Burqa and the Bikini

This needs a better title but I can't think of one :(

While I was driving through Dural this sunny morning, they were debating this (again) on the radio. It seriously pissed me off. This has to be quick because I have to study, so it might not make much sense.

Maybe it's not the burqa that's oppressive and maybe it's not the bikini either. Maybe what's oppressive is the discourse itself, the fact that it is so prominent in popular media. I think the population of my high school was greater than the number of people in Australia that wear them!

The debate is always so polarised... "RAH RAH OPPRESSIVE! RAH" or "chiii objectification, sexualisation", but human psychology is complex and nuanced, so please stop assuming you can read exactly what it means to her. We spend too much time attacking symbols and sidelining real feminist issues (yes Jess, they DO exist... sigh). If you ask me, they're both essentially two sides of the same coin. One side looks at woman as an object (sometimes) and and the other is essentially the same but shrouded in mystery, given a forbidden fruit-esque treatment. It should be more obvious to people that there's a lot more to a woman than her body or what she puts on it. Oh, and I really hate it when right wing people pretend feminism is really the reason they don't like the burqa. Bitch please!

P.S. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG THEY'RE MAKING JACKFRUIT PAYASAM ON MASTERCHEF AND I AM GOING TO BURST WITH EXCITEMENT! It's for a Tamil wedding. Unsurprisingly, some of the derr-brained comments from the contestants are making my skin crawl: "this is such a cultural event, it's so beautiful"......................... WTF does that even mean?? Sigh, they're well meaning I guess.

P.P.S. Just read over the :)! post, definitely wasn't entertained. MORE WTF

The False Heart

I said to Heart, "How goes it?" Heart replied:
"Right as a Ribstone Pippin!" But it lied.

-Hillaire Belloc

! :)

So, I'm all high and stuff, my fingers are all shaking, and my mind is racing.

I've had a pretty bad cold for the last few days and haven't slept for more than two hours in the last two nights; none of which were yesterday. My body is reacting to all of this very strangely and I feel like I'm wading through clouds! My mind has retained a little reflexivity to recognise that some very strange thoughts are passing through it, so I've decided to capitalise and type whatever skims through. Maybe I'll be entertained when I read it tomorrow. Maybe you will, too.

It's challenging, because this state has also induced in me a heightened sense of unco-ness besides the fact that my fingers are numb from the cold. So while my thoughts flow torrentially, they are squeeeeezed to a trickle by the time my fingers release them. I would turn on the heater, but... I'll live :/

I started linking these on faceworld, and I'm not sure whether I should continue to do so.

When I started my tumblr account, it was to sieve through the mush that is my mind and try to write to myself, honestly about myself.  Over time, I found that a number of people started following me, which was totally unexpected. I subconsciously started writing... for them. This was belying its purpose, so I deleted tumblr. I think I'm falling into the same trap again. The first few minutes after I post, I keep looking back at the stats, wondering who's reading right now or why I have so many fans *cough* in Latvia and Russia (no, really?) and whether they're thinking that I'm full of crap. I'm also worrying that it's betraying exhibitionist tendencies in me, something I absolutely HATE in other people, also the reason that I tend to limit my general facebook activity. But then again, I don't want this to just be re-read by me... lame!

I had a pretty epic chat with Raihana on the bus back home today that made me realise/reflect on some things. a) All of the people that I'm really close to (I lub youse) are so different! b) I like people with strong convictions d) and parentheses heh e) I tend to think in feelings, rather than rational thought. The rational part only comes to me after conscious effort f) I don't want a real job!

We skimmed all the different things we want to do in life. I think I'd like to be an academic and just think about things a lot, though I don't know yet whether that's something I have aptitude for. I'd also like to be a hermit with nothing but the clothes on my back  and I'm actually serious about this one sometimes. I want to have children (how I looove children) and I want to live overseas/travel. I also want to be an painter but... :'(

In unrelated news, I've decided to get involved in student politics, maybe, next semester. I've maintained for a long time that student politics is pretty retarded, but I want the experience. Last real semester, after all. 
 
So I watched this film some time ago and I really liked it.
You should watch it too, if you like pretentious French cinema:

Lila Said That 
 (the girl's hot) click for English subs. I found parts of it disturbing. So if you're sensitive, look at THIS INSTEAD!

My previous post related mostly to contemporary Indian films, which, ok, I like well enough. But they have nothing on the old ones! Admittedly, some were terrible but if we push those many bad eggs to the side, the honesty and magic and overall loveliness of films before the 1980s is unsurpassed. The clip above, from a 1965 strange, existential-ish film Guide epitomises this. The choreography is inspired and Waheeda Rehman is spectacular! What's not to like about her- so much beauty, grace and dignity... all in all she's practically a goddess. The fact that she's also South Indian makes me very happy.

I stole this off some obscure corner of the internet: I'm really interested in the deep ecology movement.

I've also been watching some really fascinating documentaries about the Amish, but that's enough youtube clip posting for now.

Eeeeekk...headache