BCOO: Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

I know more about geisha than I ever wanted to know.

I am really glad to be done with this book. I loved the language in the beginning, but that only took me so far. The central character had no actual character. None that I could find, anyway. It felt like she was simply a tool to teach me about geisha. And I don't want to know about geisha. Maybe I'm forcing my ideals on Japanese culture, but it seems like a completely degrading and socially repugnant practice.

Of course, it didn't help that the author is from Tenessee and male (that's him, on the left of this post). He didn't examine any of the implications of geisha-ism. Maybe that's why people like it.

I'm not saying a male author can't write women characters well - Wally Lamb manages to create a truly believable, extremely troubled woman in She's Come Undone - but this one completely missed the mark for me. He lets the main character think someone is disgusting, but he doesn't let her delve into the depths of her emotion. It just wasn't authentic for me.

As far as the Japanese thing, sure, he has an MA in Japanese History, speaks Mandarin Chinese, and lived in Japan for awhile. Now he lives in Boston, and has written a book tinged with American male sentiment. I didn't buy it.

Next: Slow Man, by J.M. Coetzee. I'm thrilled. I loved Disgrace.

My Wedding

Yes. We did it. And Wallstrip filmed it. Still Amanda Elend, just Mrs. now.

Wallstrip: GPRO

New Wallstrip: Malaysia ETF

I learned a lot (ETF, etc.), but we had to go for the LCD, i.e. "Where the fuck is Malaysia?"

BCOO Returns: Diary, a Novel, by Chuck Palahniuk

Just finished Diary, a novel, by Chuck Palahniuk.

I love him. He is unique and can make the most disgusting words beautiful (and vice versa). I didn't like this book as much as I liked Survivor, but I'm still on the Palahniuk love ride.

This book is hard to describe without giving too much away. It is written like...a diary...surprise! A poor woman meets a rich guy and pays a rather hefty price for her happiness.

The novel relies heavily on magical realism and has a distinct ring of fairy tale by the end. I think that's a Palahniuk "thing." The worlds in his novels are always at least hyperbolic, if not fantastical.

I'm sort of rambling here. I JUST finished it, so I haven't had much time to digest. Can't wait to read another of his. Go Portland! (he lives there)

Favorite quotes: "Because everything is important. Every detail. We just don't know why yet."
"What you don't understand, you can make mean anything."
"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness."

I'm going to take a little time to catch up on my magazines. I have a Bitch, a Paste, and I think two Busts. Hmmm...a bitch, a paste, and a bust. Sounds like a bad sitcom.

Can I have an abortion please?

State legislators in Ohio want to give fathers a FINAL say before a woman gets an abortion. And they mean final.

Before having an abortion, a woman must have the written consent of the father. THE father. The man she slept with. If she doesn't know who the father is (maybe the man who raped her?), she must submit a list of "possible" fathers. The physician would have to conduct paternity tests and, after determining who the father is, get his signed consent.

WHAT THE FUCK??!!! I understand the desire to give men a say, but I'm not sure I agree with it. I know it affects men's lives, but not nearly as much as it affects women's. I have to admit, I feel like it's the woman's body, she gets to decide.

All that aside: a list? possible fathers? paternity tests? Imagine what that does to the woman.

And again, what if the woman was raped? What the fuck is she supposed to do then?

This CAN'T go anywhere. It's just another bunch of guys, led by Rep. John Adams, who think they have the right to decide what women can and can't do with their bodies. I don't know, though. With the current climate, anything is possible.

Hang on to your wood: New wallstrip

Celebrities are dying, politicians are in surgery, people have sex to burn calories, and I finally have time to post

Why are so many celebrities dying? Is it the heat? I thought Tammy Faye was immortal.

Dick Cheney was president for two hours and five minutes, while Bush was having a colonoscopy.

They were obviously playing tag: Cheney went in to get his defibrillator replaced. Desperate not to miss out, John Roberts had a seizure and ended up in the hospital. Everyone's fine.

Broadsheet just posted this, which profiles an article about the 237 reasons people have sex. Among the more ridiculous: to get rid of a headache, feel closer to god, change the topic of conversation, and my favorite, burn calories. There is still hope: the top reason was "I was attracted to the person."

Personally, I have sex to make babies. All you people reading this are morally dead to me if you don't feel the same way. Babies. I LOVE babies.

Back in the real world, my beloved Broadsheet also reported that Second Life is a refuge for the under-educated teen. Second Life may help your sex life, with a new island dedicated to sex ed. According to Broadsheet:

There's a screening room for movies about HIV/AIDS, an outdoor classroom where students can watch presentations from sex educators, a newsstand that updates itself every 10 minutes with the top two sexual health stories from Yahoo News, an interactive game/quiz area where students can test their knowledge, and a "sky box" where visitors can have one-on-one sessions with counselors. There's even a vending machine where visitors can buy virtual condoms. The goal, as the explanatory video puts it, is to help students learn how to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies, and promote equitable sexual relationships.

Free, independent, intelligent sex ed? Right on, Second Life.

Just found out Jenna Elfman is a Scientologist. Shit!

For MUCH more important breaking news: the UN is sending 26,000 international forces to Darfur. FINAL-FUCKING-LY. Thank you Gordon Brown. Here's the story. As Allyn Brooks-LaSure, a spokesman from Save Darfur said, "This isn't the time to pop champagne." But it's SOMETHING. It's a start.

Back in the banalities of every day life, I finished Anna Karenina. I enjoyed the social/political commentary, and the characters were wonderfully contrasting and tied into Tolstoy's criticism of Russian society. The novel is full of characters who are struggling to be themselves - a constant struggle in everyone's life, I think - so it really hit home.

Also joined the rest of the world in finishing Harry Potter. Sad it's over. Because of my transition-full life, I couldn't get my hands on any of the earlier ones while I was reading, so I spent a lot of time trying to remember what happened in the last book. No matter, I still loved it. I do wish they had brought in the idea of the deathly hallows earlier, though. It was a lot to discover in one book.

I'm reading Diary, by Chuck Palahniuk now. I love him. His style is unlike anyone's I've read.

Love for Janitors: New Wallstrip

Wallstrip: CXW

This guy is hilarious.

Wallstrip: FLIR

The guy is Lindsay's boyfriend, Aaron. He was also the Jack in the Box employee in JIB.

New Wallstrip - dead babies and MIL

Dupont: New Wallstrip

Update on Gasparilla Girl

First she was raped, then she was jailed, then she was denied Plan B. Now? The police may be accusing her of making up the rape.

In an article ridiculously titled to add insult to injury, "Alleged Gasparilla rape victim speaks out," Bay News 9 reports that "Betsy" is speaking out. The police deny their denial of the rape, but Betsy says she's been accused of trying to make some guys feel bad.
They wouldn't walk her to her car.

Yikes.

Here's the article.

Snarky comments and sticky floors: New Wallstrip

Lindsay is a Hot Geek: New Wallstrip

Wallstrip is the Next Generation

My latest wallstrip script

Wallstrip Loves Kittens

I love the disgusting kitten pictures they found. Nice touch.

A Little More Venting on the Post Below

Here's a nice breakdown on the same subject from Broadsheet:

Judge bans the word "rape" from sexual assault trial.
Nebraska District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront granted a request by the defense team to ban the words "rape," "sexual assault," "victim," "assailant" and "sexual assault kit" from the courtroom, reports Dahlia Lithwick. Oh, and jurors won't even be told about the banned words. "You needn't be a radical legal feminist to cringe at the idea of judges ordering rape complainants to obliterate from their testimony any language that signifies an assault," writes Lithwick. "At worst, that judge is ordering her to lie. At best, he is asking her to play at being a human thesaurus: thinking up coded ways to describe to the jury what she believes to have happened."

Thanks for summing it up well, Broadsheet. Might I add - this is America.

I can't leave this one alone

Here are some highlights from the JournalStar.com article:

Banned words debated in sex assault case
BY CLARENCE MABIN / Lincoln Journal Star

Tory Bowen says she knows what happened to her on the morning of Oct. 31, 2004.But she won’t be able tell her story to jurors — at least not in a way that’s truthful to her, she says — because a judge’s order bars witnesses from using words like “rape” and “sexual assault” in the trial of Pamir Safi, who is accused of sexually assaulting Bowen.

Safi

“In my mind, what happened to me was rape,” said Bowen, 24. “I want the freedom to be able to point (to Safi) in court and say, ‘That man raped me.’”

Last month, Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront denied a motion by prosecutors that would have prohibited Safi’s attorneys from using words like “sex” and “intercourse” when describing the encounter between Safi and Bowen.

The Lancaster County Attorney’s Office had argued the words would imply Bowen consented to have sex.Cheuvront also has sustained an earlier motion by defense attorneys barring the words “rape” and “sexual assault kit.”

In Bowen’s opinion, Cheuvront’s ruling means she will have to lie on the witness stand.“The word ‘sex’ implies consent,” she said. “I never once would describe (what happened) as sex. He’s making me commit perjury.”

Clarence Mock, one of Safi’s attorneys, said Cheuvront made the rulings to keep the trial fair.

The word “rape,” is not a legal term, he said. “Sexual assault” is, but whether a defendant committed that crime is a question for a jury to answer based on evidence at trial, Mock said.

“Under the rules of evidence, witnesses can’t reach legal conclusions,” he said.

“Trials are competing narratives of what happened,” Mock continued. “They should not turn on politicized hyperbole. They should turn on the facts.

“... Using words like ‘rape’ creates unfair prejudices for defendants and invades the (duties) of the jury.”

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Holy shit. I can't believe this is true.