So has anyone heard about this show: Trading Shoes?
If it's anything like the promo - I can't wait to watch every single episode, popcorn in hand of course! For those of you who can't watch it on tele - youtube is your friend...
From the show summary:
"Ever wonder what it would be like if 'the man' had to live like you?
From the creators of "Trading Housebands", "Straight Eyes into Queer Guys" and "Asexuals in the City" comes the new unscripted series that will launch a competitive search for the most 'versatile CEO'. Can 'the man' burp babies, take out your trash and manage to keep his $6/hour job while feeding a family of four? While the CEOs get to do everyday activities, we've got the people they've switched jobs with a two week paid vacation!
All the fun of the Simple Life without the bottled blondes, melodrama and sex-appeal, just really gritty action and tough men getting down to business (or not). In order to make our experiments as successful as we can, we have not revealed the identities of our CEOs to their new work colleagues until after their performance evaluations take place. At the end of each two week period, they will be evaluated by their immediate supervisors on a unique grading system developed by our team of HR specialists. The winner will of course, get the coveted title of most 'versatile CEO'.
The driving force behind the series will be the pursuit of the American dream and the natural trials, tribulations and heartbreak inherent in that quest combined with the drama and tension of 'success'. The canvas of the show is much broader than capitalist competition - it will give viewers a first hand look into the real life hopes, triumphs and defeats of every American.
Episode List:
Week 1: Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft exchanges jobs with Dharamveer, a 27 year old all-night Techinical support assistant at Microsoft's Indian office in Gurgaon, outside of New Delhi. Can Bill Gates manage to maintain a relationship with his wife, tuck his kids into bed at night, work out everyday and support his aging parents while he works nights and sleeps days, all on $17 a day or will he melt under the hot Indian sun?
Week 2: Jack M. Greenberg, CEO of McDonald's takes a trip down memory lane and flips jobs with Tina, a 15 year old high-school student from Dallas, Texas. Can Greenberg pass Tina's midterm exams, take care of her two cats, re-heat her microwave dinner because her parents are at work every night? Will he be able to handle the stress of taking the bus at midnight after closing hours or will he get Tina into trouble with late detentions? We're especially watching Greenberg, because he's promised Tina a $25,000 scholarship if he misses even one hour of work at $5.35/hour.
Week 3: Steve Heyer, CEO of Sheraton Hotels meets the everyday life of Maria a 43 year old Latina whose also an illegal immigrant from Albuquerque, New Mexico. If Steve can manage changing bed sheets, vaccuming the hallways, ignoring passes from drunken hotel guests, cooking and feeding Maria's three children without breaking his back, he's promised Maria a raise from her current $4.50/hour plus a greencard!
Week 4: Mark Parker, the new CEO of Nike gets to take the needle to the heart of it. For this week's episode we fly all the way to Indonesia where Setiawan shows him how the Nike Air is made! This will be the first time that a Nike CEO has visited a supplier's factory. Will Setiawan finally get his dream of clean running water in his kitchen and a gas stove? What happens if Mark Parker fails to work less than 60 hours a week?
Week 5: Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy Enterprises agrees to work a three day stint at Palms Hotel, Las Vegas serving cocktails in a form-fitting bunny suit, ears and high heels. This one really surprised us. But after losing a bad hand of poker with Donald Trump even this old coot had to give in. Since Hef claims to have a bad back from all the shagging he's done, we allowed him a three day offer, nothing like seeing how the infamous playboy handles himself in drag."
I didn't want to copy and paste the entire 10 week episode list, you can check that out for yourself, but I promise you it's fantastic. I don't think I've ever been this excited to watch TV!!! And a reality show to boot!!! bring it on!
Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Friday, November 16, 2007
No, way - there ain't no such thing as "Pornstitution" - now on your nightly news.
Yeah, cause you know the porn industry coupled with mainstream media, is not an 'institution' especially because 'one group' of feminists "invented it" and another didn't, so how DARE it be part of the "feminist" lexicon....blahdee blahdee bloody blah.
I'm sorry, isn't like 80% of the world's media owned by 4 companies?
Fox News Porn: Too Hot for the Internet?
By Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films. Posted November 16, 2007.
Trigger warning.
(note: I'm not entirely up with the whole idea of re-using the material on fox to 'create' a whole new site about 'fox news porn', but I am not sure how else to do it without showing that "yes, this is what 'passes for news' and 'journalism'". I also have to wonder how much money Fox gets from pornographers on an annual basis).
Read the rest here.
No comments.
I'm sorry, isn't like 80% of the world's media owned by 4 companies?
Fox News Porn: Too Hot for the Internet?
By Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films. Posted November 16, 2007.
Trigger warning.
(note: I'm not entirely up with the whole idea of re-using the material on fox to 'create' a whole new site about 'fox news porn', but I am not sure how else to do it without showing that "yes, this is what 'passes for news' and 'journalism'". I also have to wonder how much money Fox gets from pornographers on an annual basis).
No, what got the attack dogs at Fox hungry and looking for flesh was none other than an exposé of their smut peddling! It makes sense in a way, because advertisers tend not to like their products being promoted between segments of soft porn. And a large part of their conservative base hates this as well, which might be why one Christian organization compared the way women were dressed on Fox to the manner in which "hookers" are attired.
So what did we do?
With the Fox News Hounds' help, we found enough Fox lasciviousness for a whole porn site!!
Really, we did. And it wasn't that hard to do. In fact, if you thought Fox Attacks: Decency was a glimpse into the lustful thoughts of your favorite Fox anchor, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Satire and parody aside, we think this is extremely objectionable, misogynistic content. We still don't understand how Fox is allowed to call this "news." So let's make this campaign count and hit Fox where it hurts -- their fair and balanced sheet.
Read the rest here.
No comments.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Indianoguy asks why aren't 'business leaders' - leaders?
Indianoguy asks a question here, and I thought it was interesting enough to DISCUSS in it's own thread.
Question:
This is just my opinion, feel free to jump in, I used the example of an Indian movie called the Guru (I think we can largely ignore the movie - and just talk about the dynamics of business 'leaders' as a concept):
See with the Guru, it was all supposed to be how he got into power right? I.e. he's essentially a hero for making all this money. I know this sounds simplistic, but that's what it boils down to. We worship people for making money (as though that isn't something that happens because of accumulated/saved wealth), i.e. you have to start out with a bit of collatoral/capital already - so you aren't really 'poor-poor' when you become rich.
Essentially it's just another way of celebrity worship (i.e. infatuation with people who have achieved the status quo not necessarily by any great contribution to humanity unlike what I think formerly leaders were). But then again, I am a socialist.
The other thing about the Guru, is that, how are we supposed to worship someone as a hero when what he primarily did was make mock factories - he did smuggle merchandise, he often didn't pay his shareholders what he promised etc... if he paid them at all
I.e. he was essentially corrupt. But how is that different from the accumulation of capital in general? How do people accumulate it? ....it's not usually the nicest, and you do have to start off semi-educated/wellconnected/somewhat moneyed.
How did Guru come into money in the first place? He married a girl who was 'dishonourable' so her father gave him a dowry....
Does this make sense.
Now if you look at what traditionally we look for in a leader, we are seeking someone who has 'the best interests of everyone in mind' - this means socio-economically. The key and main difference between 'business leaders' and traditional leaders (and his comparison to Gandhi was just nauseating) is that business leaders really, truly only go in it for themselves - the welfare of their employees/the country etc... are usually by and large secondary aspects to them. That's why people like Steve Jobs at Apple doesn't care that his workers in China make his products at 65hours a week and get $10 a day. If he could get them done elsewhere for less - he would.
We're infatuated with 'business leaders' because of their accumulation of wealth, not because they necessarily give a crap about us.
People like Steve Jobs and the Guru, like to imagine themselves at the same level as 'leaders' in the traditional sense, and I ask you how much of that image is sold to us by them?
Being at the other end of the recieving end of corporate donations, I know that when you put a dumb-ass logo on your brochure saying "XYZ company" - that company probably donated WAYYYYYY less than an individual private donor. No, joke. But yet, they only give it to you if there's free publicity.
Question:
I am just curious, whats wrong with entrepreneurs/industrialists being considered as leaders?
This is just my opinion, feel free to jump in, I used the example of an Indian movie called the Guru (I think we can largely ignore the movie - and just talk about the dynamics of business 'leaders' as a concept):
See with the Guru, it was all supposed to be how he got into power right? I.e. he's essentially a hero for making all this money. I know this sounds simplistic, but that's what it boils down to. We worship people for making money (as though that isn't something that happens because of accumulated/saved wealth), i.e. you have to start out with a bit of collatoral/capital already - so you aren't really 'poor-poor' when you become rich.
Essentially it's just another way of celebrity worship (i.e. infatuation with people who have achieved the status quo not necessarily by any great contribution to humanity unlike what I think formerly leaders were). But then again, I am a socialist.
The other thing about the Guru, is that, how are we supposed to worship someone as a hero when what he primarily did was make mock factories - he did smuggle merchandise, he often didn't pay his shareholders what he promised etc... if he paid them at all
I.e. he was essentially corrupt. But how is that different from the accumulation of capital in general? How do people accumulate it? ....it's not usually the nicest, and you do have to start off semi-educated/wellconnected/somewhat moneyed.
How did Guru come into money in the first place? He married a girl who was 'dishonourable' so her father gave him a dowry....
Does this make sense.
Now if you look at what traditionally we look for in a leader, we are seeking someone who has 'the best interests of everyone in mind' - this means socio-economically. The key and main difference between 'business leaders' and traditional leaders (and his comparison to Gandhi was just nauseating) is that business leaders really, truly only go in it for themselves - the welfare of their employees/the country etc... are usually by and large secondary aspects to them. That's why people like Steve Jobs at Apple doesn't care that his workers in China make his products at 65hours a week and get $10 a day. If he could get them done elsewhere for less - he would.
We're infatuated with 'business leaders' because of their accumulation of wealth, not because they necessarily give a crap about us.
People like Steve Jobs and the Guru, like to imagine themselves at the same level as 'leaders' in the traditional sense, and I ask you how much of that image is sold to us by them?
Being at the other end of the recieving end of corporate donations, I know that when you put a dumb-ass logo on your brochure saying "XYZ company" - that company probably donated WAYYYYYY less than an individual private donor. No, joke. But yet, they only give it to you if there's free publicity.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
the non-review review of SICKO...
It was FABULOUS, seldom do I like movies.... more so now than ever, but this was FAB. I laughed really, really loudly and I cried with full blown tears three times, if not more....Don't get me wrong, this movie was NUANCED as well. I think it will open a lot of eyes and raise a lot of questions about hyper-capitalism and corporate interests.
IT WAS GOOD! GO WATCH IT! NOW!
And in case you were wondering - most DRs in Canada also live in million dollar homes and sadly we aren't all socialists. Hell, they even showed a conservative canadian wax poetic about Tommy Douglas (in case you don't know of him already - you'll learn), that's how much the average Canadian citizen cares about healthcare as an issue.
ETA: I realized I rushed to write this post last night, and I should add a few things. There are a few problems with Canadian Healthcare (NOT the 'longer wait times'):
1) In the past 5 years tuition for Drs has increased to about $10K/yr, so it's pretty much only accessible to rich people and it leaves those who aren't rich in a higher debt (but not to worry, the banks offer huge credit loans to potential Drs - cough, cough). When you consider most 'non-professional' programs only cost $4500K a year for tuition - $10k is A LOT of money.
2) Physiotherapy, Optometry and dentistry (all needed things) are not covered. BUT most dentists do offer a sliding scale for people who don't have health coverage from their empolyers. Students usually only have to pay 70% of their dentist's/prescription expense because you pay a small medical fee when you pay your tuition. In the past physio and optometry were covered, slowly the government has been chipping away and 'streamlining' our healthcare system - which is very scary. A visit to the physio costs roughly $80-100/hour. A visit to the opt costs roughly $100-160.
3) Drug and Glasses Prescriptions are not covered. This is especially troublesome when you factor in the working poor and the growing senior population...
4) To book a specialist can often take months. BUT they do prioritize patients, if you are very ill, you can get an appointment much faster.
5) Most lab testing is covered.
ETA2:
6) There is a shortage of Drs in Ontario
7) There are many Drs with foreign training credentials who aren't given the opportunities that "Canadian trained" Drs are given.
8) When foreign trained Drs are recertified they are the first to get placed in rural towns (they do get higher pay), where they may/may not have racialized communities and interactions (this becomes isolating for them).
But I swear I've never heard someone having to chose between which finger they wanted to save... But under American capitalism that makes sense. How cruel.
From a Canadian perspective, the timing of this movie couldn't be better our new conservative government is okay with privatization, AND the Ontario government has approved 6 new private healthcare facilities in this province...This is a deeply disturbing problem of course. We can't allow this to happen - and having a two-tierd healthcare system is not going to help anyone ... but of course .... the rich!
It was humane, intelligent, funny, touching and very-well done overall. I think many Americans will start questioning who feeds them commie myths and who tells them who their enemies are etc...
The one quip I had about it was that Moore had to refer to Hillary Clinton as 'sexy'. Why? Why do female politicians (or female anythings) have to be sexified?
IT WAS GOOD! GO WATCH IT! NOW!
And in case you were wondering - most DRs in Canada also live in million dollar homes and sadly we aren't all socialists. Hell, they even showed a conservative canadian wax poetic about Tommy Douglas (in case you don't know of him already - you'll learn), that's how much the average Canadian citizen cares about healthcare as an issue.
ETA: I realized I rushed to write this post last night, and I should add a few things. There are a few problems with Canadian Healthcare (NOT the 'longer wait times'):
1) In the past 5 years tuition for Drs has increased to about $10K/yr, so it's pretty much only accessible to rich people and it leaves those who aren't rich in a higher debt (but not to worry, the banks offer huge credit loans to potential Drs - cough, cough). When you consider most 'non-professional' programs only cost $4500K a year for tuition - $10k is A LOT of money.
2) Physiotherapy, Optometry and dentistry (all needed things) are not covered. BUT most dentists do offer a sliding scale for people who don't have health coverage from their empolyers. Students usually only have to pay 70% of their dentist's/prescription expense because you pay a small medical fee when you pay your tuition. In the past physio and optometry were covered, slowly the government has been chipping away and 'streamlining' our healthcare system - which is very scary. A visit to the physio costs roughly $80-100/hour. A visit to the opt costs roughly $100-160.
3) Drug and Glasses Prescriptions are not covered. This is especially troublesome when you factor in the working poor and the growing senior population...
4) To book a specialist can often take months. BUT they do prioritize patients, if you are very ill, you can get an appointment much faster.
5) Most lab testing is covered.
ETA2:
6) There is a shortage of Drs in Ontario
7) There are many Drs with foreign training credentials who aren't given the opportunities that "Canadian trained" Drs are given.
8) When foreign trained Drs are recertified they are the first to get placed in rural towns (they do get higher pay), where they may/may not have racialized communities and interactions (this becomes isolating for them).
But I swear I've never heard someone having to chose between which finger they wanted to save... But under American capitalism that makes sense. How cruel.
From a Canadian perspective, the timing of this movie couldn't be better our new conservative government is okay with privatization, AND the Ontario government has approved 6 new private healthcare facilities in this province...This is a deeply disturbing problem of course. We can't allow this to happen - and having a two-tierd healthcare system is not going to help anyone ... but of course .... the rich!
It was humane, intelligent, funny, touching and very-well done overall. I think many Americans will start questioning who feeds them commie myths and who tells them who their enemies are etc...
The one quip I had about it was that Moore had to refer to Hillary Clinton as 'sexy'. Why? Why do female politicians (or female anythings) have to be sexified?
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Cultural Fetishism, Neoliberalism, "sex positivity" and appropriation
Cultural appropriation - is something that is done daily primarily to sell things originating in "third-world" countries for the psycho-social-entertainment of Western audiences. It centres around de-contextualized and ahistorical readings of other cultures for mainly profit incentives. But how is this perpetuated by the "sex industry"? How is this often (not always) supported by "sex radical activists" and academics? This excerpt is from an article at feministing.com about a new book called "Sacred Sex for the Twenty-first century" (sounds just like the last century to me!):
Tantra was once a supremely revolutionary practice. Tantra in India in its early days probably looked something like the social revolution in America in the 1960s: experimentation with sex and drugs, group ecstatic rituals with music, dancing and sex, loving whomever you chose regardless of race or background, and questioning the moral, ethical, and philosophical precepts of the day. In the twentieth century, Tantra was reintroduced in the West by a few brave sex, gender, spiritual, and political radicals who ventured to India in search of an active spirituality that would embrace and empower everyone in all aspects of life, including the sexual and political. The practice of Tantra today can once again be revolutionary in the face of the current cultural rise of fundamentalist sex and gender politics.
notice the probably? That's a pretty big assumption, cause you know - most of what happened in the 60s in India was often perpetuated by money grubbing upper caste pseudo-gurus to get western ppl's money. Kind of like 'spiritual tourism' - and anyone with even a basic understanding of third world politics of tourism will understand the problematic dynamics there in. In case you don't - here's a lurvly article. Also the 'experimentation' that the author assumes is 'so common' - was not common. It was isolated to very few upper class indians who had money. Such freedoms were not part of the lived experiences of many. So like anything that's about 'cultural appropriation' - it is again white people who define the creativity, the assumption of what was going on 'over there'. I.e. other cultures & other people are generally are only good to white-noeliberalism and commodification (or white politics) as long as they fortify what is being said by the white person/cultural creator at hand. The context/history is lost, and what's sold is 'culture'.
Notice the usage of the word bravery??? And how the people who bravely introduced this were pretty much like past 'pioneers' i.e. colonists. Not really a new dynamic here. Yeah, white ppl looking for a few fuck-ons in brown countries...nothing new here either, the US military has done that in every country they've ever invaded anyways. That's not really 'brave', it's about american entitlement and having mula and lots of it.
It's really interesting because in the previous paragraph, the author mentions the following:
Other people are turned off by the idea of Tantra and Tantric sex because of its image in America as couples therapy for white, middle-aged, middle-class, apolitical, woo-woo, New Age, sarong-wearing workshop junkies. In fact, Tantra is practiced in a wide variety of styles by a wide variety of people, including some of my friends who are young, leather-clad, gender-fucked anarchists who are into BDSM. Tantra embraces all genders, sexual styes and sexual preferences. It is primarily concerned with inner mystical experiences, not relationships and wardrobe.
So though she pays lip-service to 'white middle aged middle class people", which is super-funny because that only absolves her from her own whiteness/white guilt while trying to sell it to another group of white people which is indicated in "other people are turned off".
It's like for chrissakes, do I give a shit if the person next to me is called a 'hippie' or a 'granola'?... same shit, different neoliberal label. I don't care. Only white people are 'individuals' anyways, and from her interview that shines through repetitively.
Whatever, this is not new - and happens ALL the time, for something more local, read here. This was a fiasco that took place about two years ago. It resulted in a massive letter writing campaign by many south asian organizations.
Does Fashion Care about Racism?
"During the featured entertainment, I saw lots of white people with cowboy hats and tattoos with brown powder on their faces and bodies. After Black people have fought long and hard on the racist use of “black face"? in entertainment, I felt disheartened that in 2005, few lessons have been learned."
I will say this though, this is just Pt.1 of cultural appropriation of sexuality and the promotion of it often by white-upper-middle class academic sex positive theorists/white activists/cultural producers etc.... It's interesting because no one seems to be touching upon this element in academia, even though grassroots south asian activists here in Toronto have already drawn attention to the matter themselves. Namely in regards to their marginalization in both the LGBTTTIQ community and the non-profit industrial complex.
Comments closed, I just can't do it right now.
ETA: I removed the previous remark because it was awkward.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Marxism 2007: Festival of ideas conference
ETA: Seems like a lot of people are visiting this post. In fairness, I didn't attend the event, here is an account from someone who did.
Hello Torontonian Comrades -- does anyone (of the three ppl that visit here) intend on going to this? Isn't it grande - it's conference season (pour out your wallets, eat stale crackers, drink un-fairtrade coffee, and well maybe learn something)!
Okay, to be completely honest - I went to this conference two years ago and was extremely disappointed by MOST (not ALL) of the presentations. I might try it out this year - I don't know. Hit me up a message if you think you might want to attend. My dislike of the conference specifically was kind of two-fold 1) it was very limiting - i.e. 'art was bourgeois, radical feminism was useless, everything would be resolved by the end of capitalism'... 2) there was no POC understanding nor were there more than a dozen POC at the conference in attendance.
I mean the reason why I'm drawn to socialism is because it's far more 'grounded' in terms of material/structuralist understandings - but this conference was so far removed from lived experience - I was really dismayed.
HOWEVER, having said all this - I have to say this time around it looks like (at least from the presentation list) - they might be moving in a new direction, so it might be worth checking out. I'm thinking Saturday and Sunday... Anyone else?
Copied verbatim from rabble.
More info here.
Marxism 2007: Festival of ideas conference
When: Thursday, 10 May 2007 – Sunday, 13 May 2007 (May 10-13)
Where:
Bahen Centre, University of Toronto40 St. George St. (one block north of College St.)Toronto ON
Contact:
marxism@sympatico.caInternational Socialiststel: 416-924-9042fax: 416-972-6319marxism@sympatico.ca
Details:
NEW: Group rate — Five full weekend registration passes for only $20 each. Register now for one course, one session, one day or (best deal) the whole weekend.
Marxism 2007 features courses for everyone who wants to understand and change the world.
Strategies for Changing the World: What's Radical?: Building a United Anti-imperialist Movement — Jen Hassum, Jessica Squires Jen Hassum is President of the University of Toronto Student Administrative Council (SAC), and President-elect of the Canadian Federation of Students. She is former co-chair of the U of T NDP Club. Jessica Squires is a graduate student in the Department of History at Carleton University. She is President of CUPE Local 4600 and was a candidate for Québec Solidaire in the recent Quebec provincial election.
NGOs and Imperialism: What's the Connection? — Janet Conway, Pam Frache Janet Conway is Associate Professor of Policy Studies at Ryerson University. Among her numerous publications is Identity, Place, Knowledge: Social Movements Contesting Globalization. She is the former Program Director at the Social Planning Council of Metro Toronto, a founding member of the Toronto-based Metro Network for Social Justice and a convenor of the Toronto Social Forum. Pam Frache is a longstanding social justice activist in the labour, student and solidarity movements.
Israel, the US and Zionism: Who's Really in Charge? — Suzanne Weiss, Abbie Bakan Suzanne Weiss is a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust, born in France during the period of Nazi occupation. She is a regular contributor to SocialistVoice.com, and active in Not in Our Name (NION): Jewish Voices Against Israel's Wars, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, and solidarity work against imperialist interventions in Haiti and Venezuela. Abbie Bakan is Professor of Political Studies at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and Editor of Marxism: A Socialist Annual.
Economies of the 21st Century: India and China: The New Superpowers? — Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg is a writer and editor specializing in political economy. His articles include Kari Levitt and the Long Detour of Canadian Political Economy (Studies in Political Economy, 76, Autumn, 2005).
Why is Africa Poor?: From Colonialism to Neo-liberalism – Farid Omar; Sid Lacombe Farid Omar is an expert on African history and politics. He came to Canada in 1993 as a refugee from the civil wars in Somalia. He is a founder of the Pan-African Student Network (PASNET) at the University of Toronto, and of the Horn of Africa Relief Society. Sid Lacombe is Campaign Organizer with the Canadian Peace Alliance.
The Future of the American Empire — Sam Gindin, Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg (as above). Sam Gindin is the Packer Chair in Social Justice, and teaches in the Political Science Department, at York University. He is the former Assistant to the President of the Canadian Auto Workers, and is a member of the Socialist Project. His numerous writings include, Is the Big Ship America Sinking: Contradictions and Openings, that appeared in The Bullet (Feb 8, 2007) and in MRZine (Feb 9, 2007).
Indigenous resistance: Aboriginal identity and Canadian Imperialism — Leslie Doucet, Terry Theakston Leslie Doucet is an Aboriginal rights activist, a member of the International Socialists, and a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Terry Theakston is a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and a longstanding solidarity activist.
Indigenism: Building solidarity with Indigenous Peoples — Zainab Amadahy Zainab Amadahy is an urban, mixed race indigenous writer, activist and community worker. She has contributed to the anthology Strong Women’s Stories: Native Vision and Community Activism co-edited by Bonita Lawrence and Kim Anderson (2004, Sumach Press) and is the author of Moons of Palmares (1998, Sister Vision Press). She is a founding member of the Coalition in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty, member of the Board of the Association of Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts and the Executive Director of Community Arts Ontario.
Palestine and the Right of Return — Rafeef Ziadah, Jonathon Hodge Rafeef Ziadah is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at York University and a member of CUPE. She is active in the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Sumoud Political Prisoner Soldarity Group. Jonathon Hodge is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto. He is author of The Holocaust: A Marxist Assessment published in Marxism, 2005, and a member of the editorial board of Socialist Worker, where he writes regularly on Middle East issues.
Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance is a four day conference of over fifty workshops, artistic displays and performances. If you are against imperialism, war, corporate greed, and the destruction of the environment, if you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom, and liberation, then don't miss Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance.
Hello Torontonian Comrades -- does anyone (of the three ppl that visit here) intend on going to this? Isn't it grande - it's conference season (pour out your wallets, eat stale crackers, drink un-fairtrade coffee, and well maybe learn something)!
Okay, to be completely honest - I went to this conference two years ago and was extremely disappointed by MOST (not ALL) of the presentations. I might try it out this year - I don't know. Hit me up a message if you think you might want to attend. My dislike of the conference specifically was kind of two-fold 1) it was very limiting - i.e. 'art was bourgeois, radical feminism was useless, everything would be resolved by the end of capitalism'... 2) there was no POC understanding nor were there more than a dozen POC at the conference in attendance.
I mean the reason why I'm drawn to socialism is because it's far more 'grounded' in terms of material/structuralist understandings - but this conference was so far removed from lived experience - I was really dismayed.
HOWEVER, having said all this - I have to say this time around it looks like (at least from the presentation list) - they might be moving in a new direction, so it might be worth checking out. I'm thinking Saturday and Sunday... Anyone else?
Copied verbatim from rabble.
More info here.
Marxism 2007: Festival of ideas conference
When: Thursday, 10 May 2007 – Sunday, 13 May 2007 (May 10-13)
Where:
Bahen Centre, University of Toronto40 St. George St. (one block north of College St.)Toronto ON
Contact:
marxism@sympatico.caInternational Socialiststel: 416-924-9042fax: 416-972-6319marxism@sympatico.ca
Details:
NEW: Group rate — Five full weekend registration passes for only $20 each. Register now for one course, one session, one day or (best deal) the whole weekend.
Marxism 2007 features courses for everyone who wants to understand and change the world.
Strategies for Changing the World: What's Radical?: Building a United Anti-imperialist Movement — Jen Hassum, Jessica Squires Jen Hassum is President of the University of Toronto Student Administrative Council (SAC), and President-elect of the Canadian Federation of Students. She is former co-chair of the U of T NDP Club. Jessica Squires is a graduate student in the Department of History at Carleton University. She is President of CUPE Local 4600 and was a candidate for Québec Solidaire in the recent Quebec provincial election.
NGOs and Imperialism: What's the Connection? — Janet Conway, Pam Frache Janet Conway is Associate Professor of Policy Studies at Ryerson University. Among her numerous publications is Identity, Place, Knowledge: Social Movements Contesting Globalization. She is the former Program Director at the Social Planning Council of Metro Toronto, a founding member of the Toronto-based Metro Network for Social Justice and a convenor of the Toronto Social Forum. Pam Frache is a longstanding social justice activist in the labour, student and solidarity movements.
Israel, the US and Zionism: Who's Really in Charge? — Suzanne Weiss, Abbie Bakan Suzanne Weiss is a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust, born in France during the period of Nazi occupation. She is a regular contributor to SocialistVoice.com, and active in Not in Our Name (NION): Jewish Voices Against Israel's Wars, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, and solidarity work against imperialist interventions in Haiti and Venezuela. Abbie Bakan is Professor of Political Studies at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and Editor of Marxism: A Socialist Annual.
Economies of the 21st Century: India and China: The New Superpowers? — Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg is a writer and editor specializing in political economy. His articles include Kari Levitt and the Long Detour of Canadian Political Economy (Studies in Political Economy, 76, Autumn, 2005).
Why is Africa Poor?: From Colonialism to Neo-liberalism – Farid Omar; Sid Lacombe Farid Omar is an expert on African history and politics. He came to Canada in 1993 as a refugee from the civil wars in Somalia. He is a founder of the Pan-African Student Network (PASNET) at the University of Toronto, and of the Horn of Africa Relief Society. Sid Lacombe is Campaign Organizer with the Canadian Peace Alliance.
The Future of the American Empire — Sam Gindin, Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg (as above). Sam Gindin is the Packer Chair in Social Justice, and teaches in the Political Science Department, at York University. He is the former Assistant to the President of the Canadian Auto Workers, and is a member of the Socialist Project. His numerous writings include, Is the Big Ship America Sinking: Contradictions and Openings, that appeared in The Bullet (Feb 8, 2007) and in MRZine (Feb 9, 2007).
Indigenous resistance: Aboriginal identity and Canadian Imperialism — Leslie Doucet, Terry Theakston Leslie Doucet is an Aboriginal rights activist, a member of the International Socialists, and a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Terry Theakston is a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and a longstanding solidarity activist.
Indigenism: Building solidarity with Indigenous Peoples — Zainab Amadahy Zainab Amadahy is an urban, mixed race indigenous writer, activist and community worker. She has contributed to the anthology Strong Women’s Stories: Native Vision and Community Activism co-edited by Bonita Lawrence and Kim Anderson (2004, Sumach Press) and is the author of Moons of Palmares (1998, Sister Vision Press). She is a founding member of the Coalition in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty, member of the Board of the Association of Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts and the Executive Director of Community Arts Ontario.
Palestine and the Right of Return — Rafeef Ziadah, Jonathon Hodge Rafeef Ziadah is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at York University and a member of CUPE. She is active in the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Sumoud Political Prisoner Soldarity Group. Jonathon Hodge is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto. He is author of The Holocaust: A Marxist Assessment published in Marxism, 2005, and a member of the editorial board of Socialist Worker, where he writes regularly on Middle East issues.
Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance is a four day conference of over fifty workshops, artistic displays and performances. If you are against imperialism, war, corporate greed, and the destruction of the environment, if you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom, and liberation, then don't miss Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Wow, when blogging 'works'...
Hell yeah, I'm almost out of hiatus - and this is really giving me that push to get right out. kettikili at Pass The Roti, critiques the entry made by one Jonathan Allen, of the New York Times, who was promoting a very orientalist trip to India. Now, that's okay in itself... but... but... said writer, decides to take on the bloggers at Pass The Roti in his own defense.
Now, don't take my word - read it!!!
So, this reaffirms my suspicions that big brother is indeed watching you and willing to fight the anonymous bloggers of the internets about it, cool.
Tee hee...
Comments closed, because you can comment directly at PTR. TY.
Update: Okay, then - big brother IS watching... uhuh: So Bush quotes two anonymous bloggers to support his war??? Okay, now - I'm just in a state of shock. Is this where blogging is going to start determining US foreign policy?
Discuss! Comments now open.
Now, don't take my word - read it!!!
So, this reaffirms my suspicions that big brother is indeed watching you and willing to fight the anonymous bloggers of the internets about it, cool.
Tee hee...
Comments closed, because you can comment directly at PTR. TY.
Update: Okay, then - big brother IS watching... uhuh: So Bush quotes two anonymous bloggers to support his war??? Okay, now - I'm just in a state of shock. Is this where blogging is going to start determining US foreign policy?
Discuss! Comments now open.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
'Ethnic' Food(s) & 'Authenticity': A case for
Dedicated to A & M ('bout time right?).
Do you see anything wrong with this picture here? Well...considering most people who visit my blog are from North America (of which most are not 'desi'), you might not actually see anything wrong with this. For the few desi readers visiting my blog - you might notice the 'fine print' on the label that says "Memories of Kashmir". The obvious issue being that this highly stereotypical portrait of India has got it's stereotypes backassed. I.e. Stock-photo camel portrait of the desert-state of "Rajasthan" instead of the mountainous regions of "Cashmere...". Come on President's Choice (Canada's 'upper-class' no-name brand - no joke), can't you get your stereotypes right?
Why am I bringing this up? Well, because damn it, I'm about to make a few of my 'foodie' friends damn happy - I've come to see the 'pro-side' of the 'food authenticity' debate and it only took one damn post and discussion by a bunch of mainly gora people at Pandagon to get me thinking.
So, in this post I'm going to go out on a limb to make a case "for" valuing the 'authenticity' of 'ethnic cuisine' and hopefully get you to 'racialize the everyday'. In my search for a meaningful debate about the 'authenticity' of food - I have yet to come across an entry that isn't about 'cultural abstractism', so I am getting my structural-materialist thoughts together to move away from that 'abstract' realm.
In this post Amanda dissects an article of an interview with Glassner (of the blasé "Culture of Fear" fame). I'm going to gloss over the whole Glassner bit (as it is kinda meh) and head on straight to some of the key points made by Amanda and the Pandagonians.
The central thesis of Amanda's post (and it's consequent discussion) is based on this one idea (Quote Amanda):
I wanted to see what Glassner would say about the search of authenticity in food, because I think in a lot of ways such a search is both doomed and can be intimidating to people who are learning to cook. It instills in people a fear of experimenting or tweaking recipes because they are afraid to get it “wrong”, and naturally, that could and can lead to stifling creativity. Food, like art or music or literature, shouldn’t be categorized into strict ethnic categories that don’t bleed into each other for fear of contamination.
I have to admit, just before I read this statement I would have agreed with it - but you know when someone else says it or when you read something - it just doesn't sit well with you? Well, this is precisely what happened.
The main question I have to ask is: "Who are these people that are afraid of 'experimenting'? Are they men, women, white, majority? In which case, is their fear of 'experimenting' of any consequence? And if not, at what expense?" And this is how it starts and this is where even I think my 'leftist looneyism' is taking a leap and running with it. So these are just my ideas - I do encourage debate, so please feel free to share your ideas about this if you want.
So why is this problematic in my opinion?
1) On culture in a bottle (cultural commodification): Considering that there are more than 100s of 'ethnic' shops in the majority of larger North American cities, why does something like President's Choice "memories of" sauces do so well? It's because it's a 'memory of'. The name itself conjures up visions of the uncontaminated glorious pasts of third world countries. Old world means 'authentic', and in this case 'authentic' plays directly upon orientalist notions. The logic being "You are our past, we are your future".
In a globalized world 'other countries' are what "WE" were like in the PAST. I.e. a society NOT based on order, rationality, meritocracy, technocracy and logic - but rather this thing called "CULTURE". Culture in this case becomes this 'abstract thing in the corner isolated from other socio-political phenomenon.' It's not based on any level of 'sanity' it is based on loyal and unquestioned dogma a 'primitive and collectivist' way of thinking. Whereas, our world as we know it - depends on our 'rationality' and 'individuality'. Imperative to our individuality is our ability to 'consume', i.e. we buy our 'identitites' essentially. I'm reminded of a friend I had a long time ago - who was a hard-core punk-rocker. She wouldn't wear certain clothes only because they weren't 'punk', she once admitted to liking Radiohead - but wouldn't buy a CD by them to my disappointment. Likewise, I now have friends who would 'pay up - to dress down' (picking clothes off the rack with the holes already built in).
So, how open you are to trying new foods is somewhat related to your 'class, education' & thereby social network, i.e. not that we only eat certain things in order to 'look a certain way for others'. Obviously, this is not exclusive. But having said that - food is also related to your 'intelligence, wealth and social status'. I.e. if you look good to your friends when you eat Thai food, imagine how good you look 'making it'. If people a few years ago were all into the 'arts' by visiting such and such art gallery to drop names about dead, white, male artists, IMO food has now taken it's place. Case in point, there are more Thai restaurants in Toronto than there probably is a Thai population (most of these restaurants are owned by Chinese owners).
This is all well and good - and as Amanda rightfully notes, there is 'yuppy element' in food selection - BUT might I add this has nothing to do with yuppization of 'authenticity'.
2) Socio-economic class divisions: This leads to my second point, why is 'authenticity' not about 'yuppization'? Well, simply because yuppies aren't going to Chinatown on Saturday to buy their herbs, spices and other 'exotic' food products. They in fact rely on President's choice brand, Patak's, Thai Kitchen or other Western based food producers to get pre-blended red curry mix, chicken tikka masala, 'curry flavour' or ramen noodles at their local convenience store. This is the near-equivalent of buying a twinkie to replace a homemade angel food cake.
And this very factor gets to the heart of the 'politics of consumption'. You don't go to the ghettoized neighbourhoods to interact with the 'locals'. You get your upper-middle class sanitized western based producer to BRING IT TO YOU. You get to take a little piece of the 'exotic' home with you. You could go to Chinatown and probably buy a pre-made mixture that is similar to this premade goo in a bottle... but...
3) Geopolitics: There is something to be said about going to Chinatown, or little India, little Thailand, or whatever - to buy the actual ingredients for your 'pad thai'. See in a city like Toronto - I do often go to Chinatown to buy produce - but there is a 'fear factor' when it comes to buying anything else. Most of the products have labels I can't read - when there is an English equivalent I don't even know what it is that I'm buying simply because - I'm so used to knowing things by their Western name! Being vegetarian doesn't help because I'm always concerned about what's actually 'in' my food (this point will be revisited later). Only recently, in a conversation with a friend, did i embarassedly discover that despite eating 3 different kinds of 'chinese dumplings' every Chinese New Year - I don't even know what they are freakin called! Shame on me, really.
I too, end up buying whatever I can find at my local loblaws if I plan to make a vegetable & tofu stir-fry.
There is also something to be said about 'urban geopolitics'. Historically, POC across North America and I'm guessing Europe (countries with histories of white surpremacy) certain districts and neighbourhoods were reserved for certain people - and not everyone had the opportunity to move into 'white neighbourhoods'. This obviously continues with indigenous populations to even today. There is definitely a certain element of 'self-segregation' among immigrant populations, but I don't know how it would be if 'racism' didn't exist.
4) Ghettoization: The benefits of this 'segregation' foster the phenomenon of 'urban sprawl' - i.e. as a fairly non-politicized MOC friend of mine noted the other day "A, you know if we (us south asians) all moved to Richmond Hill (suburb of Toronto) these guys (white ppl) would all move to Ajax - and you know that's exactly what's happening. The more we get into their neighbourhoods - the more North they move."
I couldn't help but admit that was one of the most brilliant observations I've ever heard to describe the phenonmenon of urban sprawl. You know kids the city is full of dangerous people... Another friend of mine (also non-politicized) white woman noted, "I don't think I want to go there alone, you know those neighbourhoods are quite dangerous. It's mainly because it's all these new immigrants..." And I cut her off right there. She apologized for the implication afterwards when I told her Richmond Hill was full of immigrants - who were wealthier than either of us - of course these groups are all 'model minority' Chinese and South Asian.
This brings us back to a point that I can never comment on enough - POC are good for their labour (unseen of course) but not as neighbours... 'eat the curry - don't live with the curry-maker'.
5) Capitalism and Ease: Another thing about this 'yuppiness' factor is that real yuppies anyways, aren't going to the hole in the wall the local cabbies go to on their break, no, they usually 'dial-a-delivery' or eat at a chichi place. So the psycho-social benefits a yuppy gets out of eating 'exotic' cuisine - is also dependent on which 5-star restaurant s/he gets it from. Again it becomes about how culture can cater to you as a consumer.
It's very similar to the travel industry. Speaking of which - you have to check out this lovely interactive 'tour of Sri Lanka' by the artist Sakun Samarkoon. Tour takes about 7 minutes, wait for a few seconds before changing the days (something interesting happens to each photo).
6)Orientalism/Exotification: Hole in the wall vs. 5-star. It's not necessarily true that a hole in the wall is going to be more 'authentic'. It will for sure be a lot cheaper. But a 5-star restaurant - depending on it's location and it's predominant clientele WILL often 'self-exotify' itself. I've noticed in smaller cities like Ottawa (where dining out really sucks - sorry), most 'ethnic' restaurants are intricately decorated with the things you'd never see in a restaurant from the originating country. I remember going to this one Thai restaurant in Ottawa and it was full of 'tourism' posters. You'd never see that in Bangkok. The few really big restaurants do have nice silks etc... But never quite like the restaurants you see that have a primarily 'white clientele'. Okay, if you don't get this point - check out this lovely restaurant "The East India Company" infamously named after the EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY - only the one time OWNERS of the entire indo-pak region... And I don't think the name of this restaurant is simply some pomo gone badly awry. I do have to admit they do make a lovely daal makhani. It would be quite interesting how the name would play out in a place as heavily populated with south asians as toronto (notice none of their locations are in cities with a huge south asian pop?). Check out this very insightful review by a food critic who notes the colonialized elements of another restaurant in Ottawa. From the article:
Is all this leaving a bit of a bad taste in your mouth? Maybe like me you think colonial pasts aren't something to be taken lightly? (This is particularly true of Portugal's role in Mozambique.) Yet Nando's marketing shtick (www.nandos.com) seems to be all about irreverently celebrating the Portuguese "explorers and settlers" as adventurous souls who knew how to live, love, eat and drink.
7) Random thoughts on health, nutrition and 'balancing': So, when we assume we are eating 'ethnic food' for the taste there are two things to consider healthwise:
a) you are probably only eating the ethnic foods that are the most popular items that have been preselected for a "western palate".
I can speak for Indian restaurants - the food there is equivalent to what we would eat at a damn wedding. That's why oddly enough you'll usually find pasta salad or pad thai at indian weddings. We're all so tired of eating the same shit everytime we go out to eat at an indian restaurant that we've run out of ideas of what to have at our own weddings in diaspora-land.
As Mandos notes here: "I find that a good Ethiopian restaurant is more like eating homestyle Indian food than Indian restaurants with the exception of southern Indian restaurants. Yes, there isn’t all that much relation between what you get at Indian restaurant and what gets eaten at home on a daily basis.".
So, essentially - you're eating a hell of a lot & not getting much of a nutritional benefit from it (as is for most restaurants in general, too).
b) As the world gets more 'globalized' our knowledge of food preparation (likewise with other indigenous and local forms of knowledge) is slowly diminishing. We are becoming far more reliant on companies who's main incentives are 'profit' over health. In fact the most 'fittest' people I know - are also the ones who spend time cooking their own food. As our diet is changing and we keep working longer hours - we end up eating a lot of 'pre-processed crap'. Cooking isn't just about 'taste' but rather 'nutrition' and ideas of how the body works.
When they say chicken soup is good for you when you have a cold, I don't think they were just 'making it up'. Similarly the bulk of Indian and Chinese medicinal systems were dependent on FOOD and NUTRITION of all things. The principles of hot and cold/balancing/herbs for cures and ailments.
Since as long back as I remember my mom has used 'turmeric' for treating many cuts and bruises. We even drink Kadhi in winter to ward off flus (it's got a lot of turmeric in it). My dad couldn't help but burst out laughing when western medical science recently "discovered" how turmeric was a 'cancer-fighter'.... Um, okay.... well then.. Thanks for the insight. Slowly such 'naturally available TASTES' are being replaced by laboratory created flavours (probably used in the pre-packaged goo we eat). Link to very interesting and scary article.
If anything - this could be one of the key 'arguments' for authenticity IMO.
8) Food of the weird other.... ooohhh somebody put a link to one of those 'what freaks eat type articles' on the pandagon thread. Fer goodness sakes, to vegetarians whether you eat maggots, rats, cats or SAUSAGES it's all the same. This element always makes me laugh real hard, because as much as the food yuppies eat is 'exotic' it's also 'weird' and 'different' and therefore a curiosity to be bought/owned.
9) Did I already mention the politics of labour division? Oh what the hell... I'll repeat myself using this lovely example from my FAVORITE show of all time - "Goodness, Gracious Me!". In this episode (only watch the first 3:55 mins) the troop does a take-on the British tradition of going out for an "Indian" on a regular Friday night:
This example comes complete with 'sexualized, other waiter' (because MOC bodies are sexually objectified as well).
I'm not saying that 'playing with your food' is 'racist' (that's a long stretch even for me - afterall I always add ketchup to ALL my 'curries' and HP sauce acts as a wonderful substitution to sugar-laden tamarind sauce) but rather that the debate about 'food and authenticity' expands beyond "authenticity" and ends up illustrating another example of negligent 'cultural appropriation' and furthers the capitalist 'cultural' commodification machine.
Okay, not buying what I've said? Then consider this, interesting is it not that President's Choice "PC Memories of Dad's Grill" is made of all things Canadiana: Maple, Apple & Beer Sauce. My dad only knows how to grill papad in the microwave no less...
Recommended reading: Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste by Pierre Bourdieu (skip over all the statistics - yawn and get to the real 'meat' of it - great, great read for sure).
I am not a 'food studies' anything (but I am a pretty good cook!) - and have only recently gotten into reading a bit about it. If you have any recommendations, comments or ideas - please do share, I would love to learn more - feel free to debate this (that is if anyone manages to even read this) in the comments.
TY
Do you see anything wrong with this picture here? Well...considering most people who visit my blog are from North America (of which most are not 'desi'), you might not actually see anything wrong with this. For the few desi readers visiting my blog - you might notice the 'fine print' on the label that says "Memories of Kashmir". The obvious issue being that this highly stereotypical portrait of India has got it's stereotypes backassed. I.e. Stock-photo camel portrait of the desert-state of "Rajasthan" instead of the mountainous regions of "Cashmere...". Come on President's Choice (Canada's 'upper-class' no-name brand - no joke), can't you get your stereotypes right?
Why am I bringing this up? Well, because damn it, I'm about to make a few of my 'foodie' friends damn happy - I've come to see the 'pro-side' of the 'food authenticity' debate and it only took one damn post and discussion by a bunch of mainly gora people at Pandagon to get me thinking.
So, in this post I'm going to go out on a limb to make a case "for" valuing the 'authenticity' of 'ethnic cuisine' and hopefully get you to 'racialize the everyday'. In my search for a meaningful debate about the 'authenticity' of food - I have yet to come across an entry that isn't about 'cultural abstractism', so I am getting my structural-materialist thoughts together to move away from that 'abstract' realm.
In this post Amanda dissects an article of an interview with Glassner (of the blasé "Culture of Fear" fame). I'm going to gloss over the whole Glassner bit (as it is kinda meh) and head on straight to some of the key points made by Amanda and the Pandagonians.
The central thesis of Amanda's post (and it's consequent discussion) is based on this one idea (Quote Amanda):
I wanted to see what Glassner would say about the search of authenticity in food, because I think in a lot of ways such a search is both doomed and can be intimidating to people who are learning to cook. It instills in people a fear of experimenting or tweaking recipes because they are afraid to get it “wrong”, and naturally, that could and can lead to stifling creativity. Food, like art or music or literature, shouldn’t be categorized into strict ethnic categories that don’t bleed into each other for fear of contamination.
I have to admit, just before I read this statement I would have agreed with it - but you know when someone else says it or when you read something - it just doesn't sit well with you? Well, this is precisely what happened.
The main question I have to ask is: "Who are these people that are afraid of 'experimenting'? Are they men, women, white, majority? In which case, is their fear of 'experimenting' of any consequence? And if not, at what expense?" And this is how it starts and this is where even I think my 'leftist looneyism' is taking a leap and running with it. So these are just my ideas - I do encourage debate, so please feel free to share your ideas about this if you want.
So why is this problematic in my opinion?
1) On culture in a bottle (cultural commodification): Considering that there are more than 100s of 'ethnic' shops in the majority of larger North American cities, why does something like President's Choice "memories of" sauces do so well? It's because it's a 'memory of'. The name itself conjures up visions of the uncontaminated glorious pasts of third world countries. Old world means 'authentic', and in this case 'authentic' plays directly upon orientalist notions. The logic being "You are our past, we are your future".
In a globalized world 'other countries' are what "WE" were like in the PAST. I.e. a society NOT based on order, rationality, meritocracy, technocracy and logic - but rather this thing called "CULTURE". Culture in this case becomes this 'abstract thing in the corner isolated from other socio-political phenomenon.' It's not based on any level of 'sanity' it is based on loyal and unquestioned dogma a 'primitive and collectivist' way of thinking. Whereas, our world as we know it - depends on our 'rationality' and 'individuality'. Imperative to our individuality is our ability to 'consume', i.e. we buy our 'identitites' essentially. I'm reminded of a friend I had a long time ago - who was a hard-core punk-rocker. She wouldn't wear certain clothes only because they weren't 'punk', she once admitted to liking Radiohead - but wouldn't buy a CD by them to my disappointment. Likewise, I now have friends who would 'pay up - to dress down' (picking clothes off the rack with the holes already built in).
So, how open you are to trying new foods is somewhat related to your 'class, education' & thereby social network, i.e. not that we only eat certain things in order to 'look a certain way for others'. Obviously, this is not exclusive. But having said that - food is also related to your 'intelligence, wealth and social status'. I.e. if you look good to your friends when you eat Thai food, imagine how good you look 'making it'. If people a few years ago were all into the 'arts' by visiting such and such art gallery to drop names about dead, white, male artists, IMO food has now taken it's place. Case in point, there are more Thai restaurants in Toronto than there probably is a Thai population (most of these restaurants are owned by Chinese owners).
This is all well and good - and as Amanda rightfully notes, there is 'yuppy element' in food selection - BUT might I add this has nothing to do with yuppization of 'authenticity'.
2) Socio-economic class divisions: This leads to my second point, why is 'authenticity' not about 'yuppization'? Well, simply because yuppies aren't going to Chinatown on Saturday to buy their herbs, spices and other 'exotic' food products. They in fact rely on President's choice brand, Patak's, Thai Kitchen or other Western based food producers to get pre-blended red curry mix, chicken tikka masala, 'curry flavour' or ramen noodles at their local convenience store. This is the near-equivalent of buying a twinkie to replace a homemade angel food cake.
And this very factor gets to the heart of the 'politics of consumption'. You don't go to the ghettoized neighbourhoods to interact with the 'locals'. You get your upper-middle class sanitized western based producer to BRING IT TO YOU. You get to take a little piece of the 'exotic' home with you. You could go to Chinatown and probably buy a pre-made mixture that is similar to this premade goo in a bottle... but...
3) Geopolitics: There is something to be said about going to Chinatown, or little India, little Thailand, or whatever - to buy the actual ingredients for your 'pad thai'. See in a city like Toronto - I do often go to Chinatown to buy produce - but there is a 'fear factor' when it comes to buying anything else. Most of the products have labels I can't read - when there is an English equivalent I don't even know what it is that I'm buying simply because - I'm so used to knowing things by their Western name! Being vegetarian doesn't help because I'm always concerned about what's actually 'in' my food (this point will be revisited later). Only recently, in a conversation with a friend, did i embarassedly discover that despite eating 3 different kinds of 'chinese dumplings' every Chinese New Year - I don't even know what they are freakin called! Shame on me, really.
I too, end up buying whatever I can find at my local loblaws if I plan to make a vegetable & tofu stir-fry.
There is also something to be said about 'urban geopolitics'. Historically, POC across North America and I'm guessing Europe (countries with histories of white surpremacy) certain districts and neighbourhoods were reserved for certain people - and not everyone had the opportunity to move into 'white neighbourhoods'. This obviously continues with indigenous populations to even today. There is definitely a certain element of 'self-segregation' among immigrant populations, but I don't know how it would be if 'racism' didn't exist.
4) Ghettoization: The benefits of this 'segregation' foster the phenomenon of 'urban sprawl' - i.e. as a fairly non-politicized MOC friend of mine noted the other day "A, you know if we (us south asians) all moved to Richmond Hill (suburb of Toronto) these guys (white ppl) would all move to Ajax - and you know that's exactly what's happening. The more we get into their neighbourhoods - the more North they move."
I couldn't help but admit that was one of the most brilliant observations I've ever heard to describe the phenonmenon of urban sprawl. You know kids the city is full of dangerous people... Another friend of mine (also non-politicized) white woman noted, "I don't think I want to go there alone, you know those neighbourhoods are quite dangerous. It's mainly because it's all these new immigrants..." And I cut her off right there. She apologized for the implication afterwards when I told her Richmond Hill was full of immigrants - who were wealthier than either of us - of course these groups are all 'model minority' Chinese and South Asian.
This brings us back to a point that I can never comment on enough - POC are good for their labour (unseen of course) but not as neighbours... 'eat the curry - don't live with the curry-maker'.
5) Capitalism and Ease: Another thing about this 'yuppiness' factor is that real yuppies anyways, aren't going to the hole in the wall the local cabbies go to on their break, no, they usually 'dial-a-delivery' or eat at a chichi place. So the psycho-social benefits a yuppy gets out of eating 'exotic' cuisine - is also dependent on which 5-star restaurant s/he gets it from. Again it becomes about how culture can cater to you as a consumer.
It's very similar to the travel industry. Speaking of which - you have to check out this lovely interactive 'tour of Sri Lanka' by the artist Sakun Samarkoon. Tour takes about 7 minutes, wait for a few seconds before changing the days (something interesting happens to each photo).
6)Orientalism/Exotification: Hole in the wall vs. 5-star. It's not necessarily true that a hole in the wall is going to be more 'authentic'. It will for sure be a lot cheaper. But a 5-star restaurant - depending on it's location and it's predominant clientele WILL often 'self-exotify' itself. I've noticed in smaller cities like Ottawa (where dining out really sucks - sorry), most 'ethnic' restaurants are intricately decorated with the things you'd never see in a restaurant from the originating country. I remember going to this one Thai restaurant in Ottawa and it was full of 'tourism' posters. You'd never see that in Bangkok. The few really big restaurants do have nice silks etc... But never quite like the restaurants you see that have a primarily 'white clientele'. Okay, if you don't get this point - check out this lovely restaurant "The East India Company" infamously named after the EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY - only the one time OWNERS of the entire indo-pak region... And I don't think the name of this restaurant is simply some pomo gone badly awry. I do have to admit they do make a lovely daal makhani. It would be quite interesting how the name would play out in a place as heavily populated with south asians as toronto (notice none of their locations are in cities with a huge south asian pop?). Check out this very insightful review by a food critic who notes the colonialized elements of another restaurant in Ottawa. From the article:
Is all this leaving a bit of a bad taste in your mouth? Maybe like me you think colonial pasts aren't something to be taken lightly? (This is particularly true of Portugal's role in Mozambique.) Yet Nando's marketing shtick (www.nandos.com) seems to be all about irreverently celebrating the Portuguese "explorers and settlers" as adventurous souls who knew how to live, love, eat and drink.
7) Random thoughts on health, nutrition and 'balancing': So, when we assume we are eating 'ethnic food' for the taste there are two things to consider healthwise:
a) you are probably only eating the ethnic foods that are the most popular items that have been preselected for a "western palate".
I can speak for Indian restaurants - the food there is equivalent to what we would eat at a damn wedding. That's why oddly enough you'll usually find pasta salad or pad thai at indian weddings. We're all so tired of eating the same shit everytime we go out to eat at an indian restaurant that we've run out of ideas of what to have at our own weddings in diaspora-land.
As Mandos notes here: "I find that a good Ethiopian restaurant is more like eating homestyle Indian food than Indian restaurants with the exception of southern Indian restaurants. Yes, there isn’t all that much relation between what you get at Indian restaurant and what gets eaten at home on a daily basis.".
So, essentially - you're eating a hell of a lot & not getting much of a nutritional benefit from it (as is for most restaurants in general, too).
b) As the world gets more 'globalized' our knowledge of food preparation (likewise with other indigenous and local forms of knowledge) is slowly diminishing. We are becoming far more reliant on companies who's main incentives are 'profit' over health. In fact the most 'fittest' people I know - are also the ones who spend time cooking their own food. As our diet is changing and we keep working longer hours - we end up eating a lot of 'pre-processed crap'. Cooking isn't just about 'taste' but rather 'nutrition' and ideas of how the body works.
When they say chicken soup is good for you when you have a cold, I don't think they were just 'making it up'. Similarly the bulk of Indian and Chinese medicinal systems were dependent on FOOD and NUTRITION of all things. The principles of hot and cold/balancing/herbs for cures and ailments.
Since as long back as I remember my mom has used 'turmeric' for treating many cuts and bruises. We even drink Kadhi in winter to ward off flus (it's got a lot of turmeric in it). My dad couldn't help but burst out laughing when western medical science recently "discovered" how turmeric was a 'cancer-fighter'.... Um, okay.... well then.. Thanks for the insight. Slowly such 'naturally available TASTES' are being replaced by laboratory created flavours (probably used in the pre-packaged goo we eat). Link to very interesting and scary article.
If anything - this could be one of the key 'arguments' for authenticity IMO.
8) Food of the weird other.... ooohhh somebody put a link to one of those 'what freaks eat type articles' on the pandagon thread. Fer goodness sakes, to vegetarians whether you eat maggots, rats, cats or SAUSAGES it's all the same. This element always makes me laugh real hard, because as much as the food yuppies eat is 'exotic' it's also 'weird' and 'different' and therefore a curiosity to be bought/owned.
9) Did I already mention the politics of labour division? Oh what the hell... I'll repeat myself using this lovely example from my FAVORITE show of all time - "Goodness, Gracious Me!". In this episode (only watch the first 3:55 mins) the troop does a take-on the British tradition of going out for an "Indian" on a regular Friday night:
This example comes complete with 'sexualized, other waiter' (because MOC bodies are sexually objectified as well).
I'm not saying that 'playing with your food' is 'racist' (that's a long stretch even for me - afterall I always add ketchup to ALL my 'curries' and HP sauce acts as a wonderful substitution to sugar-laden tamarind sauce) but rather that the debate about 'food and authenticity' expands beyond "authenticity" and ends up illustrating another example of negligent 'cultural appropriation' and furthers the capitalist 'cultural' commodification machine.
Okay, not buying what I've said? Then consider this, interesting is it not that President's Choice "PC Memories of Dad's Grill" is made of all things Canadiana: Maple, Apple & Beer Sauce. My dad only knows how to grill papad in the microwave no less...Recommended reading: Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste by Pierre Bourdieu (skip over all the statistics - yawn and get to the real 'meat' of it - great, great read for sure).
I am not a 'food studies' anything (but I am a pretty good cook!) - and have only recently gotten into reading a bit about it. If you have any recommendations, comments or ideas - please do share, I would love to learn more - feel free to debate this (that is if anyone manages to even read this) in the comments.
TY
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Not even a slap on the wrist for Joe boy afterall....
How do you take back a slap on the wrist? Okay, I'm not even going to bother typing out incoherent ramblings in a state of major pissed-offedness. Forget it....
Most charges against adult video series Girls Gone Wild producer dropped
January 04, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A judge dropped many felony charges against the producer of the popular adult video series Girls Gone Wilds on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges involving the filming of young girls at spring break on a Florida beach.
Only four felony charges and two misdemeanour counts remain in the 2003 case in which Joe Francis, the creator of the soft porn video empire, was charged with more than 40 criminal offences.
Prosecutors dropped much of their case against Francis and his company, Mantra Films, Inc., in early December after Circuit Judge Dedee Costello suppressed hundreds of hours of videotape seized from Francis' condominiums and private jet. Costello said authorities had improperly obtained search warrants.
"We are very pleased that the judge has dismissed the vast majority of the counts," Larry Simpson, a lawyer for Francis, said Thursday.
The remaining felony counts, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, charge Francis with using minors in sexual performances and conspiring to use minors in sexual performances. The two misdemeanour counts allege prostitution.
In her ruling, Costello said she did not dismiss the remaining felony charges because prosecutors have said a photographer and a cameraman might testify at the trial about the filming of the two 17-year-olds.
But Costello gave defence lawyers until Jan. 31 to file additional motions to dismiss the remaining charges.
"We continue to believe the entire case should be dismissed and we will be filing additional motions seeking the dismissal," Simpson said.
Read more on the link... I can't digest this at the moment. I can only wish him a very painful and torturous death.
Most charges against adult video series Girls Gone Wild producer dropped
January 04, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A judge dropped many felony charges against the producer of the popular adult video series Girls Gone Wilds on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges involving the filming of young girls at spring break on a Florida beach.
Only four felony charges and two misdemeanour counts remain in the 2003 case in which Joe Francis, the creator of the soft porn video empire, was charged with more than 40 criminal offences.
Prosecutors dropped much of their case against Francis and his company, Mantra Films, Inc., in early December after Circuit Judge Dedee Costello suppressed hundreds of hours of videotape seized from Francis' condominiums and private jet. Costello said authorities had improperly obtained search warrants.
"We are very pleased that the judge has dismissed the vast majority of the counts," Larry Simpson, a lawyer for Francis, said Thursday.
The remaining felony counts, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, charge Francis with using minors in sexual performances and conspiring to use minors in sexual performances. The two misdemeanour counts allege prostitution.
In her ruling, Costello said she did not dismiss the remaining felony charges because prosecutors have said a photographer and a cameraman might testify at the trial about the filming of the two 17-year-olds.
But Costello gave defence lawyers until Jan. 31 to file additional motions to dismiss the remaining charges.
"We continue to believe the entire case should be dismissed and we will be filing additional motions seeking the dismissal," Simpson said.
Read more on the link... I can't digest this at the moment. I can only wish him a very painful and torturous death.
Friday, December 29, 2006
My only 'preachy' vegetarian post...(summary of links)
I don't know what it was about today, but everywhere I went/didn't go seemed to address 'vegetarianism' it started with an email on a listserve, to a taxi cab conversation, because I also recently saw Fast Food Nation [excellent review at Feral Scholar] and then this song kept playing in my head because I feel exactly the way this song describes about everything that sucks about this world in general.
The unedited and extremely disturbing version of this song, can be found here - you must login to view it. It made me want to upchuck my veg lunch. Lyrics.
Okay, this post won't be as preachy as I thought it would be - because I don't think it's preachy to point out why consuming large amounts of meat is bad for this planet and indeed your health, there are of course 101 reasons for you to go veg if you haven't done so already. A recent UN report even highlights the major devastation that methane (in this case cow farts!) are having on the greenhouse effect [info via pandagon].
It's interesting because I think vegetarianism is definitely one of the most pressing 'leftist' issues today. It's an issue important for feminists, socialists, environmentalists and third worldists alike.
Of course you could just want to go veg cause it makes you 'smarter' (j/k). Or because you could take a justified piss at PeTA (Poopheads entitled to TnA), [link to no-status quo - not PeTA] because I just don't think it's right for me to talk about vegetarianism if I don't get to bash on the most widely recognized 'animal right's' organizations...
You would think PeTA was done with TnA?
Nopes...
Indeed - now they want to ensure if most of the world's women don't already feel shitty about themselves they can always 'go veg' to ensure that they do. PeTA I hate you! Don't ya know - you can be fat and fit? Or that you can be an overweight and unhealthy vegetarian??? Stop with your bullshit rhetoric already - and FUCK YOU!
Anyways, with the recent carrot juice (my favorite flavor too damnit) and spinach scares earlier this year, I think going organic AND buying local are by far the best options for a healthy and sustainable planet, period. Many mid-large cities offer delivery services for reasonably priced local produce.
Note: I like links, have you noticed? Links in this post are all actual links and not just some new spam that's highlighted some words and not others on your monitor...
Also: I was born a vegetarian (Hindu), so sometimes I feel slightly hypocritical discussing vegetarianism with people - because really I didn't have much of a choice (except that my parents were very open to me trying meat if I wanted to). I also recognize the Hindu-right's disgusting anti-Muslim discriminatory vegetarian views/policies in India. This is unfortunate but like extremists everywhere they've maligned an important issue for their own evil agendas. I am also a lacto-veg who has failed at many attempts at going vegan. I do consume very few milk products and that too it's limited to cheese and yogurt (flavors difficult to replicate via soy/rice based products). I will definitely try again.
PS. Sorry about the 'videopimp' logo on that video, I couldn't find one without it on Youtube.
The unedited and extremely disturbing version of this song, can be found here - you must login to view it. It made me want to upchuck my veg lunch. Lyrics.
Okay, this post won't be as preachy as I thought it would be - because I don't think it's preachy to point out why consuming large amounts of meat is bad for this planet and indeed your health, there are of course 101 reasons for you to go veg if you haven't done so already. A recent UN report even highlights the major devastation that methane (in this case cow farts!) are having on the greenhouse effect [info via pandagon].
It's interesting because I think vegetarianism is definitely one of the most pressing 'leftist' issues today. It's an issue important for feminists, socialists, environmentalists and third worldists alike.
Of course you could just want to go veg cause it makes you 'smarter' (j/k). Or because you could take a justified piss at PeTA (Poopheads entitled to TnA), [link to no-status quo - not PeTA] because I just don't think it's right for me to talk about vegetarianism if I don't get to bash on the most widely recognized 'animal right's' organizations...
You would think PeTA was done with TnA?
Nopes...
Indeed - now they want to ensure if most of the world's women don't already feel shitty about themselves they can always 'go veg' to ensure that they do. PeTA I hate you! Don't ya know - you can be fat and fit? Or that you can be an overweight and unhealthy vegetarian??? Stop with your bullshit rhetoric already - and FUCK YOU!
Anyways, with the recent carrot juice (my favorite flavor too damnit) and spinach scares earlier this year, I think going organic AND buying local are by far the best options for a healthy and sustainable planet, period. Many mid-large cities offer delivery services for reasonably priced local produce.
Note: I like links, have you noticed? Links in this post are all actual links and not just some new spam that's highlighted some words and not others on your monitor...
Also: I was born a vegetarian (Hindu), so sometimes I feel slightly hypocritical discussing vegetarianism with people - because really I didn't have much of a choice (except that my parents were very open to me trying meat if I wanted to). I also recognize the Hindu-right's disgusting anti-Muslim discriminatory vegetarian views/policies in India. This is unfortunate but like extremists everywhere they've maligned an important issue for their own evil agendas. I am also a lacto-veg who has failed at many attempts at going vegan. I do consume very few milk products and that too it's limited to cheese and yogurt (flavors difficult to replicate via soy/rice based products). I will definitely try again.
PS. Sorry about the 'videopimp' logo on that video, I couldn't find one without it on Youtube.
Monday, December 25, 2006
6 hrs left, and the airwaves are carol free....
I can't wait. If I have to hear 'feed the world' or 'deck the halls' one more time, I am going to throw my radio(s) out of the window, considering I live in a 50 storey building - my actions will result in an incredibly painful/fatal experience for some unsuspecting passerby. I am an avid radio listener, that means my radio is on 24/7 from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep, which also means I have one in every room.
Am I one of those crabby people waging the so-called 'war' on Christmas? No... In fact I've just been itching to share my anti-Christmas mood with anyone who'd listen. So here it is. And I'm not alone (yippers!).
I hate Christmas! There I said it! aaaahhhh relief. I really, really do. And sure, I could be one of those Indo-American (more specifically those who are religious minorities) folks who partake in a depoliticized version of this commercial garishness, I just can't get myself to do it.
I don't want to be an 'absolutist' about this event either, I mean hey it's fun to spend time with ppl you love and celebrations and pretty decorations are lovely and all. But I do wish Diwali was a two day holiday so I wouldn't have to rush and make a ginormous feast for everyone in a mere 2 hours. To be fair, I give presents to close friends who I know celebrate Christmas, I also give out presents to business associates and generously give an annual tip to maintenance people etc...
I guess, your vision of Christmas would have to largely depend on your parents. My parents who are far from Hindu fundamentalists (my dad 'was' an atheist and my mom's 'spiritual') were indeed adamant that 'no Santa did not distribute gifts to good Hindu kids'. I put up a stocking, didn't get anything - and voila, no whining about Christmas after that.
See, for diasporic religious minorities Christmas is either about Christian hegemony (though it's a former 'pagan' holiday) or it's about capitalism & the 'spirit' of the season.
Well, to me I think the former is a more efficient explanation of why so many religious minorities celebrate this festival. Only because we live in a white hegemony and well, I would buy the latter explanation if everyone didn't try to so hard to convince me that I'm too cynical and it's all 'harmless' fun.
Come on now, you hated having to explain why you didn't celebrate Christmas in the first place for the first x many years. You also hated having to explain why you never got presents. And it sucks to be left out. It really does... It's easier to enjoy an event when everyone else does (instead of demanding that there are more holidays!) and it feels good to fit in.
This way, we can all celebrate the season together - and since Santa's make-believe anyways, we can also pretend that an old, white patriarch who has un-supervised access to your home and who operates a sweatshop*, will always give to you if you play nice! :) You know the Janus-faced benevolent patriarch who 'gives' you something if he gets his way....
Anyways, we weren't the first group to celebrate Christmas and I'm sure we won't be the last.
venting done...
* Link via Spotted Elephant
Am I one of those crabby people waging the so-called 'war' on Christmas? No... In fact I've just been itching to share my anti-Christmas mood with anyone who'd listen. So here it is. And I'm not alone (yippers!).
I hate Christmas! There I said it! aaaahhhh relief. I really, really do. And sure, I could be one of those Indo-American (more specifically those who are religious minorities) folks who partake in a depoliticized version of this commercial garishness, I just can't get myself to do it.
I don't want to be an 'absolutist' about this event either, I mean hey it's fun to spend time with ppl you love and celebrations and pretty decorations are lovely and all. But I do wish Diwali was a two day holiday so I wouldn't have to rush and make a ginormous feast for everyone in a mere 2 hours. To be fair, I give presents to close friends who I know celebrate Christmas, I also give out presents to business associates and generously give an annual tip to maintenance people etc...
I guess, your vision of Christmas would have to largely depend on your parents. My parents who are far from Hindu fundamentalists (my dad 'was' an atheist and my mom's 'spiritual') were indeed adamant that 'no Santa did not distribute gifts to good Hindu kids'. I put up a stocking, didn't get anything - and voila, no whining about Christmas after that.
See, for diasporic religious minorities Christmas is either about Christian hegemony (though it's a former 'pagan' holiday) or it's about capitalism & the 'spirit' of the season.
Well, to me I think the former is a more efficient explanation of why so many religious minorities celebrate this festival. Only because we live in a white hegemony and well, I would buy the latter explanation if everyone didn't try to so hard to convince me that I'm too cynical and it's all 'harmless' fun.
Come on now, you hated having to explain why you didn't celebrate Christmas in the first place for the first x many years. You also hated having to explain why you never got presents. And it sucks to be left out. It really does... It's easier to enjoy an event when everyone else does (instead of demanding that there are more holidays!) and it feels good to fit in.
This way, we can all celebrate the season together - and since Santa's make-believe anyways, we can also pretend that an old, white patriarch who has un-supervised access to your home and who operates a sweatshop*, will always give to you if you play nice! :) You know the Janus-faced benevolent patriarch who 'gives' you something if he gets his way....
Anyways, we weren't the first group to celebrate Christmas and I'm sure we won't be the last.
venting done...
* Link via Spotted Elephant
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
HUHO: Help Us Help Ourselves - a Feminist Community Internet Project
Well, the first round of HUHO is closed and has been compiled, I think this was an ingenious idea put together by Lauren of Faux Real. *applause*
The idea is to get everyone to share what they can about areas of their interest/knowledge, in order to fit a shoestring budget. A skills database essentially, brought to you by feminists of ALL stripes and their allies. I think this idea is especially brilliant because of it's potential to share both personal and emotional knowledge so seldom reproduced in society. You might get a 'distanced' kind of learning from self-help books, magazines, etc...but it's depersonalized, removed and authoritarian (usually facilitates to reproduce the status quo not to counter it). It's really quite ironic that despite so much "self-help" and so many make-over shows and shit available, we're all a bit more miserable and always need more self-help and make-overs and shit.
IMO - it's precisely this distancing from personal experiences that allows for this. The personal has transformed from being a source of "knowledge" into being a "spectacle". We take the personal to be distrustful and so we laugh at it, but then we trust some dickwad who's great at dispensing cracker-jack philosophy and trust him (usually someone who's trying to sell us a something) - while we distance ourselves from each other...Coming from an Indian background - I can attest that what my grandmother says isn't assumed to be 'quackery', but rather needs to be 'respected', cherished and believed. When I say this, I'm not talking about 'traditions', I'm talking pragmatically about 'experiential knowledge'.
Okay, I've rambled too much.
Anyways - check out the great tips from everything to child-rearing, tasty recipes to how to take advantage of public transport.
From now on, I'm adding a HUHO category to my blog - anything that is 'accessible, affordable or useful' will be put into this category.
Read more here. (My contributions so far: Cheap Cough Syrup and Depression Advice)
The idea is to get everyone to share what they can about areas of their interest/knowledge, in order to fit a shoestring budget. A skills database essentially, brought to you by feminists of ALL stripes and their allies. I think this idea is especially brilliant because of it's potential to share both personal and emotional knowledge so seldom reproduced in society. You might get a 'distanced' kind of learning from self-help books, magazines, etc...but it's depersonalized, removed and authoritarian (usually facilitates to reproduce the status quo not to counter it). It's really quite ironic that despite so much "self-help" and so many make-over shows and shit available, we're all a bit more miserable and always need more self-help and make-overs and shit.
IMO - it's precisely this distancing from personal experiences that allows for this. The personal has transformed from being a source of "knowledge" into being a "spectacle". We take the personal to be distrustful and so we laugh at it, but then we trust some dickwad who's great at dispensing cracker-jack philosophy and trust him (usually someone who's trying to sell us a something) - while we distance ourselves from each other...Coming from an Indian background - I can attest that what my grandmother says isn't assumed to be 'quackery', but rather needs to be 'respected', cherished and believed. When I say this, I'm not talking about 'traditions', I'm talking pragmatically about 'experiential knowledge'.
Okay, I've rambled too much.
Anyways - check out the great tips from everything to child-rearing, tasty recipes to how to take advantage of public transport.
From now on, I'm adding a HUHO category to my blog - anything that is 'accessible, affordable or useful' will be put into this category.
Read more here. (My contributions so far: Cheap Cough Syrup and Depression Advice)
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