Journal Entries
Another $Fortune$ Cookie
Posted Apr 6, 2001
Several months ago, I got a fortune cookie that was astoundingly odd. It told me I would become the heir to a small kingdom in Europe. Not believing there were any kingdoms there left up for grabs, I was a bit confused to say the least.
Yesterday my coworkers and I ordered out to the same Chinese restaurant where I got the original fortune cookie. They opened their cookies to the same boring round of good tidings people have come to expect. And I got another odd one!
'A large sum of money will be deposited in your account weekly.' !!!
Wow! This one, at least, has the facts straight. It even seems to have been penned this century. And yet.... What is this with me getting hints at monetary fortunes in these cookies?
I'm sorry. But I want to earn my fortune. I want it to take years of hard work. Afterwards, when I have retired to spend more time with my family, I want to have interesting stories to tell my grandchildren about my experiences.
Instead, I'm beginning to wonder whether my local Chinese restaurant isn't running a bookie shop in the back...
Argh!
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Latest reply: Apr 6, 2001
Follow-Up to Disturbing Notion
Posted Mar 14, 2001
I just wanted to follow up on my previous journal entry. Thanks to everyone who replied, although there was less time to do so than would have been ideal due to h2g2's shutdown. In any case, I do have good news to report.
The student in question was dishearted by the class' early response to his opinions. He considered dropping out of the class briefly. But he stuck with it. Several women in the class proceeded to do projects on female body image over the next few weeks, more for themselves than for his education.
I chose not to be among these, because body image is really not an issue with me. I went through the process of understanding the conundrum many years ago, and now see myself as having the ability to present myself malleably according to my own personal needs at the time. I spend most of my time without makeup or other feminine adornment.
Perhaps because I wasn't one of the active preachers on this subject, the student came to me a couple of times for help in class. This started with questions about spelling and printing to the color printer. But by the end of the course, he felt okay discussing his final project with me and asking for my opinion on it.
His final project quite literally puts a man into the woman's traditional shoes. He has photographed a young man wearing uncomfortable clothing, noticing eye contact consistently aimed below his face, and feeling he is underappreciated as a person because he is viewed as a sexual object. This photographed narrator changes his mind about how he views women, and treats them better once normality is restored.
It isn't explained how the young man came to his unusual position, or how he got out of it. But I think you and I can assume that the fellow had a moment of empathy sometime during the course. He should be proud. 
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Latest reply: Mar 14, 2001
A Disturbing Notion
Posted Jan 12, 2001
Last evening in one of my college classes, the students were asked to discuss their ideas for a collage. The assignment was to depict yourself or your views on society in a deep and meaningful way. As a few students spoke up, common themes started to emerge, like personal identify in the digital age, gender norms, and ego vs. id.
One fellow wanted to describe his views on women with a collage that portrayed ladies from fashion magazines in a poor light, while praising the physical qualities of women featured in pornographic magazines. As he put it, 'They're just so much more real than, Cosmo, you know? They're not airbrushed or anything.'
Can anyone tell me whether this is a common view among inexperienced young men? Among our own class, the women were quite universal in their disapproval. But the men seemed roughly divided in their response. A couple of men seemed thoroughly uncomfortable discussing the subject at all, as if they feared being lynched over their views.
As the women tried to explain why they felt pornography for men doesn't depict 'real' women, the student who proposed the collage did his best to respond. First, he explained, he wasn't referring to magazines like Penthouse and Playboy. He was talking about hardcore amateurs. When this argument didn't help, he suggested that he could perhaps use gay male porn instead. He couldn't understand why this switch didn't satisfy the women in the room.
Any thoughts on how to enlighten a young man convinced that hardcore amateur porn is the 'real deal' about women?
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Latest reply: Jan 12, 2001
*Fortune* Cookie
Posted Dec 6, 2000
I just had one of those great 'Twilight Zone' moments. You know, you're doing something perfectly ordinary and something pops up that strikes you as so bizarre you have to check if you really saw or experienced what you did. Is it a sign of a massive conspiracy? Would everyone else call you crazy if you told them?
I ordered Chinese food along with my fellow employees from a local delivery shop. I like to top off such a meal with the crunchy and vaguely lemony taste of a fortune cookie. But when I opened mine and looked inside with my usual skepticism, I was in for a bit of surprise.
"You'll be chosen to be the heir of a kingdom in Europe."
What? What kind of fortune is that?
I mean, you're supposed to get a fortune. But usually this is a piece of pithy advice, or perhaps a generalization on life. We're talking about the second definition of 'fortune' here -- as in 'I'll read your fortune' or 'fortune smiles on you.'
But I got a real *fortune* cookie. I mean, according to this thing I'm about to be quite well off indeed. Good lord! How many people get fortune cookies like this every year? Does anybody believe them? Has anyone ever sold all their worldly possessions in anticipation of their soon-to-be-crowning as the King of Norway?
Why would anyone even create a fortune cookie like that? I mean, what's the point?
So I dunno. I don't think I'll window shop for tiaras or write bogus checks for millions just yet. But perhaps I will hang on to the fortune cookie, if only to remind myself that people (including me) really are a bunch of gullible gits.
Still. Does anyone know if Lichtenstein is available for purchase? 
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Latest reply: Dec 6, 2000
Giving Thanks
Posted Nov 24, 2000
Today is Thanksgiving here in America.
It's an interesting holiday. School children are fed ridiculous dogma about pilgrims and indians sitting around a table, sharing a great bounty after the end of a horrible famine. They are told that the indians taught the white man how to raise corn. They are made to create stupid paper versions of the silly outfits supposedly worn on each side of the table.
Only later do they understand that the white man "thanked" the indians by wiping out most of their tribes and driving the rest to the least suitable areas for human survival. Only later do they begin to understand the current state of unemployment, alcoholism, and discrimination most American Indians now face.
I felt guilty when I found out. It wasn't so much guilt about what my ancestors did. I felt ashamed for believing the easy lie, and for being unsensitive to the real social issues. I sometimes wonder if I was the only one who experienced this.
The good part about Thanksgiving is that Americans are encouraged to remember what they have to be thankful about. Even better, there is a tacit discouragement in regards to listing materials goods. You're not supposed to say that you're greatful for your new Ferrari, or that you're ecstatic you could finally afford that boob job last month.
We remember for one day and one day only to be thankful that we're in good health, that we have friends and family that care for us, and that we have found a way to be useful to society. It teaches us humility, and I think Americans could generally use more of that. So I'm very big on Thanksgiving -- dubious historical merits aside.
While going through my thanks today, I realized that I'm greatful I found h2g2. I'm greatful for the friends I have here. You all know who you are, I think. You have helped me forge many interesting discussions. You have been there with a kind word when I was feeling down. You have helped me change my mind when I was wrong, and perhaps allowed me to help you change yours. Best of all, you have respected my individuality without question and without condemnation.
Thanks.
Discuss this Journal entry [10]
Latest reply: Nov 24, 2000
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