No Sex Protest

Finally, the ladies of the world may be organizing for power...the smart way.  It seems that little Togo, another African nation like Liberia, the one that first started to use the tactic (successfully) in 2003 is showing the ladies that the way to control men is through the ultimate female power....that being the power to withhold sex until the men do as the ladies wish.

Togo Female opposition leader Isabelle Ameganvi said that sex could be a "weapon of the battle" to achieve political change in that country. She and the ladies want the dictator, President Faure Gnassingbe out of office so they have called for all the Togo ladies to abstain from sex with their men for one week as a means of instituting government reforms, and hopefully ousting the Pres. "If men refuse to hear our cries we will hold another demonstration that will be more powerful than a sex strike," she said. Hmmmm Is there a more powerful weapon?

Togo has been run by the Gnassingbe family for more than four decades, and just recently the dictator instituted an election system designed to keep himself in power.  The no sex strike is supposed to motivate men who are not involved in the politics of Togo to pursue its goals, which include an end to the system allowing unlimited presidential terms. I guess the men are keeping their pants on for the time being and hoping they can take them off later.

Evidently, Togo ladies think that the male brain is located in the lower half of their bodies. They may be right. At least thehookers in Togo can  make more money from the upswing in business from males who do think from below the waist. I wonder if this could start a trend everywhere. Just imagine a wife asking the husband if he took out the garbage pail as instructed. " Not yet, Dear"....Oops! No sex today for you, buddy!" What power women would have. Those guys would either have to obey their ladies or find an alternative, perhaps a new gay lifestyle or the local VD infected hooker. Not so appealing.... I suspect you ladies would have men on their knees everywhere.

We may have a world run by a no sex policy. Hmmmmm Now that's real political activism.

Alfred Hitchcock

I always say, "They don't make films like they used to" when people ask me why I dislike so many of the movies made in this film age of special effects, excess and lack of substance. I wonder why film goers seemed to be so pleased with mindless special effect violence when attending those films. The challenging story line itself has become nearly extinct. Exploding heads, blood and gore are what movie audiences define as "horror"

This month marks the mystery/horror film director Alfred Hitchcock's 113th birthday. Old Alfred's classic movies and his fantastic late 50's early 60's TV series still run today on many cable channels because they were always filled with depth and made....dare I say it in this age of fluff....they made the viewer think before and after the film concluded. Predictability was an aspect Hitchcock never displayed. Hitchcock once did a survey that concluded that according to moviegoers, the most frightening noise in films was a police car siren, followed by the crash of a road accident, cracklings of a burning forest, far galloping horses, howling dogs, the scream of a stabbed woman and the steps of a lame person in the dark. I guess today none of those things matters. Special effects have taken the place of imagination.

If one watches the classic of black and white horror films, starting with the first Frankenstein and Dracula films of the 30's the singular feature of those films is there was never any blood shown, and most violence was suggested. We would see Frankenstein, for example, place his hands on the throat of the victim but never beyond that. The camera quickly left and we were required to imagine what happened. Is there any greater fright than what an imagination brings forth? I think not. Hitchcock always used suggested horror and the result was that everyone had a differing view of just how scary was the film and each analyzed it in a personal way. Today's horror films are overt, obvious, and for me.....boring. Anyway, I salute the great Hitchcock with some of his characteristic humor, as in the quotes below.

Quotes from the Late Great Director Alfred Hitchchock

"I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle."

"Television is like the American toaster, you push the button and the same thing pops up every time."

"Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people's habits. It just kept them inside the house."

"The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."

"The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book -- it makes a very poor doorstop."

"I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm."

"When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, 'But what's my motivation?' I say, 'Your salary.'"

Beloit University Mindset List

The annual Beloit University Mindset List of entering college freshman is out. Since Jane is a freshman, these are the things she and her classmates view as their world, a whole lot different from older generations. Members of this year's freshman class, most of them born in 1994, are probably the most united generation in history, and they despise being separated from contact with friends (using media of all sorts to be constantly "in touch"). They prefer to watch television everywhere except on a television, they never saw an airline "ticket" before, or a set of encyclopedias and never use their car radios since they have ipods and other personal music players.

So we of other generations are to peruse the Beloit Mindset list below to make ourselves aware that we must view the 2016 generation differently, including communicating with them on their world view terms. Maybe so, but I refuse to acknowledge Justin Bieber or some of the other irrational icons of their generation. Of course this is an oversimplification and Beloit cautions us to use the Mindset list for fun not as a guideline. Surely, knowing my own 2016 generation daughter doesn't subscribe to much on the list.

One thing for sure is that this generation and the succeeding Mindset ones will see more changes and faster changing than any previous one. I grew up in a generation of stability, so much so that if a mindset list for my college freshman year were composed it would have been fairly consistent with several previous generations. The faculty at Beloit is supposed to be reminded of this when teaching generation 2016, to not use outdated references and language. Take a look at the list below and see how far away from generation 2016 you are. It surely helps bring into focus the concept of a generation gap.

The Mindset List for the Class of 2016

For this generation of entering college students, born in 1994, Kurt Cobain, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Richard Nixon and John Wayne Gacy have always been dead.

1. They should keep their eyes open for Justin Bieber or Dakota Fanning at freshman orientation.
2. They have always lived in cyberspace, addicted to a new generation of “electronic narcotics.”
3. The Biblical sources of terms such as “Forbidden Fruit,” “The writing on the wall,” “Good Samaritan,” and “The Promised Land” are unknown to most of them.
4. Michael Jackson’s family, not the Kennedys, constitutes “American Royalty.”
5. If they miss The Daily Show, they can always get their news on YouTube.
6. Their lives have been measured in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds.
7. Robert De Niro is thought of as Greg Focker's long-suffering father-in-law, not as Vito Corleone or Jimmy Conway.
8. Bill Clinton is a senior statesman of whose presidency they have little knowledge.
9. They have never seen an airplane “ticket.”
10. On TV and in films, the ditzy dumb blonde female generally has been replaced by a couple of Dumb and Dumber males.
11. The paradox "too big to fail" has been, for their generation, what "we had to destroy the village in order to save it" was for their grandparents'.
12. For most of their lives, maintaining relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world has been a woman’s job in the State Department.
13. They can’t picture people actually carrying luggage through airports rather than rolling it.
14. There has always been football in Jacksonville but never in Los Angeles.
15. Having grown up with MP3s and iPods, they never listen to music on the car radio and really have no use for radio at all.
16. Since they've been born, the United States has measured progress by a 2 percent jump in unemployment and a 16 cent rise in the price of a first class postage stamp.
17. Benjamin Braddock, having given up both a career in plastics and a relationship with Mrs. Robinson, could be their grandfather.
18. Their folks have never gazed with pride on a new set of bound encyclopedias on the bookshelf.
19. The Green Bay Packers have always celebrated with the Lambeau Leap.
20. Exposed bra straps have always been a fashion statement, not a wardrobe malfunction to be corrected quietly by well-meaning friends.
21. A significant percentage of them will enter college already displaying some hearing loss.
22. The Real World has always stopped being polite and started getting real on MTV.
23. Women have always piloted war planes and space shuttles.
24. White House security has never felt it necessary to wear rubber gloves when gay groups have visited.
25. They have lived in an era of instant stardom and self-proclaimed celebrities, famous for being famous.
26. Having made the acquaintance of Furby at an early age, they have expected their toy friends to do ever more unpredictable things.
27. Outdated icons with images of floppy discs for “save,” a telephone for “phone,” and a snail mail envelope for “mail” have oddly decorated their tablets and smart phone screens.
28. Star Wars has always been just a film, not a defense strategy.
29. They have had to incessantly remind their parents not to refer to their CDs and DVDs as “tapes.”
30. There have always been blue M&Ms, but no tan ones.’
31. Along with online viewbooks, parents have always been able to check the crime stats for the colleges their kids have selected.
32. Newt Gingrich has always been a key figure in politics, trying to change the way America thinks about everything.
33. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America’s future.
34. Billy Graham is as familiar to them as Otto Graham was to their parents.
35. Probably the most tribal generation in history, they despise being separated from contact with their similar-aged friends.
36. Stephen Breyer has always been an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
37. Martin Lawrence has always been banned from hosting Saturday Night Live.
38. Slavery has always been unconstitutional in Mississippi, and Southern Baptists have always been apologizing for supporting it in the first place.
39. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York has always translated operas on seatback screens.
40. A bit of the late Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, has always existed in space.
41. Good music programmers are rock stars to the women of this generation, just as guitar players were for their mothers.
42. Gene therapy has always been an available treatment.
43. They were too young to enjoy the 1994 World Series, but then no one else got to enjoy it either.
44. The folks have always been able to grab an Aleve when the kids started giving them a migraine.
45. While the iconic TV series for their older siblings was the sci-fi show Lost, for them it’s Breaking Bad, a gritty crime story motivated by desperate economic circumstances.
46. Simba has always had trouble waiting to be King.
47. Before they purchase an assigned textbook, they will investigate whether it is available for rent or purchase as an e-book.
48. They grew up, somehow, without the benefits of Romper Room.
49. There has always been a World Trade Organization.
50. L.L. Bean hunting shoes have always been known as just plain Bean Boots.
51. They have always been able to see Starz on Direct TV.
52. Ice skating competitions have always been jumping matches.
53. There has always been a Santa Clause.
54. NBC has never shown A Wonderful Life more than twice during the holidays.
55. Mr. Burns has replaced J.R.Ewing as the most shot-at man on American television.
56. They have always enjoyed school and summer camp memories with a digital yearbook.
57. Herr Schindler has always had a List; Mr. Spielberg has always had an Oscar.
58. Selena's fans have always been in mourning.
59. They know many established film stars by their voices on computer-animated blockbusters.
60. History has always had its own channel.
61. Thousands have always been gathering for “million-man” demonstrations in Washington, D.C.
62. Television and film dramas have always risked being pulled because the story line was too close to the headlines from which they were ”ripped.”
63. TheTwilight Zone involves vampires, not Rod Serling.
64. Robert Osborne has always been introducing Hollywood history on TCM.
65. Little Caesar has always been proclaiming “Pizza Pizza.”
66. They have no recollection of when Arianna Huffington was a conservative.
67. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has always been officially recognized with clinical guidelines.
68. They watch television everywhere but on a television.
69. Pulp Fiction’s meal of a "Royale with Cheese" and an “Amos and Andy milkshake” has little or no resonance with them.
70. Point-and-shoot cameras are soooooo last millennium.
71. Despite being preferred urban gathering places, two-thirds of the independent bookstores in the United States have closed for good during their lifetimes.
72. Astronauts have always spent well over a year in a single space flight.
73. Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.
74. Genomes of living things have always been sequenced.
75. The Sistine Chapel ceiling has always been brighter and cleaner.

Written Language

I like to write anything. Letters, E mails, poetry..... I even once wrote a book (unpublished) long forgotten and probably deservedly so. But I was thinking after I read an E mail from someone I know very well but from whom I rarely communicate by use of the written word, that I was stuck at the thought of just how differently we communicate when we write as opposed to when speak.

Someone once said that writers should write and speakers should speak. I have found many examples of that from my own observation, both from my personal acquaintances and from strangers . I remember the great author Truman Capote, so forceful and brilliant in his written works and so mousy when he spoke. In my own case it is far easier for me to write than to speak, as I never have trouble with the written word but sometimes lack confidence when speaking. "What do I say"?, is often a question when I speak but is never when I write. It's always easier to find words to write.

Unlike when I write something down, when I talk I always think about my words and constantly want to take the sentence or phrase back and redo it. When I taught English I always told my students that their writing had to be far superior to their speech because with written communication they had time to go back and "clean up" the messy parts. But it's odd that many more people today speak more understandably than they write when conveying their thoughts or ideas. I think it is because the electronic mediums are so oral and visual that we develop the spoken word skill to a far greater degree than we did in times when there was no electronic communication. Are there any "soft spoken" humans around today? If so, they are dinosaurs.

Too, when we communicate something to others we are greatly influenced by the method we use we impart the communication. That's why some writers can't write as well when using electronic modes of transcribing (typing on the computer) as when using the old fashioned pen and paper technique. We do think differently when expressing our ideas via different modes. In my case, film does very little to stimulate my brain. But when I read the written word I am lifted much higher and understand and think more deeply about what I read. Allegedly, all that has to do with our individual learning styles.

If we go back to pre electronic medium times and read the letters of simple people who lived then, they seem remarkable for the clarity, for the use of the language and for how moving their expressions were. Today we more often get the "lol" or " What's happening" mindless slang. I suppose the electronic age has killed much of the old formal written language and replaced it with informal slang. But does it matter? We all still seem to communicate and understand each other well enough. But for me, probably because of my age and background, using written language the more comfortable way.....and I am glad it is that way.

The Wrong Voters

I saw a poll today that says that 90 million eligible voters will sit out the November Presidential election between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. That's almost half of all registered voters. A lot of it is the fact that politicians lie and abuse the voters so much that some of the electorate feels it matters not which candidate or party wins. There is also the horrible lie, lie, lie campaign both candidates are conducting this year. Romney tells voters that Obama is a liar, a wasteful spender of tax money and a complete failure as president. Obama says that Romney hates the poor, and will be president only to big business. I have yet to see any positive campaigning from either side , and neither has or is likely to give any specific platform (for fear of offending a segment of the voters).

But one aspect of this non participation is good. That is, a whole lot of the 90 million who will not vote are uneducated about much (including the election) and tend to vote only for the candidate who promises to give them the most "free stuff". Despite the noble cause of having all citizens vote, it probably isn't a good thing for everyone to vote. If the uninterested, uninformed and unqualified decide to take away their own vote it might be good for democracy in the end. The fact that many of the 90 million feels they are "too busy" to vote (I guess they have to use the time to watch reality TV and play with their electronic devices?) or say it doesn't matter whether they vote, only reinforces the idea that some people are just too stupid to receive a ballot.

I am more and more struck each year I live by how polarized and uninformed voters here are becoming. They get their information from less than credible sites- blogs, rumors, the internet and word of mouth. Perhaps this is further proof that while society has more information at hand and than ever before, many of its members tend to seek the lowest level of sources of information (what amuses them) and to shun the more important.

Well, I give thanks that rabble won't vote. I distrust their judgment and suspect they are more like leeches than concerned citizens, only interested in the next entitlement the politician hands out.

Obese States

I just read one of those who's fattest articles. This one is the annual compilation of the 50 U.S. States, ranking them from the one with the most obese per capita to the one with the least. The number one fattest state is Mississippi and my former home, Louisiana is the second most obese. I guess when I left for Oregon the rankings it put Mississippi in first and Louisiana dropped to second.

Anyway, Arguably the best food in the U.S. is found in Louisiana, which has consistently great food everywhere in the state, and yes...it is "unhealthy" in that fat, that great natural food so often demonized today, is found in a lot of the servings. Mississippi, Louisiana's neighbor, also great food and follows the fat is not bad mantra. Looking at the states listed as being the least obese doesn't make me hungry. I guess those skinny, hungry places don't know what they are missing. Colorado is the slimmest, followed by Hawaii and Massachusetts.

I think it must be hard to find a good meal in those three. Coloradans are nice people, but they prefer lean, tough buffalo to beef steak. And in Hawaii, everything revolves around boring pineapple. As for Massachusetts, the favorite food is clams. Yuk! How boring. Oh, my present state of Oregon is right in the middle of the fat rankings. I am not surprised. the food here is bland and unexciting, so mid level seems right. I do notice m any fatties in Portland itself and think they must over-eat out of habit, not for the mediocre tastes they get here.

I wonder why the government department, The Center For Disease Control and Prevention, issues this statistic. I can guarantee the people of Louisiana are upset only that they were number two fattest behind Mississippi, not because the government thinks they are obese slobs. In Louisiana and Mississippi having so many fat residents shows the people there love their food and that it is special. The best cooks are fat, and the most content eaters the same. We know that carrying extra fat raises the risks of diabetes and other diseases. But having good food is worth the risks.

Gee, I wish I could find a fried Milky Way candy bar here in Oregon......

Olympic Observations

Ok, it's over now and I enjoyed watching the Olympics. I think I will sum up the recent Olympics with Olympic Game observations and give you the opportunity to, ignore them, agree with or refute them. These have come to me as I have watched (too much) of the competition during the first week of the Games. The side shows at the Olympics are always interesting to me because the Games are really more about human drama than about sport. The range of emotions I observe inside the competitors appear to include just about every one a human could have, both good and bad.
One good one is the fact that most of the losing competitors are quite gracious publicly about their defeat. They rarely blame others and when interviewed after losing almost always praise the winner rather than making excuses for their own performance. I attribute that to the fact that they are so successful in their endeavors. Losing to the greatest competitors is probably not very devastating to an elite athlete. No excuses are needed because the losers train just as hard and have the same kind of elite talent as the winners. They all realize that the old axiom of sportsman ship "you can't win all the time" is true, and so they accept losses more graciously than, say the recreational player on a playground. Too bad we can't all feel that way in life outside the Games.

A negative observation I have is the fact that cell phones have take over the Olympic life as much as they have in life outside them. Athletes "tweet" constantly and carry their phones everywhere except the playing fields. And the fans in the stands are mesmerized by their phones. During one event I watched in which the TV cameras focused on the crowd, I saw at least 50% of the spectators with their heads down reading or texting on their phones and ignoring the competition. So the Olympics do mirror the same cell addiction we see in our ordinary days. It's sad.

Another thing that I am seeing and like about the games is how the games help break down prejudices and superiority complexes that are so often found in human. How wonderful, for example, when the athlete from the nondescript country who is given no chance of wining a gold medal, beats the bigger and sometimes overly prideful American, Chinese or Russian athlete. This reminds us to not pre judge or label individuals or to predispose expectations for them. The turtle and the hare exists in the Olympic games.

A bad aspect of the Games is the flag waving, mindless nationalism represented in the "how many medals did WE win" mindset of too many who watch them. I have observed that the countries with the least amount of freedom wave their flags most. The government uses the Games as away of convincing their citizens that their corrupt political system must be better, since it produces so many champion athletes. In a democratic society only the most un thinking person could make that connection, and democratic systems do not wave that phony banner as a matter of policy. But in nations in which people are propagandized and taught to think of themselves only as being a part of their nation rather than a distinct separate entity, it is a common tool. That's why, China for example, spends billions of dollars developing athletes at the earliest of ages in state run sports schools, and why China always wins so many medals in sports that are not popular. The government trains athletes to compete in those since the competition is less and the probability of winning the event is greater.


One final positive observation (and then I'll shut up) is that the Olympics give every person everywhere a common unifying event to focus. It is the catharsis for us every four years that we need so badly. In the Games there is much less of politics, of hate, of lies. The Games are are the toy we get every few years, and that is probably the greatest benefit of them.