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January 24, 2006
What I Wish I'd Said # 1
You know how when you’re in the shower the most random things occur to you? Well, they do me at least. This morning I couldn’t stop thinking about an incident that happened a while ago, Thanksgiving, actually. It was one of those classic situations where someone said and/or did something and I reacted in one way but wish I’d come up with something really clever, or at least insightful, as a response. I have many of these moments, and have created a new category of Feminist Housewife to accommodate them—the “What I Wish I’d Said” category.
Here’s what happened: Nate and I accepted an invitation to some people’s house for the annual turkey holiday (actually, Nate accepted and I went along begrudgingly). One of our hosts (the male of the partnership, with all the stereotypical alpha-male characteristics) was talking with one of the other guests about TV. An innocent enough subject, in and of itself. Ever the gracious guest, Nate asked our host (we’ll call him Joe) if he enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond. (Another parenthetical side note: this program is sort of an inside joke between Nate and I because we hate this show, proving that not everybody loves Raymond.) Joe said that he did, in fact, quite enjoy Ray Romano’s prime-time exploits. He then turned to his other guest and said something along the lines of, “I caught a few minutes of Sex and the City, though, and it was awful!!! They had two women in a hot tub, and they were talking about {insert female erogenous topic here}—I couldn’t believe it! They had this shit on at 7pm. Kids are watching this shit!!!” The other guest then says something like, “I’ve never seen Sex and the City.” Joe responds (again, I’m paraphrasing), “Dude—you’re not missing anything. Disgusting filth.” (Joe really did use at least one of these words, maybe both- sorry for the hazy report, it’s been a while.)
There are a few things to note here:
- Everybody Loves Raymond is a shitty show. Ray Romano is categorically unfunny.
- Joe is a man who immensely enjoys and recommends movies like The Wedding Crashers, a movie wherein two men organize their lives around wedding season because of how often they can get laid. A film that has an entire montage dedicated to said layings. Now I enjoyed The Wedding Crashers as much as the next person, and I’m not passing any judgment—just keep in mind that this is Joe’s kind of flick.
- Sex and the City is, primarily, a show about and for women. I think the program about sex and the married man is called Everybody Loves Raymond. It stands to reason that any given (hetero) male may not particularly relate to or enjoy watching Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha’s dating misadventures. Also note that this program originally aired on HBO, which isn’t subject to the same FCC rules and standards as other fare, your Everybody Loves Raymonds, for example.
- I have a feeling that Joe’s Christian background may have raised a few red flags at the sight of those women in the hot tub (I wasn’t paraphrasing that part); however no flags were raised during the completely-dishonest-no-strings-attached fuck fest that occurred during The Wedding Crashers. So what gives?
It’s my theory (and I’ think it’s a good one) that Joe is uncomfortable with the idea of women being empowered sexually. If the women in that episode of S&C were simply having some hot girl-on-girl action I think he wouldn’t have objected. Or at least not as strongly. I propose it was their discussion of {insert female erogenous topic here} which made him so uncomfortable. Do you see what a hypocrite he is? It’s the worn out double standard that makes it okay for a man to go out and sow his oats, but demands that women keep their legs closed and ankles crossed. Now—I’m not endorsing promiscuity for anyone (female or male), but I think it’s only fair that the media show both sides, which I think it does- for the most part. There are just some people, like Joe, who only want one side of the story, and to them I would say…(here it comes, what I wish I’d said)... “I happen to think Sex and the City is a really important commentary on what women – single or otherwise – go through; it’s been an important factor in our cultural advancement by helping people feel comfortable discussing things that are common but may have previously been considered taboo. And it’s funny, unlike Ray Romano.”
Posted by April at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2006
Working Woman
I am now gainfully employed!!! After a long and stressful job search I’ve been hired on a temporary-to-permanent basis at AMC Theatres in their corporate office. The temp-to-hire thing basically means that if I do well then I’ll be hired. A lot of companies do that to avoid hiring a person only to discover they’re a disaster. So far it seems I’m doing well- I’ve only been there three days and have magically earned a reputation as an Excel “whiz” (their term, not mine).
So far I’ve been helping to book screenings- when a movie studio rents a theatre for a promo or premiere. In the future my primary duty will be to coordinate which trailers play before which movies, which isn’t as glamorous as I initially thought it was. The studios request what trailers they want played for each new movie that’s being released and I just process those requests. I don’t get to make any actual decisions about which trailers will go well with the movies.
One fun thing about my job is that every Friday they show trailers to everyone at the company and then we vote on how much we’d like to see the movie based on the trailer. I guess they use that to get an idea of how well a movie will be received by the public. I’ve only done it once, but there are some really bad movies coming soon to a theatre near you (and a few that look okay). I don’t think I’m allowed to disclose anything more than that.
Well—I know this hasn’t been the most interesting post, but I’m excited and relieved to be working again and wanted to share the news.
Posted by April at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2006
Happy New Year!
Well, we've successfully moved out of our former residence in Joplin. Nate has his bachelor pad (still in Joplin, unfortunately) and I'm living in Kansas City- a city second only to Rome for its abundance of fountains. Here's a picture of the place:
The photo doesn't do it justice- it's really much cuter in person. I live on the lower level, with Buffy and Hermano and Nate visits on weekends. It's hard not seeing him more often, but I think it an acceptable sacrifice since it's not forevor and KC is 1000 times better than Joplin. I look forward to posting my "big city" adventures here and apologize for the long absence. Between the move and the holidays Feminist Housewife wasn't at the top of my list.
Speaking of holidays- I hope everyone had a nice time. It seemed our holiday season was spread out over several weeks, beginning with our trip to California at the beginning of December for the Reliance Communications Christmas party. We got to see Nate's family while we were out. Here's a picture of Kelley (Nate's mom) and Jill (his sister) in front of Nate and Jill's Aunt Linda's Tree:
We got a Christmas tree for the house in Kansas City a few days before the big one, so it was only $10. And it's still up! Maybe next weekend we'll take it down... The cats really liked having the tree:
And because I tend to obsess over the kitties, here are a couple more:
Posted by April at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)