It is very interesting to me that when I think back to some of the very pointed conversations I had in therapy over the years there are a couple things that stand out. One of the most poignant is the one where I was forced into realizing that sometimes you need to do something that hurts really badly to achieve a better long term outcome.
For years now I have been going and seeing movies that are part of Nefest, the NY GLBT Film Festival. Besides the obvious silly gay films from around the world, I am often struck by some of the documentaries. I tend to see about 12 movies, with a 50/50 breakdown of serious to fun.
Last night Idan and I saw Be Like Others, a film about Iranian boys undergoing sex change operations to become female. My understanding, from the film, is that homosexuality is forbidden, but transexuals need to be medically treated and in fact the state help pay for this treatment and care.
The movie is very well done, simply, is shows you many sides of the issue in Iran and lets you make up your own mind. That said, it does confront several issue head on; if you cannot be an openly gay male, what other choice do you have?
There are several different people profiled. Vida, is a transexual who is very happy with being a women now. She turns out to be a leader type, even mother figure, to other men seeking this operation. She is the only one in the film who is very obviously ok with what she has chosen.
Anoosh and her boyfriend are kind of a sad case. Before the operation the boyfriend as very loving and kind, later in the movie, post-operation the boyfriend is obviously unhappy and distant. Who can guess why this happened, but it because clear that he probably was in reality gay and is no longer attracted to Anoosh now that he is a female.
There are also several people who, as time progresses, choose not to have the operation. You are welcomed into their fears, how they are treated by strangers and family, as well as the strict Iranian society.
The other point of view you are shown is of a transaexual who post-op has no choice but to arrange temprary Islamic marraiges. This is a form of legal prostitution.
Overall the movie leaves you with a sense of sadness for these Iranian boys and you wonder how they would be if they lived in NYC where being gay isn’t a cause for surgery and moreover, what the exact nature of sexual identity and sexual orientation are. It is indeed very complicated.
Chief Rabbi Sacks does it again! Right out of the park:
True virtue never needs to advertise itself. That is why today’s aggressive marketing of personality is so sad. It speaks of loneliness, the profound, endemic loneliness of a world without relationships of fidelity and trust. It testifies ultimately to a loss of faith - a loss of that knowledge, so precious to previous generations, that beyond the visible surfaces of this world is a Presence who knows us, loves us, and takes notice of our deeds. What else, secure in that knowledge, could we need?
When your armed forces are seen more as an illegitimate arm of a neo-fascists regime it is hard to celebrate.
But we Americans find a way. To quote my local Israeli, “You celebrate your war heros by running huge sales on cars and crap you don’t need, then go on vacation, BBQ something and sit in the car for 6 hours?”
Yup, we are The Americans.
One can only remotely ponder what it would be like if we, The Americans, were faced with continual existential crisis and have compulsory military service. Perhaps we would have a few less deadbeats and be a little more gun-shy.
The funny part is, I don’t know if we have ever faced such an insidious threat as we are up against now: ourselves.
I subscribe to Nutrition Action Healtletter a great source of information related to various commercial foods, including my favorite section: Food Porn, this edition takes on Kozy Shack.
This edition has a great set of recommendations for chemicals to avoid in your diet, entitled Chemical Cuisine. Take a look at the pdf, which include a handy pocket chart to take to the store with you. The one that troubled me is Quinine, rated at caution/certain people should avoid. Wow, maybe Gin and Soda is a better option?
Some things to avoid: Propyl Gallate, Potassium Bromate, Sodium Nitrate/Nitrite.
Personally, when I read the ingredients of my food, I think to myself “does this need to be there?” Can I get bread with only grain, water, sugar, yeast, salt? Yes, but it is very hard to find. Yesterday at Shop-Rite it was astonishing that the healthy food seem to be disappearing from the market. I was only there because A&P has already gone that way. Is the rising cost of fuel and food making healthy food too costly?
Some of his work was a bit repetitive and boring - how many times do you need to see the same DOB in 50 different colors? But there were some very neat items. I have a couple favorites, which include the mushroom group entitles, supernova, and I believe a work called Tan Tan Bo - I have to confirm both of these when I have a moment to crack open the catalogue.
Supernova is a multi-paneled work with many different animation-like mushrooms. On display was well were two study sketches that give you an insight into the process of creating this gigantic mural.
Tan Tan Bo Puking is about the same size, perhaps a little narrower. It too contains many small detailed elements that make looking at it for hours fascinating. It might be hard to see, but center right, on the edge of the sphere is a small blob monster about to eat some of the puke. It was my favorite little detail.
Google Murakami and tons of links come up, so I wont pretend to know lots more about him. I enjoyed the art and would recommend seeing his works anytime you can.
Seventy percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say things are going badly in the United States. The last time the public gave the country’s condition such a bad rating was January 1992 in the last year in office of the last president named Bush.
Really? Huh. I would have never thought something like this could happen. I hope every single one of you remember this next time you want to vote for a dip shit for president.This is also what happens when you put good leadership well behind, hmm, where do I start? “Who do I want to have a beer with?”, evangelical pagan worship, excessive right wing hate, oh and you have your administration working hard to figure out every possible way to legitimize illegal behavior INSTEAD of taking care of business. Don’t make me list the woes, just read the article or look outside.
Something remarkable about a moment of silence where a whole nation comes to a stop, gets out of their cars, and commemorates & remembers something as monumental as The Holocaust.
Entries (RSS)