A friend recently forwarded me an e-mail that is supposedly a quote from Jay Leno about a Newsweek poll saying 67% of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69% are unhappy with the performance of the President. Basically the e-mail asked the question, "What are we so unhappy about?" We have electricity, running water, shelter and over 95% have jobs. We can travel freely. We have access to hospitals and technology for entertainment as well as to improve our quality of life. We do not live with a constant barrage of bombs in fear for our lives.
Then Leno (allegedly) goes on to say that Bush guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11 (and then proceeded to alienate almost all other countries by wanting to play by his own rules and manipulate them the way he tries to manipulate the American people...aka if you are not for us, you are against us); and that he cut taxes to get the economy out of recession (hello, when Clinton left we had a surplus); and basically kept all us spoiled, ungrateful brats safe from terrorists (debatable at best). (Obviously parenthetical comments are my responsive tidbits).
I started typing a response to my friend, the sender of this e-mail, but then realized it was getting quite lengthy and the tone was, shall we say, a bit agitated. I knew she did not mean for me to get riled up about her e-mail, so I decided I would not respond to her directly and instead, my verbal vomit will appear here, where people do not need to continue reading this if they choose not to. Yes, I believe in choice!
This e-mail is such a great example of the problem I am having with this seemingly pervasive perspective by Americans. I love this country. I agree that we are spoiled. We (meaning me) are not as thankful as we (I) should be for all the wonderful things that come with being a citizen of the USA and being middle class (and geez, discussing class issues needs its own post). But some people are equating ungratefulness, disloyalty and lack of patriotism with the desire to question our leaders and the subsequent demand for accountability. That to voice dissent is equal to telling our military, "screw you." But isn't that what being American is all about? I contend that it is distinctly un-American (to use this awkward but ubiquitous term, after all have you heard of anyone being un-Irish or un-Pakistani?) to demand quiescent compliance and unquestioned admiration for leadership (political and otherwise) in order to prove you love America and are loyal to her. Criminy*, we'd still be an British colony if that were true.
We (as I am part of that 2/3+ that are unhappy with this President's actions) also know this is the President that assured us there were WMDs in Iraq and later we find out critical information was ignored and disregarded because it did not fit into his pre-existing plan to go after Hussein. He made Hussein the face of the terrorist attack (or at least Cheney did when he did the media circuit) which we now know belonged on Bin Laden and Al-Quida. All but one of the airplane hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi Arabian, but we did not invade Saudi Arabia. The Bush family have a long, lucrative history with the Royal family.
This is the man that authorized the illegal wiretapping of Americans, condones torture (under the guise of his Attorney General) and wants to take away most of our civil liberties (via the Patriot Act, Guantanimo and the like). I could go on and on regarding the Kyoto Protocol, the premature declaration of us having "won" the war in Iraq, etc. but I'll safe that for a future rant.
We do not live in a world of only black and white. It might make things easier if we did, but oversimplification has its deficiencies (as we have seen in the Bush administration). Yes, black and white exist here, but so do the many shades of gray. Some of us live in the gray. We're still part of the spectrum while acknowledging that black and white live there, too. Cheney lives in the gray...after all according to him, he's not part of the Executive Branch, right? Guess he didn't get the memo.
*I used the exclamation "criminy" because I thought it was a British exclamation (wouldn't that have been so clever given the context?), but I looked it up and it's actually derived from Italian, but I still like it, so I decided to leave it in.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Feminist Fantasy?
I was having dinner with a friend recently and the topic of movies came up in our conversation. He asked me if I had seen Waitress, and I enthusiastically said I had (see review, infra.) Just as I am about to launch into my thoughts about this movie, he says, "I knew you would like this movie. It's a total feminist fantasy."
Hmph! Ok, first I took exception to his tone (which I know I cannot clearly communicate here, but let me try). It was kind of a throwaway statement, with a hint of condescension and a dab of scorn tossed in there for good measure. Let's just say his tone made what could have been a critical (in the sense of analysis) or even innocuous comment into a negative one. He thinks (I use this word loosely, obviously) that feminists fantasize about not needing men. That women naturally(?) find their worth and identity through relationships (with men) and family. He feels the ultimate message of this film is that women do not need men...they can throw that all away and still be fulfilled.
Which leads me to my second point . . . that is simple fact, not fantasy. I was raised to be independent and that I should be able to provide for and take care of myself (along with being kind to others, telling the truth, washing behind my ears, etc.) I do not feel I need a man to make my life complete. At some point I may want a relationship like that, but I do not need one. I think that holds true for men and women alike.
"So," I ask trying to tamp down my belligerence so I am not yelling in the restaurant (I was also taught to be polite and circumspect), "in what do men find their worth if not through having a significant other and/or family?" To which he responds, "Work." I assume he means the prestige and wealth that comes with work. Perhaps even being the "provider" of the family...uh huh, which means that a significant other/family would be the most important thing, after all isn't provider is just a role in that unit?
Anyway, he argues that once Jenna had a daughter (not a son!), she is able to blithely walk away from her best friend and lover and make a success of her life, because she and her daughter have female power and no longer need men (a.k.a. feminist fantasy). He feels that it did not ring true because her loverwas the first person to sincerely care about her as a person, with whom she could share her innermost thoughts and fears and be completely vulnerable because he made her feel safe. It should have been more difficult for her to leave him. Bleh.
I contend Jenna planned to leave her lover once she met his wife and saw how much she loved and respected the cheating bast . . . uh, him. Furthermore, it is irrelevant whether Jenna gave birth to a girl or boy, the result would have been the same. It was more about the love of a mother for her child. Jenna having a girl just completes the circle, because she has all these precious memories of baking with her mother (and now she can create new memories baking with her daughter). And lastly, I think my friend has his own issues to deal with. Perhaps he is feeling unnecessary or easily dismissed by the woman in his life? What else would describe his outrage about "feminist fantasy?"
For some reason I do not like that phrase. Maybe feminist archetype is better? Perhaps it is just semantics, or perhaps it is because I can still hear his tone while saying, "feminist fantasy," or maybe it is just the odd and disturbing picture I get in my head of feminists sitting around fantasizing? I don't know why that picture is disturbing, it just is.
Hmph! Ok, first I took exception to his tone (which I know I cannot clearly communicate here, but let me try). It was kind of a throwaway statement, with a hint of condescension and a dab of scorn tossed in there for good measure. Let's just say his tone made what could have been a critical (in the sense of analysis) or even innocuous comment into a negative one. He thinks (I use this word loosely, obviously) that feminists fantasize about not needing men. That women naturally(?) find their worth and identity through relationships (with men) and family. He feels the ultimate message of this film is that women do not need men...they can throw that all away and still be fulfilled.
Which leads me to my second point . . . that is simple fact, not fantasy. I was raised to be independent and that I should be able to provide for and take care of myself (along with being kind to others, telling the truth, washing behind my ears, etc.) I do not feel I need a man to make my life complete. At some point I may want a relationship like that, but I do not need one. I think that holds true for men and women alike.
"So," I ask trying to tamp down my belligerence so I am not yelling in the restaurant (I was also taught to be polite and circumspect), "in what do men find their worth if not through having a significant other and/or family?" To which he responds, "Work." I assume he means the prestige and wealth that comes with work. Perhaps even being the "provider" of the family...uh huh, which means that a significant other/family would be the most important thing, after all isn't provider is just a role in that unit?
Anyway, he argues that once Jenna had a daughter (not a son!), she is able to blithely walk away from her best friend and lover and make a success of her life, because she and her daughter have female power and no longer need men (a.k.a. feminist fantasy). He feels that it did not ring true because her loverwas the first person to sincerely care about her as a person, with whom she could share her innermost thoughts and fears and be completely vulnerable because he made her feel safe. It should have been more difficult for her to leave him. Bleh.
I contend Jenna planned to leave her lover once she met his wife and saw how much she loved and respected the cheating bast . . . uh, him. Furthermore, it is irrelevant whether Jenna gave birth to a girl or boy, the result would have been the same. It was more about the love of a mother for her child. Jenna having a girl just completes the circle, because she has all these precious memories of baking with her mother (and now she can create new memories baking with her daughter). And lastly, I think my friend has his own issues to deal with. Perhaps he is feeling unnecessary or easily dismissed by the woman in his life? What else would describe his outrage about "feminist fantasy?"
For some reason I do not like that phrase. Maybe feminist archetype is better? Perhaps it is just semantics, or perhaps it is because I can still hear his tone while saying, "feminist fantasy," or maybe it is just the odd and disturbing picture I get in my head of feminists sitting around fantasizing? I don't know why that picture is disturbing, it just is.
Pie on the Beach
I saw two movies last weekend. And yes, I paid separate admission for each one, although to be honest, I was tempted to just sneak into the next theatre. These multi-plexes seem to lend themselves to sneaking, but perhaps that's just me.
*****Spoiler alerts for Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Waitress*****
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer....was ok. A fun comic book action romp. Although I actually kind of feel mean for saying this, I'm gonna say it anyway: Jessica Alba does not seem to be a very good actress. Either that or she was not directed very well in this film. She is super gorgeous and she's not horrible, but other than making puppy dog endearing eyes to the Silver Surfer, I am not sure how much she contributed to this film. Frankly, that look she does reminds me of Puss in Boots from Shrek. (I could almost hear the background music swelling). Plus, she still seems too young for the dude they have playing Reed Richards (who is pretty hot, by the way).
But anyway, the film I would really like to write about is Waitress, written and directed by Adrienne Shelley. She also acted in the movie as "Dawn" a fellow waitress and friend of the main character Jenna (Keri Russell). I believe she also sang the movie's closing song. The film is dedicated to her memory, because she was killed on November 1, 2006. According to IMDb:
"Shelly's death was first considered a suicide. Days later, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant and construction worker confessed to slaying the actress, who he left hanging by a bedsheet from a shower rod in the bathroom of her Manhattan office / apartment. She was found by her husband."
How tragic. She was obviously very talented. She also had a daughter, who played Jenna's daughter at the end of the movie. She was such a cutie with bright yellow curly hair and an angelic smile.
I enjoyed the movie. It was told in a fairy tale spirit. It is the kind of story a mother tells her daughter when her daughter demands a bedtime story about how she came to be. A story to be repeated, with sometimes a new detail added here or there, but basically the same. A story that, when that little girl grows up, she will tell her own daughter...and so on and so on, down through the generations. Eventually it becomes almost like a fable (kind of like the movie Big Fish). A story about how the love of a mother for her daughter changed the course of that mother's life forever by freeing her from her fears and insecurities.
And Nathan Fillion was hot. I've liked him since I first saw him on that television show, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. But really loved him as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly (and the subsequent movie Serendipity). Of course, he's a big cheater in this movie, which was kind of distracting, because I wanted to like him (he plays this awkward, neurotic, yet endearing doctor), but I kept thinking, "he's cheating!" Ugh.
Andy Griffith was also in this movie, and I liked him (and his character) a lot. In fact, the supporting cast (Jeremy Sisto as Jenna's controlling jerk of a husband, Cheryl Hines as the smart-talking waitress/friend, and of course Adrienne Shelley) were stellar. There were some inconsistencies and incongruence regarding the plot and the actions of the characters, but I am ready to forgive them because the movie was so charming and I feel, meant to play out like a fairy tale or fable.
Plus, did I mention how hot Nathan Fillion was in this movie?
The main character makes pies. She makes pies because it is a link to her past and reminds her of times when her life was better (as a young girl baking with her mother, who obviously loved her very much) and because it is a creative outlet for a life that is slowly suffocating her spirit. It is her means of escape (some people do drugs or otherwise create alternate realities), she bakes.
Jenna names her pies after whatever circumstance she is going through at the time. I just wish the pies would have tied in better with the names...or vice versa. That would have been cool. I think one of her pies was "Baby waking me up in the middle of the night" pie and it had pecans and nutmeg in it. What does that have to do with a crying baby? There was an Earl (her husband) killing me because I'm having an affair" pie that had raspberries and blackberries crushed up...allusion to bruises? A bit of a stretch, since none of the other pies really matched their names.
But still, I enjoyed Waitress a lot. One thing I really liked about it is that she did not choose any of the men in her life. Jenna decided to face the world for and with her daughter Lulu. Although, if one chose to be very picky, one could say that she did rely on a man to "save" her . . . that man being Old Joe (Andy Griffith) who gives her enough money to create her own pie business. I choose not to be picky here.
Plus, have I mentioned how hot Nathan Fillion was in this movie?
*****Spoiler alerts for Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Waitress*****
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer....was ok. A fun comic book action romp. Although I actually kind of feel mean for saying this, I'm gonna say it anyway: Jessica Alba does not seem to be a very good actress. Either that or she was not directed very well in this film. She is super gorgeous and she's not horrible, but other than making puppy dog endearing eyes to the Silver Surfer, I am not sure how much she contributed to this film. Frankly, that look she does reminds me of Puss in Boots from Shrek. (I could almost hear the background music swelling). Plus, she still seems too young for the dude they have playing Reed Richards (who is pretty hot, by the way).
But anyway, the film I would really like to write about is Waitress, written and directed by Adrienne Shelley. She also acted in the movie as "Dawn" a fellow waitress and friend of the main character Jenna (Keri Russell). I believe she also sang the movie's closing song. The film is dedicated to her memory, because she was killed on November 1, 2006. According to IMDb:
"Shelly's death was first considered a suicide. Days later, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant and construction worker confessed to slaying the actress, who he left hanging by a bedsheet from a shower rod in the bathroom of her Manhattan office / apartment. She was found by her husband."
How tragic. She was obviously very talented. She also had a daughter, who played Jenna's daughter at the end of the movie. She was such a cutie with bright yellow curly hair and an angelic smile.
I enjoyed the movie. It was told in a fairy tale spirit. It is the kind of story a mother tells her daughter when her daughter demands a bedtime story about how she came to be. A story to be repeated, with sometimes a new detail added here or there, but basically the same. A story that, when that little girl grows up, she will tell her own daughter...and so on and so on, down through the generations. Eventually it becomes almost like a fable (kind of like the movie Big Fish). A story about how the love of a mother for her daughter changed the course of that mother's life forever by freeing her from her fears and insecurities.
And Nathan Fillion was hot. I've liked him since I first saw him on that television show, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. But really loved him as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly (and the subsequent movie Serendipity). Of course, he's a big cheater in this movie, which was kind of distracting, because I wanted to like him (he plays this awkward, neurotic, yet endearing doctor), but I kept thinking, "he's cheating!" Ugh.
Andy Griffith was also in this movie, and I liked him (and his character) a lot. In fact, the supporting cast (Jeremy Sisto as Jenna's controlling jerk of a husband, Cheryl Hines as the smart-talking waitress/friend, and of course Adrienne Shelley) were stellar. There were some inconsistencies and incongruence regarding the plot and the actions of the characters, but I am ready to forgive them because the movie was so charming and I feel, meant to play out like a fairy tale or fable.
Plus, did I mention how hot Nathan Fillion was in this movie?
The main character makes pies. She makes pies because it is a link to her past and reminds her of times when her life was better (as a young girl baking with her mother, who obviously loved her very much) and because it is a creative outlet for a life that is slowly suffocating her spirit. It is her means of escape (some people do drugs or otherwise create alternate realities), she bakes.
Jenna names her pies after whatever circumstance she is going through at the time. I just wish the pies would have tied in better with the names...or vice versa. That would have been cool. I think one of her pies was "Baby waking me up in the middle of the night" pie and it had pecans and nutmeg in it. What does that have to do with a crying baby? There was an Earl (her husband) killing me because I'm having an affair" pie that had raspberries and blackberries crushed up...allusion to bruises? A bit of a stretch, since none of the other pies really matched their names.
But still, I enjoyed Waitress a lot. One thing I really liked about it is that she did not choose any of the men in her life. Jenna decided to face the world for and with her daughter Lulu. Although, if one chose to be very picky, one could say that she did rely on a man to "save" her . . . that man being Old Joe (Andy Griffith) who gives her enough money to create her own pie business. I choose not to be picky here.
Plus, have I mentioned how hot Nathan Fillion was in this movie?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Getting Older
I am getting older.
I know, I know, it does not seem like much of a news flash. But I do not mean that I am aging in the universal sense (in that we are all getting older because of the way the time-space continuum operates). I mean I am getting older...as in reaching a definitive destination. Much like how someone may be "getting" sick.
For example, I am beginning to get aches and pains when I am in one position too long. Currently, I'm on the DL for my women's tennis team because I have acute tendinitis in my wrist. I am definitely not healing as quickly as I was able to do even a few short years ago. My mother felt so sorry for me that she offered to cut my meat tonight! Seriously. That is so sad and pathetic.
Gone (apparently) are the days when I could jump out of bed and play tennis until dark (warm up and cool down stretching? We don't need no lousy warm up and cool down stretching!) and get up the next day and do it again, all the while feeling no pain. Back then I took no pain killers. No anti-inflammatory medication. (Although at various times I did have to wear braces on my ankle, knee, back, wrist and elbow. Hmmm...perhaps my body has always been older than my chronological age?) All that concerned me was being hydrated, avoiding sunburn and kicking butt. Oh and geez, speaking of butts, have I mentioned the size of mine? Where the heck did that monstrosity come from?
My doctor has begun talking to me about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol and living a healthy lifestyle. He just recently put me on medication for hypertension. He said it is the mildest medication and I only take half a pill a day and my family has a history of high blood pressure, but still...isn't that something for old people to worry about?
Part of the reason I think I am having such difficulty with all this is because of the disconnect in my mind. In my mind I am still in my 20s...or younger. Perhaps it is because I am the youngest in my family. Or maybe I am just naturally inclined to feeling youthful and silly. I don't know. All I know is that I, er, display a youthful joie de vivre? Let me provide an example. I drove my company's van to the dealership for servicing. I was following our Office Manager, who knew the way (I am directionally challenged) and he was going to drive me back to the office while the van was being fixed. We are at a stop light and I see him check his rear view mirror to make sure I am still behind him. As soon as I see him looking, I stick my thumbs in my ears and wiggle my fingers while crossing my eyes and sticking out my tongue at him.
Have I mentioned that I am a few years short of being 40? What adult feels compelled to do that kind of stuff? Much less to be so lacking in fortitude as to be unable to resist such a temptation? The Office Manager is younger than I am and I see him rolling his eyes at my antics.
My office is at the end of a long hallway. Sometimes I feel like skipping down that hallway. Yeah, okay, so I have done it once or twice.
Yet, I pay my mortgage on time, do my own taxes and have managed to remain gainfully employed for most of my adult life. I mean, it is not like I am a total flake or anything. I even started "introducing" more fiber in my diet (insert eye roll here). Bleh.
We have all heard that adage: you're only as old as you feel. I always took that to mean that if you are "young at heart" (to use another cliche), that it did not matter what your chronological age was. They didn't tell me it actually refers to how one feels physically (See, aches and pains and worrying about throwing your back out). Frankly, I don't think it's fair that I am diligently working my way towards being aged and yet I have to pay full price for everything. If I have the aches and pains of a senior citizen, shouldn't I also be able to take advantage of their discounts? It's not my fault I'm so advanced for my age.
I know, I know, it does not seem like much of a news flash. But I do not mean that I am aging in the universal sense (in that we are all getting older because of the way the time-space continuum operates). I mean I am getting older...as in reaching a definitive destination. Much like how someone may be "getting" sick.
For example, I am beginning to get aches and pains when I am in one position too long. Currently, I'm on the DL for my women's tennis team because I have acute tendinitis in my wrist. I am definitely not healing as quickly as I was able to do even a few short years ago. My mother felt so sorry for me that she offered to cut my meat tonight! Seriously. That is so sad and pathetic.
Gone (apparently) are the days when I could jump out of bed and play tennis until dark (warm up and cool down stretching? We don't need no lousy warm up and cool down stretching!) and get up the next day and do it again, all the while feeling no pain. Back then I took no pain killers. No anti-inflammatory medication. (Although at various times I did have to wear braces on my ankle, knee, back, wrist and elbow. Hmmm...perhaps my body has always been older than my chronological age?) All that concerned me was being hydrated, avoiding sunburn and kicking butt. Oh and geez, speaking of butts, have I mentioned the size of mine? Where the heck did that monstrosity come from?
My doctor has begun talking to me about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol and living a healthy lifestyle. He just recently put me on medication for hypertension. He said it is the mildest medication and I only take half a pill a day and my family has a history of high blood pressure, but still...isn't that something for old people to worry about?
Part of the reason I think I am having such difficulty with all this is because of the disconnect in my mind. In my mind I am still in my 20s...or younger. Perhaps it is because I am the youngest in my family. Or maybe I am just naturally inclined to feeling youthful and silly. I don't know. All I know is that I, er, display a youthful joie de vivre? Let me provide an example. I drove my company's van to the dealership for servicing. I was following our Office Manager, who knew the way (I am directionally challenged) and he was going to drive me back to the office while the van was being fixed. We are at a stop light and I see him check his rear view mirror to make sure I am still behind him. As soon as I see him looking, I stick my thumbs in my ears and wiggle my fingers while crossing my eyes and sticking out my tongue at him.
Have I mentioned that I am a few years short of being 40? What adult feels compelled to do that kind of stuff? Much less to be so lacking in fortitude as to be unable to resist such a temptation? The Office Manager is younger than I am and I see him rolling his eyes at my antics.
My office is at the end of a long hallway. Sometimes I feel like skipping down that hallway. Yeah, okay, so I have done it once or twice.
Yet, I pay my mortgage on time, do my own taxes and have managed to remain gainfully employed for most of my adult life. I mean, it is not like I am a total flake or anything. I even started "introducing" more fiber in my diet (insert eye roll here). Bleh.
We have all heard that adage: you're only as old as you feel. I always took that to mean that if you are "young at heart" (to use another cliche), that it did not matter what your chronological age was. They didn't tell me it actually refers to how one feels physically (See, aches and pains and worrying about throwing your back out). Frankly, I don't think it's fair that I am diligently working my way towards being aged and yet I have to pay full price for everything. If I have the aches and pains of a senior citizen, shouldn't I also be able to take advantage of their discounts? It's not my fault I'm so advanced for my age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
