One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

I had read Sex and the City years ago when I got really really interested in the TV series. I had always loved the way that the story was made to make fun of the ladies. At some point they were shallow, stupid, mean, rude like all New Yorkers (supposedly I suppose) are and they are also kind, sweet, nice, loving towards one another. The book on the other hand was far more edgier than the TV series which tried to gloss things over to make it seem a 'little' better.

To get to the point I bought One Fifth Avenue expecting and hoping that it was as edgy as Sex and the City. At first, the story got too long and droned and after awhile, about exactly halfway it started to take one a life of its own. The details were endless and I think a bit meaningless, it was a version of chicklit but in this version the writer is not some hopeful or hoping female feeding the masses and masses of women images of a romance, a career and havin it all (i.e. Shopaholics Anonymous, Little Black Books???) as a girl makes their way into the big city. No, like her I do love the cynicism and the put down, I love the sound of dreams crushing under the heels of shoes either high or low. Well here it is, and I think despite its slowness and those hopeful and hoping for a good romantic ending, there is but it doesn't even matter,the whole point is this. This is a story of women who try to play by the rules of men and living in a man's man's world. It is not a radical feminist story BUT, as these women, the late Mrs Houghton, the gossip columnist Enid Merle, Schiffer Diamond, Mindy Gooch and ofcourse, Annalisa Rice are women made of steel, unencumbered like Lola Fabrikant, experienced, hard as nails and are pretty damn sure that there is no such thing as true love.

The stupid hymen

In most countries in SouthEast Asia if you want a rich husband, please do not hesitate by claiming yourself a virgin, buy some poor girls' hymen and paste it on yourself. The problem with the hymen is this, only 43% of women actually report bleeding occurring when the hymen is opened during first sexual intercourse, found here and an interesting article pointed out in sociological images, here . This is the reason why a lot of cultures in the East actually discourage young women to be working (especially if they could afford it, poor girls, please start working and peel the garlic skins!) Or have any vigorous work done, all in the name of protecting a non-existent flap of skin which amazingly still exists even after you give birth, and for some people has the ability to heal and re-attach itself thus become re-virginized. Oh for the sake of humanity's stupidity, hope you idiots go 'f' yourselves :)

Just to show how easily the wind of the media sways

I added a guy a few months back who was a member of A.N.S.W.E.R (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) on my facebook. Despite all thta has been going on around the world, war-torn Urumqi which I just found out about and a beauty contest --> here

Then about this guy, Michael Prysners' tireless effort in trying so hard to help war victims in Palestine. Ironically, after the siege in Gaza a few weeks later so short it was the human memory span and everyone started talking about Michael Jackson again, the damned swine flu (which I think I already had.... I suppose this was what the Israeli government counted on, for heavens' sake we can always rely on the media can't we? Sure the numerous countless things that everybody said during the siege earlier this year. It was all hype, hip and cool. Now that things are still going on 'over there' people seem to forget the whole thing altogether. And when someone of authority comes along (a.k.a THE Sultan) everyone scampers like dogs when a lot of people behind the scenes have been trying to countlessly remind people over and over again. The memory span of a regular average human being? - fifteen seconds



oh btw, please donate ;) cos shit hell if ever I was in a war sick destitute and dying I hope against hope that someone out there would hand out some money to help my family and friends.

Gone With the Wind

After years and years it has passed me by never bothering to check out what it was I was reading the UK's BBC top 100 reading list. One of them was Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, a 1000 page reading fiesta full of well. So there I went and bought Gone With the Wind and I have to say it was amazing, satisfying, interesting and rendering read. I have never for once looked in and out at something and realized what a fantastic read it was, of course it was a far cry from the movie starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh (which I liked and did not like at the same time, if only I was given the opportunity to remake it!). The book had its characters in a deeper light than did anything else. There it was the image of the South, I have to admit, racist, prejudiced, sexist and everything else permissible during when it was written (1936) and the setting of the book during the late 18th century American Civil War. What I found amazing are the characters of Uncle Peter and Mammy who actually 'owned' their masters and mistresses. Just as Scarlett's other, Ellen remarked that they should treat darkies like children, so did they Mammy and Uncle Peter considered their masters and mistresses their children that they have to take care of. Mammy's constant caring and cringing of Scarlett and Ellen while Uncle Peter's protecting of Aunt PittyPat. They were free blacks taking care of their weak masters and vice versa. One part of the movie which I loved was when Scarlet was driving around with Uncle Peter and meeting the Yankees wives. One of them asking where she could find a nanny, Scarlett saying that they could pick any darkies. The Yankee wife exclaiming hotly that she would never ever put her child with a 'nigger'. Uncle Peter, hurt and pained while Scarlett defending him by saying he was family. Either way slavery or freedom both contained connotations of pain for either side of people. In the book, the Southerners feared one day that a darkie will lead their nation (hahahahaha!!! They should reprint the book again in commemoration of Barrack Obama's presidency earlier this year). Things have greatly changed, since then but change will always come with pain, now I'm remembering the movie Luther when he revolutionized Christianity with his own sect. But either way, I liked Ashley although he was an idiot, and Scarlett who for me was kind of evil but impressive woman (any person who would rather either of their children to die in replacement of one dead child scares me), I admired Rhett for his kindness towards Wade Hamilton which was nonexistent in the movie. And Melanie I really liked for her soft exterior and extremely strong interior. And I loved the ending when Scarlett was pained by the death of Melanie. I think the racists today from the KKK are those hanging on to the past of wealth and cotton fields and romance with wealth deriving from slaves. Whatever the case it showed one side of the story, to balance it out one should read The Color Purple and Beloved.

Who would have thought?

---> http://www.evanstone.com/bio_main.htm

As usual I was surfing hot men, and of course porn stars do not escape my scrutiny. In the porn industry business I have heard extremely negative as well as extremely positive and everything else in between about pornography. In this case, Evan Stone seems to specialize in the genre where he looks like a Greek sexgod and it also seems that he has graced many a romance novel cover as a model. Reading his partial biography made me rethink some aspects concerning the fight against pornography, despite the actions that were displayed by pornography what is apparent is the fact that the whole wide world attaches deeply towards the actions of pornography. In the case of the American porn industry, they are highly specialized actors and actresses who spend a large portion of their money and time to look extremely good, at times comical and of course extremely made up with make-up. The odd thing is that the wide world has attached meanings to the actions displayed by the porn industry. Meanings of women as being seductresses and cheap. Meanings of the sexual stallion. But the biography given attest differently, he didn't sound sexist (amazing!) in fact he kind of sounded respectful about women and honestly he sounded ...human. Pornography in more ways than one, especially female pornstars of course would milk everything they could to display an image of alluring sexuality its their job. The sad thing is the stereotypical idea by regular men is that they think this should be the norm or the ideal and that these women actually enjoy being fucked. Watching some documentaries on pornography could make people think otherwise. Some do enjoy their jobs, others just think of it as a job like any other. If only more and more porn actors and actresses would display their human side. Like the fact that they wake up caked up with eye crusts with bad breath. They fart, smell and everything else in between everyone else does.

Fat Girl Syndrome

When I did a course on sociology of the body I realized something. Females in patriarchal communities look at themselves through the eyes of males. Their judgement of their value and self-worth is through what they can do for men and their sexuality. Ironically, the male yardstick measures itself via other men's eyes and not through what women might think of them. The male gaze since then has been a heated subject of debate that showcases how bent women are and how much social construction has ingrained themselves in HER brain. I wonder whether radical feminism was not right when they fought for the emancipation of women. What is true however, is the fact that women are (and probably to some extent men too) and do have, the fat girl syndrome. Their judgement is over themselves and their shame, the hag, the crone, the bitch, the slut, these are swear words adjusted especially for women. What do men get? prick? motherfucker? son of a bitch? jerk? (honestly what does jerk mean? does it mean beef jerky? like what small dick or something?) and the word prick, what's so bad to be called a prick anyway? A prick, repeat after me, prick as in prick your finger. Bastard, also a swear word connoted with its role with women, motherfucker (duh). Gay men criticize women, wome criticize women men criticize women. I hope this was thought provoking :P