| 30.7.04 |
| women's hair removal |
something tells me i may get overloaded from google because of this post...but here it goes anyway....jenn, allison, sarah and tracy, this one' s for you:
a few weeks ago i was having a conversation with some of my girl friends about the origins of women's hair removal. really it is an interesting question - where did this obsession for smoothness come from? although we all were clueless, i posed the thesis that it related somehow to prostitution. i found this answer, from the world's smartest human being, and i thought it would make for an interesting post. reflecting back on that thesis first posed, i realize i mis-stated it by not fully explaining how i got to that end result. therefore, here is my rationale:
most of us would agree that fashion trends are very strongly related to sex, if not directly related. by this i mean sex less in terms of the actual act, but really the relational dynamics that lead up to sex. the forces that compel us towards a relationship with the opposite sex are strong - jealousy, desire, companionship, etc. i once heard it is the second most powerful need that we have as humans, under that of food and water. since those emotions are so powerful, it would follow that they would dictate certain aspects of our life, including our choices in fashion.
let's put this in practical terms with an example. let's use one i know something about, the gangster fashion of large denim shirts and huge baggy pants for men in the early 1990s. during the 1980s 'war on drugs', our state prisons saw an increase in the amount of incarcerated men. these men, while in prison, do not have much else to do other than lift weights, lose weight and therefore get more muscles. more muscles and leaner men = more masculine and attractive (i'm generalizing here, yes). when those men got out of prison, they are physically very attractive to the women. and, after being incarcerated and having no money, they are going to wear some of the same clothes they were issued in prison - dickies and pants. as for the size of the pants and shirts? explained by the desire while in prison to hide their body (for reasons you can probably guess) and also losing weight would make their clothes baggier. since the girlfriends of the unincarcerated men are now starting to eye the new parolees, jealously caused them to mimick the jailed-men's fashion. voila, a fashion trend has begun.
now, regarding shaved legs. apply the same theory, that the impulse for sexual relationships impacts the fashion trends. the fashion industry knows that a woman will become jealous when men pay attention to other women so they place jealousy-inducing photos of women in their advertisements (the concept, of course is still in use today). the message to women becomes "men want this and will get it from another woman [i.e. prostitution] if you don't do it" - a very powerful message to a woman. hence, my original statement that women's hair removal has its roots in prostitution. even though i was a little off to limit it with the term prostitution, i believe the underlying force is still there - our desire for a relationship is a driving force.
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| posted by Paige @ 11:13 AM |
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| 29.7.04 |
| august |
i need to stop life.
and think.
then move forward.
with focus.
august will be just that.
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| posted by Paige @ 10:22 AM |
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| art |
there is this feeling i get when i experience good art. it starts in my stomach then radiates out. radiates is the best word for it because it seems to pump life back into me; life that is visable to others. simply put, good art inspires.
i am very excited for the movie garden state. it has the most amazing and artistic trailor. what makes it amazing? well, there's no words in it, just music and snapshots of life. i can tell from just the shots that it is something i can relate too, another, very personal, sign of good art. it stirs my emotions and i want to be inspired. |
| posted by Paige @ 7:42 AM |
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| 26.7.04 |
| "this is different" |
is it bad when your youth pastor has divorced his wife and begins living with one of the youth group leaders? yeah, i thought so too. but at least the publishers of his books about running a good youth ministry and worship to high school kids are still promoting the book.
here's what i don't understand - why do we not go all the way to disapprove of divorce, or the breakup of the family? christians seem to have no problems uniting to ban gay marriage in the name of 'preserving the union of marriage' and yet we are none other than pussies when it comes to fighting the breakup of families in our own churches. case in point, the loudest voice in the fight to ban gay marriage is the american family association, who's website proudly stands in defiance on the issue...yet mentions nothing (nor links to any helpful resources) for people struggling with or considering divorce. (try it - hit ctrl 'f' then enter 'divorce' - what results do you find?) and why should the afa condone such an issue? after all, a large portion of their constituency are now divorced.
lately i've been thinking about the leaders and heros we choose in our country, one of which recently is mr. '6 time winner' armstrong himself. everyone seems to be pretty excited about him and cheering him on. i am too, but i can't get past the fact that he divorced his wife after she stood by him when he was sick and is now getting cheered on by his rock-star girlfriend. i don't know what faith lance himself professes, but i have a hard time with the pride and emotions my christian friends feel towards lance while at the same time forwarding an email petition fervantly requesting my email signature in support of 'saving the institution of marriage'. i realize that it is not exactly the same thing but if we are going to fight to save marriage, let's consider all the players in the field.
i saw this great south park episode where stan's parents are getting a divorce for reasons his father explains to him as his mom and dad "don't like each other any more". stan explains how he doesn't like his sister any more and could they get divorced. his dad says no, that's different because she's family and they have to work it out. when stan reminds him that he and stan's mom made a commitment to be family and they should work it out, his response was "it's different".
and wow, just look at this website offering divorce services for christians. it's ok to get divorced because you have a christian lawyer and surely since he is a minister too than if he recommends a divorce than it must be ok. after all, "Follow the light and you shall find God's way" which just might mean hiring mr. radoff. oh, and this service is available for those citizens in the state that pioneered the demise of the marriage institution.
the stance that i personally take on all of these issues boils down to commitment. i intend to take my marriage with the utmost sincerity and commitment.
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| posted by Paige @ 6:37 AM |
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| 22.7.04 |
| womens wall street and salon |
a coworker of mine has been buzzing all week about this article about a woman's experience with "suspicious" arabs on a flight she took in june. i must say that it is a rather scary story and i would encourage anyone out there to read it. i, like the author, am not going to get all political and demand more security measures or something, but nor will i shrug it off as racial profiling and paranoia, as this author on salon.com does. i do, however, feel that we put a great deal of faith into our leaders and the actions they take to make us feel safe...or for that matter a great deal of faith into our leaders who make us feel unsafe (as michael moore would have it). i feel both are accurate assessments. regardless, i think we are naive all do often.
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| posted by Paige @ 6:43 AM |
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| 21.7.04 |
| pc and the onion |
today i just need a good laugh. and rob's got a new prank.
but this is awesome. every now and then you just need a good article from the onion. check this out:
Study: Majority Of Americans Out Of Touch With Mainstream
NEW YORK—According to a study published by the Popular Culture Research Group Monday, the majority of American citizens are out of touch with mainstream American society.
"We're not sure, at this point, whether this is a new trend or a continuation of an old trend," PCRG consultant Paul Van Lamm said. "All we know right now is that 70 to 85 percent of Americans are unfamiliar with, unaware of, or just plain don't care about what the American people are watching on television, seeing at the movie theater, listening to on their radios, wearing, rooting for, falling in love with all over again, or downloading." According to Van Lamm, 71 percent of U.S. citizens polled had no interest in NASCAR racing, America's fastest-growing sport. Van Lamm added that 69 percent of poll respondents said they did not have a single Hispanic friend, in spite of the fact that Hispanics are the nation's fastest-growing minority group. Additionally, the majority of poll respondents did not see the final episode of Friends, television's most-watched sitcom. "It's disturbing," Van Lamm said. "I'm uncomfortable with the number of U.S. citizens who have no interest in what interests the greater part of their fellow citizens."
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| posted by Paige @ 6:48 AM |
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| 20.7.04 |
| introvert xian v. extrovert xian |
this weekend at a party i had a conversation with ken about hometowns. i often get a defensive response from virginia-natives (and not many others, though sometimes midwesterners), as if i'm being arrogant by replying, 'i'm from l.a.'*. i find it interesting that people respond that way.
this man had the same response. i can't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like, 'i could never live in l.a.' (again, i hear that often). when i asked him why, he replied that there are not enough christians there. i found this to be very interesting because i have never examined a possible dwelling place against that criteria. but it is valuable criteria. personally, i would run away from anything described as "lots of christians".
as i gave this more thought i realized that just as there are two main personality types, introverts and extroverts, are not these two personality types also relevant to one's spiritualilty? i mean, wouldn't there be spiritual introverts and spiritual extroverts? i would consider ken a spiritual extrovert - he gets his spiritual enrichment with the aid of others, a noble and biblically-modeled reaction. i would then consider myself a spiritual introvert - i get my spiritual enrichment primarily through my personal time with God. to add to this thought, i would throw out a strawman-thesis and say that it is opposite of one's public personality type. me, who is a social extrovert, is a spiritual introvert. i would venture to guess that sarah would be a spiritual extrovert while socially an introvert.
another question that came to mind with this thought is is one' s spiritual personality type related to leadership roles? just as God has created different roles for those He calls, does he not create in them a similar spiritual personality? this sunday merritt spoke about abram and how he was pretty much the only one who believed in this God, and abram is considered a leader, the father of the jewish people. and for the israelites, they grew as a result of their communion with each other. the followers of the leader were spiritual extroverts.
*somewhere, some media marketing executive should be richly rewarded (probably already has been) for years of work that went into creating this perception of socal as 'the best place to live' or 'the land of fruits and nuts', etc. so many stereotypes are depicted about l.a. thanks to shows like the oc.
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| posted by Paige @ 11:28 AM |
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| 13.7.04 |
| life theme |
| i read this in the book i'm currently reading and i thought it so perfectly described my life theme - someone born into christianity yet trying to become christian. |
| posted by Paige @ 6:45 AM |
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| 7.7.04 |
| personal politics |
on monday, as we were nearing the end of our day-long drive back to the district, liz mentioned how she needed to get a w sticker for her car. we started talking about supporting candidates by plastering one's bumper and i mentioned that i don't think i would ever put a political bumper sticker on my car.
you see, i just can't see myself putting enough faith in one person like that. i support some issues and the stances that some politicians take, but i'm not passionate about wholly one person. she asked me if there was any way i would put a sticker on my car. i thought about it and said no. unless it was someone that i knew personally.
today i was reminded of something and given (almost) the opportunity. you see i have a friend that i grew up with who's father is running for congress. i think i could support, whole-heartedly, harry scolinos. if i were back in pasadena, i think i would throw a sticker on my car, just for peter.
and i honestly think i could work on the hill if it were for someone i knew. i wonder if he needs campaign staff? |
| posted by Paige @ 2:02 PM |
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| 6.7.04 |
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| weee! i'm spinning in a whirl of event planning...but i love it! from i love the 90s week to philly, and va beach to obx. and hopefully chicago too! yippie. |
| posted by Paige @ 11:33 AM |
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| 1.7.04 |
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how do you say...slow news day?
in other news, i saw spidey dos last night. fantastico. good entertainment.
and now i'm off for the holiday. hasta! |
| posted by Paige @ 10:17 AM |
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