity parties suck.</a></p>
<p>It's very easy to vibrate in a low space when you haven't spoken up and shared what's on your mind. A lot of people think that feelings are something that you can shove down or ignore but feelings <a contents="don't just disappear apropos of nothing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5JHiT-wVTs">don't just disappear apropos of nothing</a>, feelings have to purged and the longer you ignore them<a contents=" the more toxic they become" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFAlQ1bokxw"> the more toxic they become</a>, which is why speaking up is of the utmost importance. It may feel uncomfortable at first but I can assure you it's not nearly as uncomfortable as a heart attack, cancer, or any well documented disease that can manifest as the result of stress. Every time you speak your mind think of it as a gift to yourself. Get used to self-gifting, get used to self-support, get used to making yourself proud. Dump that little voice in your head that told you should shut your pie hole (especially if that voice was a parent, miserable relative or "loved one") and open up. </p>
<p>Speaking up could save your life, or someone else's whether you're advocating for yourself at the doctor's office or advocating for someone else's safety while <a contents="intervening" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/krgcbiRu0ys">intervening</a> in a problematic situation. Please don't feel as though you're being selfish speaking up for yourself, many people have been gaslit into believing this and it's a lie. You can't fill up someone else's cup if you're running on empty, this is why they say you need to put the airbag on yourself first. Do this in life! Remember your airbag, remember your value and remember that just because it feels uncomfortable advocating for yourself at first, doesn't mean it always will, like most things in life, it gets easier the more you practice it. Rooting for you virtually!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65905112021-04-05T19:00:00-04:002021-04-05T19:00:03-04:00But Gwyneth Said.....<p>Yeah, this post is not gonna end well. Nobody gives a rat's butt what "Gwyneth Said" I know, I know, but I just think it's funny that she's spent so much of her career being haughty and solipsistic and the chicken comes home to roost nearly <a contents="every.time" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2021/03/31/gwyneth-paltrows-beauty-routine-has-experts-decrying-her-spf-advice/4818281001/">every.time</a> (no word on her latest rich, white, nonsense at press time) The tweets in her head should really just stay there tbh, leave it in draft Gwyneth! Leave it in draft. With that in mind, let's take a look at her <a contents="greatest hits, hurts, gut punches, problematic soliloquies, GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WOMAN?" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/gwyneth-paltrows-most-obnoxious-quotes-2011269/47502-2/">greatest hits, hurts, gut punches, horrific soliloquies, GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WOMAN</a>.....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yeah, it's ugly, hell it's fugly (<a contents="remember that word?" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/fugly#:~:text=fugly%20(adj.),or%20abhorrence%20recorded%20from%201680s.">remember that word?</a> ) Yes folx, Gwyneth is awful, but I'd have to say the gift that keeps on giving is the time she snottily proclaimed that she felt that in the future "Clueless will be far more dated than Emma" yes Emma, the boring little Jane Austen book turned movie that Gwyneth starred in at the height of her head-ballooning (which also coincided with her dating the most popular man in the world at that time, William Bradley Pitt).</p>
<p>Now now, don't chew my head off, I'm certainly not declaring Emma, the book, to be boring (I read half of it, and for someone who recoils like a snake at Fiction that's quite a lot thank you) but when I tell you that if you have problems sleeping you need to pop in the "arthouse" film I'm not being snippy (well perhaps a little) I am TRULY trying to cure you of your insomnia because this movie is like watching paint watch paint dry. Yes, I said it, and I meant it.</p>
<p>So dear friends, if you take anything from this blog post take thou this, Vagina Scented candles are a TERRIBLE idea, Clueless is a timeless classic and Gwyneth Paltrow is a solipsistic, little twat. You're welcome and Good Day!</p>
<p>-Joy</p>
<p>I SAID GOOD DAY!</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65903952021-04-03T19:00:00-04:002021-04-03T19:00:06-04:00What Is Grief If Not Love Persevering?<p>Okay, pipe down robot! I know that you've been on the planet a total of approximately 3 years tops but wouldn't it be just dandy if grief was <a contents="lingering love floating in a cloud of inconvenience." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Kspj3OO0s">lingering love floating in a cloud of inconvenience.</a> <a contents="Just.dandy." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfPWpEKhgfk">Just.dandy</a>. Nope, grief be wilin' and we be wilin' in it. Wish there was a way to make it pretty, but alas no. When you lose something, someone, an idea, a dream a free gift card to Sephora, that shit hurts and there really is no way out but through, and it's not the through that hurts the most. It's the hemming and hawing and putting off what you have to let go that causes the most pain, the bargaining, the last lingering vestiges of hope that have somehow crawled into your soul and nested. WE MUST DIG IT OUT!!!! Ah yes, for Spring is springing and we don't want dead hope springing from our souls like a bad Pauly Shore movie do we? (that was redundant, I know). Yes we must let it goooooo as Elsa, or I don't know that weird, White Witch lady who had the powers when her sister(?) or relative or something didn't, said (I haven't seen the movie, could have used a different metaphor frankly but I'm ornery). Let go of that which does not serve us, or serves us but serves us crap, or serves us sometimes then other times serves that woman or man down the street, or never served us to begin with but acted like they wanted to or...whatever you get the point. Let's do it, kids....let's move forward with love, or fortitude, okay that's too much but let's just move forward, it's hella depressing back here!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your Quasi-Friend,</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p>P.S Happy Somebody Got Nailed to a Wooden Something For You Yet We Failed To Follow His Very Simple Request Anyway Day....</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65903432021-03-31T19:00:00-04:002021-03-31T19:00:11-04:00I WANT THE TRUTH!!!!!<p>"You can't handle the truth!"</p>
<p>Yeah, sorry y'all, we're not in A Few Good Men, at least that movie had a positive outcome in the midst of the nonsense, hell that movie ain't even on Netflix OR Disney Plus so I'm really just hurting you here but I did want to point out a few things.</p>
<p>This....</p>
<p>"Ontario has, so far, received 1.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and has administered more than 1.5 million, leaving 227,000 doses unused."</p>
<p>is directly from <a contents="this," data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-government-confirms-covid-19-vaccines-being-held-back-to-guarantee-supply-1.5357475">this,</a> which is alluding to the fact that <a contents="Amelia Bedelia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Doug+Ford&rlz=1C1GCEB_enCA922CA923&sxsrf=ALeKk02IZsFDZxSsGuU0Q6nISmZ_EYYdgA:1617224142463&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4-6G0tdvvAhXJJzQIHchJByMQ_AUoAnoECAIQBA&biw=1536&bih=722&dpr=1.25#imgrc=3dUV_iOjPezXZM">Amelia Bedelia</a> is not only holding back the <a contents="billions of dollars from Trudeau's Government" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ipolitics.ca/2021/01/26/ontario-sitting-on-billions-of-unspent-covid-relief-cash-report/">billions of dollars from Trudeau's Government</a> but he's also now holding back on the vaccines (227,000 of them to be exact) so there won't be any "hiccups" in administering them. Sir, SIR, YOU'RE THE HICCUP IN ADMINISTERING THEM.</p>
<p>Of course not to sound like a broken record, but I'm fairly certain that cases would drop exponentially if people took leave from work instead of heading in while they were feeling sick as a dog (woof) spreading it all around. Why <strong>do</strong> they keep doing that?!?!?</p>
<p>Could it be because they can't afford to stay home? Could it be because the majority of this province is living paycheque to paycheque like some kind of poor people trope from the Hunger Games? Could it be that they are afraid they won't be able to pay their bills if they skip out on work? Man, if only there was a way to <a contents="combat this terrible situation." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2021/02/28/for-the-100th-time-ontario-needs-to-mandate-paid-sick-days-for-all-workers.html">combat this terrible situation.</a> </p>
<p>If only we had been provided with <a contents="the money to help us during this troubling time" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-sitting-on-12b-in-unspent-covid-19-contingency-funding-at-start-of-second-wave-1.5221812">the money to help us during this troubling time</a>.</p>
<p>Oh, and not for nothing but the factory I work at is based in Vancouver and all their employees got vaccinated today. Factory Workers <a contents="were prioritized as a high risk community for spreading." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-province-releases-list-of-high-risk-workers-first-in-line-for-astrazeneca-vaccine">were prioritized as a high risk community for spreading.</a> Imagine common sense in politics hey?</p>
<p>Y'all need to vote NDP, I'm so sick of this mess.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy (sort of)</p>
<p>P.S I mean it y'all, NDP or bust (and we already bustin' bruh)</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65889502021-03-30T19:00:00-04:002021-03-30T19:00:02-04:00Toxic Tweets, The Kardashians and the Social Media Lie,<p>Y'all this is a PSA for those lost to the toxicity of the Kardashian family dynamic. A few key points to assist you with the advantageous endgame of not playing yourself.</p>
<p>1. The Right Person Will Never Get Tired of You.</p>
<p>This is bullshit. Everyone will get tired of you, You will get tired of you. How can you expect someone not to get tired of you when we all wake up some mornings looking in the mirror like "Damn homey, you again?" Bruh, everyone gets tired of everyone, parents get tired of their children and they birthed them! People need space, people need alone time, people need other people outside their romantic relationships. No man is an island but similarly no relationship is a paradise. In any relationship whether romantic or platonic, people need their own space, people need time apart, this is the reason we were all born and we all die alone. Being with someone 24-7 isn't "relationship goals" it's toxic. Develop your own sense of self and your own skills and passions so that when someone needs a break from you you're not crying in your ice cream talkin' 'bout "YOU SAID I WAS THE ONE!!" Toxic.</p>
<p>2. The Right Person Will Know Exactly How to Love You</p>
<p>NO THEY WON'T. This is the entire purpose of communication. As far as I'm aware we've not yet cracked the ability to read others' minds as a species and even if someone is deeply in love with you they still need you to articulate what you're feeling. You still need to share your triggers, your traumas, what makes you happy, sad etc to give anyone in any kind of relationship with you some sense of how to love you and what makes you feel safe. Expecting someone to know you by heart without doing the work of articulating and expressing to them who you are and what you need is not only childish but incredibly toxic and completely unfair to anyone in or embarking on a relationship with you.</p>
<p>3. The Right Person Will Only Be Attracted to Me</p>
<p>What? *sigh* There's so much to unpack here that I'm just going to leave it at NO.</p>
<p>4. The Right Person Will Know How to Handle Me At My Worst.</p>
<p>The right person will still want to be with you at your worst, yes but you better not make your worst an everyday occasion just because the right person can "handle" it. That's abuse.</p>
<p>5.The Right Person Will Be Proud to Show Me Off</p>
<p>Again, no. Some people just aren't the showy type. Some folks can be deeply in love and still want to keep it to themselves because they're just not the type to flaunt things. This is the solipsistic "If a tree falls in the forest.." line of thinking. A relationship is still a relationship even if it's not plastered all over social media. Some people just like their privacy, the Kardashian family has y'all thinking that's a red flag but it's actually pretty healthy to keep personal things to yourself, not everything requires an audience. (Which reminds me how much I absolutely abhor RomComs for the simple fact that they always have a massive PDA at the end, THIS IS MY NIGHTMARE). A relationship is still a relationship even if the entire world isn't applauding you for it.</p>
<p>6. The Right Person Will Make Me Happy.</p>
<p>No. You are responsible for making you happy. As Will Smith says, It's unrealistic and inconsiderate (and quite frankly absurd) to expect someone to do something for you that you can't even do for yourself. Even if they could "make you happy" in the short term, that's not something that anyone can keep up to any long term effect. It would be, unequivocally exhausting to endeavour. </p>
<p>To play the other side for a moment, what if they do make you happy? What if being with this person is what makes you so absurdly happy that, if they leave you temporarily or permanently you are unable to find that happiness? What will you do then? If one person is the complete source of your happiness that same person can be the complete source of your misery when they decide not to "make you happy" anymore. Putting this kind of power in someone else's hands is not only a burden on them but a completely insane thing to do to yourself. Find ways to make yourself happy that aren't entirely incumbent on another person or you will surely and shortly find yourself miserable.</p>
<p>Ultimately, relying on a reality tv family for lessons in relationships will be everyone's downfall, if you'd like to know how to make money (off the backs of others) and live a lavish life of excess, absolutely follow the Kardashian bible (I think you'll need a cool few million first to start though) but if you're looking for relationship advice from celebrities try looking to the ones who've lasted The Denzels and Paulettes, the Goldies and Kurts, the Stings and Trudies, the Lebrons and Savannahs. People who don't need to flaunt their relationship to prove the value of it. Social Media can be (A LOT of) fun but it can also be quite damaging once we start internalizing toxic views created to boost brands disguised as relationships. Enjoy it if you can but try to be discerning, a brand and a relationship can look pretty similar if marketed the right way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65757332021-03-16T19:00:00-04:002021-03-16T19:00:04-04:00Finding Meaning in Misery...<p>Oh, you didn't think I had this egg cracked did you? Sorry 'bout it, I'm literally asking for tips. It's getting ugly out here, the cases are going up, our Premier is an absolute blockhead not fit for any job much less one that hinges on the health, safety and lives of so many, and even with the vaccines rolling out Doug Ford has found a way to royally screw that up too. If this wasn't the darkest timeline I'd be convinced he was a nefarious, poorly written character created by Marc Guggenheim. (I know, so many pop culture references)</p>
<p>I'll have you know (for those blaming Trudeau for the vaccine issues) that this all traces back to Stephen Harper (not Ford being a blockhead, that's self-contained) but the fact that we don't manufacture our own vaccines (which is why we're so behind on vaccination as a nation (that rhymed) (and yes I know a parentheses within a parentheses is upsetting, I apologize) behiiiiiiiiiind) yes indeedy, Stephen Harper's "war on science" is what precipitated the shut down of many (would-be useful) pharmaceutical factories and science labs, so now there's nowhere to make said vaccines in Canada. Well goddamnit!</p>
<p>(I know!)</p>
<p>The likelihood of Harper having done this to crawl into the back of America's pocket and lick it's ass (gluteus maximus for those still putting on airs) is high. Yes Harper is American and wanted desperately for Canada to be as well. He also doesn't enjoy thinking or thoughts unless it makes him money, and his party (can we legally call the Conservatives a party anymore since they're the least fun thing since syphilis?) works really really hard to suppress them, as well as Black People, Indigenous People, LGBTQ, Poor People, Disabled People, Veterans, well the list goes on. I guess my point is that I'm having a bad time here and I think I would be having a better time if Kathleen Wynne was still in power, in fact I know I would be having a better time (and I say this as a card carrying NDPer) so please God, and folks populating this here hell dimension we call earth, STOP VOTING CONSERVATIVE! Vote for people who have your interests and well being in mind and to be clear if you're not all these things: an asshole, straight, white, rich, able-bodied, and a cis-gender man then the Tories/Conservatives, (the ugly grey toned chunk of folks that look like they're auditioning for the next season of "Making a Murderer ") are not for you. We can do better folks! Let's try, pleeeeeeeeease!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/6655165baacdf288d83f74c0b074b3d2f0385c91/original/img-20200926-182952-497.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>-Joy (sort of)</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65700222021-03-10T19:00:00-05:002021-03-10T19:00:09-05:00Alas It Goes On.....Are You Exhausted Yet?<p>Yep, this is still happening. I know, I'm disappointed too, hence in a bid to be less horrified by simply every.single.thing that's going on I've taken to keeping myself busy making movie recommendations and plumping up my <a contents="youtube account" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC100Z3M6VTTj18Lw18WYFCw">youtube account</a>. I don't really have any advice for you musicians out there, or artists that can't engage in your craft as effectively, except to remember your community. Your arts community will lift you up in ways you can't even conceive of just by talking to them, working with them (remotely) and dreaming with them. Capitalism does a whole schtick where it likes to convince people that every man is an island but I'm pretty sure Covid has shat all over that notion, repeatedly. We are a community, whether we like it or not and we work best as humans when we embrace that where we can and where necessary.</p>
<p>I think for most people right now the best way to survive this miserable situation is to first connect to your community and secondly (and most importantly) grab on to whatever thing that thrills you and hold onto it. Notice I said whatever "thing" because that is something within your control, people are not your escape and it's an unfair burden to place on them to expect them to be. A community (like your friends, musicians, artists community) is there for mutual support and encouragement and to remind you that you're not the only one feeling this way, even though it may truly feel that way. This is different from shoving all your hopes and dreams into one person and expecting them to provide all of that for you. Don't hide in somebody in this pandemic, try to be brave enough to find yourself and find what makes you you, that's a gift that we can all try to give a little to ourselves during this terrible situation. Getting to know and appreciate yourself is the most important task you have in this life.</p>
<p>Lockdown is a good time to explore yourself and what makes YOU truly happy, the little things intrinsic to you that bring you joy (pardon the pun) and that can't be a person because people come and go and if your happiness is entirely incumbent on someone else then your misery sure will be too. I'm telling you to find something that thrills you and hop to it as best you can with limited resources. For me right now (because I can't go to the studio or play live and I don't have any songs brewing) it's making these little film suggestions with the extensive viewing history I have being a cinephile at a young age, so that's what I'm going to share until it bores me and I need something else to do. My point is let's just get through this, in whichever way we can (sans excessive use of substances and people). If you find something that gives you some tiny amount of pleasure in this absolute shitshow, embrace it, embrace it and envelop it like the gift it is. Don't worry about other people's thoughts on what gives you pleasure whether they're "friends" or "family" or whatnot, so long as you're not hurting anyone,(caveat:claiming your own time and space, doesn't qualify as hurting someone) just do what works for you, get through it, live through it, until you find you're no longer surviving but thriving instead. The day will come for those of us with heart. The sun will shine on us again. Keep on truckin' until then (and don't forget the rest stops along the way)....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/4dc31479a5682474659b6946e38ba3fb759924ac/original/dsc-0626.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65674462021-03-07T15:13:59-05:002021-03-07T15:13:59-05:00How Many Cops Does it Take to Wear a Mask?<p>No, I'm genuinely asking guys because in the past month I haven't seen one Toronto Police Officer wear one. We are still in a pandemic right? A panoramic? A Ponderosa? That's still happening right? Because I haven't been to the studio in over a year and if there's no pandabear happening I'm going to be sorely vexed.</p>
<p>I reckon it must still be going on because every time I leave my house I have this cloth thing on my face and I've purchased lipstick a total of one time this year (oh the humanity) So this is still happening yeah? Wear a mask people, (THAT INCLUDES YOU TORONTO POLICE, YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL) if Captain America can do it (and nearly every single Avenger before and after him) so can you. Plus if you're actually into fashion like you say, you should be accessorizing, this is your moment! Shine human, shine!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p>xoxo (but <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/c58908bd0a97f5fa59b0471484858a47bc4b3c8c/original/20210305-095048.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />from a distance)</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65358772021-01-31T19:19:41-05:002021-01-31T19:19:41-05:00Hey Lockdown People, Black History Month is Upon Us....<p>I'm Joy (still) and I'm Black (still) I figured some people may not have noticed this because there are still folks (unfortunately) who wander the globe muttering truly disturbing things such as "I don't see colour" well I hate that. I am most certainly brown-skinned and if you don't see that then you are most certainly not seeing me. Now I figured since we are on the eve of February (a month most Canadians hate because it's cold and awful) we are also on the eve of Black History Month, that being said it's a great time to bring up these key points....</p>
<p>1. Black People Are Not A Monolith</p>
<p>Just because that Black friend you had in school, at work, at camp etc talked, walked, behaved a certain way or didn't mind when you said or did XYZ doesn't mean they speak for all Black People, because we are people that means we all have different experiences, feelings, thoughts and values just like White People do.</p>
<p>2. Tiktok Is Racist (and also Homophobic/Transphobic/Misogynist)and It's Not the Only App That Is</p>
<p>The app itself and the people who run it set up algorithms that specifically target Black, Indigenous, Trans and the LGBQ Community and make it harder for them to go viral, express their thoughts, feelings and experiences and generally enjoy the app like the White, Straight Community is able to.</p>
<p>I'll give you an example or two, I recently dueted a video where a woman had drawn a Black version of Harley Quinn (pretty cool right?), the entire video was literally her drawing the character in timelapse. Tiktok took down my video and cited it as "violating twitter rules and conduct". Huh? Even more recently today I was prompted to change my username (which I didn't do) to a numerical username with symbols because apparently tiktok's username guidelines had "changed" to only accept usernames with numbers, symbols and underscores. Does that make sense? No. Was that happening to other people? No. But it is worth noting that this did appear a day after I dueted a video that called out tiktok's racism when a well known user "consciouslee"(who has over a million followers) known to be a supporter of Black Rights, Trans Rights, Women's Rights and LGBQ Rights, was being shadowbanned.</p>
<p>If you are unfamiliar with the term, shadowbanned it is when apps stop the spread of your content throughout the app and prevent it from reaching others, this is something twitter was known for during the BLM protests or the bombings in Gaza, Instagram is known for this too, it also includes blocking hashtags so users can't find up to date information on current political and human rights happenings. Tiktok was somewhat recently bought out by an American company that's said to have been a big supporter and donor to the Tang Demon so I suppose this isn't surprising however once an app is released into the ether it no longer belongs to the company but the users who create the experience, and given that Tiktok has no problems allowing White Creators to go viral with Black/Indigenous or LGBTQ sounds it's a little (a lot) hypocritical).</p>
<p>3. Black People Like Rock, Metal and SciFi</p>
<p>This ties back into the whole "Black People are not a monolith theme" but there are so many instances of Black People (and other BIPOC) not joining a scene not because they aren't interested but simply because they haven't been welcomed and do not feel safe there. When I visited my cousin in Florida I remember his wife at the time got really excited when I asked her to take me to an Open Mic, she was hoping she would hear some Country Music, and the minute we got in the car she turned up her tunes full blast and sang to her heart's content. She told me she was frightened to go to this part of town and that she'd never been and how she would love to go line dancing but it just didn't feel safe for her where she was living. Black People have had so many beautiful experiences stolen from them because we were made to feel scared or unwelcome, the swimming pool is a great example. The running joke that "most Black Americans can't swim" is directly correlated with the Jim Crow era when White People would throw bleach in the swimming pools while Black children were swimming in it to discourage them from swimming. Every action has a reaction and when it comes to Black People and their interests it very seldom has to do with myopia, or small-mindedness. </p>
<p>4. Black People Can't Fix Racism</p>
<p>Racism was created by White People to underscore and fuel capitalism, if White People could prove that Black, Indigenous, Chinese etc etc People were inferior and subhuman then subjugating them and using and abusing them for free to work the land, steal the land, create the railroads wasn't an issue. By the way this is the same way Hitler was able to justify stealing and killing millions of Jews to the people of Germany, and you can guess what they did with their belongings? Melted down the gold and kept it for their own etc. This system was created so that the English could thrive at a time when they felt like shit, they treated the Scottish and the Irish similarly, why? Because money and power. This is why Black People cannot fix this system, it was not created for us, it was created for White People, more specifically Straight White People and even more specifically Straight White Men. So it is incumbent on White People, Straight White People and Straight White Men to fix it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>5. Black People Don't Want Revenge</p>
<p>I don't know if revenge (on people who've literally never done anything to you) is the going rate for White Rage but Black folx much like Indigenous folx just want to live in a just and equitable society, we don't have the energy or the heart (or lack of heart) for all this oppressive bullshit. We just want to live our lives and as the <a contents="Rosewood Massacre" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/IzA4gzFc5jA">Rosewood Massacre</a> proved, the problem isn't with Black People not minding their business, it's with White People not leaving Black People alone while we're trying to mind our business.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>6. Black People Don't Owe You Education on Racism</p>
<p>It is not incumbent on the oppressed to teach the oppressor, the emotional labour involved in the herculean task of teaching the oppressor how they've hurt you is a job and as such should be paid. Black People have done enough free labour and received absolutely no compensation for it and as we now live in an age of google and youtube and your tax dollars ensure you libraries please do not harass that one Black friend/colleague/co-worker into teaching you about racism. They are already having a hard enough time with being Black in Western society, they do not need the added burden of your feelings and your education. This is also true for other oppressed groups (see also Indigenous, LGBTQ, POC)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As we go into Black History Month please keep these things in mind and remember, most importantly, Black People are PEOPLE. Black People are trying to live their lives, you being afraid of a Black Person doesn't mean that Black Person is scary. If you see a Black Person living their life and minding their business LEAVE THEM ALONE. Black People ride subways, go horseback riding, make music, paint wildlife, take photographs, go bird watching, buy comics, get their hair done, buy groceries, have goals, dreams and participate in all the normal things that human beings participate in because that's what we are so let's all do our best to remember that. Everyone has the right to a fair and equitable life not just Straight, Cisgender, Able-bodied White Folks. Thanks and have a decent February.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/65056622020-12-22T16:10:12-05:002020-12-22T16:10:12-05:00Hi! Hello! Hey!<p>Long time no see..or um, type or whatnot...anyway, I'VE GOT A NEW SINGLE OUT!!! That's the whole post, that's it. And that's quite fine to be honest, I worked very hard. 'Tis a new <a contents="bachata style single, that you can dance, kiss or drink pensively to...." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://joythompsonmusic.hearnow.com/a-letter-una-carta">bachata style single, that you can dance, kiss or drink pensively to....</a> so do me the great honor of checking it out and then darling, have a glorious night....as glorious as you can in 2020, which probably isn't that great to be honest, but hey, do what you can.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/81e5a1d605f4d4fa3a997c91ba9d9d91ead7261e/original/9-sm.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64630702020-10-25T18:04:26-04:002020-10-25T18:04:26-04:00Oh What's New? Nothing, It's All Still Terrifying...<p>I don't have much to say. Things haven't gone as I'd hoped (this is a gross understatement) so I'm making my tiktoks, singing my songs and trying to keep it together. If you're American, please vote Biden/Harris and if you're anyone else, please wear a mask. I'm not entertaining any other opinions surrounding these issues, it really is a matter of life or death in both situations. Halloween has been cancelled in my province so if you want, join me for some live tarot readings on <a contents="Tiktok" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSQtkFGY/">Tiktok</a>. It will be a full moon after all, I'll be the one dressed as a cat and drinking my weight in red wine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Later Felines,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64542942020-10-12T21:11:18-04:002020-10-12T21:11:18-04:00Happy Indigenous Peoples Day Y'all!<p>What? Okay so the history was anything but happy (no surprise there) but I'm super duper stoked to watch the social media takeover right now and see all the Indigenous creators doing their incredible, incredible stuff. it's 100% dope and I absolutely <a contents="love" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/cA9r6xu9-Yo">love</a> to see it! Black and Indigenous Peoples have a lot in common when it comes to struggle and oppression. We were both stripped of our culture, our land and our heritage and we both fight to this day, with everything we have, to reclaim it. Today history wants to tell us that that sad sack, Christopher Columbus, deserves his own personal day for raping, pillaging, colonizing, degrading, and destroying so many incredible people and cultures and we say <a contents="NO" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/3hK3KRUzpj8">NO</a>. We say this day belongs to the people who were here long before this dumbass sailed across the ocean and landed in the opposite direction of where he was even trying to go. Y'all trying to give a holiday to a man for being a directionally impaired, depraved lunatic. I'll thank thee, no. Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, Indigenous Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter and the Skydome is the fucking SKYDOME (sorry still pissed about that). <strong>I said what I said</strong>. Have a great day, go learn something new today about Turtle Island and the <a contents="People" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/NrLL8n4fIe8">People</a> to whom this land truly <a contents="belongs" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/1RxnzA4H54s">belongs</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong>I want to acknowledge that I am on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and this land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.</strong></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64495262020-10-05T13:42:42-04:002020-10-05T13:43:33-04:00Think Of Something Brilliant And Tell Them I Said It.... <p>I had a whole lovely, thoughtful post lined up and it rather promptly ate itself. So I guess I'll just post the video again, say succinctly that I miss recording in the studio, playing live and making music with others and let you know in a very boring way that I'm working on releasing a single called A Letter/Una Carta by sometime in November. My friend and photographer Lisa Marie Kruchak and I had a great time this past weekend shooting looks for the cover art. I'll post an interesting blog regarding that later when I have access to a trustworthy and reliable device. In the meantime, check out below....</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="znaaCWE_oEU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/znaaCWE_oEU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/znaaCWE_oEU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Cheers and Something that Rhymes with Cheers That Isn't Awful, </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64465872020-09-30T22:12:48-04:002020-09-30T22:12:48-04:00Writer's Block Is Not A Fish You Can Catch....<p>Well of course it isn't, dumbass, who would want to <em>catch</em> writer's block? Think before you say these things! Yeesh! Anyway yeah, so I'm a little creatively clogged, it's no big, I know the song or songs are there they just need a little coaxing, and what in life doesn't need that? In theory as a Taurus this shouldn't be a problem, we're the best coaxers alive, we can coax people into doing things for years at a time that they barely had a passing interest in two minutes before. It's our gift, it's our curse. But who cares about what y'all are trying to do, let's talk about meeeeeee! I need a song, a song for my soul and a song for my album, music keeps the engines running and my battery is dying quick.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/c7d9d5d63f0bb589f192071427d98b15d55bc3d6/original/snapshot-20160928-268.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> I know I have the material I just need to sew it into something. Stand by, this could take all week.....</p>
<p>Dazed and Confused,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64449902020-09-29T00:05:02-04:002020-09-29T00:05:02-04:00Do You Ever Feel Like You're Trapped in A Wes Craven Flick.....<p>And then suddenly you get to the part where the final girl realizes she's the final fucking girl, puts on her big girl pants and kicks the blindsided little monster's ass....Well I think I'm rounding that corner. I was gonna post a really sweet Faith Lehane quote here but dammit that I haven't memorized it verbatim and I'm not fucking that up. Anyways, we gather here today to remind each other that we're that bitch, or witch or well, I was gonna say sitch but that's not a person. Somebody said something to me (or maybe it was a meme) but it stuck "Don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to..." Just kidding, I love TLC but that's a finely fermented crock of shit. </p>
<p>If you stick to the rivers and lakes that you're used to you'll probably drown, maybe not in the lake but you'll certainly drown in your self-pity that's for damn sure, and that is the WORST thing to drown in. I know we're in semi-quarantine and a lot of things are closed or un-operational right now but I'm making a bucket list because fuck-it if this isn't an apocalypse and I've got stuff to do. To be honest I've already sort of started my bucket list after I was hit by the car, it really shook my entire life up, I mean hell I look like an entirely different person now. I bumped into a friend in the subway and it took him a a minute or two to even figure out who I was. </p>
<p>Life comes at you pretty fast (thanks Ferris) or ridiculously slow (thanks life) so you may as well feed it the same energy. I have quite a few things that pique my interest and quite a few of those things can be done in winter so list'o'buckets here I come, it's not morbid in an apocalypse y'all, just do as the Romans do, (okay don't do that they slaughtered everyone) but do SOMETHING. Life is entirely too long or entirely too short to waste it being miserable and that is an unequivocal fact. Do your best to be happy, life is way too long or short to not be happy y'all and I know that may be a tad irritating coming from someone named Joy, but I have way more expectations on me to be joyful than you so you must take me at my word. Be happy, for a minute, for an hour, for a day whatever you can spare. Be happy until it's a personal choice.</p>
<p>With Blooming Mirth,</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64437192020-09-26T19:51:49-04:002020-09-26T19:51:49-04:00The Wine Has No Taste, The Food Sickens You....<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/6655165baacdf288d83f74c0b074b3d2f0385c91/original/img-20200926-182952-497.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />And there seems no reason for it all, but, what if I could give it all back to you? Pluck out the pain and give you a whole new life, one you could never imagine and it would be for all time, and sickness and death would never touch you again....Okay I can't do all that but Lestat is a helluva salesman hey? I just wanted to type it out to exploit that one time Neil Jordan congratulated me on my septum ring. It's not everyday an Oscar winning genius compliments your fashion sense so it's worth exploiting and flaunting EVERY DAMN DAY OF MY LIFE! Anyway you should have known I never said that since I would never go on with life if the wine had no taste. I mean c'mon what are we here for then? Anyway I hope everyone is having a reasonable time, I seriously doubt it because it's 2020 and if you are having a full-on time, well that's just a little insensitive to be honest and you could stand to tone it down, thank you so much. Also don't forget today is National Comic Book Day or something like that so go read Injustice: Gods Among Us (yes the same one as the video game), any Birds of Prey series by Gail Simone or my personal fave any Miles Morales: Spiderman comics. That should get you through 2020 for a couple of hours. I can't account for the rest of the year, I'm sorry but I will leave you with <a contents="this." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDejBc2h9f8">this.</a> I won't fix this year but it's prescient tones may calm your frazzled mind for approximately 24mins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ciao,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64406432020-09-22T21:14:43-04:002020-09-22T21:18:41-04:00I Love Things.... <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/4dc31479a5682474659b6946e38ba3fb759924ac/original/dsc-0626.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Shocking right? It's the truest truth about me.I really love things. I love music, the act of making music, I love art, the act of making art. I love wine, I love the sound red wine makes when it pours from the bottle, the glug glug sound as if it's choking on its own excitement. I love words, I love when someone says just the right thing to you to fit so perfectly into the corner of a vacant space in your heart. I love dancing to music, and learning a new dance whether it's learning the dance steps or just learning it exists at all. I love passion, really feeling passion for something or someone and watching and listening to passionate people feel and exhibit passion for things and places and experiences. I love listening to someone ramble about something they truly love or are excited about. I just love excitement even for the little things, like a good takeout meal or a new episode of a tv show. I absolutely love excitement and I love to see people excited. I know there's not a whole lot to be excited about these days but if you can find it anywhere please don't mask it or stifle it. Love and excitement are two of life's true miracles a mon avis. They are worth preserving and savouring and worth their weight in gold, no matter what, no matter when, and no matter why.</p>
<p>With love, </p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64398952020-09-21T22:32:50-04:002020-09-21T22:32:50-04:00Feeling Pretty Average?<p>Strange thing is you're far from it, you are literally the only you on this planet, in this galaxy, in this universe, in this time, space, moment and through to eternity. There's nothing average about that. So when I ask you to cleanse your space I am saying to protect that sacred space which is only yours, the very seat of your soul. The place you go to unwind or think or dream or relax, that untouchable place that makes you you. Your emotional seat, your moment in time, your dream in your mind and in your heart. Protect the things that you desperately want but hide from others, protect the dreams that you'd reach for if you felt you had a chance at them. Protect the moments you'd chase if you felt for a moment you could catch them, that is you. The wants, dreams, desires were all planted there for a reason, they are sacred, they are possible and they are as worthy as you are. So when I say protect your space, I mean protect YOU. You're worth that, and then some.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400618/d52cc9903c4f01927963c4957ce36980e8e6beaa/original/dsc-0321.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Truly,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64398602020-09-21T21:41:49-04:002020-09-21T21:43:29-04:00Once Upon A Midnight Dreary...<p>I know, I know, life sucks. Have a little Faith....</p>
<p>.<iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ce4VnOGU8V8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/ce4VnOGU8V8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ce4VnOGU8V8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64383042020-09-19T17:03:39-04:002020-09-19T23:18:48-04:00Just Call Me Pyro Patty....<p>Please don't call me that, I hate that name, however I am burning a lot of things lately, don't worry it's not the smell of bridges burning that's gently wafting in the breeze. No, the scent that permeates your senses is the smell of emancipation and you can try it at home for just $10 or less....okay sometimes more, I'm talking about cleansing your space people! Look <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/aQs9hpN7ukg">here,</a> There is a caveat to this, which is when purchasing sage to avoid purchasing white sage unless buying from Indigenous Communities and be cognizant of the fact that "smudging" is a phrase and practice specific to Indigenous communities, otherwise you are helping to appropriate and profit off their culture, more on this <a contents="here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bustle.com/p/is-burning-sage-cultural-appropriation-heres-how-to-smoke-cleanse-in-sensitive-ways-18208360">here.</a> </p>
<p>Now onto the importance of cleansing <a contents="Maya Angelou" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/8PXdacSqvcA">Maya Angelou</a> says "words are things" and that words have so much power that whomever you invite into your home and whatever they say can create its own life and if you've invited them into your home they are creating this life in your house. You can feel this when you walk into a room and feel the negative or positive energy there, energy is powerful, it can shift your day either negatively or positively, so if you invite people into your home that don't have your or their own best interests at heart it can and will affect you, this is why you must always cleanse your space.</p>
<p>Now there are number of fun ways you can do this (god bless options) which I am all too giddy to share with you. You can use incense, resins,<a contents=" a singing bowl" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4lGhVjoMTk"> a singing bowl</a> or listening to sounds at <a contents="certain frequencies can heal your mind and body as well." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO9gHsEwctc">certain frequencies can heal your mind and body as well.</a> The particular frequency I've linked is also linked to the <a contents="Schumann resonance which is said to have super healing properties when listened to." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/schumann-resonance.html">Schumann resonance which is said to have super healing properties when listened to.</a> I would be remiss if I didn't mention the positive impact bringing new plants into your space can have on your overall mental health, wellbeing and attitude and not every plant needs excessive light <a contents="here are some that can blissfully survive and thrive without all that sunlight stuff..." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/CkBjsmddC8E">here are some that can blissfully survive and thrive without all that sunlight stuff...</a> And finally of course we have meditation, it's no good to cleanse your space if your mind is all a-clutter (okay it's still good just a little futile). If you're new to meditation try a free app like Insight Timer that will lead you in guided meditations with the sound accompaniment of your choice, you can even set the timer to as low as a minute or meditate with others if you so choose. Hopefully all these lil' tips and tricks will help you get some ideas on how to protect yourself and your sacred space. I mean your home is your castle after all, it may be a tiny little castle but it's only as magical and beautiful as you make it, so get to it loves!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peace, Prosperity and Some Other Cool Alliteration</p>
<p>Joy</p>
<p> </p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64346072020-09-16T16:30:00-04:002020-09-16T19:05:33-04:00Tear My Heart From My Chest and Feed it To My Enemies....<p>Was that too much? Hahaha joke's on you, I'm a Taurus, I don't care. Let's talk about love baby, or like or your crushes because they cruuuuuuuush you. I mean honestly I've gotten some really good material out of this so I'm not sure why I'm kvetching. Hahaha it's an apocalypse, I don't care. I know, I know some of y'all were silly enough to think that because my name is Joy I would be perpetually happy. I need you to know that I'm a person and not an exclusive emotion thank you, stop weaponizing my name against me!!!!!! Hahaha was that too much? I'm drinking wine, I don't care. Anyway let's talk about heartbreak because if you have one (and it works properly) it's gonna break eventually. What do you do? No, seriously did you think that was rhetorical? Do I seem like the type to court rhetoric? Ouch, okay touché. But I really do want to know...what love is and I want YOU to show me. It's not that difficult guys, don't be selfish! Anyway, I'm sure there's an impending "you fool, you dumbass" song (but artistically of course) floating in the ether waiting to be claimed but until then I reckon I'll keep painting, tarot reading and making my little lip balms in a tear and wine infused haze (join me on tiktok) and if y'all have any tips or tricks for this agony you go ahead and let me know in the comments below. I bid you adieu and good day I know you won't have a good day anyway because it's 2020 but I shan't be rude to my guests.</p>
<p>Misery and Darkness,</p>
<p>Joy (the name, not the emotion)</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64345052020-09-15T21:11:23-04:002020-09-16T21:21:31-04:00Y'all Feel That? Ooof! That's The Sound of Nihilism,My Friends...<p>Alright y'all, I don't want to be an alarmist or anything but this energy is whack (I know, I know it's spelled "wack" but I can't accept that I'm sorry) As you can see I'm a little witchy-woo, okay I mean witchy-woo is a little rude but I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm an intuitive, empath witch. It's not that odd to be honest, I'm a Black, Canadian -Jamaican my people were enslaved, stolen from somewhere in West Africa (presumably) the way I figure it (and actually factually (heh rhyming)) Christianity would never have darkened our doorways nor planted its putrid seed in the beautiful garden of our minds had the Europeans not stomped over and beat and whipped everyone into submission with Christianity's tainted taint (see what I did there?) Therefore thy kinsman are no let to me! I'm trying to say in too many words "Fuck Christianity, we were colonized by wankers". Hence my witchy-woo. Wooooooow a long and sordid story hey? And we haven't even got to the point of all this yet (and yes I know I'm not meant to start a sentence with and, I attended 3rd grade English thank you). Okay so here's the point.....</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64337162020-09-14T22:41:33-04:002020-09-14T22:43:47-04:00It's Just Me and Rey and Finn and Poe....<p>Anytime I feel down I always look to movies, television and books and comic books. I didn't really have an empathetic adult to aspire to growing up so I turned to media. Everyone from Buffy Summers, Ororo Monroe, Faith Lehane, Letty Ortiz and any character by Michelle Yeoh not to mention my friend, aerial artist Jade Morin, have been my heroes and inspirations. When times get tough and miserable it may be a trope but I do often find myself asking what they would do and then I emulate it as best I can, it helps. There are so many incredible women out there, from Ella Fitzgerald to Angela Davis, Jane Fonda to Dolly Parton, there are so many women that have made their mark subverting the status quo and it is so beyond inspiring that I am gobsmacked to walk among them; If you're a little dazed and confused (as many of us are at this point) I recommend hitting up some biographies and autobiographies, I'm fairly certain I've read all the Spice Girls bios and I'm halfway through Grace Jones, Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out WIthout Me" is a lot of fun as is Shonda Rimes "Year of Yes". I'm still miserable and I'm still horrified mind you, (I wouldn't be human if I wasn't in these uncertain times) but life has got to be about doing the best you can with what you've got around you, and this baby, this is what we've got around us so there is some hope after all.</p>
<p>Love, Light, and Let's Be Honest... Wine</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompsontag:joythompsonmusic.com,2005:Post/64320172020-09-12T12:12:15-04:002020-09-12T12:12:15-04:00Here We Are in the Apocalypse....<p>It's a little odd that I spent so much of my time watching Angel The Series and Supernatural (up to season 5), Dark Angel and various other post-apocalyptic media, (including, beloved Luke Perry's Jeremiah,) only to wake-up in a world just like this only seemingly devoid of the champions we need to take us to that next Joss Whedon-esque (in concept not in reality) level. Those of us who enjoy post-apocalyptic fare and even enjoy a healthy lust for the supernatural, sci-fi and comic book world have rather prepared mentally for this for quite some time now without realizing. Ironically even my music was made in an almost prescient preparation for I've come from the school of "News be sad yet tell it merrily" after indulging in as much Oasis as I could in my formative years.</p>
<p>I like to make music that uplifts people, there's a certain irony in that statement because just about any kind of music can be uplifting, there's a catharsis to music that, at times, can bring therapy to even the most jaded of hearts. Even still I tend to lean more to the pep-in-your-step type melodies when songwriting, it's not purposeful by any means, but I just tend to lean more into hope, sometimes even when I don't want to. I guess that's a good place to be in this growing apocalyptic climate, when everything seems entirely out of control and it looks to be getting worse by the day. I've been finding strength and comfort in spirituality via tarot, witchcraft and astrology, enjoying books about ghosts, spirits and mediums and just trying to find my purpose on this very screwed up little planet.</p>
<p>I'm revamping my brand a little bit to include tarot, astrology and the kitchenwitch aspect that seems to have slowly taken over me like Agent Smith invading an avatar in The Matrix. I hope you will take some time to listen to things that make you happy (like my album which you can stream on Tidal, Spotify, Deezer, Youtube etc etc) and take some time to do a thing or two that will bring you closer to where you feel at home and safe. </p>
<p>Love and Light and All That Jazz,</p>
<p>Joy</p>Joy Thompson