The confidence to speak out

The founder of V-Day (a movement to end violence against women and girls) has been speaking out for people who don't have a voice for years.

I was fortunate enough to meet her a few years ago and she's one of my all time heros. To have survived so much and then to help so many people...

Here's her piece on the betrayal she felt by directors' etc. support of Roman Polanski's behaviour:

www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/does-the-brotherhood-of-f_b_305581.html

Personally, I adore David Lynch and Pedro Almadovar but can't believe that anyone would OK the rape of a 13 year old girl because it happened ages ago and he's had a tough life.

Equally, I can't believe how many interviews I read at the height of ER star Noah Wyle's fame which acted as if the fact that he'd lost his virginity to an 18 year old when HE was 13 was something cool.

Boy or girl, 13 is childhood.

I'd love to live in a world where children have the confidence to feel that their voices matter, too. That they can safely say NO to anything that makes them feel remotely uncomfortable and that no one has to give into abuse.

I know it's NOT that world, but part of me feels confident that, by getting predators the help they need (not putting them in places where we know old abuse will be compounded by new) and by keeping children safe or at least letting them know that it wasn't their fault, we can slowly get there.

The Delightful David Lynch

Watching him talk about the making of Eraserhead was better than the actual film (which gave me nightmares). (That poor, poor baby.)

David Lynch and Catherine Coulson (aka, The Log Lady from Twin Peaks) remembered how they'd done things over six years to create this weird world.

I loved the way they remembered the money struggles so cheerfully. It must have been bad (Lynch was actually living in the "Henry's room" set for a couple of years - scary!!!).

Yet they remembered people and institutions with fondness (not a bad word was said about anyone). They focused on fun they had creating things, the friendships with cast and crew and long ago eaten donuts and pie.

Is there something you wish you had a bigger budget for right now? (Marketing your business? New clothes? Raising a family?)

How can you have more fun with the enforced creativity smaller budgets demand?

(C) Eve Menezes Cunningham / www.applecoaching.com 2009.