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Thursday, November 27, 2003
On a somewhat unrelated topic, would you marry someone whose idea of a come-on is "you can occupy my territories any time"? Is there something wrong with me that this went into the "pluses" column?
posted 12:17 AM
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
OK, busy, busy, the usual story, am reading up on a political post while Tacitus is AWOL again...
But I know you will love this: Of all the people I am trying to connect with for dating purposes, the one I seem to have the most in common with, whose sense of humour meshes the best with mine, whose hobbies and work fascinate me, and who seems to find me both attractive and intelligent, is (wait for it) a Muslim. Yeah, I thought it was freaking hillarious also. We haven't talked politics yet, however. So we shall see.
posted 9:15 PM
Friday, November 21, 2003
You know what I'd like to know more about, smart military-type people? This.
posted 9:11 PM
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Nuts!
OK, here's my problem with George W. Bush, in a nutshell. People who criticize him are often nuttier than a squirrel in nut-gathering season. This makes it difficult, though not impossible, for me to call him a bigoted nut when he acts like one.
Incidentally, I would not have a word to say on the subject if the statement had included something along the lines of "At the same time, I will work together with gay Americans to ensure their rights are protected and they do not experience any discrimination in this country." I understand playing to the audience. The majority of American voters are not New York Times columnists. But even they would be willing to live, I bet, with some kind of "partnership registration" intermediate status for homosexual relationships. But not even putting something like that on the menu is just insensitive.
posted 12:11 AM
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
One in a continuing series of "Jewish men, argh!" posts:
Sweeping generalizations and unfair stereotypes ahoy!
The Jewish men I know fall into at least one of the many stereotypes described below:
- Too fucking nuts even for me. And you have to know me: I accept weird hobbies and freaky obsessive tendencies in people I like. (The kind of thing I mean: LukeFord.net. You may think he is exceptionally nuts, but this internal monologue, paying attention to every little thought inside their own head, and every trivial reaction one may encouter, goes on inside these people all the time. There's no room for paying attention to other people in your life when you are obsessed with (A) yourself and (B) what other people think of you. I mean, I am sure he is a lovely person and an interesting conversation partner, and certainly fascinating to read, but... At one point, someone has to take out the garbage. And it won't be the person trying to decide whether they are open to trying Orthodox Judaism again, because a pretty girl at the supermarket smiled in their general direction.)
- Have insane criteria for what they are looking for in a woman. (Jewish mothers, you are to blame. There is healthy self-esteem and there is a total lack of relationship to reality.) This guy is at least a billionaire. (Thanks, weisblogg.) You CAN buy love, popular movies of the 80's to the contrary. But I've had a coffee with an unemployed graphic designer whose list of criteria for a potential mate was at least as long. (This is the same umemployed graphic designer who asked me what I was reading when we met and I turned the book around to show him the cover page. The reply from the self-advertised "erudite lover of reading and literature"? "Oh, that title is too long for me to read." True story.)
- Are like this guy who contacted me last night. Against my better judgement, I am seeing him for a coffee on Sunday. [Why against my better judgement? He is unemployed ("I seem to end up in dead-end jobs"), does not have a degree ("I found school too hard so I dropped out"), does not drive... I don't drive because I live in one of three cities in the country where this does not affect my mobility. If I was living in Brampton, you bet your sweet bippy I would be driving. Or I would not be living in Brampton.] But he has sent me a dozen instant messages today, letting me know he is going out, he is coming back, he is eating lunch, he is going to the loo ... This man does not know from Adam, he's had no chance to find out my wonderous personality and fall in love with that, he hasn't even seen my picture. But just the idea that he has someone with boobs to talk to makes him develop all the gravitas of a six-week-old puppy with a new toy. "Ohmygod, ohmigod, ohmigod! Here I will run up an lick you and try to hump your leg!!! And now I will run around in cricles! And now I will widdle in the excitement!!!" Really. I haven't met you yet, I am not going to make plans for the next month with you. Sheesh. I don't think I am being too unreasonable here.
This does not mean that they are not lovely people who deserve all the love and support in the world. One of my best friends is waiting for the tall blonde extra-hip shiksa of his dreams to overlook his shortness, baldness, dumpiness, social awkwardness, and (not surprisingly, really) increasing bitterness, to reach the swell guy within. I don't see this as a very sucessfull potential mating strategy, but I wish him the best of luck with it.
I only feel justified in being so sweeping in my generalizations because I fit into none of the stereotypes reserved for Jewish women my age. I am not an 8-minute-date-addicted Hebrew school teacher living in Thornhill, I am not a deeply politicized lesbian on her 3rd PhD, I am not a housewife in Forest Hill with 2.4 kids and a Filipina nanny...
So what I am trying to get, in the nice Jewish boy department, is a nice Jewish boy who also lives outside of stereotypes. I personally know a half-dozen, but I am either related to them or they are married to my best friend.
Or I can do what I always do, and use the default Mick setting. They only get maudlin when they drink, they don't look for deep meaningful meanings (now with extra internal monolog!) in every fucking little thing, they are able to blow their nose without telling me every detail, and, if they don't have any idea what I am talking about, they don't see it as an insult to their fragile little egos.
posted 7:09 PM
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
I started writing this a while back, and I have more to say on the subject of Immigration. But, for now, read this, before the trail goes totally cold.
Joey and Kathy and David and Rick are having an immigration discussion -- a perennial favourite in my city of immigrants.
Wise words on "official" multiculturalism come from noted Family Compact member Neil Bissoondath. His 1994 book Selling Illusions sums it up thusly:Encouraging people to view each other as simply Canadian, discouraging the use of the marginalizing hyphen, would not solve such problems - humans, in times of fear and anger, have a unique ability for seeking out bull's-eyes in each other - but it might help deflect some of the resentment, so that in expressing our pain we do not also alienate our fellow citizens. Differences between people are already obvious enough without thier being emphasized through multiculturalism policy and its growing cult of racial and ethnic identity.
I think the problem is that the city is more diverse than the diversity mavens can appreciate. We do not need a city which has an Azeri day and an Armenian day, and Azeri and Armenian day schools where Azeris and Armenians can learn to foster age-old grievances from half-a-world away. What we need, and what we have, for now, is a city where my half-Azeri, half-Armenian friend can be at peace.
posted 7:49 PM
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Haiku to PMS:
Boobs huge and hurting.
All are hateful. You! Stop it.
Must eat chocolate.
Inspired by Moe Lane, super-genius. Incidentally, Tacitus is back. Please adjust your bookmarks.
posted 12:02 AM
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Three questions:
- Is it full moon or something? *I* am being rude to people on their own blogs. (Um, sorry.) CalPundit and Yglesias are being nasty to Michael Toten and Armed Liberal. (Look up yer own URLs, they are all on the left.) (Left. Ha! Get it?) And The Sideshow is being condescending Amygdala.
- Is there such a thing as true love? And, if there is, is it supposed to be hard like work?
- Toronto blogbash end of November. You know you want it.
posted 1:01 AM
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Apparently there's this party and I was invited, but no one bothered telling me, or something:
Last Chance City
Like with, well, practically anything, I am divided on the issues of this election. And this one is much more likely to affect appartment-renting, transit-riding, restaurant-going, tax-paying me, than almost anything done federally or provincially. Easy enough to know whom not to vote for. But what if you disagree with the guy you'd like to vote for on the one issue that seems the centerpiece of his campaign, hmm?
I can meander in the general direction of the frozen-in-time Toronto islands tomorrow.
posted 9:42 PM
