I Can’t Not Share These
May 1, 2009 § Leave a comment
The advantage of reading the blogs of gay men is that we generally have the same taste in men [visually, at least]. So when I saw these vidoes on BambooNation, I was pretty excited.
For example, this unbelievable Nike ad:
I almost died.
This video is also lovely; it features male underwear models jumping around pointlessly [but beautifully] on a trampoline [there is also a full-length version]:
There was also little video of soccer players stripping off their jerseys that can be viewed here.
Is it okay for me to objectify people like this? Probably not. Can I make the excuse that since images of barely-clothed women are so prevalent, it’s only fair that I indulge in my own way? Again, probably not. However, I do believe that my reaction to seeing a hot guy differs from the reverse situation. My response is to usually just stare [subtly, most of the time] — I don’t go jack off later.
On Wednesday, my sociology class met in a computer lab at the library for an introduction to using the databases for our research papers. Because of the different environment, I was sitting next to people I don’t normally see [it’s a big class]. There was a guy sitting near me in shorts who had perfect legs — long and lean, with a defined calf muscle. I can’t describe them without sounding creepy, but he was definitely a runner. Flawless legs are pretty hard to find, so it’s a good thing I had heard the library research lecture twice before, because I really couldn’t pay attention [well, it was also boring as hale]. He had some sweet kicks too — Nike Shox, which I usually dislike, but he was really working them. They looked kind of like this, yet not exactly:
Can You Handle This
April 28, 2009 § 2 Comments
The annual AAA variety show was two weeks ago. I was one of many performers; most of the acts were either dancing or singing. Congratulations were given at every turn, which led me to wonder just how much sincerity lay behind every “Great job!” or “You were amazing!”
While I can’t accuse anyone else of being artificial, I did honestly feel like I lied during some of the encouraging comments that I made after certain performances. For one reason or another, I was disappointed by people that I thought would sound better or could have more impressively utilized their talents.
Yet, how could I possibly voice my thoughts?
I don’t think I’d be able to tell even my closest friends if their performances were subpar unless they mentioned it first, and even then I’d probably choke on my criticism. Something like that is much more difficult for me to verbalize than an evaluation of, say, a friend’s clothing choice.
But I become highly critical when it comes to something that I consider myself good at. After the variety show, I wondered if I was the only one who didn’t enjoy certain performances to the utmost [will Simon Cowell please stand up?]. I feel like asking somebody else would only portray me as a [competitive/insecure] bitch, but it’s not like that. I just don’t like listening to poor singing, but I do believe I have higher standards in this area than the average person.
I suppose that when I’m completely honest with myself, I am a little bit competitive. Did the audience consider my performance better or worse than the others? Did they think that we all sounded the same?
Ugh. I hate these conundrums where I feel like I can’t ask anybody because nobody would really understand my perspective. Anyway I wish somebody would upload/send me a video of my performance! I’d like to see just how good or bad my singing sounded from the audience.
Save Our Young, Virginal Girls!!!11!1
April 23, 2009 § 1 Comment
Okay, so I was not happy when I heard that certain cartoon figures were getting makeovers. The two foremost examples of this are Strawberry Shortcake and Dora the Explorer, whose new image was only recently revealed:
They indeed look like they have progressed from being five years old to being 12 years old. Is this really what little girls want, however? I don’t think a six-year-old would really care that much, given the choice, and if these companies think that preteen Dora will attract actual preteens, then they are seriously deluded. In a world where Hannah Montana & Jonas Brothers sit at the top of the heap and Seventeen magazine is actually read by 13-year-olds, these new figures will never make it big.
Clearly, these decisions were probably driven by a desire for profit. In time, though, children will grow out of their old playmates altogether and move on to something else, although I admittedly never grew out of my love for Pokémon, heh. I really hope that they don’t try to age these characters any further, though, otherwise we’ll be seeing “Dora Explores College!” bedsheets at Wal-Mart in a few years.
Discrimination Has A Face
April 10, 2009 § 2 Comments
Our AAA president sent us a link to an article this morning about a state representative from Texas, Betty Brown:
A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.” […]
Brown suggested that Asian-Americans should find a way to make their names more accessible.
“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.
Brown later told Ko [a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans]: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”
What the freak?!
Asians and Asian-Americans [as well as people of other nationalities] have been changing their names for generations. My legal name was finally changed from 晓京 [Xiao Jing] to Laura during high school, though I had been using my English name since kindergarten. But that was a personal decision [made by my parents, I guess]; it is completely out of line to suggest legislation that would require this type of thing.
Gross. Here is the video of how it went down:
What’s sad is that as usual when dealing with racially insensitive remarks towards Asian-Americans, the perpetrator denies any wrongdoing. What will it take to change people in this country?
auradis 