If you had any doubts

...that men and women are different, here's another proof.  My husband has been spending 1.5 hours 5 nights a week for the past 4 or 5 years in a Jewish learning program.  He sits next to a man with whom he has got friendly.  They are not very best friends, but the man has been to our house a few times and my husband has gone to this man's.  And again, the whole spending 1.5 hours next to each other almost every night for several years in a row thingy.

This week this man came to us to help out my husband with his computer issues.  At some point of the conversation, the man noticed our baby sleeping on the couch.  He had inquired whether this was our youngest child and then asked, "How many have you got?"  Yeah, he did not know.  I asked hubby how could that have happened, and hubby said, "It just didn't come up."  I didn't ask - too petrified to confirm that I'm right - but am almost positive that hubby doesn't know how many children this man has.

Now, after this, do we really need research that men and women are different?  I assume we all know that had that been women, not only we would know the number, but also the names, ages, and quite possibly birthdays.  But this is precisely what I had seen recently on msn.com, another article that men and women actually are psychologically different.  Who would've thunk?

I am suggesting some other very valuable topics of research:

1.  Are men and women different physiologically?
2.  Is making bed really necessary every single morning?
3.  If you gorge on sugar and chocolate all day long for several years, will you gain weight?
4.  Does this dress make me look fat?  Please analyze from all angles.

and my personal favorite:

5.  If given a choice, would people prefer being rich and healthy over being poor and sick?

Are you talking to me?

If one reads enough of mother-oriented materials, a few common themes emerge: disciplinary problems, staying home vs. working, breastfeeding freely vs. bottle feeding without prejudice. One will also find that there are themes that are either rarely or almost never covered. Which boggles my mind because I am sure I am not the only going through these issues, but rarely would I find something in parenting blog or magazine on the matter.

But back to the recurring themes, because there's one that has been bugging me for far too long. I am sure you are familiar with the story: the alpha woman gets pregnant, alpha woman decides that her career is too valuable to abandon, something bad/terrible/sad happens or she sees the light and the alpha woman decides to slow down, reduces her hours/finds a job with more life/work balance and the alpha mom, her spouse and her offspirng are all happier than they ever were. Lesson learned: money is not everything, career is not that important, large house/fancy car are not equal substitutes for sanity, happy balance is the best.

Well, here's my beef with this story. I work, and I work full time. I work with all kinds of women, many of whom are moms. I have seen only one alpha woman that fits the description of the story in 12+ years I am in professional workforce. The rest of us? We are not doing it for kicks, or because career is so important to us, or because a 5 bedroom mansion is just too small for our family of four, or because that second Mercedes doesn't pay for itself, you know. We do it because we have to and more often than not we have no other choice.

Every time I read about suggestions to scale down the spending so that I can stay home or work part time, I want to grind my teeth. We don't buy, but rent. Eating out less would mean growing my own vegetables. Our case is by far not the worst. Most women work because their husbands' earnings alone wouldn't pay the bills. End of story. More ironic is that even with two working adults many people financially struggle.

And then I hear the famous line about working part time. Really, the best of both worlds, right? You work a little, make a little money, see more of your kids. Yep, agreed, the best of both worlds. If you don't need full income from your job. If your employer won't scale down or take away the benefits due to reduced hours. And here's the biggie: if this option is available at all. Most employers are very reluctant to allow present employees to scale down on their work hours. If they do, they often reduce the pay, but not the workload. In case of layouts part timers are often the first to go. And being allowed reduced work week requires constant negotiation and re-negotiation and living with the threat of it being taken away. And that's when one already works. Finding a new part time job with decent pay and working conditions is almost impossible.

But that doesn't stop these articles. And suggestions about making do with less. Or reminding us that children are more important than careers and the precious time we spend away from them cannot be made up later. And the first steps/words/milestones we miss cannot be done over. As if I or any other working mother wasn't painfully aware of that. Who are these people writing for? Some clueless, oblivious to their children's needs, insanely successful but still pretty dumb career women? If these people exist in nature, how many are there to warrant that many articles?

With fellow filmmakers like these, who needs prosecutors?

I just read this. Whatever your feelings are regarding the Polanski case and arrest, I am sure you will agree that having Woody Allen on Polanski's side doesn't really build up his case. If I were Woody and really wanted to help, I would butt out and distance myself as much as possible from this petition.

Ironically, I haven't seen Steven Spielberg among the signatories for Polanski's immediate release. It might have something to do with Spielberg's being a father of a few teenage daughters. It might not, but who knows for sure?

Think you are covered? Think again.

Yep, I am at it again. Whining about our health care system. Here is something to put a human face on a serious problem. And lest you think this is liberal imagination gone wild, at least one woman mentioned in the article testified in the House subcommittee.

But hey, so many celebrities are dying. Why mention some cancer stricken nurse and our little health care crisis?

***Note: the link has been updated. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Blogging and such

Yours truly has been featured by Suburban Correspondent, in all her might and glory. I have submitted - in the comments - a mangled version of My Heart's in the Highlands and inadvertently have entered the contest for the best appliance poetry. Don't ask. Just check it out. And in case you want to vote, the poll is on the left part side of the site. Left side. Left. Not right. Or center. Unlike some other contestants, who are heavily lobbying their blog readers to vote for them, I am simply mentioning this little factoid, for no reason whatsoever. Though I am not above begging, you know. You see, it's not about winning, it's about enjoying your blogging experience. And since I now have received two votes (I have a sneaking suspicion that both of them were cast by Suburban Correspondent herself out of pity), I am not even worried about getting no votes at all. But please, please, please don't let me come in the last in the voting! It's an honor to just be nominated. Oh, c'mon, go vote for me, pity votes count just as much as the real ones!

****************************************************************************

Few days ago I read a brilliant post on the recent news coverage by SuperRaizy. I highly recommend. If you are in the mood for more on the topic, then you can reread my take on some other very important news announcements of the past: Dumbledore's coming out, news coverage of this earth shattering news, and Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy. I know, both of these events made such a difference in our lives! (if Jamie Lynn's mom is reading my blog, I apologize. On the second thought, nah).

******************************************************************************

Oops, forgot to include the title in the original version.

I could be so much worse

Today was the first time I heard about America's Worst Mom, title given to the woman who allowed her 9 year old son ride NY subway by himself. You can read more about her here or simply Google America's Worst Mom. Basically what she says is that today's streets are safer than 30 years ago yet children are not allowed to do many of the things their parents were allowed at the same age. And she attributes this mainly to the fear mongering media.

I have been thinking about this ever since DD started walking. Lenore (America's Worst Mom) has all the facts straight, and statistically speaking children are lot more likely to be abducted/abused by a relative or a close family friend than by a stranger, in their own home, where parents relax their watchful eye. I see the logic behind what she says and wholeheartedly agree that freedom is very important to children. And I soooo much want to give to them as early and as much of it as I was given. However, emotionally I am incapable of letting go because if, God forbid, something happens, I will never forgive myself. No matter how statistically unlikely the worst case scenario is, I cannot ignore the "what if."

Overall, I find the topic extremely sad and depressing. What do you think?

You would laugh too if it could never happen to you

Few days ago I paid a visit to my gyn. While waiting for him in the exam room and lacking other reading materials, I grabbed a pregnancy magazine. Well, here’s a bit of history. While expecting DS, I had a blog on one of those pregnancy sites. Several posts there were dedicated to pregnancy magazines, mainly about what kind of an idiot who thought that it was a good idea to print some of the stuff in a publication read primarily by - duh! - expectant mothers. So pregnancy magazines and I don’t have a good relationship, but still, I would rather read them than examine a chart with birth control options posted on the exam room door (not because I am against birth control, but because I have it memorized already. I don’t think it changed since I was pregnant with DD, who is now 4, and I spent many hours staring at that door in the past 5 years.)

So I opened this magazine, and the first thing I saw was a “fun fact.” Oh, nice, fun AND not written by Heidi Murkoff. Too good to be true? It was. This fun fact contained the following information: during pregnancy woman’s uterus stretches to over 1000 times its original size. Yippee! As in ouch!!!! Good for us, women, I guess. I instinctively cringed and crossed my legs. Who in their right mind (people in medical profession excluding) thinks that having your uterus stretch is “fun”? Have they ever been pregnant? Did someone, whose uterus will never stretch, aka “a man”, write this? What other fun facts does this fine magazine have up its sleeve? That when uterus shrinks back to its original (??) size, it is quite painful?That there is no cure for stretch marks, except plastic surgery? Or that about 30% of pregnant women will end up with a C-section?

Well, here’s another fun fact. Right after reading this, my eyes immediately returned to the aforementioned birth control options chart. Was this the writer’s intent?

Those were bloody murders

I still haven't managed to put together the serious post I have been nursing for some time now. But I found this, and this post, though not exactly on the same topic, expresses very well at least some of the frustration that I have with our media.

http://www.alfassa.com/blog/2008/12/the-chabad-rabbi-in-india-was.html

The Chabad Rabbi in India was not 'Killed'
Media suppresses word 'murder' and overlooks 'torture' by Islamic terroristsBy Shelomo AlfassaNEW YORK (December 1, 2008)

On Thanksgiving Day 2008, gunshots rang out startling the family of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and others inside the Chabad center in Mumbai, India. A maid at the Chabad center thought it was firecrackers--then an Islamic gunman came up the stairs. Explosions and gunshots rattled the building and continued through the night. At the same time the Chabad center is attacked, Islamic terrorists were attacking a police station and a few minutes later they opened fire at a hospital. They also opened fire in restaurants and at hotels, all together, at over 10 locations, the Islamic terrorists murdered over 190 people.

The Chabad center maid told the media that the gunmen destroyed the elevator, dining room and "everything" else. The rabbi ran to the telephone to call the Israeli Consulate. He got them on the line, told them there were men with guns in the house, but in the middle of the conversation, the line went dead after the rabbi said, "something's wrong" and the rabbi's wife was heard screaming "SEND HELP IMMEDIATLY."

The rabbi was grabbed by the Muslim terrorists, held down and had a belt secured around his legs to prevent him from walking. Several other Jews in the center had their hands and feet bound with telephone cords or nylon rope. The Indian Express reported that, Rabbi Holtzberg, his wife Rivka and their three friends died in a "brutal manner..." The paper horrifically reported that there was "brutality unleashed on the Holtzberg." The paper reported that police photos inside the Chabad center spoke, "volumes of the nightmare the family and their friends must have gone through before they died." The Rabbi's body was found in a room on the second floor, with his legs under the mezuzah, stretching into the hall where his wife's body was found. Rivka's body was found near the legs of Rabbi Holtzberg, the floor was covered red in blood. The rabbi's 2-year-old son Moshe was found drenched in blood, crying in the silence, beside his parents who lay dead on the floor. The dead bodies of the murdered Jews were then booby-trapped with live hand grenades and other explosives. Indian security forces indicated the Jewish women were murdered first, as the Jewish men were first tortured before being murdered.

In the United States, where the news media like to cover up all things which may make Muslims look bad, they never mentioned that the Israelis were mutilated beyond belief. In the Digital Journal news, it was also reported that the victims of the terrorist attacks had been tortured. In the words of one doctor, "It was shocking and disturbing." A doctor who conducted the post-mortems on the victims added: "Of all the bodies, the Israeli victims bore the maximum torture marks. It was clear that they were killed on the 26th itself. It was obvious that they were tied up and tortured before they were killed. It was so bad that I do not want to go over the details even in my head again."When someone is "killed" they may have been hit by a car, drowned at sea or struck by lightning. In contrast, when someone is "murdered," this speaks of a victim who was targeted with premeditated malice. It is someone who inhumanly had their life taken from them, it is someone who was a victim of severe mutilation, targeted brutality, a person who had their life taken by another person who sought them dead. This begs the question, why did the media avoid using the word "murdered" ?

The Wall Street Journal reported: "The dead also included a young New York rabbi and his wife..."
The Boston Globe reported: "the New York rabbi and his wife were among the foreigners killed..."
The International Herald Tribune reported: "Two of the victims, a rabbi and his wife..."
The Sun-Sentinel reported: "killed were Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, and his wife, Rivkah, 28, who died in the attack..."
The Associated Press reported: "The bodies of New York Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, were found at the Jewish center..."
National Public Radio reported: "Among the dead are Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka..."
The New York Times reported: "six of the hostages were killed, including the Brooklyn couple who operated the center..."
The Los Angeles Times reported: "the Chabad Lubavitch members who were killed by militants"

The stupidity of the Western media is blatant. What is not being made clear in prominent Western media is that this was a meticulously planned and well-organized attack. What is the motivation of journalists in trying to downplay these heinous atrocities? Do they wish to express some sympathy for these murderers? The mainstream media remains a giant bureaucracy with no feeling, soul, or intelligence. They make it too easy for blatant evil to be excused or explained away.

The Muslim murderers had a well coordinated well thought out plan. They had been in the country for months, obtained jobs in the area, stockpiled food for the siege, and stockpiled ammunition enough to kill thousands. Some of the Muslim murderers had even rented rooms in the Chabad center! They utilized BlackBerry email devices to stay in touch with each other and outsiders, to exchange intelligence information in different locations during the attacks. An Indian Marine commando told the media that it was obvious the terrorists were well trained. The Marine said the attackers were "very determined and remorseless." The Times of India reported that the sole surviving murderer told Indian police that the terrorists were sent with a specific mission of targeting Israelis at Chabad House in order to avenge "atrocities committed against the Palestinians."

The Chabad rabbi and his wife (as well as the other 190+ victims) were not killed, they were murdered, there is a difference, and one that needs to be differentiated at every opportunity.

I am a woman, hear me roar

Finally, I got the blogging fever back. Once again, so much to write about, so little time! I have topics in various areas: from kids' latest antics to politics (yes, politics) to fat entertainers. What shall it be today? Hmmm....

I guess politics. I know I promised to stay away from the topic, but some things just need to be said.

Call me any name you want, but I was relieved when Hillary left the race. The main reason was not because I very much dislike the woman, but because I finally could get a break from stupid polls and election coverage that were centered around female voters. Again, I am not opposed to women voters getting special coverage. On the contrary, we make up around 50% of voters, so if Hispanic and black voters get special coverage, so should we. What I didn't appreciate was media's assumption that we,women, are so fed up with government predominantly made up of males, that we have been waiting for a fellow female so long to lead us and the rest of the country that we would vote for any woman as long as she is a woman. I was getting so annoyed with the coverage of Southern states during democratic primaries - how will the black women in those states vote? special report from a beauty salon - that I stopped following for a while.

I find this attitude extremely insulting. Look at the Democratic primaries with the whole business of Obama vs. Clinton. The assumptions made by media were very clear: we need not concern ourselves with white males because they are all Republicans any way. White women will vote for Hillary - but of course! She is a woman, and that makes her a worthy enough candidate for anyone missing Y chromosome! Black males and minorities will of course support Obama (for the same reason women would support Hillary). So the only people who will have to make any tough decisions were black women - on the one hand women, on the other hand black. What would they do? Should they consult their hairdresser? How insulting is this? And how dumb?

Then Hillary was out of the race, and for a few months we were not exposed to this stupidity. Then again, McCain had to pick Sarah Palin, and the whole thing started all over again. Over and over I see CNN articles with titles about women of Alaska being divided over Palin's nomination, women this, women that. What about males, after all they make up another 50% of the voters, for goodness sake! And believe it or not, some women actually CAN see past the candidate's gender. I know, un-freaking-believable, women actually have brains, not only vag-----s. Who would've thought?

And honestly, I have seen a lot stronger reactions from men than from women to Palin becoming McCain's running mate. The reactions were different, from intelligent ("I can't believe he picked someone with no real experience") to dumb ("That was such a low blow to Democrats") to completely asinine ("It would be so cool to have a hot VP") . But honestly, in my experience men were a lot more vocal. So why don't they get a special coverage too? Or does having a Y chromosome makes one ineligible for anything special? Because honestly, that would be sexist, right?

Radio Days

Had a call this evening from a guy conducting a survey of my radio listening habits. I had him a bit stunned because turns out that my listening habits had been hard to enter into the pre-filled multiple choice options. I have turned from an avid listener to an almost non-listener. (Good thing he wasn't conducting TV watching habits, I probably would've left him speechless.) I listen to the radio on weekends only, and not even every Sunday.

Well, this is not the entire truth. I listen a lot more; actually, forced to listed to a lot more would be more accurate. For example, in the morning I listen to whatever station SubHub subjects me. I am not a morning person. My ideal morning, aside from sleeping in, should include dimmed lights, a quiet trip to the bathroom, a quiet shower, a quiet cup of coffee with a soft cookie (biting into a cracker would be too loud). After the coffee is sufficiently absorbed by the body, then and only then one should be able to talk me, gently whispering, and only if absolutely necessary. I was like this ever since I can remember myself (which used to drive my dear dad crazy). Listening to the radio early in the morning would not occur to me, ever. Let alone at high volume. Let alone in Hebrew, where I only understand proper nouns...

Or let's take work, where some people choose to have little radios in their cubicles. Many of these people are discreet in their listening habits, but the sounds are still easily heard by those who sit nearby. So at work I listen to Christmas songs and carols from October to December and Chinese news all year round. (I am trying not to think about this year's holiday season, which due to the economical slowdown might start in early August...)

Any surprise that l now associate listening to the radio with headaches and oppression and avoid it like a plague?

P.S. I am thinking of introducing my neighbors to a classical music station. During the years of taking music classes I have developed resistance to it, even some appreciation. Wonder what they will think of Carmina Burana and whether forced exposure to Carl Orff constitutes torture under the Geneva convention.

The Pilot

Ok, I obviously have too much time on my hands and have nothing else to occupy my mind. So here is the pilot of our show Subjugated! It has pretty much everything a normal show would have: setting, dialog, cultural references, unrealistic elements, product plugs and, of course, a theme song. I even took time out of my busy schedule to write the live audience's reactions.

So here it is.


Subjugated! - The Pilot

(Setting: Barb, Sally Hazel and Subjugated Wife are sitting in an unusually large for Brooklyn living room. They are enthusiastically discussing something among themselves when in comes:

Barb, Sally Hazel, Subjugated Wife (in unison): Moish!!!

Audience: (enthusiastic applause)

Subjugated Moish: Cheers! The entire gang is here. The three musketeeresses! The Three Amigos. The Three Witches of ... never mind.

Audience: (wild laughter)

Subjugated Moish (to the audience): My big mouth always gets me in trouble.

Audience: (laughter)

Subjugated Wife: So what brings you to our unusually large for Brooklyn SubCasa?

Subjugated Moish: Ladies, you are not going to believe what happened to me today. I was on the high...

Subjugated Wife, Barb, Sally Hazel (in unison): No confessions!

Audience: (laughter)

Subjugated Moish: Relax, ladies, not now! I was on the highway when SubHub called my (bleep)* phone and said that there is a potato kugel a-cooking here!

Audience: (applause)

Subjugated Wife: Yes, yes, that's true. SubHub requested that I make this tasteless oily potato mush (pause) AGAIN!!!

Audience: (wild laughter)

Subjugated Wife: He thinks that adding a pound of pepper makes ANY food Sephardi. (rolls eyes)

Audience: (wild laughter)

Subjugated Moish: So what were you doing before I came in?

Barb: Discussing things.

Sally Hazel: bickering really.

Subjugated Moish: A combination of bickering and potato kugel...

Sally Hazel: What is an Ashkenazi marriage? Jewish marriages for $400, Alex.

Audience: (wild roar and long applause)

Barb: That reminds me of a question I wanted to ask for the longest time.

Subjugated Moish: Shoot.

Barb: Don't tempt me. After all I am a Republican and strongly believe that the American people have a right to protect themselves with firearms.

Audience: (five minute applause interjected with the sounds of firing a gun. The show goes into an unplanned break due to the ongoing police investigation.)

(The show resumes.)

Barb: All political joking aside, Subjugated Wife and Subjugated Moish are not married or related to each other, yet you guys both have the same (pause) first names!

Audience: (laughter)

Moish: That's because, Barb, in this life we all are subjugated.

Audience: Awww.

Sally Hazel: That's deep.

Barb: Ditto.

Subjugated Wife: Plus one!

Audience: (laughter)

Subjugated Wife: I better bring out potato kugel before all this philosophizing leads to yet another Moish's confession.

Audience: (laughter and applause)

(Planned commercial break.)

Some Unknown Anorexic Model: You might not believe this, but only two years ago I looked like this. (Shows a picture of herself that looks a little less anorexic.) I felt big, bloated and totally un-hot and couldn't get a modeling job anywhere. Then I went on a low-carb diet and lost all that flab together with my menses, teeth and hair! How cool is that? I finally felt hot, and modeling contracts started lining up! But I still felt a big void in my life - I was missing potato kugel because potatoes are a big no-no on low-carb diets. I started feeling depressed again, and not because my diet lacked all the necessary vitamins and nutrients as some skeptics might suggest. Then I saw the ray of light! I discovered genetically engineered low carb potatoes, grown by our own farmers in Idaho! Now I can have all the potato kugel I want and still keep my figure and my job! Thank you genetically engineered potatoes! Thank you American farmers and scientists! And kids, remember, it's now how you look on the outside, it's how you feel inside that counts!

(We are now back in the unusually large for Brooklyn living room.)

Subjugated Moish: (pointing at the neon blue dish in the middle of the table) SubWife, that is a mighty good kugel.

Sally Hazel: Delicious, if I say so myself.

Barb: One would never suspect that it's made out of genetically engineered neon blue potatoes.

Audience: (laughter)

SubMoish: Audience, this is not funny.

Audience: (laughing louder)

SubMoish: (getting visibly angry) I really mean it. This isn't funny. Please don't upset our sponsors. (turning away from the audience) But really this kugel looks and tastes just like Mrs. Shimanovich's traditional potato kugel, which reminds me of the time when I almost seduced...

Subjugated Wife, Sally Hazel, Barb: (together, exasperated) Not another confession...

Audience: Ha-ha-ha!

Subjugated Moish: (with mischievous smile) Ladies, I just can't help myself.

Audience: (long applause)

(The camera slowly zooms out of the picture.)


(The episode ends in credits to the Subjugated and It Feels So Good tune.)

Note: *Apple refused their sponsorship, so we will be bleeping out the name until they change their mind.

THE END.


Ok, I am now ready for networks to fight over this masterpiece. Any takers?

Maybe you should try the arab quarter...SATC

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/20/sex.israel.ap/index.html (warning: this page will bring you to the picture of immodestly dressed women.)

SATC billboard were banned from Jerusalem and Petakh Tikvah. So comforting to know that the sense of decency still can prevail somewhere... As a side note, I do not appreciate the sub-text of the article, i.e. how ridiculous religous of Israel are. Well, it is CNN afterall, and one cannot expect much from them.

Memories

I have good news and I have bad news.

Good news is that American pre-teens and teens actually read books, for pleasure. At least they are expected to if the subject interests them enough. That’s what a certain company is counting on by signing a seven-figure deal with Miley Cyrus (for those not in the know, like myself only two weeks ago, Miley stars in some extremely popular Disney show). The deal is for publishing Miley’s – ready for bad news? – memoirs! Let me repeat this – 15-yr old girl. To write memoirs. For seven figures. Unless that 15-yr old found cure for cancer, fought the Nazis or did something otherwise remarkable (and starring in a show that is almost a guaranteed success is not remarkable in my book), what is there to write about? The age when she was potty-trained? Which diapers her parents preferred for her? The pain of losing baby teeth?

Well, I know enough to realize that she actually won’t write the book, somebody with more writing talent and life experience will… Nevertheless, I find it pretty disturbing… Expecially that it is an almost guaranteed best-seller.

Almost doesn't count

I very recently read an article on the situation in the Middle East on cnn.com. Overall, the article didn’t seem prejudiced, like most of them (except that the wounded Palestinians, as always, were shown before the wounded Israeli), but one word caught my attention. That word made me mad, almost furious. That word was “almost”. Why? The article said that the Israeli city of Sderot is fired upon with Qassam rockets almost daily. "Almost" is a very deceptive and very inexact word. What does “almost daily” really mean? 4 days a week? 5? Or is it not always Qassam rockets, but nevertheless daily?

My husband’s parents live in Sderot. Since we got married four and a half years ago, Qassams are always mentioned in my conversations with in-laws. From what I understand, in the beginning these rockets were fired randomly, i.e. you never knew when to expect them. In the past few years firing became very predictable, and not for a good reason - Qassam rockets started being fired daily. Period. Not almost, not close to, not nearly – daily. No rocket in a 24-hour period is a very rare exception, extremely rare treat for the citizens of Sderot. Sometimes they are not Qassams, but Katyushas, which I understand are much more dangerous. Every night people go to sleep sure that another rocket will be fired into Sderot from Gaza. Every night they are aware that a rocket might hit their home and they might not wake up the next morning. Every night for at least 3 years, which amounts to over 1000 consecutive nights of terror. So for years this city endured this kind of treatment from Palestinian terrorists with little media attention, which only came about two years ago. Where was the outrage? Where was the fair and independent reporting? And if it were the citizens of Sderot firing rockets on Gaza? I’m sure we would’ve heard about it from day one, with little ambiguity and complete certainty, with the rocket count and foaming at the mouth of some CNN reporter. There would have been no “almosts”.

Ick

Just when I thought that the cult of Putin couldn't get any worse, Russians prove me wrong. They deserve him, they really do.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/13/putin.movie.ap/index.html

On the other hand, there's hope for us, perpetually late folks. Unlike all the books on career advancing and becoming organized, which would like us to believe that tardiness will inevitably lead you to poverty, public humiliation and agonizing death, here's the example of the always tardy guy making it to no less than the president of the largest (or second largest?) country in the world. Not bad. Then again, it might only be possible in Russia and probably only acceptable for a man. Nevertheless...

Whole Lotta Flesh

Two weeks ago I was in the middle of a meeting with my boss, when I looked out the window and saw a half-finished 7-story ad on the side of a building. There it was, staring at me, completely uncovered mammary gland. I chastised myself for being so perverse and seeing things that weren't there, or where they? I stared at the half-finished picture for some time trying to think what else this could possibly be. On the one hand, this wasn't Europe so there was no way something like this would be allowed in the middle of Manhattan. On the other hand, it simply couldn't have been anything else.

I got my answer a week later when the ad was finally completed. I wasn't very far off - what I saw in my boss' window was an unfinished picture of a sumo restler traditionally wearing only his diaper-like clothes. Unlike women, he was not required to cover up his ample bosom.

What are they advertising? Hyundai, which is not even a Japanese brand. If sex sells, what are they trying to do here: sabotage? Does anyone find that attractive because as far as I am concerned only one word comes to mind (which is not technically a word) : eww.

Shocking

The media’s prayers have been answered once again. Another Spears girl have made the news. Everyone is supposedly shocked, if we choose to believe our news sources. I understand the confusion, the rage, the demand to take her show off the air, but one thing I do not understand is this supposed shock. What precisely is so shocking? That a sixteen-year-old has a steady boyfriend? Or that they have sex? Or that a female who regularly engages in sex got pregnant? Or maybe, that instead of getting a quiet abortion, she decided to risk her career and keep the baby?

Which one of those is shocking? Dating for teenagers has long become a norm. While not encouraged and probably not as wide-spread as many believe, teenage sex is not out of the ordinary either. If we accept all the things leading to pregnancy as normal, then pregnancy, as a natural consequence of dating, should be viewed as normal too. But noooooooo, that is taking it too far. To me – that is hypocrisy. To me – that particular attitude is shocking. The parents’ message that is given to girls seems to be as follows: I know that you guys are dating for a while, I trust you to do the right thing, but if you choose not to (and statistically you are very likely to not do the right thing), make sure the neighbors don’t know and you don’t get knocked up.

Personally, I find the whole situation tragic. 16-year-olds should not be having kids for many, many reasons. They should not be having sex and they should not date. But since parents are unable to stop their kids from dating, the only responses they can offer are either denial or the sheepish, “As long as you are using protection…” Some choose to trust their kids, and if it works, then wonderful, but I personally don’t see how a teenage boy with raging hormones could be trusted in this particular area. I don’t blame parents, their job is particularly hard nowadays. Maybe, nothing had changed over the years, but the world where I grew up seemed to be so much more innocent and chaste.

But back to Jaime Lynn. Media should just leave her alone and should stop making sensation where there is none. (For goodness sake, they are already discussing what maternity clothes she should wear.) The recent statistics that teen pregnancies are on the rise went almost unnoticed, at least in comparison to the news about the other Spears sister. But one particular teenager's pregnancy is causing the raucous - simply because she is famous and has a famous sister. Pregnant sixteen-year-old is hardly uncommon or newsworthy. Let her be and deal with the consequences of her actions in private. And stop being so shocked, it’s annoying.