"Boyish, softy men all the rage"
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20091208/COLUMNISTS30/912080324
I'm gonna keep this blog short and sweet since my last blog was apparently a never ending nightmare of words. This article is just wrong on so many levels and I probably don't even notice them all. The research, although maybe somewhat true, is either ignorant of the changes that can occur in social attitudes or is misrepresented in the article*. But to make it interesting I'll assume the former. Also, I know the writer is a humor columnist, but I don't really think the humor is all that innocent.
Things wrong with this article.
1. Referring to "softie" men in a condescending light.
The issue? Gender roles and it's a reflection of the condescending way men view women.
2. Deeming the sole reason the contraceptive pill.
The issue? That women are lead by their troublesome mood swings and hormones. Cause you know women are bitches because of they're either having that time of the month, about to have that time of the month, or are not having that time of the month. Apparently, women can't actually think. They just feel and react. Wars, economic breakdown, political corruption, the progress of women's rights, and tragedies don't affect social attitudes.*
3. The "sissification" of men and the attraction women have to them as being bad.
The issue? Refer to #1. Also, it's perfectly fine for someone to feel confused, but it isn't until we read that he concludes that it's a bad decision that not all men are "tough guys" anymore. Why is that? Well this leads to #4.
4. The damsel in distress without a car or man.
The issue? Women can't possibly learn how to fix a car. Women just can't survive because they can't learn how to do "man" things or they shouldn't cause this guy says that men should be "men". This writer believes he has the idea of what a man should be.
This guy has our roles pretty figured out. I wish he were being sarcastic though because now I have to acknowledge the existence of another idiot.
You know, on the flip side, women aren't "women" anymore either. The majority of my girlfriends don't pay very much attention to sewing, cooking, ironing, cleaning, or entertaining like they used to in the "good ole days". Maybe women don't seek this "tough guy" anymore. Doesn't mean they don't like a "tough guy" at all, but they just don't feel as pressured to seek these men anymore. And maybe, in turn, men don't feel pressured to be this "tough guy" anymore. Maybe people are starting to be themselves more. If so, then I think it's great.
OH. And sorry I lied to you. This wasn't short and sweet at all.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Thoughts on the End of the First Decade of 2000
BEGIN.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/04/mexico.slave.labor/index.html
"'Forced labor in Latin America is closely linked to patterns of inequality and discrimination, especially against indigenous peoples.'
About 80 percent of forced laborers work for private companies. The remaining 20 percent work for state enterprises such as are found in China, North Korea and Myanmar, she said.
'Many of them make the goods and products that we buy,' Ewart-James said."
Exploitation maintains our way of life. Lowest cost, highest profit. I'll think about this for a few seconds and then settle the thought of fighting for human rights with apathetic reluctance. And I wouldn't necessarily be wrong to do so either. What can be done anyway? Revolution? Who knows what that is anymore? There are no more free lands to exercise new free thoughts. There is no room for revolution. So what now?
For now, the capitalist economy will continue to exploit and abandon the oppressed and mask it as a complication of expenditures. It'll continue to pick and choose the laws it will showcase and the laws it will enforce. It'll continue to disillusion us into believing we have freedom when everyone knows that our popular votes are babysat by an electoral college making sure we make the right decision for those wallets of a few. It'll continue to deceive us into thinking we are still trying to do the right thing. It'll continue to lull us into a trance and we'll forget what it was we wanted.
I'll argue for human rights, but it's as far as I'll go. I'm not fighting. I'm not moving anywhere and giving up the luxuries of my friends and family. The relationships that give my life meaning and are too important for me. So leave me out of it. I wouldn't be necessarily wrong to do so. It's hard to believe it's true.
PAUSE.
All this talk recently about the end of the decade has me wondering a lot about this generation. Huge amounts of technology dependence this decade. Natural tragedies. War. Economic breakdown. Global warming on the rise. TIME magazine refers to it as "The Decade from Hell". Not a surprise considering that out of this decade came the "emo", or "emotional", boom.
Every decade is followed by a stereotype of the attitude of that certain decade which completely decontextualizes the events of that decade. The over romanticized hippie of the 60s is the first example that comes to mind. I'm going to have a really hard time accepting "emo" as the stereotype of the 00s. Very hard to live with the fear of future generations haunting me with deep seated anger and suicide threats. And today we see the beginning of the "hipster" boom. I see where it's coming from. Still some rebellion, but trying to take an active part in a world that maybe doesn't seem so doomed anymore. The overtaking pop culture is starting to participate in the world again, but still maintaining a social distance. Still feeling the burn of the 00s I suppose. Don't know where that'll go.
But I'm personally still feeling a lot of that modern guilt of the 00s. Everything going wrong and knowing that your way of life is the reason for the problems in the world. Beck describes this feeling as "Don't know what I've done but I feel ashamed". We've created a dependence on exploiting "third world" people. The events we perceive as opportunities, the social expectations for relationships and behavior, the values that we view as the dominant and correct values for the world are some of the main reasons for the deterioration of the 00s on all fronts. And we don't know how to acknowledge it, accept it, or change it.
We are too proud and for that we have become stagnant. We have been refusing to socially progress being too satisfied with our egos with our "invention" of democracy and capitalism. In essence, we believe we've invented opportunity. We have been disillusioned, possibly due to years of government manipulation, into thinking that there is nothing better than "the land of the free and the home of the brave", but ask the common person on the street he or she will tell you that they are unhappy with this system. We ask for change and offer no solutions. I'm not suggesting political overthrow. But I think it's possible that we could regain our dignity as a society. Cause how does change happen in today's world? And what's revolution, anyway? I think I'll just get back to work.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/04/mexico.slave.labor/index.html
"'Forced labor in Latin America is closely linked to patterns of inequality and discrimination, especially against indigenous peoples.'
About 80 percent of forced laborers work for private companies. The remaining 20 percent work for state enterprises such as are found in China, North Korea and Myanmar, she said.
'Many of them make the goods and products that we buy,' Ewart-James said."
Exploitation maintains our way of life. Lowest cost, highest profit. I'll think about this for a few seconds and then settle the thought of fighting for human rights with apathetic reluctance. And I wouldn't necessarily be wrong to do so either. What can be done anyway? Revolution? Who knows what that is anymore? There are no more free lands to exercise new free thoughts. There is no room for revolution. So what now?
For now, the capitalist economy will continue to exploit and abandon the oppressed and mask it as a complication of expenditures. It'll continue to pick and choose the laws it will showcase and the laws it will enforce. It'll continue to disillusion us into believing we have freedom when everyone knows that our popular votes are babysat by an electoral college making sure we make the right decision for those wallets of a few. It'll continue to deceive us into thinking we are still trying to do the right thing. It'll continue to lull us into a trance and we'll forget what it was we wanted.
I'll argue for human rights, but it's as far as I'll go. I'm not fighting. I'm not moving anywhere and giving up the luxuries of my friends and family. The relationships that give my life meaning and are too important for me. So leave me out of it. I wouldn't be necessarily wrong to do so. It's hard to believe it's true.
PAUSE.
All this talk recently about the end of the decade has me wondering a lot about this generation. Huge amounts of technology dependence this decade. Natural tragedies. War. Economic breakdown. Global warming on the rise. TIME magazine refers to it as "The Decade from Hell". Not a surprise considering that out of this decade came the "emo", or "emotional", boom.
Every decade is followed by a stereotype of the attitude of that certain decade which completely decontextualizes the events of that decade. The over romanticized hippie of the 60s is the first example that comes to mind. I'm going to have a really hard time accepting "emo" as the stereotype of the 00s. Very hard to live with the fear of future generations haunting me with deep seated anger and suicide threats. And today we see the beginning of the "hipster" boom. I see where it's coming from. Still some rebellion, but trying to take an active part in a world that maybe doesn't seem so doomed anymore. The overtaking pop culture is starting to participate in the world again, but still maintaining a social distance. Still feeling the burn of the 00s I suppose. Don't know where that'll go.
But I'm personally still feeling a lot of that modern guilt of the 00s. Everything going wrong and knowing that your way of life is the reason for the problems in the world. Beck describes this feeling as "Don't know what I've done but I feel ashamed". We've created a dependence on exploiting "third world" people. The events we perceive as opportunities, the social expectations for relationships and behavior, the values that we view as the dominant and correct values for the world are some of the main reasons for the deterioration of the 00s on all fronts. And we don't know how to acknowledge it, accept it, or change it.
We are too proud and for that we have become stagnant. We have been refusing to socially progress being too satisfied with our egos with our "invention" of democracy and capitalism. In essence, we believe we've invented opportunity. We have been disillusioned, possibly due to years of government manipulation, into thinking that there is nothing better than "the land of the free and the home of the brave", but ask the common person on the street he or she will tell you that they are unhappy with this system. We ask for change and offer no solutions. I'm not suggesting political overthrow. But I think it's possible that we could regain our dignity as a society. Cause how does change happen in today's world? And what's revolution, anyway? I think I'll just get back to work.
Monday, November 30, 2009
A sign of hope?
It's the follow up blog after my admittance-to-failure blog!
So it's the final week of school and I'm ready to go home. Again. I went home for Thanksgiving and spend some time with my mom, dad, and friends. It's always nice going home during the holidays when all (or just a large amount) my friends are back home too. I don't really have a large circle of friends in Austin, so going back home is always nice because I have a group of friends ready to receive me.
I usually say I don't have the time or interest for new friends. Well, that's actually very true. But more than that I think it's cause I'm uncomfortable around people because I don't feel like I'm on the same page with the majority of the people that I meet. In these situations, I usually feel like one person is going to end up offending the other. So there's no reason to invest myself. Every now and then though I'll meet someone who I don't mind telling them everything about myself and those are the friends who are beyond the superficial surface of friends.
Anyway, the reason I brought that up is cause I've been feeling pretty lonely the past few months. For several reasons, but mostly because of the lack of girl friends in my life. Most of my friends are guys and although it isn't a bad thing I would love to have a few female comrades here in Austin. I made a small effort this semester to make that possible, but I think it's safe to call this semester an absolute failure.
So next semester I will have at least one more girl friend! Call it my New Year's Resolution. Along with the traditional I'm-gonna-quit-biting-my-nails resolution -I have terribly low expectations for the latter. Hopefully my girl friend goal won't have a follow up admittance-to-failure blog.
OH!
So December 5th, Home Slice is having a pizza eating competition. The winner gets free pizza for a year. I would immediately jump into it if it weren't for the fact that I'm going to the beach in a few weeks. Hmmm. Time to think.
So it's the final week of school and I'm ready to go home. Again. I went home for Thanksgiving and spend some time with my mom, dad, and friends. It's always nice going home during the holidays when all (or just a large amount) my friends are back home too. I don't really have a large circle of friends in Austin, so going back home is always nice because I have a group of friends ready to receive me.
I usually say I don't have the time or interest for new friends. Well, that's actually very true. But more than that I think it's cause I'm uncomfortable around people because I don't feel like I'm on the same page with the majority of the people that I meet. In these situations, I usually feel like one person is going to end up offending the other. So there's no reason to invest myself. Every now and then though I'll meet someone who I don't mind telling them everything about myself and those are the friends who are beyond the superficial surface of friends.
Anyway, the reason I brought that up is cause I've been feeling pretty lonely the past few months. For several reasons, but mostly because of the lack of girl friends in my life. Most of my friends are guys and although it isn't a bad thing I would love to have a few female comrades here in Austin. I made a small effort this semester to make that possible, but I think it's safe to call this semester an absolute failure.
So next semester I will have at least one more girl friend! Call it my New Year's Resolution. Along with the traditional I'm-gonna-quit-biting-my-nails resolution -I have terribly low expectations for the latter. Hopefully my girl friend goal won't have a follow up admittance-to-failure blog.
OH!
So December 5th, Home Slice is having a pizza eating competition. The winner gets free pizza for a year. I would immediately jump into it if it weren't for the fact that I'm going to the beach in a few weeks. Hmmm. Time to think.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving '09 and the Lies
So first about Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day to all! My sister, Malsi, is missing from the table today cause she's still in Indiana. Kind of a bummer, but s'ok. She'll be back and enjoying leftovers soon.
Alright, about the lies. I know I said I was actually going to keep up with this blog... and we all know that didn't happen. I should have never said I was going to keep up with it. I KNEW I was lying. I didn't even believe myself when I wrote that entry, but so many self-help books tell you to lie to yourself until you believe it and it's true so I really can't be held accountable. I've been brainwashed with books such as "Seven Habits of Highly Effective ______", "Who Moved My Cheese?", and so forth. My dad picked out some winners for Malsi and me.
Okay back to the Thanksgiving action. Hope you're all having a great day.
Alright, about the lies. I know I said I was actually going to keep up with this blog... and we all know that didn't happen. I should have never said I was going to keep up with it. I KNEW I was lying. I didn't even believe myself when I wrote that entry, but so many self-help books tell you to lie to yourself until you believe it and it's true so I really can't be held accountable. I've been brainwashed with books such as "Seven Habits of Highly Effective ______", "Who Moved My Cheese?", and so forth. My dad picked out some winners for Malsi and me.
Okay back to the Thanksgiving action. Hope you're all having a great day.
Monday, August 17, 2009
In Good Company
A lot has happened since my last blog, but I can't remember anything that doesn't have to do with my current living situation, or lack thereof.
I'm not going to go into it, but long story short my lease with Town Lake Apartments got severely botched and I now don't have a place to live. Details are being kept low profile. School starts next Wednesday so I've been frantically searching for any sort of living arrangement. Apartments, efficiencies, needed roommates on Craigslist, even people who are willing to trade cheap rent for my housekeeping services. It hasn't been a very hopeful search with school starting in just a week, but I'm keeping to it.
What really bugs me about this whole thing is my forced imposition. I don't know how long it's going to take to find a decently priced place to live, but so far it looks like I'm going to be bumming on couches for a little while. My friends have been real helpful about my situation and I appreciate all their help, but I just don't want to be anyone's couch bum.
During the first two excruciatingly rough days of this ordeal I found a dead bird at my front door.
If this is a sign it's not a good one.
In other news, I played Wii for the first time a few days ago. Not too bad. I got to play some Wii Sports and some Mario Kart which still remains as one of the best games ever created. Also, my mom made paella yesterday for my dad's birthday (it was a belated celebration). That is quite a news story in itself. It's that good.
In conclusion.
I'm homeless in Austin, but at least I'm in good company.
I'm not going to go into it, but long story short my lease with Town Lake Apartments got severely botched and I now don't have a place to live. Details are being kept low profile. School starts next Wednesday so I've been frantically searching for any sort of living arrangement. Apartments, efficiencies, needed roommates on Craigslist, even people who are willing to trade cheap rent for my housekeeping services. It hasn't been a very hopeful search with school starting in just a week, but I'm keeping to it.
What really bugs me about this whole thing is my forced imposition. I don't know how long it's going to take to find a decently priced place to live, but so far it looks like I'm going to be bumming on couches for a little while. My friends have been real helpful about my situation and I appreciate all their help, but I just don't want to be anyone's couch bum.
During the first two excruciatingly rough days of this ordeal I found a dead bird at my front door.
If this is a sign it's not a good one.
In other news, I played Wii for the first time a few days ago. Not too bad. I got to play some Wii Sports and some Mario Kart which still remains as one of the best games ever created. Also, my mom made paella yesterday for my dad's birthday (it was a belated celebration). That is quite a news story in itself. It's that good.
In conclusion.
I'm homeless in Austin, but at least I'm in good company.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Failure, The Unusual, and The Practical
The Failure
I absolutely failed at keeping up with my blog. I didn't even make it past the first entry. Anyway it's my first blog failure. Hype-to-failure behavior is my thing. There's no success like failure and failure is no success at all. Alright, Bob. I'll start again.
The Unusual
My nightmares are more and more frequent. However, last night's dream was my own last supper and my bittersweet ending. Someone was coming after me and I knew I was probably going to die soon, but unlike my other dreams where I'm running for what seems like endless days and nights I had gotten together with all my friends from high school and Bobby and we were sitting at a big table eating dinner together one last time. Old friends, best friends, friends who I could never be friends with again where all there. Seems like I've assumed a "fuck it" attitude even in my nightmares.
The Practical
Starting to decide what I should do after I graduate. Maybe I'll work. Maybe I'll go to graduate school. It all seems secure. It all seems pretty practical. But I've never been practical. I hate practicality. At what lengths will I avoid it? At what lengths should I avoid it? In all practicality, I'm just wondering if I have the capability.
I absolutely failed at keeping up with my blog. I didn't even make it past the first entry. Anyway it's my first blog failure. Hype-to-failure behavior is my thing. There's no success like failure and failure is no success at all. Alright, Bob. I'll start again.
The Unusual
My nightmares are more and more frequent. However, last night's dream was my own last supper and my bittersweet ending. Someone was coming after me and I knew I was probably going to die soon, but unlike my other dreams where I'm running for what seems like endless days and nights I had gotten together with all my friends from high school and Bobby and we were sitting at a big table eating dinner together one last time. Old friends, best friends, friends who I could never be friends with again where all there. Seems like I've assumed a "fuck it" attitude even in my nightmares.
The Practical
Starting to decide what I should do after I graduate. Maybe I'll work. Maybe I'll go to graduate school. It all seems secure. It all seems pretty practical. But I've never been practical. I hate practicality. At what lengths will I avoid it? At what lengths should I avoid it? In all practicality, I'm just wondering if I have the capability.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
An Introduction to Myself and My Past Sandwiches
Starting up this blog gives me a rush of nostalgia as I go back in my head to the memories of my first pseudo blog.
My XANGA.
It's embarrassing knowing that the opinions of my early high school, which were usually given in the form of a terrible "Bob Loblawology Survey" (No, it's not my name, but I figure we'll keep the suspense going for as long as possible), are forever frozen in internet time. I know that this blog will have the same effects on me 5 years from now that my xanga has on me now, so with that being said please forgive me for all I have done, will do, and am doing.
A couple of weeks ago I decided I was going to start a Sandwich Log that would include both the sandwiches that I make and any sandwiches I have while I'm out that catch my eye. It hasn't been very consistent as far as updating goes, but food is one of the few loves of my life and sandwiches are the lust in that love. Not everyone appreciates a good sandwich. Why? There is no reason. Sandwiches are like the contortionist.
THEY ARE SO VERSATILE!
Whatever you can possibly think of to do with a sandwich... it's completely and absolutely possible and encouraged. I haven't yet even seen the boundaries for sandwiches, but through experimentation I'm willing to figure out the boundaries of the awesome and the awful.
My first sandwich was inspired by a typical dish in the state of Jalisco, Mexico that I had on a trip to Guadalajara this past November. The traditional dish is called Torta Ahogada, which means "drowned sandwich", and is a sandwich filled with chopped, fried pork and then submerged in a vat of spicy salsa and eaten with your hands. Absurdly messy. Absurdly delicious.
I decided to create my own variation of this sandwich. I called it Torta Ahogada en Mole. OR THE Sandwich Log.
I used sourdough for the bread and then stuffed this monster of a sandwich with refried beans, mole shredded chicken, sour cream, Monterrey Jack cheese, and avocado. Then I "drowned" it in mole sauce which is a Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, spices, and chocolate. It was messy, delicious, and altogether absurd. WOULD MAKE AGAIN.
The next sandwich I made was a result of me screwing around, as any sandwich connoisseur should do, and deciding to stuff an omelet inside of a calzone. The result? A breakfast calzone.
This one was made of homemade pizza dough, an omelet (eggs, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, and spinach), tomato sauce, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and spicy pepperoni. I was pushing some boundaries so I was skeptical... but it was good, my friends. It was good.
I don't have any intention of making this blog strictly for sandwiches so if you're not into my Sandwich Log there'll be other pictures of food. And if you're not into other pictures of food then I'll be talking about mildly entertaining things that happen to me or whatever. If you're not into what I have to say then I'm sure we can work something out sexually.
Alright. I hope to get more readers and to get more interesting, in whichever order, as this blog continues. Good luck to the both of us.
My XANGA.
It's embarrassing knowing that the opinions of my early high school, which were usually given in the form of a terrible "Bob Loblawology Survey" (No, it's not my name, but I figure we'll keep the suspense going for as long as possible), are forever frozen in internet time. I know that this blog will have the same effects on me 5 years from now that my xanga has on me now, so with that being said please forgive me for all I have done, will do, and am doing.
A couple of weeks ago I decided I was going to start a Sandwich Log that would include both the sandwiches that I make and any sandwiches I have while I'm out that catch my eye. It hasn't been very consistent as far as updating goes, but food is one of the few loves of my life and sandwiches are the lust in that love. Not everyone appreciates a good sandwich. Why? There is no reason. Sandwiches are like the contortionist.
THEY ARE SO VERSATILE!
Whatever you can possibly think of to do with a sandwich... it's completely and absolutely possible and encouraged. I haven't yet even seen the boundaries for sandwiches, but through experimentation I'm willing to figure out the boundaries of the awesome and the awful.
My first sandwich was inspired by a typical dish in the state of Jalisco, Mexico that I had on a trip to Guadalajara this past November. The traditional dish is called Torta Ahogada, which means "drowned sandwich", and is a sandwich filled with chopped, fried pork and then submerged in a vat of spicy salsa and eaten with your hands. Absurdly messy. Absurdly delicious.
I decided to create my own variation of this sandwich. I called it Torta Ahogada en Mole. OR THE Sandwich Log.
I used sourdough for the bread and then stuffed this monster of a sandwich with refried beans, mole shredded chicken, sour cream, Monterrey Jack cheese, and avocado. Then I "drowned" it in mole sauce which is a Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, spices, and chocolate. It was messy, delicious, and altogether absurd. WOULD MAKE AGAIN.
The next sandwich I made was a result of me screwing around, as any sandwich connoisseur should do, and deciding to stuff an omelet inside of a calzone. The result? A breakfast calzone.
This one was made of homemade pizza dough, an omelet (eggs, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, and spinach), tomato sauce, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and spicy pepperoni. I was pushing some boundaries so I was skeptical... but it was good, my friends. It was good.
I don't have any intention of making this blog strictly for sandwiches so if you're not into my Sandwich Log there'll be other pictures of food. And if you're not into other pictures of food then I'll be talking about mildly entertaining things that happen to me or whatever. If you're not into what I have to say then I'm sure we can work something out sexually.
Alright. I hope to get more readers and to get more interesting, in whichever order, as this blog continues. Good luck to the both of us.
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