Today, for the first time in history, I changed my Facebook status. Now it says, "Michael Morrisey is digesting the dog he ate for dinner."
It's no joke. And it was pretty tasty.
My brother said, "So have you resolved the rumor that the dogs are beaten before they're killed in order to tenderize them?" I said, No but I eat chicken and eggs, and I've pretty much resolved the rumor that they're tortured. AKA they live in horrendously crowded cages, stacked one on top of another, with the lowest levels drowning in filth.. Here's a link to the longer video showing such horrible living conditions.
And here's the PETA video I found to convince you to become a vegetarian. (I'll work on it when I'm done being in a foreign country.)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Coworking
Today in class we were reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary. Remember Beverly Cleary? No, not Superfudge--that was Judy Bloom. Well, today Ramona got sick all over the classroom floor and her mother had to leave work to pick her up and I'm standing there at the head of the class holding my bright yellow paperback and wondering how I'd feel if I worked with Mrs. Quimby.
People who have children hope for help from all the people around them--coworkers, bosses, etc. They need a little slack, an unscheduled day off now and then, even sometimes the legitimate chance to go pick up their sick daughter from third grade. In today's overpopulated world, with big city social isolationism contributing a little something as well, people feel less and less inclined to pick up that slack.
Also, you know that mean waitress who's ditching out of work early (again) to pick up her kids from high school (while her out-of-work husband sits at home), leaving you to refill the salt shakers at server's minimum wage ($3.15?), could have had an abortion if she wasn't in a position to juggle all the aspects of being a parent, even though you don't really think you can decide whether other people should have abortions and so you end up just grumbling to yourself while you fill your salt shakers and hers, too.
In general, I wish we were all a little more willing to let out that slack. Bring back the tight-knit community, which understands that parenting is more responsibility than anyone ever expects and that it is the most important reason that the community exists to begin with.
We'd have to scale down our population a bit before we could retain that perspective, though. Just my opinion.
People who have children hope for help from all the people around them--coworkers, bosses, etc. They need a little slack, an unscheduled day off now and then, even sometimes the legitimate chance to go pick up their sick daughter from third grade. In today's overpopulated world, with big city social isolationism contributing a little something as well, people feel less and less inclined to pick up that slack.
Also, you know that mean waitress who's ditching out of work early (again) to pick up her kids from high school (while her out-of-work husband sits at home), leaving you to refill the salt shakers at server's minimum wage ($3.15?), could have had an abortion if she wasn't in a position to juggle all the aspects of being a parent, even though you don't really think you can decide whether other people should have abortions and so you end up just grumbling to yourself while you fill your salt shakers and hers, too.
In general, I wish we were all a little more willing to let out that slack. Bring back the tight-knit community, which understands that parenting is more responsibility than anyone ever expects and that it is the most important reason that the community exists to begin with.
We'd have to scale down our population a bit before we could retain that perspective, though. Just my opinion.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Miss Muffet A Feminist?
Embracing feminism doesn't mean that we must expect the same things from women and men.
It means that gender differences must not make us assume gender inferiorities.
I realized that last night. This morning, I remembered the following nursery rhyme:
Little Miss Muffet crouched on a tuffett,
Collecting her shell-shocked wits.
There dropped (from a glider) an H-bomb beside her--
Which frightened Miss Muffet to bits.
Turns out, that was written by Paul Dehn to protest nuclear war (duh). The fact that it came to mind while I was reading Freakonomics seemed appropriate, since the chapter titled "Where Have All The Criminals Gone?" makes the convincing case that they have, in fact, been aborted. I suggest you read the book for yourself. The book also added a capping quote to an issue I was thinking heavily about a bit ago: "What the link between abortion and crime does say is this: when the government gives a woman the opportunity to make her own decision about abortion, she generally does a good job of figuring out if she is in a position to raise the baby well."
But, in the words of Mark Twain, I'm getting off track. Of course we can't expect the same things from women and men. Women don't have as much testosterone. Men don't have as much bleeding from the uterus. And you know what? It's really not as simple as that.
And in the end, I think Miss Muffet would have accepted her fate calmly. She eats curds. You can't tell me that doesn't build character.
It means that gender differences must not make us assume gender inferiorities.
I realized that last night. This morning, I remembered the following nursery rhyme:
Little Miss Muffet crouched on a tuffett,
Collecting her shell-shocked wits.
There dropped (from a glider) an H-bomb beside her--
Which frightened Miss Muffet to bits.
Turns out, that was written by Paul Dehn to protest nuclear war (duh). The fact that it came to mind while I was reading Freakonomics seemed appropriate, since the chapter titled "Where Have All The Criminals Gone?" makes the convincing case that they have, in fact, been aborted. I suggest you read the book for yourself. The book also added a capping quote to an issue I was thinking heavily about a bit ago: "What the link between abortion and crime does say is this: when the government gives a woman the opportunity to make her own decision about abortion, she generally does a good job of figuring out if she is in a position to raise the baby well."
But, in the words of Mark Twain, I'm getting off track. Of course we can't expect the same things from women and men. Women don't have as much testosterone. Men don't have as much bleeding from the uterus. And you know what? It's really not as simple as that.
And in the end, I think Miss Muffet would have accepted her fate calmly. She eats curds. You can't tell me that doesn't build character.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
What's an Antonym for Rhetorical?
I just spent too long reading and following up links on Pandagon. I specifically got sucked in to the post on being a feminist boyfriend. I didn't even manage to get through half of the 100 or so comments.
It did start me thinking about my own feminism. Inadvertantly, I swear--I wasn't specifically seeking out feminist topics, I was just bored at work and browsing through Hops' blog roll.
I don't worry about being a feminist boyfriend, because I don't have girlfriends. I do, however, worry about being a feminist person (aka a feminist) and I don't think it's a bad idea to set out what, exactly, that means.
Sexual equality is such an easy assumption for me. The fact that we should expect the same quality of work from men and women. The fact that both sexes should expect the same treatment. In my modern dance class at university (yes, I'm one of those kind of guys--actually, I thought 'modern dance' meant something that would be useful on Friday nights, which gets me laughing at my naivety now) I was in a group with two girls to choreograph a dance. Wiry, tall, weak-as-hell Mike. Short, heavy, religious Zany. Pierced, tattooed, biceped Amber. And Zany thought I would be willing to lift her, despite our class having at no time gone over lifts. Despite Amber being obviously stronger than me. I kind of laughed in her face. I consider it a branch of feminism not to have to participate in such a male gender role. (Not to mention such false heterosexual choreography.)
It's so easy for me to expect the same things from men and women, because most women are both stronger and smarter than I am, that I wonder whether I'm not actually unconsciously perpetuating certain problems...though I don't know what.
Ha--two sexes. Nice binary there. Like I said, I'm not entrenched in the heterosexual world view, and I have trouble thinking of things from a feminist perspective because I have troubles of my own. I'm not overly preoccupied with the general idea of feminism because it sounds like a foregone conclusion in todays' world.
The problem with that belief is when I go back home and hang out with the kids I grew up with, and they make some basic attempts at obvious censorship concerning racist comments, sexist comments, homophobic comments (am I missing out on a better adjective for that last one?), etc.
I support women's suffrage. (No shit.) I do not support the glass ceiling. (I don't think we need to race right out and elect a female president solely based on her sex, just as I don't think we should elect a black president solely based solely on his skin.)
I support capable women and men in the workplace. I support capable men and women in sports. Who am I kidding, I support no one in sports besides Lyndsay Wall, but you get the point.
What else is there?
I don't think people should stop talking about feminism, particularly because I know those kids from home need someone to get through to them.
As I said, I spent a long time tracking down the links on Pandagon, one of which led me to Pam's House Blend on the topic of sexual abuse in public places. The surprising thing, when I was reading the comments, was that they twisted into an argument about transvestites being allowed in women's changing rooms.
That sexual binary, coming back to bite us in the ass. Persephone, the woman arguing to keep "all non-women" out of female locker rooms, etc, really leaves me confused. Is it that she is afraid of being looked at with desire (aka she's never heard of lesbians), or that she's afraid of seeing physical differences (aka she's never seen anyone else's body)?
I'm not really sure I'm equipped to take up this topic. But it does bring to mind a Southpark episode that my brother references often, in which a character had a "species-change operation" and was offended when the football stadium didn't have seating for dolphins. What does Persephone want, a third room in all public areas for Other?
Frankly, I haven't been to a gym or any public changing room in forever, because it makes me feel horribly anxious. It's not that I'm worried that other people will check me out. It's not that I'm worried about being roughed up after checking someone else out. It's that I'm worried about making someone else feel uncomfortable, just knowing I'm there, possibly checking them out.
And that's pretty awful. I like swimming, and I haven't gone to the public pool at the Y across the street because I know there are people out there like Persephone.
I don't consider myself a champion of gay rights. Or a champion of feminism. I consider myself a regular person who tries to slap down prejudice whenever it pops up. Sometimes it's like a Whack-A-Mole, but most of the time it seems like a non-issue.
What else is there?
It did start me thinking about my own feminism. Inadvertantly, I swear--I wasn't specifically seeking out feminist topics, I was just bored at work and browsing through Hops' blog roll.
I don't worry about being a feminist boyfriend, because I don't have girlfriends. I do, however, worry about being a feminist person (aka a feminist) and I don't think it's a bad idea to set out what, exactly, that means.
Sexual equality is such an easy assumption for me. The fact that we should expect the same quality of work from men and women. The fact that both sexes should expect the same treatment. In my modern dance class at university (yes, I'm one of those kind of guys--actually, I thought 'modern dance' meant something that would be useful on Friday nights, which gets me laughing at my naivety now) I was in a group with two girls to choreograph a dance. Wiry, tall, weak-as-hell Mike. Short, heavy, religious Zany. Pierced, tattooed, biceped Amber. And Zany thought I would be willing to lift her, despite our class having at no time gone over lifts. Despite Amber being obviously stronger than me. I kind of laughed in her face. I consider it a branch of feminism not to have to participate in such a male gender role. (Not to mention such false heterosexual choreography.)
It's so easy for me to expect the same things from men and women, because most women are both stronger and smarter than I am, that I wonder whether I'm not actually unconsciously perpetuating certain problems...though I don't know what.
Ha--two sexes. Nice binary there. Like I said, I'm not entrenched in the heterosexual world view, and I have trouble thinking of things from a feminist perspective because I have troubles of my own. I'm not overly preoccupied with the general idea of feminism because it sounds like a foregone conclusion in todays' world.
The problem with that belief is when I go back home and hang out with the kids I grew up with, and they make some basic attempts at obvious censorship concerning racist comments, sexist comments, homophobic comments (am I missing out on a better adjective for that last one?), etc.
I support women's suffrage. (No shit.) I do not support the glass ceiling. (I don't think we need to race right out and elect a female president solely based on her sex, just as I don't think we should elect a black president solely based solely on his skin.)
I support capable women and men in the workplace. I support capable men and women in sports. Who am I kidding, I support no one in sports besides Lyndsay Wall, but you get the point.
What else is there?
I don't think people should stop talking about feminism, particularly because I know those kids from home need someone to get through to them.
As I said, I spent a long time tracking down the links on Pandagon, one of which led me to Pam's House Blend on the topic of sexual abuse in public places. The surprising thing, when I was reading the comments, was that they twisted into an argument about transvestites being allowed in women's changing rooms.
That sexual binary, coming back to bite us in the ass. Persephone, the woman arguing to keep "all non-women" out of female locker rooms, etc, really leaves me confused. Is it that she is afraid of being looked at with desire (aka she's never heard of lesbians), or that she's afraid of seeing physical differences (aka she's never seen anyone else's body)?
I'm not really sure I'm equipped to take up this topic. But it does bring to mind a Southpark episode that my brother references often, in which a character had a "species-change operation" and was offended when the football stadium didn't have seating for dolphins. What does Persephone want, a third room in all public areas for Other?
Frankly, I haven't been to a gym or any public changing room in forever, because it makes me feel horribly anxious. It's not that I'm worried that other people will check me out. It's not that I'm worried about being roughed up after checking someone else out. It's that I'm worried about making someone else feel uncomfortable, just knowing I'm there, possibly checking them out.
And that's pretty awful. I like swimming, and I haven't gone to the public pool at the Y across the street because I know there are people out there like Persephone.
I don't consider myself a champion of gay rights. Or a champion of feminism. I consider myself a regular person who tries to slap down prejudice whenever it pops up. Sometimes it's like a Whack-A-Mole, but most of the time it seems like a non-issue.
What else is there?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I Love Craig's List
I'm no longer worried about where to find an apartment. I have confidence that CraigsList is going to come through for me, as long as I wait til I'm back in Buffalo. Now I just need to get to work motivating the people I want to live with me. (Hear that, Jenna, Brandon, and Tami?)
I still need to figure out the job situation. I really can't afford to go jobless for any stretch of time once I'm back in the states, and since that's coming up in less than four months, I feel that I really need to narrow it down. I'll keep you posted on how that goes--keep me posted on any further ideas.
I'm almost finished with For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. I'm thrilled with it, it was way better than A Farewell To Arms, and I suggest you run right out and get it from your local dosagwan because it's fantastic.
And that's all there is for today.
I still need to figure out the job situation. I really can't afford to go jobless for any stretch of time once I'm back in the states, and since that's coming up in less than four months, I feel that I really need to narrow it down. I'll keep you posted on how that goes--keep me posted on any further ideas.
I'm almost finished with For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. I'm thrilled with it, it was way better than A Farewell To Arms, and I suggest you run right out and get it from your local dosagwan because it's fantastic.
And that's all there is for today.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
119 Days To Go
My desire to live in Buffalo (because of many reasons including family ties) brings certain issues to the forefront.
1. I must have a place to live.
2. I must have a place to work.
How will I find an apartment when I'm 12,000 miles away?
Ditto for a job?
Hit the comments section with any tips. Vague is OK; specific is spectacular.
[Update: I've checked out BuffaloJobFinder.com and Monster.com. Looks promising, if I keep checking as August approaches. As for apartments, just found BuffaloApartments.com. I've looked for both on www.craigslist.org. Any other resources, offline as well as on?]
1. I must have a place to live.
2. I must have a place to work.
How will I find an apartment when I'm 12,000 miles away?
Ditto for a job?
Hit the comments section with any tips. Vague is OK; specific is spectacular.
[Update: I've checked out BuffaloJobFinder.com and Monster.com. Looks promising, if I keep checking as August approaches. As for apartments, just found BuffaloApartments.com. I've looked for both on www.craigslist.org. Any other resources, offline as well as on?]
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Ever-Evolving Diet
My aunt asked me what has been my biggest growth experience while being in Korea.
I read the news every weekday. That's pretty huge. I suggest you do the same. The google news aggregator is my new favorite software.
Now, I read that diabetes will lead to Alzheimer's. That's a big deal, because I eat bread and sugar all the time and have assumed for a few years now that I'd be ending up with diabetes. (I mean, I'm genetically predisposed, and excessive sugar intake leads to diabetes, right?) I was unhappy with that prospect but unwilling to change my diet.
I'm completely unwilling to commit myself to dementia.
The article depressed me so much that I had to run to the vending machine for a grape soda.
Help!
I read the news every weekday. That's pretty huge. I suggest you do the same. The google news aggregator is my new favorite software.
Now, I read that diabetes will lead to Alzheimer's. That's a big deal, because I eat bread and sugar all the time and have assumed for a few years now that I'd be ending up with diabetes. (I mean, I'm genetically predisposed, and excessive sugar intake leads to diabetes, right?) I was unhappy with that prospect but unwilling to change my diet.
I'm completely unwilling to commit myself to dementia.
The article depressed me so much that I had to run to the vending machine for a grape soda.
Help!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Cherry Bombs
"In a Station of the Metro"
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
--Ezra Pound
The cherry blossoms are amazing. All the streets on the way to work are lined with them. My favorites are the white ones--it's a little like snow bursting out of the wood.
Then I hear from a friend that Koreans are starting to question their cherry blossom festivals, because the cherry tree was introduced during the Japanese occupation.
Interesting how something so beautiful can have such a history.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Hypocrite with a Cushy Job
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress was hilarious. I seriously recommend picking it up at your local library. (Here I'm being hypocritical--I haven't even set foot in the Suji dosagwan, and it's right across the street from my apartment building.)
I've been putting some thought into the kind of work I might hope to start when I'm through with my contract in August. So far, I see three clear options:
1. Food service. I loved catering, so that might be a good option. Though I doubt any job will ever be as cake as that one was. I've also been thinking about how important it is to me to learn how to cook more varied dishes... I might look for a job in the kitchen of some vegetarian restaurant.
2. Customer service. I'm incredibly patient, I have a wide vocabulary of subservience, and I love being behind-the-scenes.
3. Tutoring. Frankly, I'm kind of hoping to pick up some tutoring work no matter what other work I do.
The big issue is balancing my wish to live in Buffalo with my wish to support myself. Are there jobs in Buffalo? For what am I qualified? What can I get that I won't just quit after a few days?
The second biggest issue is my desire not to own a car. It would be a serious conflict of my general life philosophy if I started guzzling gas. Particularly since I think the best way to cut a lot of the impetus for war in the Middle East would be to severely reduce our dependency on gasoline.
I've been putting some thought into the kind of work I might hope to start when I'm through with my contract in August. So far, I see three clear options:
1. Food service. I loved catering, so that might be a good option. Though I doubt any job will ever be as cake as that one was. I've also been thinking about how important it is to me to learn how to cook more varied dishes... I might look for a job in the kitchen of some vegetarian restaurant.
2. Customer service. I'm incredibly patient, I have a wide vocabulary of subservience, and I love being behind-the-scenes.
3. Tutoring. Frankly, I'm kind of hoping to pick up some tutoring work no matter what other work I do.
The big issue is balancing my wish to live in Buffalo with my wish to support myself. Are there jobs in Buffalo? For what am I qualified? What can I get that I won't just quit after a few days?
The second biggest issue is my desire not to own a car. It would be a serious conflict of my general life philosophy if I started guzzling gas. Particularly since I think the best way to cut a lot of the impetus for war in the Middle East would be to severely reduce our dependency on gasoline.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Abalone Alimone
If you're against alimony entirely, that's one thing. (And keep in mind, alimony is completely different from child support.) But if you're not against it for the woman...can you be against it for the man?
Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal.
She gets a little snide there at the end, with her suggestion that men only use alimony to support a lavish lifestyle, aka owning lots of muscle cars. Nonetheless, it does make you think.
Is this an issue I care a lot about? No. It does, however, seem to tie into the previous conversation about abortion in some way.
I love the quote from the one woman-- "I don't understand why someone becomes your financial responsibility just because you married them..."
Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal.
She gets a little snide there at the end, with her suggestion that men only use alimony to support a lavish lifestyle, aka owning lots of muscle cars. Nonetheless, it does make you think.
Is this an issue I care a lot about? No. It does, however, seem to tie into the previous conversation about abortion in some way.
I love the quote from the one woman-- "I don't understand why someone becomes your financial responsibility just because you married them..."
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