How topical!

Chairman David Hughes says men avoid marrying women graduates. “They prefer to choose a wife who is less-educated and who will be happy to qualify in the most important degree of all – as wife and mother.”

Say that you've gotten married, and moved with your partner in a foreign country. In that country no one speaks your language, except perhaps a few, who all know your partner as well as they do you, or likely even better. They are also the little social circle you have. You don't have a job. Your family is back in your home country. You don't have a citizenship, but live together on your partner's work visa. You have a baby together.
And now say that your partner hits you.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Of course, we're not all Dida Amba Elombala. In most situations, it is not so extreme. We have options not feasible to her, like divorce (though that's dependent on being straight, in most areas, and it's not that easy, either way). Dida Amba Elombala, for the non-Swedish, is the wife of a football player in Sweden, speaks only a relatively little-known dialect from her homeland. The situation only got to the attention of the police because a patrol happened to pass by their balcony when the football player, Yannick Ngabu Bapupa, had locked his wife out there.
But it did remind me of the horrors that comes off dependence.

Now, I could write a long post giving examples of the practical effect of dependence when it comes to accidents, disease, abuse and all such things, but I think we all know that.

I think the point I'm reaching for in this is that feminism is often said to be about the right of choice. And for me that isn't the case. The choice of dependence (both financially and emotionally, though emotionally is a bit difficult to come to grips with) practically impedes your freedom of choice in the future, and as social policy, I must be opposed to that. To make options available in law has been achieved to a great extent, but I see nothing wrong with pushing for a change in people, as well. It's what everyone else is doing, after all.
Hmm, by shortening this, I think I skipped several steps I should have accounted for, and the whole thing is pretty much kicking in open doors. Oh well.

TL;DR: There is nothing wrong with "feminist brainwashing", dependency is the greatest evil, etc.

Sean, I have cramps now, and it's all your fault :(

I made a big mistake today. I went into a magazine store, it was one of the most anxiety-inducing things one can do. It wasn't the 50 fashion magazines I casually looked over, nor the shelf of wedding magazines, or the "men's magazines". No, it was finally reaching the shelf with the six or so culture/debate magazines, which apparently counted for politics as well (though there was a separate, slightly larger economics section), squeezed in between the model airplane magazines and having the main feminist magazine in Swedish public discourse right across from the shelves and shelves of porn that started it.
But sadly, that wasn't really what got me a good dose of existential angst. No, I can usually happily ignore the dreary trappings of society. However, browsing through the excellent magazine bang, and reading a bit of the main article "The Conservative Triumph", and the constant references to the lib-con election victory last year, as well as an article (written by my lecturer from the last class, yay), I suddenly started feeling very, very alone, and seeing the shelves so full of gloss, and sex, and nerdery (whether gaming, knitting, model airplanes, or tattoos), our great consumption society was suddenly quite suffocating.
Of course, this feeling was quickly repressed, and I could go on consuming my pain away, THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE.

The saddest part is of course that I am not likely to buy an issue of bang, since it would depress me to no end. And if not I, who?

Today I saw three movies. They were all decent. None were especially bad, none were very good.

The first movie was an English horror/thriller/drama called The Living and the Dead about a family consisting of a bedridden mother, a mentally ill son and a lord trying to keep the family estate. The large house where they live is almost the main character, as the long eerie hallways, crumbling façades, peeling walls and antiquated bathtub set the stage for the part of the movie that is up there among the creepiest I've seen. As the father has to go away for financial matters, the nurse does not arrive in time, while the mentally unstable son wants desperately to prove his worth, by taking care of the bedridden mother. If the entire movie could have kept up the degree of discomfort one felt as the poor mother was utterly trapped by someone wishing her nothing but well and the poor son only had a rudimentary idea of how things worked, this would have been one of the best horror movies of a certain kind ever. Alas, the other parts, while not really bad, were significantly weaker, as it tried to delve into the psyche and hallucinations of the son. Still, a movie that is not at all enjoyable, but worth seeing if one likes to be creeped out.

The second movie was the much-hyped Shortbus. Why was it hyped? Because it has more cocks and more sex than most non-porn movies. Probably more cock than most porn movies as well, come to think of it.
Unfortunately, while the movie was enjoyable, it felt in the end rather trivial. The main problem, I believe, was the shallow characterisations, at the end I really didn't know a whole lot more about them than what they liked in sex and like one other identifying character trait. The sex could have been a great way to learn more of the characters through their interactions with others, but ultimately that stands on treacherous ground.
However, it could well have continued a lot longer and I wouldn't have minded, because it was fun. Also, it had JD Samson in a couple of scenes, which was fun.
I found neither the het or gay male sex hot, by the way, so that's rather a loss too.

The last movie I saw was Stephanie Daley, a movie produced by and starring Tilda Swinton, whose character is not Stephanie Daley but still manages to take up 3/4 of the movie. Which is rather my main problem, since I think I would have preferred a story about Stephanie Daley, the teenage girl accused of murdering the baby she gave birth to early, not the family problems of the pregnant psychologist who is to judge her mental state of mind.
After seeing it, though, I am wondering how much of my criticism is ideological, based on what I want to see from a movie about the death of a new-born baby. But even so, the pregnancy of Tilda Swinton's character seems in a way very peripheral in comparison to, say, the suspected adultery of her husband. The story got unfocused and therefore lacked emotional weight. I wanted to put a lot of emotion into it, but it was diluted by having too many threads.

Yesterday I saw the movie Little Children. An entertaining movie about the situation of two stay-at home parents, Kate Winslet and Pretty Pool Boy.
I'm a bit ambivalent about this movie. It's fun, has interesting stories, a Madame Bovary-analogy that was quite clever and a very sympathetic sex offender. However, I have difficulty shaking the feeling that the moral of the story is decidedly hetero-normative. The two main characters started out as "bad" versions of their genders. Kate Winslet's character doesn't really like her daughter and is slowly crumbling from the dreariness of the stay-at-home life. The guy is a stay-at-home dad. DANGER DANGER! The climax of the movie feels in large part like the characters embrace the normative identity, thus becoming "good". Which to me is bad.
I think I can still recommend it, because it is certainly interesting, the emotional journey one takes with the sex offender guy is well worth it, and there is of course the distinct possibility I misread it completely.
Someone see it so we can talk about it!

Yes, the Stockholm Film Festival began once again yesterday, and I have so far seen five movies. Yesterday I saw two movies that sucked, and today I saw three movies that were good. I trust all the coming days will be like this one. All of them!

Onwards to the movies, starting with the good ones.
The Good:

Wang-ui namja, aka The King and the Clown, aka omg pretty Korean boy squee!



This movie was in large part a joy to see. It celebrates the role of the honest "fool", who speaks his mind without fear of retribution, while at the same time highlighting the horror of the power of divine right and being a jealousy drama (revolving around the pretty boy, of course).
The two minstrel main characters really do a lot for the elation this movie inspires, as their minstrel performances are full of energy and downright shines with the joy of acting. Not that it's all fun and games, the strong emotions of the plays are carried along to the more tragic events of the movie. Since it is, for our two main characters, an essentially impossible situation, there is a lot of tragedy to be had. But even given that, it's a movie that makes you happy. It's also apparently available on DVD, so I recommend you try to pick it up. It's also apparently the highest grossing movie in South Korean history, and when have South Koreans ever been wrong?
The story is from the reign of the 10th king of Korea's Joseon dynasty (around 1500), the worst king in Korean history, according to some. Personally, I have to say he acted quite like I expect a king to act ;)
Korean movies are almost always good bets at film festivals, even the worst one I've seen has been decent.

Black Gold
http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/
A documentary about the coffee industry. I'm afraid that there are no African kids getting their hands cut off due to the industry, removing much of the shock value that industries such as diamond exposés can profit from.
I suppose that could be construed as a good thing, if you're some hand-hugging hippie, though.
Seriously, though, this was a very interesting movie, not even spoiled by the presence of a school class in the cinema (seriously, teachers, taking students to film festivals: not a great idea). It presents the all-too-common story of third world farmers getting shit for compensation for their produce, and focuses on one man trying to improve the conditions for the farmers in his co-op. A documentary a lot more professionally done than most in the genre (as with the other documentary in this post), it presents facts in a welcome straightforward way. While certainly slanted in that it's mostly the conditions of the Ethiopian farmers being highlighted, while the cuts to the Western world are mostly from the NY commodities market and things such as the high-flying barista world championships, it is not for lack of trying, as the film-maker after the screening told the audience that he tried for six months to get interviews with the five global giants of the coffee industry, without getting any response. So even though we don't get to hear why Starbucks are corporate bloodsuckers (as usual, I suspect the answer is "because they can"), I can definitely recommend it if you like documentaries.

Indigènes, aka Days of Glory
Imagine fighting in World War II against the Nazis, liberating Italy and then onwards to France. Imagine being part of the first French action in Alsace and heroically fighting numerically superior Germans until reinforcements finally arrive. Sort of like that scene at the end of Saving Private Ryan,and probably the scenario in countless other war movies of heroic deeds.
Now also imagine seeing your fellow soldiers getting leave while you don't, having your love letters to a French girl you met in Marseilles censored and never arriving, being passed over for promotion constantly by equally or less experienced men, to not get issued proper boots when everyone else does, to not get equal rations, to have the battle where you held the line against the Germans and where you saw all your friends die utterly ignored, and finally to get your veteran's compensation withheld for 45 years and to be buried in a separate lot of the military cemetery.
That was the story of Indigènes, the story of one of the many North African companies who fought for French liberation in WW2. Speaking technically, it's a good war movie, with the important distinction that the story is far more fascinating than the Saving Private Ryan mentioned above, with the historical context, and the oppressive feeling of being discriminated by a country you fight and die for. Naturally, it also works as a strong reminder of a discriminatory system that is still in place, though officially abolished. The question why one should feel ties to a society that treats you as a second class citizen is an especially pertinent question in France and all of Europe today.
This movie lives and dies with strong characterisation, naturally, and it works most of the time, though a bit more time may have been spent on a couple of characters.
All in all, the French ambassador who was at the screening was lucky we didn't lynch him afterwards.

The Bad:

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
This movie is the bad documentary referenced above. It was amateurishly made, tried desperately to tug on heartstrings, could be seen as a campaign piece for a national "Stop Wal-Mart" movement and didn't even have a coherent presentation style.
The documentary did take up a lot of important issues, but the propaganda-style format really doesn't sell it to me. My brain sort of shuts off at "This Land is Your Land", maybe that's just me. And hey, when I take issue with some stats that are cherry-picked when they're about a corporation I am predisposed to consider evil, you have a problem.

Still Life
This was a Chinese movie that apparently won the Golden Lion in Venice, or some such. It sucked. I don't mind slow-paced, quiet movies in general. It's just that when they have absolutely nothing else to offer that I have an objection.
I will give it credit for having gorgeous geography, though. Too bad the photo was too shoddy to do anything with it.
It's about some man that goes looking for his ex-wife and daughter, none of the characters I cared anything about. Then there was some other storyline with a woman who looked for her husband. I didn't really care about her either. The two stories had a character or two in common, but I didn't really see the point. Now it'll probably get an Oscar.

One complaint about this test: they didn't have the important "Did you cheat on this test?" and "..to seem MORE geeky?"-questions.

Your Geek Profile:

Fashion Geekiness: High Academic Geekiness: Moderate Gamer Geekiness: Moderate Geekiness in Love: Moderate Internet Geekiness: Moderate Movie Geekiness: Moderate SciFi Geekiness: Moderate General Geekiness: Low Music Geekiness: None

The hottest woman in DC Comics is turning whiter, I think. And she is in appearance quite far from the more interesting look in Gotham Central, having gotten the typical action figure body. I guess that would make sense if she was donning tights, but that hasn't happened so far.
Another thing I started thinking after reading the latest 52 was that it was all so straightforward, and lacking of conflict. I realise that may be because of the format, but there are so many things we got nothing from. Renee's old love turning into Batwoman, any thoughts? I guess not. The Question was in a mini in 2005, where he walked around high on funny juice, communicating with the soul of a city, that'd be a lot more interesting for both us and Renee to tackle, but no, we get some generic rage at Question not playing it straight with her, then she pretty much skips along. I would guess it's to mold her according to the DC Plan.

I'm starting to think that I made a mistake in turning to mainstream DC after several rewarding years of reading somewhat alternative comics. Everything becomes less relevant because there are so many other things controlling the world, the characterisation suffers due to changing writers and editorial direction. Pretty much what I could have expected, had I thought about it.
All the good writers would do well to have their own Astro Citys.

Yes, Marvel has the right idea about daytime soaps.

I caught the end of a Birds of Prey episode last night. It's amazing how they could change almost everything from the comic, and manage to change it for the worse. Or rather, I thought that was amazing until I noticed this little line at the end of it:
Producers
Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster

These names rang a bell, so I went over to Whoosh! and sure enough, they have written several Xena episodes:
CHARIOTS OF WAR (02/102), teleplay.
DEATH IN CHAINS (09/109), story/teleplay.
BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS (12/112), teleplay.
TIES THAT BIND (20/120), teleplay.
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN (28/204), teleplay.
THE XENA SCROLLS (34/210), teleplay.
FOR HIM THE BELL TOLLS (40/216), teleplay.
BLIND FAITH (42/218), teleplay.
KING OF ASSASSINS (54/308), teleplay.
WARRIOR … PRIESTESS ... TRAMP (55/309), teleplay.
FINS, FEMMES AND GEMS (64/318), story/teleplay.
IN SICKNESS AND IN HELL (72/404), teleplay.
IF THE SHOE FITS (80/412), teleplay.
LYRE LYRE HEARTS ON FIRE (100/510), teleplay.

Now, what do these have in common? Oh yes, they range from mediocre to awful. Except for Blind Faith, which is a bit of an unlikely favourite for me (directed by Josh Becker, eugh). Oh, and Xena Scrolls is good, but that's all in the concept that they didn't write. Some of the other eps do have qualities. Very silly qualities. I can't believe anyone would let those two have access to.. anything. At least they didn't use Becker as a director.

As for regular ol' comic BoP, ;_;
I have no idea who would be good to add to the team now. No one can fit as well as Dinah. Though what would be fun would be adding a "great detective" character, partly because DC seems to lack a female such.

I bought the latest Wheel of Time book the other day. This must be what stabbing myself in the face feels like.
The prologue was 95 pages long. I'd laugh, but there is a limit to level of tragedy that can be treated with humour. For reference, that limit is passed somewhere between the holocaust and Robert Jordan's writing.

I read a book called The Snake by the Swedish author Stig Dagerman a couple of weeks ago.
Since I have nothing better to do, I figure I'll write a review about it, since it helps me think.
( Review )

I was at work today. Doing the usual thing, which is mostly vegetating - reading newspapers - vegetating and then I start thinking. This is usually where I go wrong (since vegetating makes it feel like time flies).

( Reading about exhibits, ideas follow. )

So, how about Ouran 15? lol, eh?

Saw Depeche Mode with 26000 eager fans at Stockholms Stadion. A massive experience when everyone sings Enjoy the Silence, except for the lead singer. Energizing. Reminded me that I have to go to some concerts where I can actually sing along as well :|
The evening perfectly illustrated the good and bad of concerts in the Swedish summer. The concert started at 9 pm, yet it was bright as day until the last few songs. Makes the light show be less than impressive. However, the temperature is pleasant and everyone is, due to the summer, automatically in a good mood. The streets were pretty much filled with walking Depeche fans from Stadion to T-Centralen. And none of you will understand what that even means ;)

After that I went to my friends' moving-in party, arrived at midnight, sat on their balcony and talked to 4.20 or so. Went home and watched the sun coming up.

I've missed night such as that.

I'm afraid this episode set off the harem anime vibe for me a bit too strongly. Now, some of you will say "you're just saying that because het relationships in fiction give you a rash", but I disagree in this particular case. I mean, it's not like I'm saying that every series has to be about hairy women and hairless men (with the men being sodomised with strapons a bit for good measure) and the overthrow of the patriarchy (or being without the implicit assumption of the same) with the only relationships being homo, poly or non-existent, so as to live out some my aggressions against the world as we know it. I'm just saying that it would help.

It's just that this episode sort of reminded me of all the things I don't like about the series, like most things with Mikuru (though the movie makes up for most of it) and that Nagato stopped having glasses.
It's just a shame that it carries the baggage of what has come before in the medium, stuff that has given me somewhat of a gag reflex. Because it is an excellent show, I'm just easily annoyed.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6820297632765080324

Candy Mountain, Charlie!
Yeah, Charlie! We're going to Candy Mountain!
Come with us, Charlie!

Shhw.....aaaah.

I call dibs on "Feelings"!

Is this awesome (Y/N): Y
Awesome to me, that is.

The promo for the Japanese version of The Powerpuff Girls have been released. I'm not going to link it, because I don't want to be responsible for hurting anyone's brain. I guess with all the Japanese works that have been destroyed by Hollywood some retribution is in order, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.
Alright, so it's a kiddie show. They have to do it so Japanese kiddies like it. I should just ignore it, but eeeeugh.