twifight

So I’ve stayed silent on the whole Twilight thing so far because quite honestly I couldn’t really give a crap. The initial issue that many people had with it was the whole abstinence thing and well, I stay away from that as much as possible. The debate, that is, not the act. haha. (just kidding mom)

But seriously, the latest feminist critique had me curious and so I decided to start reading them just because I am after all a sucker for pop culture. And now I get it. I get exactly what is so screwed up about the entire thing and why young impressionable girls everywhere need to get the hell away from that book!!!! Parents, are you listening????

Look, I get vampires. they’re cool in that really messed up blood sucking way. But we think their extra-human strength and their dark brooding is hot for some reason (I wont go into this right now, but it’s worth a mental walk some time.) What I do think goes wrong in this particular case is how clearly it is destroying this girl’s self image, her ability to make rational decisions, heck, her ability to live. It boils down to two words: abusive relationship. Three cheers for abusive relationships! Huzzah!

Now seriously, you have to ask yourself what exactly is sooooo romantic about some dude who could easily kill you so much as kiss you or leaves you bleeding and bruised after “making love”? That’s hot right? (Parents are you listening?) What disturbs me most about the whole character arch is that, well, there isn’t one. It’s like an allegory for domestic abuse that you use to teach kids what’s wrong with domestic abuse. Except that, wait, it isn’t so bad. She loooooves him.

Yikes.

Now I know proponents of the series feel that people like me are taking it way too seriously. Hey, it’s just a story right. It’s just fantasy/sci-fi (or syfy as the cable channel would like us to write it) and any greater (ie lesser) message we derive from it is just taking it too far.

Well, look, call me crazy, but I do actually read for meaning and what the overall message is and some of my favoritest books ever are pretty screwed up in fairly monumental ways, but the point is always something i totally jive with and has made me a better person in some ways. So when a story is so popular and creates the kind of buzz this thing does, I take notice and I start to think about what exactly appeals to people. And this time I have got to put my foot down because it happens to be a hot button for me.

I’m gonna say it like this – no self respecting, mentally healthy woman would EVER appreciate this book. So why are we letting young impressionable girls fill their minds with such weak willed crap without so much as a question mark? You have to ask yourselves, and/or your daughters, why you like this story? What is it that turns you on? Are these characters noble , why or why not? What have you learned from this story? Why does this story excite you and why do you think so many people enjoy it so much? Sounds like a book report, but hey, you should do this for everything you read and see. It will tell you a lot about your personal tastes and what you spend (ie waste) your life on…

Maybe this is why I appreciate an author like Neil Gaiman so much. Here’s a guy who consistently brings up strong well adjusted characters with distinct traits of valor and courage. his women are usually quite strong and independent, with his men often being the “damsel in distress” – which may well mean he has some gender issues of his own, but at least it’s refreshing to read from a man. There is also this beautiful story in the Sandman series of a kind of abusive relationship btwn the main character Morpheus/Sandman and a nymph. He leaves her in despair and utter ruin and eventually that choice comes back to destroy him and he feels he has to redeem himself for the rest of his “life” – I’m curious if Mr Twilight will ever feel as much.

Now I do think I have to insert a big disclaimer, because I will fully admit I have not finished the books, seen the movies, or read anything more than the wikipedia entries. (Which by the way are pretty detailed and if you look up anything on there be aware of mad spoilage. I learned that the hard way with the book The Reader.) So there could be a major plot development that changes everything and then I will publicly recant above post and eat some humble pie. But someone will need to send me the recipe cuz I lost mine…

how to give

I’ve been thinking about toilets today. Well, it’s World Toilet Day, click HERE for info. The Water for People people are trying to get us to think about how much of the world do not have the clean water and waste capacity we have here in the US and in more developed countries. If you’ve ever seen Slumdog Millionaire, you may remember that lovely scene where the little kid jumps into a gigantic mound of poop and pee. That is the reality for many many people on our planet. And here we are in America where we get all mad when our cleaning company buys scratchy toilet paper. (I’m not naming any names, but she *might* be writing this … )

Anyway, reading the website got me thinking about how overwhelming it is to look at something like a clean water movement and feel like your measly $100 is not going very far or whatever. I also thought this recently when a friend was doing a fundraiser and I sent twenty bucks and thought, gee, I’m gonna spend more that on a couple beers at the Steelers game. I really can get myself depressed thinking how much I suck as a person. I’m pretty self-absorbed and often find myself, well, thinking about myself.

Then again, I can’t give to every good cause that comes along. There are so many things I would like to help out with and I try to be conscientious about these things. But it’s easy to get bogged down with futile efforts and feel like nothing you will ever do will make any difference.

So it got me thinking. How do YOU choose what you give to and how you volunteer? Do you have a kind of mental checklist – certain hot button issues that you focus on? Or is it more a matter of, yeah I can do without two beers – here’s 20 bucks.  Or maybe everyone else has it all figured out and it’s just me being selfabsorbed – again. Please tell me you struggle with these things… please…

and just for fun… click on the toilet…

de-glee-ing

So now that we are solidly into the Glee season, I feel I can comment on what I’ve seen so far. I have often found that you have to wait a few episodes to really form any kind of opinion because it takes that long for characters to emerge and potential hilarity to ensue. It’s really rare that a series pilot is really *that* awesome.

That said, Glee had a good pilot. I had to love the way they break into song because that can be incredibly cheesetastic or make you smile and/or hum along. And somehow they managed to be both. You laugh because you have to – there is no choice. Followed quickly by a groan, followed quickly by another laugh.

Also, I cannot say enough about Jane Lynch. I really feel that she deserves every good word she gets, def one of the most underrated actresses ever. Her comic timing is to die for and every facial expression floors me.

So, now to the poop.

I really hate cliches and the first few episodes quickly tumbled down the garden path toward cliche hell. I held my breath for it, figuratively of course, and expected them to do some dumb things at every turn. Happily they surprised me roughly 50% of the time which is more than I can say for, oh every other sitcom out there. (mad kudos to arrested development though – esp for knowing when to call it quits. part of the problem really)

The characters are ok though some of the storylines are so played out already just 8 episodes in. That scene in Holy Grail with the soldiers all yelling “GET ON WITH IT” comes to mind 2 or 3 times throughout an episode. We get the angst. We get the drama. But I guess high school IS angsty drama, so what else can they write about?

I also am ever so slightly turned off by the canned music and the lame attempts to lip synch. Obviously they cant sing and do some of those dance steps at the same time. Only N’Sync can do that. And that’s ok. We’re ok with that and would rather just hear good solid vocals. WHich is abounding. Otoh, it might be nice in future episodes to have them actually sing, not produced, just for fun.

OK, the other big problem I have with the show is that whole married teacher thing. My friend Kyle said it best when he commented how he didn’t like the way they set you up to root for the guy to cheat on his wife. The show made his wife a lunatic and just not a very nice person, but then again Emma, the guidance counselor is a total freak and full of crap too, so I feel fairly neutral about the whole thing. Again, they are taking weeks to develop the story and I feel each episode has done the two steps forward one step back thing. This is why I wait for the whole season to come out on DVD. Oh well, I’m hooked now and I hope the rest of the season does not totally change the name from Glee to Blow.