Apologies for the past and future lack of posts - the writers of these blog are going to spend a week together so there won't be much time to update. As for the past posts - there is no excuse. Apologies again to the readers - which won't be a lot anyway.
Hi to Farrah.
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Sunday, 21 June 2009
The Truth... or "the truth"?
Today I was watching the news, they talked about Pau Gasol, a Spanish basketball player who is playing for Los Angeles Lakers, and has won the NBA this year. Gasol and his teammates went to an American talk show, and he had the following conversation with the journalist:
Journalist: Are you going to go to the European Championship, Pau?
Gasol: Yeah, I might go, it's in September so I still have a lot of time to relax.
What did the Spanish news say? That Gasol had confirmed he was going to play. The subtitles said, literally "sí, voy a jugar el europeo" (yes, I'm going to play the European Championship).
This time I have been able to warn my parents, who were watching telly with me, how these so-called journalists had lied, but - what happens when they report from any country which language I don't speak? How can we be sure that that man who is talking from Pakistan or China or Iran is actually saying what they are telling us he is saying? We have been raised to believe how journalists are always saying the truth, how they will just report the facts and only the actual facts, and we are continually confronted with claims this isn't so. Not only with Gasol's statements, but with celebrity news, political news (Berlusconi, anyone?) and absolutely anything.
What can we believe now? Is it everything fair play as long as you sell more newspapers than your competitors?
Journalist: Are you going to go to the European Championship, Pau?
Gasol: Yeah, I might go, it's in September so I still have a lot of time to relax.
What did the Spanish news say? That Gasol had confirmed he was going to play. The subtitles said, literally "sí, voy a jugar el europeo" (yes, I'm going to play the European Championship).
This time I have been able to warn my parents, who were watching telly with me, how these so-called journalists had lied, but - what happens when they report from any country which language I don't speak? How can we be sure that that man who is talking from Pakistan or China or Iran is actually saying what they are telling us he is saying? We have been raised to believe how journalists are always saying the truth, how they will just report the facts and only the actual facts, and we are continually confronted with claims this isn't so. Not only with Gasol's statements, but with celebrity news, political news (Berlusconi, anyone?) and absolutely anything.
What can we believe now? Is it everything fair play as long as you sell more newspapers than your competitors?
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Rant Over
Today I was going to write a funny piece reflecting on female comedians, but I am not.
I know this topic is everywhere, but maybe that is why I am choosing right now to take a stand on it. It is the woman and the Islam. Why do women cover themselves up is something that still escapes my understanding, for whichever religion. That includes nuns and hindus, I am not just talking about Muslim women, but I am mainly going to talk about them in this article because of the recent events in Iran. One of the protests that we can hear the most in Iran is why do women have to cover themselves up just because they are women. They can't have their hair the way they want to, they can't leave the house without a hijab on, they are regarded, in legal terms, as less valuable than a man. But that is not what I want to talk about, for it is obvious these women are not wearing the hijab for their own decision - I want to talk about women choosing to cover themselves up in the Western world.
Back when I was little, there were not that many immigrants in Spain. They started to arrive when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was mainly South Americans, but then, one day, Muslims from the south part of the Mediterranean arrived as well. And their women were... covered. At first people were very understanding, nobody complained because you could see like one in a million, people were more worried about South Americans and their way of treating women (which we will talk about some other day). But Muslims started to arrive, and with them, covered women.
Immigration in Spain follows this pattern - big cities are mainly for South Americans and South Asians, smaller cities and towns are mainly for Northern Africans, they main muslim collective in the country. I grew up in Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, so I was very used to see South Americans and South Asians, not so much Northern Africans. When I moved out to go to University to a smaller town, I noticed how many Muslims are there living in Spain. And when I moved to England, it was the biggest reality check of my life. Had to see many women not only covering their heads but covering their whole body up. Completely. I am not going to lie - this makes my blood boil. What are the values we are transmitting to little girls, to little boys, to grown women and grown men? That women, just because they were born women, should not be allowed to show their body. That women are dirty, and a dirty good, something only family members should be allowed to look at.
I know it is more a cultural thing than a religious requirement, and that makes it even worse. What kind of culture prides itself in hiding 50% of its population under a black rag? What kind of country wants to be rich when it won't allow its University graduates to live a full, complete life? What self-esteem are we transmitting to young girls? "If you don't hide yourself from the looks of strangers you are going to be dirty". I am not dirty. I have had sex before marriage, I wear shorts and tank tops, I wear very short dresses and make up, drink a lot and ocasionally smoke, and still I consider myself to be completely respectable. In a few years time I will be a working member of society, and nobody should be telling me I am worth less than a man because I don't dress modestly in their opinion. I say, stick up your fingers and tell those morality guardians to shove the rag up their asses, and live your life as you want to.
You might think "there are women choosing to do it". Yes, indeed there are. But, why? Because these women have been taught -have been indoctrinated, I would say- into submission, into having to hide themselves in order to be accepted in society. I find it very sad when I see a young girl with a hijab, because I know she thinks less of herself for being a woman.
I know, because I have first-hand met Muslim girls who have to fit into Muslim standards, because otherwise they will lose their family. But I would like to throw a question to all those girls: is it worth it, really? Are actually going to give up on your individuality just because your culture demands so? Isn't it about time you decide for yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and understand that there is nothing shameful or evil about your hair, your eyes or your mouth? Step forward, love, you won't be alone. Moreover, if your parents are really understanding, they will accept you.
Note: to know more on the different kinds of headscarves and Muslim traditional clothing for women, click here.
To buy a full range of opressive, brain-washing clothing, click here.
To read a very interesting article about Muslim women in Britain, click here.
I know this topic is everywhere, but maybe that is why I am choosing right now to take a stand on it. It is the woman and the Islam. Why do women cover themselves up is something that still escapes my understanding, for whichever religion. That includes nuns and hindus, I am not just talking about Muslim women, but I am mainly going to talk about them in this article because of the recent events in Iran. One of the protests that we can hear the most in Iran is why do women have to cover themselves up just because they are women. They can't have their hair the way they want to, they can't leave the house without a hijab on, they are regarded, in legal terms, as less valuable than a man. But that is not what I want to talk about, for it is obvious these women are not wearing the hijab for their own decision - I want to talk about women choosing to cover themselves up in the Western world.
Back when I was little, there were not that many immigrants in Spain. They started to arrive when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was mainly South Americans, but then, one day, Muslims from the south part of the Mediterranean arrived as well. And their women were... covered. At first people were very understanding, nobody complained because you could see like one in a million, people were more worried about South Americans and their way of treating women (which we will talk about some other day). But Muslims started to arrive, and with them, covered women.
Immigration in Spain follows this pattern - big cities are mainly for South Americans and South Asians, smaller cities and towns are mainly for Northern Africans, they main muslim collective in the country. I grew up in Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, so I was very used to see South Americans and South Asians, not so much Northern Africans. When I moved out to go to University to a smaller town, I noticed how many Muslims are there living in Spain. And when I moved to England, it was the biggest reality check of my life. Had to see many women not only covering their heads but covering their whole body up. Completely. I am not going to lie - this makes my blood boil. What are the values we are transmitting to little girls, to little boys, to grown women and grown men? That women, just because they were born women, should not be allowed to show their body. That women are dirty, and a dirty good, something only family members should be allowed to look at.
I know it is more a cultural thing than a religious requirement, and that makes it even worse. What kind of culture prides itself in hiding 50% of its population under a black rag? What kind of country wants to be rich when it won't allow its University graduates to live a full, complete life? What self-esteem are we transmitting to young girls? "If you don't hide yourself from the looks of strangers you are going to be dirty". I am not dirty. I have had sex before marriage, I wear shorts and tank tops, I wear very short dresses and make up, drink a lot and ocasionally smoke, and still I consider myself to be completely respectable. In a few years time I will be a working member of society, and nobody should be telling me I am worth less than a man because I don't dress modestly in their opinion. I say, stick up your fingers and tell those morality guardians to shove the rag up their asses, and live your life as you want to.
You might think "there are women choosing to do it". Yes, indeed there are. But, why? Because these women have been taught -have been indoctrinated, I would say- into submission, into having to hide themselves in order to be accepted in society. I find it very sad when I see a young girl with a hijab, because I know she thinks less of herself for being a woman.
I know, because I have first-hand met Muslim girls who have to fit into Muslim standards, because otherwise they will lose their family. But I would like to throw a question to all those girls: is it worth it, really? Are actually going to give up on your individuality just because your culture demands so? Isn't it about time you decide for yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and understand that there is nothing shameful or evil about your hair, your eyes or your mouth? Step forward, love, you won't be alone. Moreover, if your parents are really understanding, they will accept you.
Note: to know more on the different kinds of headscarves and Muslim traditional clothing for women, click here.
To buy a full range of opressive, brain-washing clothing, click here.
To read a very interesting article about Muslim women in Britain, click here.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Let Me Grieve
I am writing this post the day before it should be published, for tomorrow I won't have the strength to sit in front of the keyboard and write an articulate article about what I want to. It has been a very tough week for me. Saturday last week I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend, and tomorrow I am leaving Manchester forever, or at least, for some time. Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I started a completely new level in our relationship - a long-distance relationship. In a day, I passed from living 15 minutes away from him to living 1,000 km away from him. I hadn't felt that devastated in a long time. On the way back to my halls, I felt like someone had sit on my chest, I could barely breathe. All I can remember from that walk back was the pain in my throat, as I tried not to cry (and I pretty much got it). When I got back to my room, I spent two days crying pretty much non-stop. Yeah, call me drama queen, but first say goodbye to your loved one (without knowing when will you be seeing him/her again) and then tell me about it. I still feel emotional when I think about it. What people told me, that very day, was "cheer up, you will be okay". Loads of people told me. Thing is - I didn't want to be okay. I wanted to cry, I wanted to weep, and I wanted to feel really, really miserable. There wasn't room in my mind that day to see a way out, to think "oh I have to feel better".
Nowadays, whenever you feel bad about something, people won't tell you "oh I'm sorry, talk about it", people will say "oh I'm sorry, but come on, cheer up". It is almost as if being miserable, sad or lonely was socially unacceptable. We cannot handle sadness, when an individual is sad the only thing we can say is "cheer up, things will get better". It all came to my mind while reading this article on how to deal with a break-up if you're a bloke:
So, people. Tonight is my last night in England. My last cigarrette, my last bottle of Dr Pepper, my last ride on the 10, my last show on BBC iPlayer, the last time I look at my boyfriend's halls, . I want to grieve, I want to cry, it's my last night an I will cry myself to sleep if I want to. I will eventually get over it, just give me time people - by now I need to say goodbye to what has been the best year of my life.
EDIT: I feel much better than I thought, however, I feel a bit empty.
Nowadays, whenever you feel bad about something, people won't tell you "oh I'm sorry, talk about it", people will say "oh I'm sorry, but come on, cheer up". It is almost as if being miserable, sad or lonely was socially unacceptable. We cannot handle sadness, when an individual is sad the only thing we can say is "cheer up, things will get better". It all came to my mind while reading this article on how to deal with a break-up if you're a bloke:
"Guy and girl break up. Girl initially seems far more devastated. She talks to her friends, mourns publicly, seems genuinely distraught. Guy seems, by comparison, to hardly be in pain at all. Weeks go by, then months. Because she’s dealt with the hurt immediately, girlfriend is getting over things, moving on, ready for what comes next. Boyfriend, meanwhile, has fallen into a delayed depression."It is the same for everyone now. The only exceptions to it are when someone close to you dies and when you end a relationship. Other than that, all you hear when you are sad is: "cheer up!". Sadness is a feeling we avoid like the plague, it is something nobody talks about anymore, unless it is to slag people off. Seems like nowadays you have to be tanned, tall, thin, handsome / pretty, young, dynamic and happy. I don't fall into that category. I am not tanned, I am not tall (ahahahaha), I am not thin, I am not pretty, and definitely I am not happy right now. Grief is a positive feeling - it lets us unleash our feelings, dissect our pain and eventually move on, learn from it and feel stronger. I don't mean grief for years, but I wanted to grieve the loss of my relationship (because in a certain way it was), and I want to grieve the end of my year abroad, and for that I will need to weep and cry and feel miserable and feel extremely sorry for myself for at least a week.
So, people. Tonight is my last night in England. My last cigarrette, my last bottle of Dr Pepper, my last ride on the 10, my last show on BBC iPlayer, the last time I look at my boyfriend's halls, . I want to grieve, I want to cry, it's my last night an I will cry myself to sleep if I want to. I will eventually get over it, just give me time people - by now I need to say goodbye to what has been the best year of my life.
EDIT: I feel much better than I thought, however, I feel a bit empty.
Friday, 12 June 2009
For Mental Health Reasons...
...I have decided to remove all those friends on facebook who meet these two requirements - a rather shallow relationship with me and the fact that they have joined any group trying to "~~**++**GATHER ALL THE FACEBOOK MEMBERS INTO ONE GROUP - Is iT pOssIbLe??**++**~~", "FIND YOUR TWIN ON FACEBOOK", "CUSTOMISE YOUR PROFILE ON FACEBOOK - ADD COLORS!!" or "~~-->BeCoMe A GoLdEn FaCeBooK MeMba!!<--~~".
Anyone thinking any of those groups work is, plainly, a retard. They don't work. They never have, they never will. I don't know what is the point in creating them, because they usually don't even advertise anything, they are just there, wasting space. I know they don't actually waste space, but the fact that there are people stupid enough to believe the description makes me think the group members are indeed a waste of space.
And why do I remove people who join those groups? Well, I would never remove an actual friend, but how many of your contacts on facebook are actually friends? People you hold a friendship with, people you would go for a drink with? Exactly. It is rather acquaintances, whom I will never see again or seldomly, who I just have on facebook to keep on stalking them - yes, I love gossip and I like looking at others' lives, and social networks are the ultimate tool for that. But when these acquiantances start showing how dumb they are, I just think I don't want to have them on facebook anymore. Am I being a snob? Yes. But they are being fucking stupid.
Anyone thinking any of those groups work is, plainly, a retard. They don't work. They never have, they never will. I don't know what is the point in creating them, because they usually don't even advertise anything, they are just there, wasting space. I know they don't actually waste space, but the fact that there are people stupid enough to believe the description makes me think the group members are indeed a waste of space.
And why do I remove people who join those groups? Well, I would never remove an actual friend, but how many of your contacts on facebook are actually friends? People you hold a friendship with, people you would go for a drink with? Exactly. It is rather acquaintances, whom I will never see again or seldomly, who I just have on facebook to keep on stalking them - yes, I love gossip and I like looking at others' lives, and social networks are the ultimate tool for that. But when these acquiantances start showing how dumb they are, I just think I don't want to have them on facebook anymore. Am I being a snob? Yes. But they are being fucking stupid.
What all this about a show?
When and why did live music become a show? In my opinion if you need a circus act of elephants and clowns and letting balloons go, then this aint live music. And i aint even kidding this is how Take That do 'live music' and so do most on the non-musical acts.
Live music to me is a crowded room, hopefully over-crowded room and the music should make your ears bleed, in a good way. Mosh pits, screaming and the suspected elbow to the head from the over excited fan getting carried away. Music, true music anyway, shouldnt need the gimics of mainstream pop today, 40 summits over the hill packing out stadiums, overpriced tickets and gimics isn't good for anyone really is it? apart from the guys in suits.
Come back when you can play some instruments, when out of the four of you, its not just two singing and two back up dancers.....Okay no more Take That rants. Music is in the pub and clubs of most cities, Arena's bring in the money but their bringing in this shit aswell.
Live music to me is a crowded room, hopefully over-crowded room and the music should make your ears bleed, in a good way. Mosh pits, screaming and the suspected elbow to the head from the over excited fan getting carried away. Music, true music anyway, shouldnt need the gimics of mainstream pop today, 40 summits over the hill packing out stadiums, overpriced tickets and gimics isn't good for anyone really is it? apart from the guys in suits.
Come back when you can play some instruments, when out of the four of you, its not just two singing and two back up dancers.....Okay no more Take That rants. Music is in the pub and clubs of most cities, Arena's bring in the money but their bringing in this shit aswell.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
There's always more fun in chasing strangers.
Falling for those you shouldn't, is this the way human behaviour works or is it just me? Is the chase better than the clinging on of the one that loves you so much its hard to take?
Chasing the people that are tied down and all out of place in your league of mild ego pleasing. Looking forward to them sitting next to you, being able to watch them smile is enough to get you through the two hour class on shit you cant stand. Who's happy with being chased, would always rather be doing the running, even when you cant run anymore you keep going searching for the brush of her knee against yours of the random smiles when you dont say a word.
Or is this all just me? is this just my unwillingness to close my eyes and settle. Even those you wouldnt give a second glance you start chasing and it consumes you as soon as they give you the flirty glance across the conter or the stare that lasts to long.
Lets make this our 'Christmas list to God' to rewrite human nature, or someone give me the number of the local Frasier Crane to help be solve whatever misguided issue that spilled from this blog.
Chasing the people that are tied down and all out of place in your league of mild ego pleasing. Looking forward to them sitting next to you, being able to watch them smile is enough to get you through the two hour class on shit you cant stand. Who's happy with being chased, would always rather be doing the running, even when you cant run anymore you keep going searching for the brush of her knee against yours of the random smiles when you dont say a word.
Or is this all just me? is this just my unwillingness to close my eyes and settle. Even those you wouldnt give a second glance you start chasing and it consumes you as soon as they give you the flirty glance across the conter or the stare that lasts to long.
Lets make this our 'Christmas list to God' to rewrite human nature, or someone give me the number of the local Frasier Crane to help be solve whatever misguided issue that spilled from this blog.
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