I had this great sofa. Made out of a type of bamboo in the 1950s in Hawaii. It was loved by my friend’s family until January 2004 and then passed to me. A funky sofa to the max. The sofa cover had red, yellow, orange, brown stripes; bizarre but full of personality. For the past month, I debated whether to put funky sofa in storage or throw it away (it’s too raggedy to sell off).
And then in a fit of chaos, I threw it all away. Blasted “Mr. Brightside” on my surround sound and by the end of the song, funky sofa was in the trash.
Maybe that’s how reinvent ourselves: burn the old, nurture the new.
Hairy Swede wrote a great commentary on feminism and sexism in Sweden a few days ago. I thought I would you point you all to his post as well as my comment- expanded below.
When I lived in France, there would be topless women in billboard advertisements. Sexist? Well, maybe because the company was selling lotion. Or maybe not; after all it is just the human body. While we find the French strange, they do have certain liberal ideas to admire: topless beaches, uncensored television, racy print advertisements, condom machines in plazas. Some people say it’s sexist to exploit the female body in such a manner. Is it though? We allow men in tight underwear in Hanes commercials or women cat calling hot construction workers (the Diet Coke ad from the 90s) and no one complains.
But a topless women? Obscene, vulgar, disrespectful. No, it’s advertising, art and pleasuring the senses to buy a product. There are extremes to this case but we’re not going to discuss that here.
Back to Sweden. For Sweden priding itself on equality, some people take it to the extremes. At the end of the day, men and women will never be the same in a biological, evolutionary sense. We can reach a level of equality in society only if we accept that men and women are different and will interpret situations, people, life in their own ways.
However, some feminists believe it is possible for society to exist in a perfect equilibrium between the sexes. But, a consequence of extreme feminism is male submissiveness. The men in Sweden are run over by the women. They are told what constitutes equality and told how to behave, thus creating a unisex society. We can agree on some great aspects of Swedish equality, but creating a more than equal society for women at the expense of men is unfair.
So ladies in Sweden, let there be hot lingerie advertisements. Take a lesson from the French: the female body is beautiful; might as well adorn it. The Swedish men could surely use some fire in their lives.
There’s no part one but at least I’m writing part two. Took off for snowboarding earlier today and arrived home an hour ago- how I am still awake is beyond me.
After initially being terrified going snowboarding a week ago at Sierra, I toughened up, sucked it in and decided I have to enjoy the ride. We (my ex and his friend), went up to Boreal for night skiing. When we hit the slopes at 16h30, the bunny slope was already closed and the snow was pelting the ground. Not a great way to start a second snowboarding session, but maybe the earthly elements was exactly what I needed.
After a couple minor falls on the green slope, I really felt the groove of boarding. It was amazing; the board sliding on snow and moving with the curves of the mountain was beautiful. I never felt so relaxed in life. Fear of heights? Not anymore.
I eventually mucked up the courage to try the blue slope (part blue/part green). Daunting. High. Long lift…oyi! As usual I fell off the lift when jumping off and crawled my way to an area to strap my boots. Then I saw: a steep drop. What?! I had to get down that first? No thank you. Strapped my boots and slid on my ass I did. After ten feet, I got up and made my way down. Amazing, didn’t kill myself, didn’t faceplant (or assplant), didn’t wipe out.
And there it was. I snowboarded. =)
My friend, notsirk, recently started a new blog called Noodled Out. We’re very excited because we’ve been lazily planning this for two years. Anyway, it’s up and running and should have lots of information up in a short time. Anyway, check it out, post some tasty treats, and enjoy!
So here are some very funny emails that I have been receiving, ladies (and gentlemen), post your favorite, cheesy, terrible line someone has told to hit on you.
Okcupid-America:
And, what is up with the orange dress? And the shooting?
Very curious now.
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Hey there sweetie,
I find you extremeley adorable. You look beautiful in your mermaid dress. I would like to chat and get to know you. You seem fun.
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I love your profile.
So funny, and cute, yet leaves you wanting more.
I am just sorry that I will not get to hear all your different accents.
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Hmmm… now I am curious: what do you shoot, exactly? Portraits? Weddings? Bears? Portraits of bears getting married (in Vegas, of course, by a preacher-alligator-Elvis-lookalike with a slobbery cigar hanging from his lips and a half-eaten sandwich stuck in his giant sideburns)? What a shot that would be!
Wooo! Looks like you caught me in the midst of my midnightly madness! Don’t take me too seriously though; I’ll be here all night. Well not really, actually I’m going to bed. So please, take me as seriously serious as possible.
–
…dish, dish! Tell all. That’s a heck of a dress, by the way…
–
Ooh, a D200. Now I am jealous (my D70 gets a good workout, but it’s just not the same). That’s awesome that you shoot for a living. I’m curious what you shoot. I’m also curious about that dress. Hot. ;-)
–
[someone wrote asking if i'd be willing to receive erotic emails...ummm no. that is so gross. am i married to you? no? then i'm not having those conversations with you]
—–
At a bar in SF:
A gem like you couldn’t stay hidden in NY forever
—–
On match.se:
if u like sex let me know
(first creepy swede i have ever encountered…ewwwwwww)
We all say crazy stuff, so men please don’t take it personally. I know women are very capable of doing/saying insane things.
I was telling this story to a friend and she nearly died of laughter. You just can’t keep it to yourself.
Here’s the background:
Dude and I are entrenched in a conversation. It is important to note the dude is Swedish and the total lack of inhibition in his questioning is either due to his Swedish liberalness or his adorable naivety. Or maybe he was being a male (cute but silly).
We are discussing American politics, global affairs, etc. then eventually delve down into American conservatism. This inevitably leads to a conversation about gay rights…
Me: It’s really aggravating to witness a country that prides itself on “freedoms” and equal rights can prohibit two people from getting married. Makes me angry.
Sven*: So, are you a lesbian? [continues eating]
Me: [shell-shocked...WTF?!!...ask that question in the South mister and we'll teach you where you can put that rifle...]
Me: [actually says] No.
Me: [still confused, flustered, embarrassed] No, I really like my men. Yeah…
Sven: [eating peacefully] Okay, that’s good then.
Later in the conversation…
Sven: I saw your photo. You have more hair and look different.
Me: [Why, you little...!!! - Imagine a Homer strangling Bart moment]
Me: Uhhh, yah that photo was when I was in college, 5 years ago. I also lost some hair b/c of my vacation in Iceland.
Sven: Ahhh.
Sven: You still don’t look bad.
*name changed to protect privacy but maybe not the privacy of the 50,000 people named Sven
Sven made me so irate that I was not sure if I wanted to strangle him or kiss him. He had the balls to say ridiculous things but do them in an innocent manner.
And not realizing that (the lesbian thing) was a loaded question was a true kicker. Coming from the South, I can guarantee someone would have punched him in a best case scenario. Worst case: a rifle up his ass.
“I should never ignore love” -Kent
In memory of a family member who passed away in a car accident 11 years ago today. Nothing else to be said, but she deserves a post.
We have all lost but we should always remember to love.
I do not normally write resolution but I figured this year will be different from any other. Everything is new and I might as well have great goals for myself.
In no particular order:
- Learn snowboarding- heights be damned, this is it! Time to learn and teach those Swedes how one really does it. And for anyone who wants to teach me, I’m totally available. =)
- Complete three paintings- I did it when I was younger and I still have the talent
- Find a job- oh yes, just that easy!
- Pursue photography- Join the Stockholm art community as both a photographer and a model
- Apply for graduate school — Attend graduate school
- Get an apartment with my cousin- If any of you know someone who is renting their place for the long term, please please please let us know. I implore you.
- Visit Svalbard and Jan Mayer- Why the hell not?
- See the Stockholm museums, attend a hockey game (or two or three)
- Find a decent fellow to spend time with. Don’t laugh, but I’m really shy/nervous around people I like. And I’m pretty traditional. I may be having a wild child phase at the moment (or I may always have a little wildness in me), but I can be quite domestic. And I want a man who can be a man for me, like he’s comfortable with taking control (and me do so at times). Oh, and I’m a great cook and love cooking for someone. =)
- Work out- get killer abs and stay toned
- Pursue ballroom dancing with more passion- MUST. GO. DANCING.
- Relearn the guitar- Start with fingerpicking. Work with a classical and maybe move to acoustic
- Learn Icelandic…learning Swedish is a given
- Patience- seems a little silly to say. I am not a patient person. By any means. Without going into details, I am in a situation where patience is key. If I lose my cool, I will ruin everything. But at the same time, waiting and keeping cool is a daunting task. So I believe if I possess a little patience, I will be rewarded with something great.
If I start to falter, be sure to post and slap me. I am determined to stay on top of my goals.
Happy new year to all. Let’s hope for a wonderful 2008. Woohoo!!!
