It was announced today that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The first and only word that came to mind in my pre-coffee morning daze was "LAAAME." I mean, really? The New York Times headline said he received it "for his extraordinary efforts to strenghten international diplomacy and cooperations between peoples." Yes, the international community likes him a lot but he HASN'T DONE ANYTHING YET. I feel it's no longer just America that has lost all it's imagination. And, from what I understand, this is one of the widest interpretations of Alfred Nobel's orginal guidelines for choosing the award recipient. I really like this response from Friends of the Earth, which points out that, between Afghanistan and the climate crisis, my boy has A LOT of peacemaking left to do.
My friend James said he'd hoped the headline was a joke, perhaps part of a larger fake news day, after reading in the Space & Cosmos section that NASA bombed the moon. I wish, in this economic crisis, we could put all the NASA folks to work doing something else. I'm sure they'd all hate me for saying that but can't Space wait?
After the Obama story, I gave up on real news for the day and came across this audio piece by actor and ladies man John Keegan. After a bad breakup a few years back, Keegan challenged himself to master the art of charming women, setting personal quotas for phone numbers and dates to be achieved each week. He was so successful, the Manhattanite now coaches single men on how to pick up ladies, for the small price tag of $200 a session.
That's nice and all but I'd like to point out two things:
Number one, Keegan is an actor. He's not bad looking and he was getting paid to charm way people before he started using it to get broads in his bed.
Number two, women can't do this as easily. He didn't say they could, but it is something I think about. I'm frustrated with how easy it is for guys to pick people up. It's not just about social constraints but also physical advantages and disadvantages. I had a short conversation with someone about limitations of sex at our house party over the weekend and he asked me, if I was born a man, would I be a different person. My answer? Absolutely. I would do all kinds of things I am too scared to do as a woman, namely hitch hiking and hitting on random strangers.
People may disagree, some women are fearless, but personally, I feel I can't just pick up any guy I meet. There are considerations, the biggest one being potential for sexual assault. Living in fear sucks, let me tell you. It's so limiting. John Keegan, I salute you and your abilities and am very, very jealous that you can meet a million ladies a week and never worry that one might strangle you in an alley and try to rape you.
yes! very true. however, i feel that it all depends on WHO (or whom, rather) you try to pick up. i would feel confident, and not at all endangered, picking up someone who's on the quiet, shy or introverted side. why? because those typically aren't the type of guys who try to pick up girls, and aren't likely to have that kind of outward brazenness (or deeply buried insecurity, however you want to interpret it) that can lead to overconfidence and agressive behavior, which in turn can lead to things like rape. all that being said, i hate the term 'picking up' and this whole kind of dating culture - and the thought of this guy being a 'dating coach' makes me want to throw up - because it all just assumes that people are interchangeable objects, and sex and seduction are just a matter of conforming those objects' desires to your own. and then, not surprisingly, when people (usually men) feel like they're not succeeding at this competitive nonsense they grow desperate, and think that justifies drugging, raping or otherwise coercing their date into doing something they never consented to. ugh. i think if dating culture was actually in touch with and understood female or 'feminine' sexuality, it'd be so different ... dating - either luring someone to bed or initiating a relationship - would have to do with understanding what makes them tick, and embracing the complexity of desire and sex and relationships overall, rather than thrusting yourself upon someone (figuratively or literally) and 'winning them over' with your charms or confidence, or drugs/brute strength. and since dating wouldn't be seen as such a competitive game, and you wouldn't need an f-ing 'coach'!!!
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