lotusland - nervous politics from a laid-back city

dear bloggers (readers who dont blog are not invited to this post)

i havent updated my sidebar of links in ages.  its so outdated its basically election 04 retro.  i blame laziness and an extremely/embarrassingly recently-acquired feed reader.  if you feel i should link to you, then suggest it.  its not as blogwhorey as this massive, glowing url with a video attached to it. 

i cant believe i just got so bored i started trolling.

feminism

i still hate on most men 24/7. ok. my hate-on for male stupidity is due to the fact i socialize as a man with men because i like to listen to loud music, watch cartoons, and discuss politics over too many beers. i hear what most of these tools say about us women, and as a result, i am completely appalled. the worst men on earth for this shit are those who fancy themselves progressives.

i yell at my guy friends regarding their treatment/discussion of women all the time, and it either gets
a) hearty laughter
b) hearty dissing of feminism for being a bourgeois construct

note to self:  kick all men in the balls more often. 

are women stupid? i think we are socialized to be somewhat pathetic. i believe i was, but i do not take well to any socialization process. i think the way men are is due to a really pathetic machismo socialization process.

ive taken a liking to judith butler, because i think that ditching gender as a binary is only a good thing. i dont think you can ditch gender as a binary entirely, since a lot of the gender discrimination is predicated on the male/female or queer/hetero splits. there needs to be a way that people can discuss gender and queerness while defining it for themselves in a way that does not negate either the feminist or gay rights histories/projects.

what i mean by that is i am so tired of all the "im a feminist, but i shave my legs"/"im not a feminist, but i think women get paid less than men" bullshit.

1. you are a feminist if you think the advances made by the womens movement (birth control, pay equity, access to all professions, etc) are noteworthy achievements. this doesnt mean you are a radical feminist or a feminist activist or a butch who doesnt ascribe to a depilatory regime.

the reason i am telling you that you are a feminist is because the history of keeping women down still affects women today, and it would be nice if all women who believe these advances are good could have a label that just means 'i believe in equality and freedom from being a birthing cow' so that we could present a united front against the way things were. nobody is going to confiscate your nailpolish or alienate your male friends the second you are comfortable describing your beliefs as feminist.

2. expanding peoples ability to identify with a wider gender spectrum would enable women to demonstrate that there are so many different ways of living as women and that none of them conflict with acknowledging the need for women to stand up for themselves and their rights.

i know this sounds whack since im advancing one big label while encouraging more small labels.  im trying to advance the notion of one big label that means 'i think women shouldnt be screwed over/treated like babies' co-existing with a complex idea with gender that would enable people to combine their personal gender identity with the broader aims of feminism.

(this post has been drafted as a massive flip of the bird to all the haters out there.)

harper too good for the superbowl

his whole "Being prime minister of Canada I can assure you I focus my exclusive football attention on the Grey Cup -- which is always much more exciting'' was so vomit-inducingly corny.  the prospect of watching their lame 'attack' ads during the super bowl was also utterly lame.   im sorry, but michael ignatieff braying about the environment does not go with beer and football.  conversely,  maybe iggy the american gives these ads a bit of  yankee flavour that would complement a treasonous sunday afternoon spent watching the super bowl.  at any rate, it is my impression that the ads did not air during the marquee slot due to copyright considerations.  pity.

feelings i have after watching these ads:
1. i am so glad i didnt watch the liberal leadership debates or go to the convention.
2. these ads, they say nothing.
3. getting things done for all of us has got to be the lamest slogan ever.

this election is going to be a youtube election, yada yada.  first person to lend/buy me a video camera gets to socialize with all the bikini girls im going to have in my grassroots youtube revolutionary internets videos. 

ubc interwebs conspiracy

so, i would like you all to know that i am joining the ams/ubc blog run by the folks who ran elections insider.  youll know the posting has begun when i make a sidebar graphic to commemorate the occasion.  i hope i can find something ubc-related to bitch about besides reiki practicioners and techniques for evading them.

***

im going to boston soon (quelle surprise) and im wondering if anyone here knows somewhere cool in the boston area that i have yet to frequent.   as you all know, i like beer, fire, vodka, seafood, books, movies, men in speedos, persian tea houses, etc.  it has to be sasha-friendly (ie, something that has redeeming value outside being a big intertextual wankfest of american pop culture that he wont 'get' because they didnt have cheers, the simpsons, or the 90's in moldova). 

***

its a big internet, so i really did think i could be out here, blogging, without my parents crashing the party.  it seems that my dad (who only three months ago drove from his computer at home to his office downtown in order to open a pdf because he knew how to do it on the work computer.) has learned how to work the interwebs.  either that, or one of you told him about this. 

im serious.  i dont care how old i am.  im not mature.  you cant invite your parents to shit.  its harsh lame. 

ams elections wrap-up (or why maxwell maxwell absolutely ruined our lives)

1. the list of media outlets that split the $8000 funds is interesting - the student and journalism school publications topped the list, while some earnest grassroots efforts nicked a few of the smaller prizes.   i am also sad that the radical beer tribune didn't crack the moola line.  perhaps their sexy candidate portraits were more fun for those involved in/who actively mock student politics.  whatever - this was still the most artistic, novel, and amusing take on the ams elections.    peter rizov may not have won, but this is going to be my desktop for the rest of my life. </creepy>

id like to know wtf the voter-funded media winners are going to do with their money.  for all the wah-wah about the mysterious processing of ams funds and how it is what causes voter apathy, it would be nice if we could find out what these folks plan to do with the $8000 that was supposed to inspire excitement.   

no, im not going to judge anyone who blows it on beer and dope.  the duncan-kearney media group did 1% the work that the other victorious (and non-victorious) outlets did.  i dont know if they got the memo... at ubc, the only socially-acceptable form of halfassed ams election participation is to dress real emo, claim youll throw parties, whine that the ams is invisible while collecting $14,000 in ams salary, and somehow decide youre saving democracy for democracy's sake. 

i dont know why critical voices were so much harder on duncan and kearney than they were on maxwell maxwell.  why does the fact he ran for office in a halfassed manner somehow put him on a more noble ideological plane than two dudes who entered the vfm just so their buddies would vote them some cash?  if anything, maxwell caused more voter apathy by embodying the  ambivalence.  he says he changed the tone of his campaign because “Being able to vote in western society is sort of that one thing which you have, which makes you a valid member of that society.” 

so, thanks to maxwell, we all had the lovely privilege to vote for ams president.  thank you, maxwell.  you let us choose between a student council mafia type and a non-serious candidate without a platform.  our choice was broadened to jeff friedrich by acclamation to jeff friedrich by formality. 

next year, im going to run for president.  if i feel like it.  ok. 

2. no surprises in the results, really.  i hear turnout was very low. i send laurel wreaths to the victorious.

maybe ill interview some of the vfm winners.  maybe i wont.  we'll see.