Today at 11AM Eastern: Blog Talk Radio ALL-STARS panel!

Updated
You can listen to the podcast here
In today's podcast, an all-star lineup:
Elizabeth Blackney of Media Lizzy, Jazz Shaw of Midstream Radio, Shane Burgess of Political Vindication, and Siggy will be discussing sexual mores in the West and in Islamic countries.

We'll start by talking about Lisa Schiffren's post Sex and the Single Muslim Girl, with a panel discussion, followed by conversation.

Chat's open by 10:45AM, and the call-in number is 646 652-2639. Join us!

The Retrosexual Manual: How To Be A Real Man

Via Brutally Honest, House of Erasthotenes celebrates The return of the real man.

I like that. At the same time, I didn't know real men had gone away, but never mind that.

Apparently someone's published a book called The Retrosexual Manual: How To Be A Real Man. The Daily Mail has details:

You have strong arms which come in handy whenever bottles need opening, cases need carrying, or a girl just feels like gazing at a strong, muscular limb.

Oh yes. I gaze at nearly every opportunity.

Among the icons listed in the article is

DCI GENE HUNT: A Regan for the modern age, singlehandedly responsible for reminding women what they're missing. All his best quotes are winners, such as: 'Don't move. You're surrounded by armed bastards!' Verily, the lord of all Retrosexual Men everywhere.

Hunt was played by Philip Glenister in the excellent BBC series Life On Mars, starring the very sexy John Simm. Here's a clip:


But back to retrosexual men, Erathosthenes asks,

What's the cause and effect there? Metaphorical? We're hungrier for a bigger car, so we're also hungrier for more manly-men, to emulate if we're male and to genetically-splice if we're female? Could be that, too.

Dr/ Joy Bliss of Maggie's Farm realizes how difficult it is for boys to become men,

Think about it: we women have far more latitude in how we can be, and in our respectable choices in life.

I agree with her. How about you, gentle readers? Do you feel that women are less restricted than men in their respectable choices in life?



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Blue Skies

Ed Morrissey writes about a most happy event: his son's graduation, in Will and Circumstance

I looked at my son and wondered how he did it, and marveled at the will it took to graduate summa cum laude from one of the most well-respected universities in the nation.

That has to be one of the most wonderful, happy events in any parent's life.

Years ago when I was really really sick and my blood sugar levels were totally out of control, the one thing I prayed for was for God to let me live long enough to watch my son graduate from college.

That thought was what made me find the way to get well again, for, as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's story Miracle in Rome teaches us, children are the salvation of their parents.

It is a two-way street, after all: Yesterday I was reading Fetiche's post at Eternity Road

Motherhood is a conservative role. A devoted mother finds her fulfillment in giving life to others, and protecting their innocence as best she can, until they're ready to face the world on their own. That's conservation for you: the conservation of new life against corruption, perversion, and dissipation. Well-reared children arrive at adulthood armored against those things. They have their mothers to thank for that.

And their fathers, too.

Congratulations to the Morrissey family!



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A depressing state of affairs

Yesterday afternoon at about the same time I came across two very different posts on sex:

On one side, Siggy's Romantic Illusions And The Higher Self, where he explains,

With real intimacy comes a real oneness and singularity that transcends the biological imperative. With that real intimacy that transcends the biological drives, we find our higher selves. We find ways to communicate in ways outside the physical expression. We come to understand that the most powerful expressions of intimacy are outside the physical realm.

For many people, that kind of intimacy, outside the physical and biological boundaries are the real sexual attractants. Some people find their sexual attractions on a 'soullular' plane. They experience the same physical sensations and the same attractions as everyone else. For them however, the genesis of those feelings are found in the higher self and in the higher self of the other. They yearn for sexual expression, but they yearn for that in conjunction with an intimacy that is found outside the purely physical intimacies. They want a spiritual component to their union and will be satisfied with nothing less.

Siggy is talking about a higher self, real intimacy, a more perfect union.

On the other side and a generation younger, the winning essay of the Modern Love: The College Essay Contest, titled Want to Be My Boyfriend? Please Define, a thoroughly depressing account of the hook-up scene among college students.

The young woman who wrote it, Marguerite Fields, states,

I think what I have been seeking in some form from all of these men is permanence.

Sometimes I don't like them, or am scared of them, and a lot of times I'm just bored by them. But my fear or dislike or boredom never seems to diminish my underlying desire for a guy to stay, or at least to say he is going to stay, for a very long time.

She is not alone: the contest brought about hundreds of entries from college students on "their ambivalence about the no-strings-attached sexual opportunism of the hookup culture."

A young woman in college, having sexual encounters with dozens of men who are little more than strangers to her, yearns for a guy to at least say he is going to stay.

I find that extremely depressing: She wants not love,
not intimacy,
(and forget about a spiritual component to a union - that hasn't even crossed anyone's mind).

Just permanence.

How sad.

UPDATE
Porretto: Sex: The Sequel

Intercourse doesn't really make two bodies into one; except in pathological cases, the two separate soon afterward. But the interpenetration of bodies cannot be divorced from the equally urgent desire for an interpenetration of minds and souls. When we cheapen sex down to a mere satisfaction of physical desire, or worse, a slaking of need, we undermine the foundation for love. If deprived of love for long enough, we lose the capacity to love ourselves.

The "hookup culture" strains to deny these truths. But like a few others known better to our forebears than to us of 2008, they are self-evident -- and self-demonstrating. There isn't a voluptuary in the world who can escape the consequences.

The Anchoress: Progressively lonely and longing

Truly, it is an idea almost as old as civilization - monogamy, family, the unit, which blends two families and then extends out. Given the determined effort of the know-it-all boomers to "deconstruct" all of the worthless and bourgeois establishment norms that went before them - marriage and family were emphatically "out" and "repressive" - it is not surprising to see a generation unable to process the idea of commitment to anything other than "whatever there is today."

Go read every word of both posts.

And don't miss (via Neoneocon) Kay S. Hymowitz's Sex and Its Discontents, on how the "revolution" got started.

UPDATE
Obie's Sister takes a look at The Hook-Up Generation

UPDATE, Monday May 12
"Casual, careless, lighthearted and fun."

(h/t Jody)


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One question for my readers,

Is there a "shortage of eligible men"? Or is it more a case of a "shortage of men that women find acceptable"?

If there is, is it mostly among an age group, or generalized?

(Yes, that's three questions, and yes, I've been reading Porretto, as always)



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Message to Jeremy: Divorce Leslie

Larwyn sent this link, by TigerHawk: Message to Rupert: Marry Rachel now

If Rupert does not propose to Rachel right now, he's an idiot*.

TigerHawk is referring to Rachel Lucas's post, Her husband is a lucky man, who was reading Dr. Helen and came across this article:
Chores for two: Why men don't pitch in
Leslie Bennetts explores the role men play in housework and childrearing.

To say that Leslie Bennetts is a bitch would be an understatement. The underlying contempt and lack of respect this woman holds against her second husband is spelled out for all to see. Read

Yes, dear readers, it’s true: Maintaining some semblance of parity in your marriage requires you to deploy the same kinds of nasty tactics you swore you would never stoop to as a parent but nonetheless found yourself using the minute you actually had a kid. Bribery and punishment work; so do yelling and complaining. Threats are also effective, as long as everyone knows you mean business. With husbands, tender blandishments and nooky are particularly useful, as is the withholding of the aforementioned.

Bennetts goes on,

So why aren't women demanding something closer to parity? While many are resigned to seething in silence, the stakes are far higher than they seem to realize. When wives permit their husbands to shirk a fair share of the homemaking and parenting, not only do they themselves suffer, but chances are good that they’re also sentencing their children to a similar fate. When you have kids, everything you do teaches them how to live their own lives when they grow up. Unfortunately, all too many women are still teaching their children that "woman is the nigger of the world," as John Lennon and Yoko Ono put it so memorably in a song lyric years ago.

Oh, yeah, John and Yoko. Didn't they also say,

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can

Maybe if Leslie gave up all her posessions she'd have no housework chores. Or, if her work is so valuable that her pay justifies her agony, why not hire a cleaning service to come once or twice a week and clean the house?

But I digress. Bennetts goes on:

And what too many fathers teach their sons and daughters is that men can get away with dumping the scut work on their wives, and that women will grit their teeth and put up with it.

Dr Helen's advice is sensible:

I have some advice for your long suffering husband, Jeremy. Next time you need something fixed around the house, your wife needs help lifting something, or you need a blowjob, resort to yelling and complaining. Threats are also effective, as long as she knows you mean business. Huff and puff and complain to all of your friends about her inadequacies and let the world know what a loser she is. Then crow about your newfound equality. Finally, call yourself a hero and write a lousy piece for Men's Health or some other men's magazine about your loser of a wife and see how your married life takes off after that. For deep down, even if Jeremy won't admit it, my guess is, just like the women mentioned in the article, he is seething inside. It's no wonder he won't scrub toilets for this woman.

Francis Porretto, commenting at Dr Helen's, said,

Leslie Bennetts has undertaken the gender-war feminists' practice of "defining oppression down." She's not the first, nor is her response to "oppression" original, but she does appear to be the anchor woman on the "nasty" end of the curve.

I wonder if the idea of hiring someone to do the heavy cleaning has occurred to her. Or might that be a red herring? Might her problem simply be a need to exercise power over her husband -- the sort of domineering that causes men to leave their wives, thinking "solitude in celibacy would be better than this" --?

My advice is rather more drastic:

I have stated before in this blog that I believe that couples with underage children should not divorce except in cases of abuse (infidelity can be a form of abuse, by the way). The Bennetts article is abuse, simply put by an abusive woman against her husband, in a public venue for all to see.

Jeremy, get a divorce and hire a cleaning service.

And regain some peace in your life.

(and don't register at Perfect Match, which sponsored the article!)

UPDATE
The Anchoress: My husband is a gem, a jewel!

I suspect that when The Vagina Monologues comes to town this deeply victimized woman clamors to audition as the Special Guest Vagina: the one made of steel wool that shreds the penis and then toot-toots like a claxon horn in Rome.

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Sometimes you read a post that really gets you

And this is that post: Love, vulnerability and strength

The reality of children is that suddenly, you're more vulnerable. Suddenly, you have something to lose. Suddenly, it matters a whole lot more when a politician makes a stupid law or creates debt for the next generation. Suddenly, healing the world takes a back seat to protecting your children. Suddenly, the society's scariness comes into sharp focus.

Someday I will post about that.

For now, go read that post.


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Is Hitchens right?

I would like all my visitors to answer this question:

In his video, Hitchens says that "For most men, if they can't make women laugh, they're out of the evolutionary contest. They'll never going to get laid... If you can't make them laugh, you'll never have a chance."

Is he right?

Leave an anwer in the comments, and bee-have. I'll be back later in the day.

UPDATE
Sense of humor: Essential
Funny women

More:
The Uglies
Question of the day
Amused Cynic



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"What do you see as the nature of a man?"

One of the best things about blogging is the excellent people you come in contact with. As I have repeatedly said, Siggy, who I have never met and don't even know what he looks like, has been a most supportive friend of my blogging and podcasting. Shane Borgess of (link has sound) Political Vindication and Political Vindication Radio also is another great guy I would have never come across if it weren't for blogging and am honored to count him as a friend.

(You can see that Shane is very handsome. If you want to know what Siggy looks like, ask him - don't ask me.)

Yesterday Siggy and Shane discussed how we create men and women in our society. Shane asked Siggy the question, "What do you see as the nature of a man?"

This is not a trivial question. The answer to how we see as the nature of a man defines how we as a society raise our childen, behave in every relationship (be it familial, professional, or sexual), and what we expect from other societies.

Siggy explained that men want to protect and solve problems. Women want to communicate: with great nuance when they raise children, and in a protective way. Shane said, "Men want to solve problems, women want to talk about them". Shane also saw independence as another factor in men's nature.

Do men want monogamy? What are the conditions for monogamy? Do men want to be idealized by their wives?

Is there such a thing as love as first sight?

You must listen to the entire podcast.

My special thanks to Shane and Siggy for having this wonderful conversation.

UPDATE
Husband of the year



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In this morning's podcast: How we create men and women in the US

UPDATE
You can listen to the podcast here
How we create men and women in the US and the effect of relationships between parents, children, and between the sexes. Siggy, Happy Catholic and Shane of Political Vindication talk about it today at 11AM Eastern.

The chat room's open by 10:45 and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639.

Join us!

This week on Blog Talk Radio

Today I was Jazz Shaw's guest along with Lady Logician. We discussed government-provided healthcare, politics and John McCain.

On Monday, Siggy, Monica Showalter and Alek Boyd talked about the Exxon injunction against PDVSA assets.

On Tuesday, Happy Catholic, Shane Burgess, Laurie Kendrick and Siggy talked about relationships.

And,
tomorrow at 11AM Eastern Scott Swett will talk to Siggy and I about his book To Set the Record Straight, How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry.

I'll open chat by 10:45AM, and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639. Join us!

In yesterday's podcast,

In yesterday's podcast, Alek Boyd highlighted several important points:

Since December the 2nd constitutional referendum these things have happened:

*Chavez comes out of the closet declaring that FARC has a political proyect that's respected and supported in Venezuela
*Chavez's interior minister is filmed telling narcoterrorists "keep up the good fight, we're with you"
*Uribe travels to Europe and enlists most EU governments in his crusade against FARC, even Zapatero joins in
*Uribe is reinforced by EU governments that maintain that FARC is a narcoterrorist organization
*While Uribe's support levels skyrocket Chavez's plummet
*Severe food shortages are undermining Chavez' appeal
*Chavez hints at an armed conflict with Colombia
*Colombian senator alerts about military movements in Venezuela
*Chavez says that Venezuela borders with Colombia and the FARC
*Top US officials visit Uribe to show support
*Chavez announces more weapons purchases, Russian subs
*Uribe announces the purchase of 24 fighter jets
*Uribe starts releasing evidence of narcoterrorists activities in Venezuela
*Colombian and international media start reporting collusion between Chavez and FARC
*US Senate is briefed about collusion between Chavez and the FARC
*International media roundly sides with Uribe
+Baduel says that the VZ army will not follow Chavez in his demented adventure against Colombia
*A worldwide anti FARC demonstration is a success
*While Chavez keeps hurling abuse at Colombia Uribe maintains a mature stance and orders his cabinet not to reply to Chavez
*Almost all US candidates express contempt towards Chavez
*Close collaborators of Venezuelan VP sing like canaries in Miami re maletagate, implications will reach Chavez no doubt
*Argentina makes u turn in maletagate and, presumably, starts collaborating with US law enforcement authorities
*South American heavy weight --Brazil-- keeps mum, refusing to be dragged into the conflict
*Regional ally Morales is fighting for survival
*Red ken is also fighting for survival
*Exxon freezes PDVSA assets

Listen to the podcast for a discussion on these points, and on Exxon's injunction on Venezuelan assets.

Hardly surprising, Chavez is now moving PDVSA accounts to Switzerland.

This was an excellent podcast, and Alek, Monica Showalter, and Siggy were kind enough to call in with very short notice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

In today's podcast at 11AM Eastern Siggy continues his discussion on relationships, which he initiated last week. Laurie Kendrick, Happy Catholic and (sound alert at link) Shane of Political Vindication will be back, too.

The chat room will be open at 10:45AM, and the call-in number is 646 652-2639. Join us!





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This morning's podcast on relationships

This morning Siggy chose the subject of relationships and spoke eloquently about love and sex. We had the pleasure of having Julie of Happy Catholic, Laurie Kendrick, Shane of Political Vindication, another caller and the people in the chat room joining in the converstation.

Siggy already posted about it,

We talked about men and women, how and when we successfully communicate and how and when we don’t. We discussed how friendship enhances intimacy and we discussed how intimacy without real friendship is destined to block real intimacy.

Most of us find it easy to forgive the differences we have with friends or their idiosyncrasies and imperfections. Why? Because they are our friends, and we love them. We don’t care about their religion, weight, color or ethnicity. We don’t even see those things.We are intimate with our closest friends in a most profound way.

It is also true that physical intimacy cannot 'speed up' the friendship part of a relationship. There is a reason friendships take time to build. There can be no love if there is no trust or respect. Physical intimacy alone will not deepen the emotional part of a relationship. As Shane so succinctly noted, 'Sex changes everything.' No matter the ground rules, no matter the agreement, sex does change the dynamic in a relationship.

Laure Kendrick also posted,

I now fully grasp how important respect is and it is paramount. It is the respect you must have for your partner; that which you must have for yourself.

Respect is a principle component to being happy and happiness is key. But I can't tell you how to find it. I'm convinced that for some people, on those rare occasions when the cosmos aligns just right and Lyndon LaRouche elects NOT to run for president for once, happiness can find you. When you least expect it.

And it’s in those "in between moments" when it hasn't found you and you're desperately looking for it, that I wish I could bottle up that particular endorphin-fueled jolt o’joy I've felt in my life. I'd mass market it as a panacea that would cure all the world's ills.

Happy Catholic had a blast.

We'll continue this conversation in another podcast. I'm trying to schedule it right now.



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On SuperTuesday's 11AM Eastern podcast: Relationships

Tomorrow is SuperTuesday, caucus and primary day in 24 states, so for a change of pace we' ll talk about relationships in the morning podcast.

The title of the podcast is Gender Peculiarities, because it was Siggy's idea, and we're starting off with his post Gender Peculiarities And Understanding The Dance.

Heck, we might even talk about tango.

Chat will start at 10:45AM, and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639. Join us!




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Did Sarko marry Carla?

A (French) friend sent me this: L'Est Republicain newspaper says Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni se seraient mariés jeudi à l'Elysée Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni married in secred Thursday at the Elysee (the president's residence)

This is his third marriage and her first.

The story in English at AFP will save you the translation: French newspaper says Sarkozy may have married Bruni

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is believed to have married former Italian supermodel Carla Bruni at a small private ceremony held at the Elysee palace last week, a French newspaper reported Monday.

In a report posted on its website, L'Est Republicain newspaper quoted an unnamed "source close to a witness who attended the ceremony" as saying that it was a "small, very private" affair held at the presidential palace on Thursday.

Presidential spokesman David Martinon declined to comment on the report.

Sarkozy, 52, told a news conference last week that his relationship with 40-year-old Bruni was "serious" and suggested he planned to marry the former supermodel and pop singer.

"There is a strong chance that you will learn about it once it's already been done," the president said.

The Journal du Dimanche reported earlier that the couple would marry around February 9.

Rumours about an imminent marriage have been flying since last week and a Paris city hall office in the chic 16th district was besieged by journalists on Thursday who had received a tip-off that the couple were getting married there.

L'Est Republicain journalist Laid Sammari, who wrote the article, told AFP the newspaper had "good reason" to decide to run the story, but added that he was being cautious "because I did not personally attend the ceremony."

Sarkozy on Monday visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar as part of a tour of Gulf countries and was to head to Dubai on Tuesday.

An AFP journalist traveling with the president said he was not wearing a wedding ring on Monday.

In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to Cecilia Ciganer-Albaniz, with whom he has a 10-year-old son, Louis.

He also has two sons, Pierre, 22, and Jean, 21, from a previous marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli.

Born into a wealthy Turin tyre-manufacturing family, Bruni has a six-year-old son with the philosopher Raphael Enthoven, but she has never married.

Bruni's previous affairs with such rock stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton have made tabloid headlines and she was quoted in a French magazine last year as saying "Monogamy bores me terribly".

After visiting Egypt and Jordan with Sarkozy last month, she may accompany Sarkozy on a state visit to India later this month.

The latest rumours about the marriage drew criticism from opposition Socialists that Sarkozy was putting too much of his private life on public display.

Sarkozy's rival in the presidential election, Segolene Royal, charged that the president "has decided to turn events in his private life into public events, like Louis XIV."

"It's a bit like the monarchy, where an event in the king's private life become a political event," Royal told French radio.

Sarkozy's second wife Cecilia lost a bid in court last week to block the release of a book in which she is quoted as described the president as a womaniser and uncaring father.

The book "Cecilia" by journalist Anna Bitton has become a best-seller in French bookstores.

With Sarko's two prior divorces and his reputation as a ladie's man, and her prior history of being "the other woman" who came between Jerri and Mick, and Donald and Marla, this is going to be tabloid heaven a la francaise.


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Happy Feast of the Epiphany Day!

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany. People of Spanish ancestry call it El dia de Reyes (Three King's Day), and when I was a little kid in Puerto Rico we used to get presents on Christmas Day and on Three King's Day, which was a pretty good deal. My son gets presents on both days, too.

The English used to celebrate the Epiphany. Shakespeare himself wrote Twelfth Night for Queen Elizabeth's celebration. Jane Austen wrote about going to dances on the evening. It wasn't until late Victorian times that the emphasis shifted to Christmas.

Considering how retailers start the Christmas merchandising season in October, I'm rather surprised that they don't extend it until January 6. However, standard accounting practices require a year's end inventory, so we can get to purchase our Three King's Day gifts on sale, rather than at regular price.

Thank goodness for that.

I went to Banana Republic yesterday to check out the sales (but not because of Three King's Day). BR is one of the few stores whose regular sizes fit me without alterations (except for the slacks). Most other stores' sizes are made for women three or four inches shorter than I. Shirts sleeves are too short, and torso lengths are way too high, but most of BR's are the right proportion. However, even at Banana Republic the slacks are too short, so I usually try their regular size at the store and order the tall size on line. Yesterday I also brought along my son (who hates shopping, of course) to see if they had jeans on sale in his size (they didn't have any men's jeans on sale).

While my son wore an expression of tired resignation, I found this shirt on sale for $15 (on line it's $30) in red, and a jacket. The shirt fits perfectly right off the rack, and so does the jacket.

I'm wearing them today to celebrate Three Kings' Day.

Happy Three King's Day to all of you!

UPDATE
Francis Porretto writes about Zoroastrianism, and the Feast of the Epiphany,

The Magi of the Incarnation story were three esteemed nobles of Persia, wealthy in gold, wisdom, and the admiration of their societies. In contrast to the pattern prevalent among the nobilities of later times, these three, whose names have come down to us as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, were deeply religious men whose involvement in the investigation of the Zoroastrian prophecies was sincere. When they spied the famous "star in the east" -- quite possibly a nova in Draco now known to have occurred at about that time -- they resolved to follow its trail, to find the divine infant and pay him homage.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
A month ago I mentioned that I strongly believe that if a married couple has children under the age of 18, I am against divorce except in cases of abuse.

Considering the high number of divorces nowadays, I expected to receive feedback from people who thought the opposite - that children are better off with divorced parents.

That was not the case at all.

I received a dozen or so emails from people who agree with me. I've been corresponding with several of them, and, while I won't publish their emails, their feeling is that grownups who can remain civilized to each other in non-abusive marriages for the sake of the children are doing the right thing. Once the children are adults then most of my correspondents (except for one who doesn't believe in divorce at all) see no reason not to divorce.

This week's Wall Street Journal's 5-best books are on marriage, selected by Edward Mendelson:



I concur with their opinion of The Prime Minister,

The fifth and best of Anthony Trollope's six "Palliser" novels is also his subtlest portrait of a marriage. Plantagenet Palliser and his wife, Lady Glencora, who have recently become the Duke and Duchess of Omnium, never resolve the conflict between her unscrupulous ambition and his belief that their marriage so thoroughly unites them that her actions are also his own, even if he disapproves of them. Without making any final judgments, Trollope explores the ways in which a marriage is not just a relation between two persons but also a relation between the married couple and the world around them.

Trollope is a superb author, and this is one of his best.

Twenty-five years ago Alan Bates starred in an adaptation of The Return of the Soldier. As always, he was wonderful.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
After all the holiday excitement, it's time for a sporty pair of shoes: The Privo Women's Oso Skimmer in gold.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not only is it Three King's Day, it's also time for Pat's Carnival of the Insanities.



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Looking for Mr. Wonderful? Go to Amazon!

Via Jay Tea at Wizbang, who warns,

(Note: the link is very, VERY NSFW -- Not Safe For Women. Any woman who sees it could be utterly RUINED FOREVER. And men? No one has ever died from the sudden destruction of every molecule of testosterone in their body, but 1) why take the chance? and B) would life really be worth living afterwards?)

a pernicious, exploitive, obscene form of expression:

"bad boys turned good"

He cooks while you blog.

Cool.

And more:

"I know. Let's take you shoe shopping!"

If you think Mr. Wonderful doesn't exist, fret no more: He's at Amazon:

Mr. Wonderful has been carefully developed with today's modern woman in mind. He is complete with good looks, sense of style, sensitivity, charm, and is genuinely sincere. The perfect gift for any woman, whether single or married. Some of Mr. Wonderful's comments include: - "Thinking of you is the best part of my whole day." - "This evening, let's just lie in bed and talk all night." - "You're perfect just the way you are, I wouldn't change one thing."

Of course Ms Wonderful's out there, too:

14 Phrases Include: - Don't feel bad honey, i forgot it was our anniversary too! - You don't need a glass, just go ahead and drink right out of the carton. - Your new secretary is cute! I bet she's smart too! - Oh... your watching a ballgame. Just stay right there on the couch and I'll whip up some snacks. - I'll finish cleaning out the garage honey, your friends are waiting for you to play golf. - You're going out with the boys tonight? You've worked hard... Enjoy yourself! - A new reversible drill, oh honey it's just what i needed! - Are you sure it's ok to wash this shirt? You've only worn it for a couple of days. - Don't worry about taking the trash out. I can use the exercise. - It really doesn't matter if you leave the toilet seat up, it makes it easier to clean. - You're right, we don't need directions, maybe you'll find a short cut.

In other relationship news, now that you know where to find Mr./Ms Wonderful, go to Laurie's blog and find out What men want to know.



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Push presents? Plweeez!

The latest in golddigger demands? A push present:
A Bundle of Joy Isn't Enough?

This bonus goes by various names. Some call it the "baby mama gift." Others refer to it as the "baby bauble.' But it's most popularly known as the "push present."

That's "push" as in, "I the mother, having been through the wringer and pushed out this blessed event, hereby claim my reward." Or "push" as in, "I've delivered something special and now I'm pushing you, my husband/boyfriend, to follow suit."

How very mercenary.

I'm not alone in thinking this is mercenary:

The popularity of push presents has generated a backlash among some couples, who decry the implicit materialism.

"This isn't the time to give a $200 piece of jewelry," said Rhonda Grote, president of ThinkThoughtful.com, an online gift consulting company in Bradenton, Fla. "I do not think that because a woman has had a baby she requires a Tiffany & Company item. She requires help, love and emotional support."

Ms. Grote suggested that new fathers should instead consider performing domestic chores, hiring a cleaning service, or otherwise provide extra assistance for the new mother.

For the record, when our son was born The Husband showed up with flowers at the hospital, and helped around the house once we were home. I also hired a cleaning lady.

I do not exaggerate when I say the most wonderful gift of all is our son.

Update
There are better ways to keep mama happy.
"Indeed".

Update, Sunday 9 December:
Welcome, Instapundit readers! If you have a chance, don't miss this week's podcast on marriage, childbirth, sex and relationships.



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The lost "24" pilot, and a promise from Hamas

Via Irwin,
24: The unaired 1994 pilot
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Via The Corner, Joe vor VP, which quotes Sen. Joe Lieberman's speech:

. [T]here is something profoundly wrong--something that should trouble all of us--when we have elected Democratic officials who seem more worried about how the Bush administration might respond to Iran's murder of our troops, than about the fact that Iran is murdering our troops.

There is likewise something profoundly wrong when we see candidates who are willing to pander to this politically paranoid, hyper-partisan sentiment in the Democratic base--even if it sends a message of weakness and division to the Iranian regime.

Dan's not thrilled about Joe in a Republican ticket, but Joe Lieberman in his speech pointed out all the reasons why I won't be voting Democrat any time soon.
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From the "No sh*t, Sherlock" files:
Hamas says it will seize West Bank if Israel withdraws
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No Pasaran posts on Reporters Without Scruples and the skewing of the "Press Freedom Index". Follow the money:

More puzzling still, in the English version of the RSF 2006 accounts, the subsidies line in the French accounts quite simply . . . disappears.

Read the post and follow their links to the Iranian connection.
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Cassandra explains What is love

All about Martha, part 2

In my first post about Wednesday's podcast, I talked about how , as Teo put it,

we're behaving as adolescents, outsourcing hardship, focused on sex instead of on meaningful human contact, and isolating ourselves by technology.

Last night I didn't sleep well because something I had for dinner didn't quite agree with me so I turned on the TV. I'm not sure what channel was playing the program, but they showed the latest trend in pornography, which involved the use of sex toys on a prostitute in a studio, directed by the paying subscriber at his/her home. For that, the subscriber pays $7 a minute.

It was very sad to see this. In fact, it was downright depressing - the most depressing thing I've seen in the past year or so.

How much more of a descent into loneliness and alienation can you get than that? I shudder to ask, because I know someone else is already working on something even worse.

I have posted before on the culture of pornography enveloping us. Maybe it's the aftereffects of last night's dinner but right now I'm not optimistic at all as to what it bodes for our children.

The emphasis on ever-young ever-sexual images in today's world (a phenomenon which is not limited to the USA - to the contrary) and the de-emphasizing of human contact will make our children's lives ever more difficult.

Increasingly, more people become obsessed with youth to the point of self-mutilation through plastic surgery. Old people are relegated to retirement homes and their contributions are ignored. We force ourselves to think only in terms of everlasting youth and vitality.

Aging has become a sin, possibly the only sin left.

In yesterday's comments, GM Roper commented about ageing and death,

I remember my other grandfather, who was a minister, reminisce about growing up close with death and dying and how it was a natural and necessary part of life. The differences seem to me to be huge. We ignore death and so we become afraid of it, we do not cherish our homemakers who deal with all of the necessary steps to making a house a home a hearth more than a place to cook food and all the little enjoyable (and sometimes not so enjoyable) things that go into a life between the first wail after birth to the last gasp at death.

When we become comfortable with who we are, then and only then can we begin to be comfortable with where we are going.

Francis W. Porretto expands on the subject:

An advanced civilization will respond to an unpleasant but predictable necessity [i.e., death] by creating such dedicated institutions. The tough part is paying the resulting institutions the appropriate degree of respect. After all, we didn't create them because we actively wanted to, but because all the alternatives were worse. So our young must endure developmental conditioning that will predispose them toward respectful behavior under dispreferred circumstances: funerals, visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and the homes of failing relatives; coping with smelly Grandpa. The conditioning doesn't always take, but we do the best we can.

There are other trends afoot, of course. Medicine continues to increase our lifespans, and certain elements of medical research suggest that even aging itself is curable. No one could fail to be attracted by the possibility of a prolonged life in a state of youthful vigor and attractiveness. But no matter how good our biologists and physicians get at prolonging our lives and vital forces, we will still die, from accident, disease, violence, or suicide. One of the unpleasant trends in contemporary thought is the promotion of the contrary view: that sooner or later, mortality itself will be "cured."

I don't believe it to be possible, but let's postulate it for the nonce. If Mankind were to lose its cognizance of and respect for death, what would happen to our attitudes toward life? Would it not be immeasurably cheapened? Would we not slide inexorably into complete ennui? No life, infinitely prolonged, could possibly be significant. Any dividend of achievement, love, or experience would sit atop an infinite divisor. Quotient: zero!

Or imagine rather that immortality were available only at a high monetary price. That would be all but certain; it would be the greatest medical advancement of all time, and no doubt would be available at first only to the most fortunate few. What then? Would we not have created a new have-not class? Wouldn't that class raise a cry unprecedented in the history of Man? Let slide the question of whether there's necessarily any unfairness involved in having to pay for such a treatment; the ululations would still drown out all other speech or thought. The resulting convulsions could well destroy society.

We prefer to keep those who tend to the dead on the margins of society. At the very least, But not only are they of us; they are essential to us, and to what it means to be men.

And that's what it all comes down to, isn't it?


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