Gender (Back to suggestions)

At some point during this post people might expect me to make some sort of sandwich joke or an insulting sweeping statement bordering on the misogynistic. I will resist temptation because I like having a girlfriend.

So somewhere along the 1900s, the world realised that women deserved some equality. When I say "the world", I mean women and I don't really blame them at all. It is quite sickening when you consider that the only times women were treated well was only when they were considered sex objects or mistresses. By 'well' I mean they were beaten less than the glorified housekeepers that the men referred to as their wives.

Does gender equality really exist though? The whole women-stay-home-and-take-care-of-children spirit is still rampant, in my humble and overly honest opinion. Out of all the countries in the supposedly 'civilised' world, I'd say maybe about 30% of them, at best, really even begin to grasp the notion of equal rights across gender and I don't get it.

I mean, let's look at as close to any semblance of fact as you'll ever see on this blog. How many men still within working age stay home to do the housework leaving the woman as the sole bread-winner? Considering the number of families, I'd say very very few. It could be argued that many women were raised by old-fashioned mothers and so their 'caring' instinct is much stronger than most men.

Considering the same vein of thought, men, themselves raised by old-fashioned parents, were probably conditioned into thinking that they should work hard, get a good job, put away some solid finances and then at a point settle down with a lovely little lady and make his parents very happy with a large number of grandchildren for them to coo over.

On a local note, I am disgusted by the propaganda on one particular TV station about women in the working environment. One specific campaign really gets on my tits. The whole premise is a woman bored and alone at home while her husband is at work and her children at school. A disembodied voice then points out to her that, wonder of wonders, she too can contribute to the working society! The end of this glorified shit-storm shows the woman picking up children from school in a standard red Ford van while wearing decisively masculine clothes; namely a shirt, tie, waist-coat and jacket.

Why the hell in 2012 does a supposedly progressive country need to resort to such pre-Vietnam war bullshit just to instil into the general public that it is OK for a bored housewife to take on a menial task as a subsidiary living to her husband's main income. The very implications of this national fucking treasure have me seething.

On that note, of course we should all be bloody equals. I can't stand the whole old-fashioned nuclear family and I can't wait to actually be proud to live in some form of 'enlightened' society.

Good evening, the interwebz.

[Also you can now feel free to add any further suggestions. I still have a pending list but the more the merrier.]

"Who's Franco Debono?"

That is a question I just answered on a whim on Facebook which got me thinking I might as well go mainstream on this blog for once and jump on the topic bandwagon, as you will.

I believe that this is precisely the question that a particularly attention-starved MP is tired of hearing. I can't profess any particular political proficiency whatsoever, but I can however conclude, after watching his drawn out interview on television, that he is a massive twat.

Within the first five minutes of a two hour long programme, he was reduced to a wailing bag of random nonsense. He also used the presenter's apology at the very beginning for an issue raised in last week's programme as a reference point to substantiate most, if not all, of the arguments that he was very untidily presenting.

It really seems to me that all Dr Debono needs is a hug. He seems to be very proud of himself as edited clips from his recent various press releases show. He mentioned that he is a hard-working man; one of the best criminal lawyers in Malta; a humble servant to the public; he possesses a solid love for politics and justice; and he was also a bright student in secondary school. These are just the few which my memory chose to retain.

The Prime Minister is being pressured by Dr Debono to resign as, in his eyes, the country is no longer a democracy, but an oligarchy. Bearing in mind that the first time he effectively said so was when the very recent reshuffling of the cabinet did not go as well as he had hoped. He wants attention and he wants to be a minister and he didn't get what he wanted so now he has finally threatened to sabotage his political obligation to stand by his party as well as the people who have voted for him in the party's name by voting against, thus causing a parliamentary implosion of sorts that will end up with a call for an early election. Something that we, as a nation, cannot afford right now.

My personal and final note and conclusion is that he brought personal grudges into a parliament that just has no place for them. He is bitter because his old classmate and educational rival is the leader of the main party in the opposition, while Dr Debono is still a back-bencher after roughly 15 years "struggling" and "sacrificing" a lot for his political ideologies. I say suck it up you whining child and stop wreaking more havoc where havoc is already on the agenda what with a new recession and countless other difficulties to be faced.

good night, the interwebz

Still cynical, apparently.

It's always irked me that people seem to only want to do something good either during some nationwide charity drive, Christmas, New Year, etc. Why can't it just be another day when one thinks about doing something good for themselves or for others?

Let's start with Istrina. For those of you who don't know about it or are not from Malta, every year there is a fund-raising marathon called Istrina. Every year it seems that the Maltese public become more and more generous and, in fact, some Spanish index called Malta the most generous country in the world, statistically speaking, based on the number of families who donate money to charity. Do you honestly think that if it wasn't for a public TV marathon, that half of these families would give half a shit about charity? Let alone donate over 2 million collectively.

Now, Christmas. If ever there was a more bullshit holiday. If you want full details of it's conception and materialistic evolution, I suggest you find one of my older blogs about it. In short, it is a pagan holiday that was stolen by Jesus - not to mention that it is also Muhammed and Krishna's birthday and who knows who else. It's bollocks! All we celebrate is the fact that we have some fancy new shiny things hanging everywhere and we feel the need to buy people things that, had they needed, they could've bought themselves. It's all one big material farse.

Finally, the New Year and all it's glory. Why the hell are we compelled to make a change every single time this new calendar is thrust upon us? Everything from diets to no smoking to spending more time studying to spending more time with the kids. If someone knew that he had to do something to make his life better, why wait? What is keeping people from just making a change? Is it because we are creatures of vice and are incapable of actually making something good happen on our own accord without any particular mass awareness? It's just fucking lunatic.

Right. I'm done. I'm glad to see I'm still a cynical bastard who likes ranting.

Good morning, the interwebz

The Passing

I'm going to write my own post instead of a suggestion today. The passing of a family friend recently has got me thinking about grief and mourning. It has reminded me of a year ago when a personal friend of mine who I looked up to passed suddenly at an all too young age.

It's interesting to see how people deal with it when tragedy strikes. Personally I always feel like I should feel more until it hits me and I start bawling my eyes out. In the case of last year I was a proper wreck at the funeral. So much so that people saw the need to comfort me when I wasn't the one that really needed comforting.

Yesterday was the funeral of the family friend and, although I unfortunately couldn't attend -though I really wish I could have- the first thing I asked was about how the family were. I was told that they seemed strong yet calm. I was actually told that it seemed like someone had been forcefully sedated.

I doubt this was really the case but my reply was simply, "Sometimes trauma can be a great sedative." I don't know whether this is true or not, but at the time I felt that it was. Some people lash out and go mad while others seem to struggle with it to the point of seeming like a lost, broken soul.

I think that the closer the pain hits, the stranger people seem to react. Strange to all those who do not understand yet overwhelmingly understandable to those who do, even if not initially. What do you think? How would you react to the passing of a loved one?

My belief is that we should not leave things unsaid. We don't know when this cruel world will snatch up people we care about. Mortality is a bitch.

R.I.P. Tessie Attard

good morning, the interwebz

Oh hai ...

Ok so I apologise for the long hiatus, even though you don't care. I went abroad and took a break from it and I've had a hard time getting back into the writing thing. I'll start the requests again shortly, I hope.

I have quite a few titles ranging from 'Beauty' to 'Politics' to 'Airline Food' so look forward to those. I just need the little drive to write. Perhaps I should watch a couple episodes of Californication again; that always helps.

Basically this post is just to let you know that I'm still moderately alive and I shall be back writing at some point in the future. Tackling personal demons meanwhile might also be a reason why I've taken this forced break.

Until I'm back here, feel free to keep suggesting titles and, more importantly, take it easy.

good afternoon, the interwebz

Friends

The title just looks ... what's the word? Nice. Yes. That's the word I'm going to be using a lot in this post. It's nice.

"Friends are the family you can choose." Someone said that and he was partly right. I find that some of the best friendships just happen coincidentally. My longest friendship of about 15 years just sort of happened because of our families working together and living in close proximity. In fact, I think all of my good friendships just happened coincidentally. How nice.

I don't get how people can over-complicate friendships at time. I don't get how there are people that are literally inseparable just on the basis of having things in common. Girls do this a lot. It's like one doesn't exist without the other. It's nice but impractical. I find that the best friendships usually get a lot of breathing time.

The closest I can get to this personally is with my girlfriend who I'm glad to say I consider my best friend also. I know that's an oxymoron having multiple best friends but it's nice. With her I not only enjoy the constant proximity, yet I sort of encourage it. Who wants to spend their life with someone other than a great friend? I'm nice.

On the other hand, I hark back to the oldest friendship of mine. I sometimes don't see him for months yet when we meet we're our stupid selves again. We know we're friends, we don't need constant contact and proximity to prove or substantiate it. We're nice.

Having friends is nice. I think this was a nice post. Of course it is far from my best, but it's still a nice one. If any of you nice people want to leave me a nice little comment, feel free.

Nice morning, the interwebz

[[10:11:51] Kathleen Vella: Did you tell them I love you?] - This is what the wife said just before I posted this. Isn't she nice?

Eczema

What can one write about this topic?

It is a skin disease. Doctors don't know where it comes from. It burns. There are different types of it, but I don't know enough to write about them. Google is your friend. They diagnose it by looking at you and checking your health history; not at the same time because that would be silly. Apparently a treatment for it is a change in lifestyle and a few medications to stop you itching. There is no real cure for it, but there are many ways to make you feel better once you have it. Again, Google is your friend.

The next page on the lovely medical website I was blissfully browsing is full of pictures of different skin conditions. I did not look at them for it is early in the morning and I don't want to barf up my Red Bull.

Take this post as an opportunity to peruse the rest of the blog and don't suggest stupid shit like this if you want any other proper posts. Dumbasses.

Good morning, the interwebz.