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I was Skyping with my young Mexican tutor who lives in Honduras this morning. He told me the following joke:
¿En qué se parecen las mujeres y las canciones en inglés?
Yo tampoco lo entiendo, pero me gustan los dos.
Or in English:
How are women and songs in English alike?
I don’t understand either, but I like them both.
Seems like male / female relationships are the same in whatever culture the two genders exist.
yeah I know you did not ask!
What do you call a group of elderly women?
I was riding my bicycle early in the morning at the Creve Coeur Lake Park. Coming my way was a group of 12 or 15 elderly women riding their bikes. I knew they were elderly as they all looked to be around my age plus or minus 10 years…old. About a third of them were obnoxious morning people who insisted on saying “good morning” to me. Did they not know I had short changed my coffee to get out there that early?
I begin to wonder what do you call a group of older women… a clutch, a coven, a pack, a posse, madams, it is a murder of crows, a charm of foxes, a mob of kangaroos…
Just wondering, any good suggestions leave a comment.
One of the big issues waging in the never ending culture wars is “bathroom” laws. This has been brought on by attempting to deal with transgender folks on a level that meets their needs. Transgender people would like use public restrooms that match what they perceive as their gender identity. Many states have passed laws attempting to force transgender people to use public restrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates.
First a confession, Continue reading “Transgender Bathrooms”
yeah I know you did not ask!
I just got back from Vegas. As I was strolling The Strip I began to wonder how a working girl could make a living in that town. There are so many young women getting their slut on that the competition must be fierce!
This is a book of poetry masquerading as prose. It is a book short on dialogue and long on imagery, both external and of the characters’ internal emotion-scape. The book came out in 1915 and was banned shortly thereafter in Britain for 11 years.
The novel covers three women from the same family over a period of 65 years starting in 1840 and ending in 1905. This is roughly the Victorian era. This is a period of great change just after the Industrial Revolution in which England was changing from a mostly rural based culture to an urban based society. Along with technological advances and migrating populations, it was a time of changing social mores, including sexuality and of the relationship between men and women. It was Lawrence’s graphic depiction of sexuality (for the times) that resulted in its banning.
It struck me that Lawrence saw the relationship between a man and woman as more of a contest than any sort of synergistic union. A passage from the middle of the book really brought home this concept to me. Continue reading “The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence”
…yeah I know you did not ask!
I feel sorry (among other things) for those men in societies that treat women as second class citizens, as property, as less than human. How wonderful it is to have a co-equal partner to share the world’s joys and sorrows with. I can only hope that if they had even an inkling of an idea of what a gift it is they would change their behavior. However, social and religious pressures can be an amazing force for the status quo.
…yeah I know you did not ask!
There are 3 species of hominids on this planet, men, women and teenagers.
Teddy Roosevelt has always been one of my favorite presidents. Reading this book has just reinforced and increased that feeling. How wonderful it would be to have such a man minus his 19th century sensibilities in our politics today. Of course, it was probably those 19th century sensibilities that made him the man he was.
This book is first and foremost a politic document, but that does not distract from its value. Mr. Roosevelt spends much time touting his accomplishments. When he praises someone it is with multiple superlatives. When he criticizes an individual it is with faint praise or kid gloves.
Born of wealthy parents Roosevelt could afford to pursue his interests without worrying about providing for the basic needs for his family. He was an avid outdoorsman, spent time as a rancher out west, led the famous group of volunteers, The Rough Riders, in the Spanish-American War, served in multiple capacities of public life ranging from Police Commissioner of New York to President of the United States.
He was first and foremost an advocate of the people, but did not believe in tolerating freeloaders. Continue reading “Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt”
I do believe it may be time to revive the ancient festival of Lupercalia.
From the Wikipedia article:
Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman] pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Febura, an earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February its name.
Plutarch described Lupercalia:
“Lupercalia, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.”
Read all about here: Lupercalia
The Wikipedia article on Valentine’s Day stated there was no connection between the two…despite many authors making the connection. Pope Gelasius (492 – 496) abolished the festival of Lupercalia . This same Pope established St. Valentine’s Day in 496. Since I really do not have a dog in this fight, I am going with Valentine’s Day stemming from the abolishment of Lupercalia. Besides Garrison Keillor reported it as so.
I’m not a huge show tune fan, but I do enjoy some. I definitely enjoy musical theatre, and the occasional musical film from days of yore. One of my favorites is My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. I am sure that everyone knows the tale; it is a retelling of the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Who better to retell this tale than Bernard Bernard Shaw?
I watched the movie again this weekend. It had been years since I had seen it. I enjoyed the acting, the music and the movie. While I could not sing all the songs like Robin, I did recognize all the tunes.
The film is from 1964 and the Shaw’s original play was written in 1912. These are certainly different times when it comes to the relationship between men and women in the Western world. I say this because I had forgotten the ending. As it turned out it was very unsatisfying to me. Continue reading “My Fair Lady”