Years ago it was always my feeling that "long johns" were basically just for older men - old fogies who apparently thought it was too cold all the time and yet refused to turn up the heat.
Now that I am 35 however, and work outside regularly - despite the cold - my opinion on long johns and thermal underwear has changed dramatically.
Especially as my interest in hunting has increased (I am thinking about getting my hunting license) I now understand the necessity of having "base layers" underneath my regular clothing in order to keep me warmer when outside for long periods of time (the status quo for hunting).
So as I have gotten older I guess I have become more practical about these things. It is similar to how I didn't used to wear toques when I was younger, but roughly around 2004 I started wearing toques regularly whenever outside.
I have also concluded that thermal underwear / long johns on women... quite sexy. I wouldn't have thought so back when I was a teenager, but I guess that was 20 years ago and my opinion has changed dramatically.
Look at the photo below and you will see what I mean. Fashion companies should be marketing long johns to women more! They basically look like tight fitting pajamas.
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Monday, December 01, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
The Perfect Female Body Vs The Perfect Male Body
Long before Leonardo Da Vinci drew the "Vitruvian Man" - a drawing of what he considered to be the perfect proportions of the male body, mathematically set forth, men and women have long argued what the perfect appearance is.
Amongst either sex there is no consensus, but there are definitely trends and these trends can be compared visually after significant polling. For example we know that men prefer an hourglass frame that has a ratio of 3-2-3 (eg. 36-24-36) whereas women prefer women to have a skinnier, less meaty / less curvy frame.
When comparing men however, women again prefer the skinnier man - whereas men want the man to be more muscular (and likewise more curvy).
Back to the hourglass topic, when it comes SHAPE, men prefer women who have an hourglass shape. An A, V or O shape just doesn't cut it.
In contrast male shapes are considered to be more attractive if they are close to a V or wide V shape. Large hips on a man is too synonymous with fat and considered to be unattractive.
On the issue of fat men prefer women are neither skinny nor overweight - but rather has a decent amount of both fat and muscle on them. Too much or too little is considered unattractive. But the one in the middle is "just right".
Now you might think this is just the old school (and out dated) concept of ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph - the concept that people are genetically one shape and have no power to change their shape. This outdated concept however ignores dramatic improvements in health standards made in the last 100 years and much newer understandings of fitness, nutrition and the roles they play in shaping our bodies. There are people who go through their lives and may have been skinny during high school, bulky up (matured) during university, and later put on some weight during their 40s and 50s. People are not genetically stuck in one shape. Bone structure and genetics does play a role, but people can still change their body fat and muscle levels to the extent that they will take on totally new shapes.
Thus a person who is too skinny could simply eat more, exercise more and become athletic / more curvy - and someone who eats too much, lacks exercise will become overweight.
The good news however is that for women curves and an hourglass shape is very beneficial for attracting a mate. For men the emphasis is on having toned muscles - without going overboard with them to the point they look ridiculous.
If the person is too curvy in the case of women or too muscular in the case of men then they start too look like a circus freak, an oddity that just looks "too much" - as shown by the two images below of a woman who is ridiculously curvy and a man with overdeveloped back muscles that looks just plain ridiculous. (It should be noted that both of these people are posing for the camera, showing a great degree of narcissism for their own bodies.)
Nobody likes a narcissist except themselves (and that love affair is freakishly annoying to everyone else). They might as well get a t-shirt of Vanity Smurf staring at himself so that everyone can be reminded of how boring narcissists are.
See also
The Perfect Female Body
The Perfect Male Body
Amongst either sex there is no consensus, but there are definitely trends and these trends can be compared visually after significant polling. For example we know that men prefer an hourglass frame that has a ratio of 3-2-3 (eg. 36-24-36) whereas women prefer women to have a skinnier, less meaty / less curvy frame.
When comparing men however, women again prefer the skinnier man - whereas men want the man to be more muscular (and likewise more curvy).
Back to the hourglass topic, when it comes SHAPE, men prefer women who have an hourglass shape. An A, V or O shape just doesn't cut it.
In contrast male shapes are considered to be more attractive if they are close to a V or wide V shape. Large hips on a man is too synonymous with fat and considered to be unattractive.
On the issue of fat men prefer women are neither skinny nor overweight - but rather has a decent amount of both fat and muscle on them. Too much or too little is considered unattractive. But the one in the middle is "just right".
Now you might think this is just the old school (and out dated) concept of ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph - the concept that people are genetically one shape and have no power to change their shape. This outdated concept however ignores dramatic improvements in health standards made in the last 100 years and much newer understandings of fitness, nutrition and the roles they play in shaping our bodies. There are people who go through their lives and may have been skinny during high school, bulky up (matured) during university, and later put on some weight during their 40s and 50s. People are not genetically stuck in one shape. Bone structure and genetics does play a role, but people can still change their body fat and muscle levels to the extent that they will take on totally new shapes.
Thus a person who is too skinny could simply eat more, exercise more and become athletic / more curvy - and someone who eats too much, lacks exercise will become overweight.
The good news however is that for women curves and an hourglass shape is very beneficial for attracting a mate. For men the emphasis is on having toned muscles - without going overboard with them to the point they look ridiculous.
If the person is too curvy in the case of women or too muscular in the case of men then they start too look like a circus freak, an oddity that just looks "too much" - as shown by the two images below of a woman who is ridiculously curvy and a man with overdeveloped back muscles that looks just plain ridiculous. (It should be noted that both of these people are posing for the camera, showing a great degree of narcissism for their own bodies.)
Nobody likes a narcissist except themselves (and that love affair is freakishly annoying to everyone else). They might as well get a t-shirt of Vanity Smurf staring at himself so that everyone can be reminded of how boring narcissists are.
See also
The Perfect Female Body
The Perfect Male Body
Labels:
beauty
Friday, November 14, 2014
Raptophobia Vs Homophobia
Raptophobia is the fear of rape.
Homophobia is the fear of homosexuals.
I bring up this topic for two reasons: 1. There is a clear difference between these two things. 2. Because I was watching the final season of Spartacus last night, including the scene where Julius Caesar gets raped by Tiberius Crassus, the son of Marcus Crassus.
Caesar was not afraid of Tiberius prior to the rape. He didn't like him because he was a rival and they were both hungry for power, but their sexualities played no role in it.
During the season, Tiberius rapes two people, Caesar and also a slave girl belonging to Tiberius' father Marcus Crassus. When Tiberius is captured in a trap by Spartacus, Caesar is sent to barter for Tiberius' life (even though Caesar now secretly wants him dead), and after negotiating for his release the boy is killed by the slave girl he had raped (who had fled her master and joined up with Spartacus' army out of fear of her master's son). So Caesar was actually pleased at that turn of events.
It is a complicated plot I admit. I am summarizing and abbreviating as best as I can. Watch the whole series if you want more details.
No where in the plot is there homophobia. But there is raptophobia - the fear of rape - a theme which continues from first season onwards, a smaller part of the master vs slave theme of the whole series which leads Spartacus into leading a slave rebellion against their Roman masters.
I think however that there is an important distinction between the fear of rape and the so-called fear of homosexuals. Having a healthy fear of being raped is normal. Everyone is afraid of rape, much like we are all afraid of dying, public speaking, etc. Having an actual fear of homosexuals suggests it is an irrational fear.
If we say "Rob Ford is a homophobe." does that mean he pees his pants and runs away every time he meets a gay person? No. He does not. (Although it would be funny if he did.)
The terms "homophobe" and "homophobia" are really inaccurate. What we really should be saying is "Rob Ford hates homosexuals." because that is more accurate.
It would be like confusing raptophilia (people who get turned on by rape) with raptophobia (people who are afraid of being raped) or raptodium (the hatred of rapists and rape, from the latin words rapto and odium).
Thus the proper way to say it is actually "Rob Ford is a homodiumite." Which I admit homodiumite doesn't roll off the tongue quite so easily, but at least it is accurate.
Thus when you hear or read about religious wackos thumping their bibles and saying horrible things about gay people, those people are not really afraid of gay people. They are just homodiumites - people who have an irrational hatred of gay people.
It has nothing to do with raptophobia or homophobia. They aren't pissing themselves in fear. They are just bigots who love hating things.
Raptophobia is sometimes associated with androphobia (the fear of men). This is not to be confused with androdium (the hatred of men), although sometimes fear and hatred coincide where rape victims are concerned.
For example I hate spammers. All spammers should die long and horrible deaths. Telemarketers too. They should all be crucified outside the city to warn others not to spam people or you will end up getting crucified too. That makes me a "spammerodiumite".
It is not like I am afraid of spam or spammers. I just hate them and I wish they would stop spamming me.
For the record I am very happy Rob Ford is no longer the mayor of Toronto. Now if only John Tory would have a "dead prostitute scandal" or something similar that would push him out of office I would be happy. Seriously. John Tory looks like the type of politician who has a few dead prostitute skeletons in the closet. You never know, he might even make Rob Ford look like a loveable jerk if people discover John Tory has been sneaking around doing some pretty nasty stuff.
But regardless of my disgust of John Tory, I will at least say that he still had the balls to go to Toronto's Gay Pride Parade (unlike Rob Ford who ignored his mayoral duties for 4 years). Although admittedly he did use his participation in the event as a blatant attempt to win votes. Meh. At least he showed up.
Homophobia is the fear of homosexuals.
I bring up this topic for two reasons: 1. There is a clear difference between these two things. 2. Because I was watching the final season of Spartacus last night, including the scene where Julius Caesar gets raped by Tiberius Crassus, the son of Marcus Crassus.
Caesar was not afraid of Tiberius prior to the rape. He didn't like him because he was a rival and they were both hungry for power, but their sexualities played no role in it.
During the season, Tiberius rapes two people, Caesar and also a slave girl belonging to Tiberius' father Marcus Crassus. When Tiberius is captured in a trap by Spartacus, Caesar is sent to barter for Tiberius' life (even though Caesar now secretly wants him dead), and after negotiating for his release the boy is killed by the slave girl he had raped (who had fled her master and joined up with Spartacus' army out of fear of her master's son). So Caesar was actually pleased at that turn of events.
It is a complicated plot I admit. I am summarizing and abbreviating as best as I can. Watch the whole series if you want more details.
No where in the plot is there homophobia. But there is raptophobia - the fear of rape - a theme which continues from first season onwards, a smaller part of the master vs slave theme of the whole series which leads Spartacus into leading a slave rebellion against their Roman masters.
I think however that there is an important distinction between the fear of rape and the so-called fear of homosexuals. Having a healthy fear of being raped is normal. Everyone is afraid of rape, much like we are all afraid of dying, public speaking, etc. Having an actual fear of homosexuals suggests it is an irrational fear.
If we say "Rob Ford is a homophobe." does that mean he pees his pants and runs away every time he meets a gay person? No. He does not. (Although it would be funny if he did.)
The terms "homophobe" and "homophobia" are really inaccurate. What we really should be saying is "Rob Ford hates homosexuals." because that is more accurate.
It would be like confusing raptophilia (people who get turned on by rape) with raptophobia (people who are afraid of being raped) or raptodium (the hatred of rapists and rape, from the latin words rapto and odium).
Thus the proper way to say it is actually "Rob Ford is a homodiumite." Which I admit homodiumite doesn't roll off the tongue quite so easily, but at least it is accurate.
Thus when you hear or read about religious wackos thumping their bibles and saying horrible things about gay people, those people are not really afraid of gay people. They are just homodiumites - people who have an irrational hatred of gay people.
It has nothing to do with raptophobia or homophobia. They aren't pissing themselves in fear. They are just bigots who love hating things.
Raptophobia is sometimes associated with androphobia (the fear of men). This is not to be confused with androdium (the hatred of men), although sometimes fear and hatred coincide where rape victims are concerned.
For example I hate spammers. All spammers should die long and horrible deaths. Telemarketers too. They should all be crucified outside the city to warn others not to spam people or you will end up getting crucified too. That makes me a "spammerodiumite".
It is not like I am afraid of spam or spammers. I just hate them and I wish they would stop spamming me.
For the record I am very happy Rob Ford is no longer the mayor of Toronto. Now if only John Tory would have a "dead prostitute scandal" or something similar that would push him out of office I would be happy. Seriously. John Tory looks like the type of politician who has a few dead prostitute skeletons in the closet. You never know, he might even make Rob Ford look like a loveable jerk if people discover John Tory has been sneaking around doing some pretty nasty stuff.
But regardless of my disgust of John Tory, I will at least say that he still had the balls to go to Toronto's Gay Pride Parade (unlike Rob Ford who ignored his mayoral duties for 4 years). Although admittedly he did use his participation in the event as a blatant attempt to win votes. Meh. At least he showed up.
Labels:
crime,
funny,
psychology,
sex
Thursday, July 31, 2014
English Slang Terms for Gentleman's Sausage and Milady's Rosebush
Penis 1. Maypole (1621) 2. Pioneer of nature (1653) 3. Master John Goodfellow (1653) 4. Generating tool (1653) 5. Evesdropper (1653) 6. Cyprian scepter (1653) 7. Don Cypriano (1653) 8. Matrimonial peacemaker (1708) 9. Gentleman usher (1719) 10. Rule of three (1720)—this refers to the whole genital area 11. Silent flute (1720) 12. Arbor vitae (1732) 13. Impudence (1783) 14. Staff of life (1836) 15. Mr. Peaslin (1883) 16. Credentials (1895) | Vagina 1. Belle-chose (1386) 2. Altar of Venus (1584) 3. Netherlands (1591) 4. Placket-lace (1593) 5. Phoenix nest (1618) 6. Nature’s treasury (1635) 7. Contrapunctum (1653) 8. Privy-counsel (1664) 9. Aphrodisiacal tennis court (1665) 10. Lady’s low toupee (1721) 11. Mount Pleasant (1748) 12. Petticoat lane (1790) 13. Venerable monosyllable (1796) 14. Fancy article (1822) 15. Mrs. Fubbs’ parlor (1823) 16. Antipodes (1832) 17. Thatched cottage (1835) 18. Cyprian fountain (1846) 19. Road to a christening (1903) |
Monday, July 28, 2014
Old Married Couples who Argue at Work
Old married couples argue a lot. You know the ones I mean.
Especially if your parents argued a LOT and never got divorced even though they wanted to get divorced but "stayed together for the kids". Then you will know what I mean on an intimate level because it happened to you.
But I have to wonder which is more traumatic for a child:
1) Getting a divorce.
2) Staying together and putting your kids through hell as you argue constantly.
Option 2 could even include spousal abuse, which means the children might be witnessing all manner of spouse on spouse violence - and growing up might continue that cycle of violence with their own spouse.
Any kind of spousal abuse is immediate grounds for divorce in my book. Regardless of who the victim of the abuse is, they should also make efforts to document the abuse with photos, video and visiting a doctor, and police.
And back up photos / videos online so the spouse cannot delete them. Quick and easy way to do that is to email the files to a friend or family member for safekeeping. Or multiple friends / family members.
Anyway, even without abuse you need to be thinking "What is the effect of all this arguing on the children?"
Well it is traumatizing to say the least. To the point that children sometimes run away, attempt suicide due to stress, get into drugs or alcohol, develop severe depression, become violent and act out, etc. I don't have any scientific studies to back this up, this is just my observations based on years of witnessing various parents who probably should not be together and argue so much their kids are traumatized.
It would be very interesting to see a scientific study done on the topic. It is possible there is several studies on the topic, so feel free to try and find one and then post the link in the comments.
Especially if your parents argued a LOT and never got divorced even though they wanted to get divorced but "stayed together for the kids". Then you will know what I mean on an intimate level because it happened to you.
But I have to wonder which is more traumatic for a child:
1) Getting a divorce.
2) Staying together and putting your kids through hell as you argue constantly.
Option 2 could even include spousal abuse, which means the children might be witnessing all manner of spouse on spouse violence - and growing up might continue that cycle of violence with their own spouse.
Any kind of spousal abuse is immediate grounds for divorce in my book. Regardless of who the victim of the abuse is, they should also make efforts to document the abuse with photos, video and visiting a doctor, and police.
And back up photos / videos online so the spouse cannot delete them. Quick and easy way to do that is to email the files to a friend or family member for safekeeping. Or multiple friends / family members.
Anyway, even without abuse you need to be thinking "What is the effect of all this arguing on the children?"
Well it is traumatizing to say the least. To the point that children sometimes run away, attempt suicide due to stress, get into drugs or alcohol, develop severe depression, become violent and act out, etc. I don't have any scientific studies to back this up, this is just my observations based on years of witnessing various parents who probably should not be together and argue so much their kids are traumatized.
It would be very interesting to see a scientific study done on the topic. It is possible there is several studies on the topic, so feel free to try and find one and then post the link in the comments.
Labels:
children,
funny,
love,
psychology,
relationships,
romance
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Male Forgetfulness / Distractions at Work
I am feeling guilty today because I forgot something important yesterday - and I am in the proverbial doghouse today because of it.
Now I admit I was very busy working yesterday plus I am suffering from an allergic reaction to a bee sting that has me limping everywhere.
But I still should have remembered.
I admit it. I am not making up excuses. Yes I was super busy. Yes I was distracted from the pain I was in. But I still should have remembered.
Think of the worst thing you could forget about when it comes to your wife or girlfriend, and there you go. That is what I forgot.
Even if you are thinking of the same thing I am thinking of you should still be: "Oh!!!!! Yep, you totally should not have forgotten that! You're pretty dumb to forget that!!!"
So apparently I am pretty dumb.
And I feel really guilty and bad about it. Moron me forgot something this important.
Next week...
Apologies at Work. How to Apologize for being a Braindead Boyfriend.
Now I admit I was very busy working yesterday plus I am suffering from an allergic reaction to a bee sting that has me limping everywhere.
But I still should have remembered.
I admit it. I am not making up excuses. Yes I was super busy. Yes I was distracted from the pain I was in. But I still should have remembered.
Think of the worst thing you could forget about when it comes to your wife or girlfriend, and there you go. That is what I forgot.
Even if you are thinking of the same thing I am thinking of you should still be: "Oh!!!!! Yep, you totally should not have forgotten that! You're pretty dumb to forget that!!!"
So apparently I am pretty dumb.
And I feel really guilty and bad about it. Moron me forgot something this important.
Next week...
Apologies at Work. How to Apologize for being a Braindead Boyfriend.
Labels:
psychology,
relationships
Friday, July 04, 2014
A Guy Moment at Work
Today I want to talk about GUY MOMENTS. Moments that only GUYS will understand.
There will be similar female equivalents to these moments, but how women describe such a moment and how men describe Guy Moments are very different.
I will give examples.
One time I was sitting on the subway and across from me was another guy roughly my age. Then a beautiful woman with an amazing *** walks by. Both of our heads turn and we watch her lovely *** leave the subway at the next stop. Then we turned to look at each with goofy boyish grins on our faces. Then I said to him "I think she works out." He grinned and nodded. "Yep. That girl definitely likes to work on her assets."
And there you go. Two men oggling the same woman and sharing the moment without fighting over her.
In a very different scenario two men might have fought over. A bar, they had both been drinking, the girl had made sexual advances on both men and played one against the other deliberately. That could lead to a very different guy moment wherein one man says to the other: "Well I guess we should just roll up our sleeves, go outside and fight this out."
And the other guy goes: "We could. Or we could play darts and the winner gets to ask her out. Less police involved. And if either of us disputes the winner we can still fight it out in the alley later."
And there you go. A Guy Moment wherein two men realize they can solve their problem more amicably by playing darts and not falling for some lame trick by the female to determine which is the Alpha Male. (Certain types of women are only attracted to Alpha Men.)
Here is a 3rd example of a Guy Moment:
Two men seeing something happening and both decide to act at the same time to prevent a disaster. They might even speak in unison if they are thinking the same thing, such as "Grab the other end of the ladder!"
Now you might think, wait, how is that a Guy Moment? Can't a woman think fast in an emergency too? Yes of course they can. But a woman's plan of action will often differ dramatically from a man's plan of action because many men think in terms of simplistic brute force. Eg. "Lets just charge at the gunman and whack him with the ladder!"
Now I admit, yes, some women might come up with a plan such as hitting someone with a big aluminum ladder - but it would be very few women who would come up with such a plan that requires that level of brute force.
Here is another example of how two men might share the same thought. Faced with a deranged gunman who starts shooting people at random, both men decide 'simultaneously' to kick the gunman in the testes. Now women are able to have that thought, but when a man thinks of that there is also the acknowledgement that they know how PAINFUL getting kicked in the testes is - both on a physical level and psychologically.
(True, women might - if they are a mother - know the pain of childbirth, but that is a feeling not all women experience - and it is not a true equivalent.) Thus only men who have kicked in the testes - as most men have, at least once been on the receiving end - can truly appreciate the sense of comraderie when two men decide upon the same action.
Doubtless you can think of your own Guy Moments. Please write them in the comments section.
There will be similar female equivalents to these moments, but how women describe such a moment and how men describe Guy Moments are very different.
I will give examples.
One time I was sitting on the subway and across from me was another guy roughly my age. Then a beautiful woman with an amazing *** walks by. Both of our heads turn and we watch her lovely *** leave the subway at the next stop. Then we turned to look at each with goofy boyish grins on our faces. Then I said to him "I think she works out." He grinned and nodded. "Yep. That girl definitely likes to work on her assets."
And there you go. Two men oggling the same woman and sharing the moment without fighting over her.
In a very different scenario two men might have fought over. A bar, they had both been drinking, the girl had made sexual advances on both men and played one against the other deliberately. That could lead to a very different guy moment wherein one man says to the other: "Well I guess we should just roll up our sleeves, go outside and fight this out."
And the other guy goes: "We could. Or we could play darts and the winner gets to ask her out. Less police involved. And if either of us disputes the winner we can still fight it out in the alley later."
And there you go. A Guy Moment wherein two men realize they can solve their problem more amicably by playing darts and not falling for some lame trick by the female to determine which is the Alpha Male. (Certain types of women are only attracted to Alpha Men.)
Here is a 3rd example of a Guy Moment:
Two men seeing something happening and both decide to act at the same time to prevent a disaster. They might even speak in unison if they are thinking the same thing, such as "Grab the other end of the ladder!"
Now you might think, wait, how is that a Guy Moment? Can't a woman think fast in an emergency too? Yes of course they can. But a woman's plan of action will often differ dramatically from a man's plan of action because many men think in terms of simplistic brute force. Eg. "Lets just charge at the gunman and whack him with the ladder!"
Now I admit, yes, some women might come up with a plan such as hitting someone with a big aluminum ladder - but it would be very few women who would come up with such a plan that requires that level of brute force.
Here is another example of how two men might share the same thought. Faced with a deranged gunman who starts shooting people at random, both men decide 'simultaneously' to kick the gunman in the testes. Now women are able to have that thought, but when a man thinks of that there is also the acknowledgement that they know how PAINFUL getting kicked in the testes is - both on a physical level and psychologically.
(True, women might - if they are a mother - know the pain of childbirth, but that is a feeling not all women experience - and it is not a true equivalent.) Thus only men who have kicked in the testes - as most men have, at least once been on the receiving end - can truly appreciate the sense of comraderie when two men decide upon the same action.
Doubtless you can think of your own Guy Moments. Please write them in the comments section.
Labels:
funny,
psychology
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Concrete Buffers at Work / Funny!
I swear, you can actually see the men "thinking" as they try to figure out this problem.
The problem is an out of control piece of machinery, a concrete buffer, and the men trying to figure out how to stop the thing for spinning out of control. Hilarious.
The problem is an out of control piece of machinery, a concrete buffer, and the men trying to figure out how to stop the thing for spinning out of control. Hilarious.
Labels:
funny
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Single Vs In A Relationship
I chose to share this because it was funny. Huzzah for being in a relationship! Sucks to be the people who are not.
Labels:
funny,
relationships
Monday, May 26, 2014
Battle of the Sexes - Cheating and Essay Writing
By Greg Lancaster
Is there a difference between men and women when it comes to their motivations for cheating?
[And by cheating we are talking about cheating in school, hiring an essay writing service, using cheat notes in class, etc. For once we are not talking about relationships and cheating on your wife/husband.]
There is more and more pressure in school to be the best in university and college. Students are using more alternative (otherwise known as academically dishonest) resources to get that elusive grade because of that pressure. You hear of people getting access to tests from former students or people who get someone else to write their essay for them at major universities - especially in bigger cities like Toronto and NYC. The companies that promote their essay writing services focus on the biggest cities the most.
Now, of course, strictly speaking these methods are not in keeping with academic honesty, which usually states that the work you hand in is the work you created with your own hands and thoughts. So if you get someone else to give you information that you should not have or you get someone to write or help you write something that you should have written yourself in order to the upper hand you are effectively "cheating". So essentially, what people are doing is not in keeping with the spirit of pursuing academic endeavours - and not really learning anything either.
However for our purposes does we have to ask the question, do motivations for cheating differ for men and women?
If we look at studies we start to get an impression of what students think about cheating and what contributes to their motives for cheating. In one study, that looked at over 500 students in 3 different universities in the United States of America, researchers found that the students were much more accepting of cheating behaviour as a whole than the faculty expected them to be. The study focused on student in business related studies (accounting, management, marketing, etc...) and found that they were sometimes unaware that a certain behaviour was cheating behaviour (or so they said), unaccepting that it was cheating behaviour or uncaring that it was cheating behaviour.
In general, people feel that men are more likely to cheat than women. Women are seen as the fairer sex and that they are nurturing and caring. It is hard to imagine your loving and caring mother as that massively unethical cheating person because it just goes against what our image of mothers are. Men on the other hand are seen as aggressive and powerful so cheating behaviour is a little more naturally ascribed to them. The dichotomy is also seen when our perception of how men and women behave in relation to cheating does not meet our expectation. If women are found to be cheaters we tend to reprimand them more harshly than we would a man.
According to essay writing companies, approx. 80% of their clients are women. (And not just once, many of them come back for multiple essays, assignments, research papers, or even dissertations.)
Academic literature starts to confirm the common sense that we were discussing above in terms of the conditions that allow men and women to cheat. Academic literature also looked at correlation between cheating behaviour and men and cheating behaviour in women. It is already known that men are more likely to take risks than women (insurance companies use that fact to justify higher insurance rates for men). Women, on the other hand, are taught to believe that the impression they leave with others is a very important thing so they should do their best to preserve positive impressions and dispel negative impressions (this is basically the plot of the Scarlet Letter and the reason why young girls are taught to close their legs at all times). But given the right set of circumstances (including a small possibility of being caught or a possible excuse that could preserve one's positive impressions) women would feel able to cheat.
And not just able, but also feel like they are under pressure to cheat because they are under more pressure to do well in school than men are.
if we look at who cheats more another study collected data from many other studies sheds a little like. It found that 21% of women and 26% of men reported having cheated (again, academics - not relationships). When an extremely large sample was removed the numbers increased dramatically to 60% for both men and women.
Combine that with what essay writing companies say about how 80% of their clients being women and we must conclude that men and women cheat in different ways. Women are apparently cheating on essays more, whereas men must be cheating on tests or other methods of cheating more.
So, it seems clear that there really is no difference between men and women in terms of likelihood of cheating as there is mostly there is no difference or no major differences in percentages - the only big differences is the methods men and women employ to cheat.
The other significant factor is how socialization affects why a person cheats. Socialization dictates that factors that contribute to whether a person will take the risk at all. Men do it because they are socialized to be riskier and women do it if they think that people's impression of them could be diminished if they don't score better grades.
Cheating is ubiquitous in the world. I am sure that few of us can say that we have never cheated before. But maybe we should not blame ourselves perhaps it was just the way we were brought up... a culture in which cheating on spouses is frowned upon, but people do it anyway.
And thus cheating on an essay is still frowned upon, but people do it anyway.
Is there a difference between men and women when it comes to their motivations for cheating?
[And by cheating we are talking about cheating in school, hiring an essay writing service, using cheat notes in class, etc. For once we are not talking about relationships and cheating on your wife/husband.]
There is more and more pressure in school to be the best in university and college. Students are using more alternative (otherwise known as academically dishonest) resources to get that elusive grade because of that pressure. You hear of people getting access to tests from former students or people who get someone else to write their essay for them at major universities - especially in bigger cities like Toronto and NYC. The companies that promote their essay writing services focus on the biggest cities the most.
Now, of course, strictly speaking these methods are not in keeping with academic honesty, which usually states that the work you hand in is the work you created with your own hands and thoughts. So if you get someone else to give you information that you should not have or you get someone to write or help you write something that you should have written yourself in order to the upper hand you are effectively "cheating". So essentially, what people are doing is not in keeping with the spirit of pursuing academic endeavours - and not really learning anything either.
However for our purposes does we have to ask the question, do motivations for cheating differ for men and women?
If we look at studies we start to get an impression of what students think about cheating and what contributes to their motives for cheating. In one study, that looked at over 500 students in 3 different universities in the United States of America, researchers found that the students were much more accepting of cheating behaviour as a whole than the faculty expected them to be. The study focused on student in business related studies (accounting, management, marketing, etc...) and found that they were sometimes unaware that a certain behaviour was cheating behaviour (or so they said), unaccepting that it was cheating behaviour or uncaring that it was cheating behaviour.
In general, people feel that men are more likely to cheat than women. Women are seen as the fairer sex and that they are nurturing and caring. It is hard to imagine your loving and caring mother as that massively unethical cheating person because it just goes against what our image of mothers are. Men on the other hand are seen as aggressive and powerful so cheating behaviour is a little more naturally ascribed to them. The dichotomy is also seen when our perception of how men and women behave in relation to cheating does not meet our expectation. If women are found to be cheaters we tend to reprimand them more harshly than we would a man.
According to essay writing companies, approx. 80% of their clients are women. (And not just once, many of them come back for multiple essays, assignments, research papers, or even dissertations.)
Academic literature starts to confirm the common sense that we were discussing above in terms of the conditions that allow men and women to cheat. Academic literature also looked at correlation between cheating behaviour and men and cheating behaviour in women. It is already known that men are more likely to take risks than women (insurance companies use that fact to justify higher insurance rates for men). Women, on the other hand, are taught to believe that the impression they leave with others is a very important thing so they should do their best to preserve positive impressions and dispel negative impressions (this is basically the plot of the Scarlet Letter and the reason why young girls are taught to close their legs at all times). But given the right set of circumstances (including a small possibility of being caught or a possible excuse that could preserve one's positive impressions) women would feel able to cheat.
And not just able, but also feel like they are under pressure to cheat because they are under more pressure to do well in school than men are.
if we look at who cheats more another study collected data from many other studies sheds a little like. It found that 21% of women and 26% of men reported having cheated (again, academics - not relationships). When an extremely large sample was removed the numbers increased dramatically to 60% for both men and women.
Combine that with what essay writing companies say about how 80% of their clients being women and we must conclude that men and women cheat in different ways. Women are apparently cheating on essays more, whereas men must be cheating on tests or other methods of cheating more.
So, it seems clear that there really is no difference between men and women in terms of likelihood of cheating as there is mostly there is no difference or no major differences in percentages - the only big differences is the methods men and women employ to cheat.
The other significant factor is how socialization affects why a person cheats. Socialization dictates that factors that contribute to whether a person will take the risk at all. Men do it because they are socialized to be riskier and women do it if they think that people's impression of them could be diminished if they don't score better grades.
Cheating is ubiquitous in the world. I am sure that few of us can say that we have never cheated before. But maybe we should not blame ourselves perhaps it was just the way we were brought up... a culture in which cheating on spouses is frowned upon, but people do it anyway.
And thus cheating on an essay is still frowned upon, but people do it anyway.
Labels:
education,
psychology
Monday, April 07, 2014
5 Ways to increase your chances of getting Laid on a First Date
#1. Clean yourself up and dress masculine and sophisticated.
Three reasons why this improves your odds. Women like men who take care of themselves physically, they should be clean and well groomed. Secondly, women like men who know how to dress themselves - so wearing sophisticated and manly clothing improves your odds dramatically.
So for example just wearing a manly yet sophisticated jacket from Kish Wear - Men's High Fashion, dramatically improves your odds your date will like you.
The problem is that most men tend to dress like slobs, and that does not impress women very much. At the same time however you don't want to come across as emasculated - what you want really is to give the impression with your clothes that you are like a rugged James Bond type who can fist fight a bear and then go dancing all in the same night.
#2. Only go out on dates on Friday night or Saturday night.
Honestly, timing is everything. Women work just like men do, and they don't want to spend the night at a man's place when they have to get up the next morning and work. That would mean showing up at work possibly late, in the wrong clothes, and all sorts of problems. Thus dates on Sunday nights to Thursday nights have a dramatically lower rate of people getting laid. Also, never meet for coffee in the morning or afternoon. Coffee dates are for suckers. Women use coffee dates to browse for men. They are significantly less likely to sleep with someone when they are just browsing.
#3. Look into her eyes when you talk to her.
This is really important. Do not avoid eye contact when talking, as some men do when they feel uncomfortable. Instead what you need to do is every time you are talking to your date then give them your full attention by looking deep into their eyes when you are talking to them. Try to repeat that when they are talking to you too.
Don't stare at her breasts (although you can sneak a peek briefly), don't check the time on your phone, don't use your cellphone when bored unless she goes to the bathroom (in which case turn it off when she comes back), don't stare at a TV or other women. The only person who should be the centre of your attention is her.
#4. In conversation avoid anything controversial or trivial arguments.
Don't talk about abortion (she may have had one), evolution vs creationism, politics, religion, etc. Instead stick to entertaining topics. If sports come up talk about them briefly, but don't go into great detail about your favourite sport unless she is also very interested in that sport. And even so, know when to stop. If she looks at her watch it is time to switch topics. When it comes to pop culture don't get involved in trivial arguments and then check who is correct on your cellphone. It makes you appear to be the type of person who always has to be right - and arguing about something trivial on a first date is not a good sign.
#5. Clean your apartment / house as if your mother is coming over.
Nothing messes with your feng shui than having a huge mess in the place. You are not going to want to invite a woman over when your place looks like a giant laundry basket of dirty clothes. All your clothing should be in the closet, or neatly piled in a proper laundry basket (or stowed in a laundry bag). The floor should be clean, there should be less than 3 dishes in your sink or the sink should be empty. Your entire apartment / house should be spotless, as if your Great Aunt Ida is coming for a visit soon and she smacks you with her cane if the place isn't perfectly clean.
Furthermore the only things left out, clutter wise, should be your musical instrument, painting, woodworking project, architectural designs, poetry notebook or something creative which you have left on the coffee table. This gives you something to talk about. If you don't do any activities like that your next best option is a coffee table book about traveling overseas. (Because like your Great Aunt Ida, women appreciate a man who is creative / likes to travel abroad. She may be a stickler for cleanliness, but Aunt Ida loves to talk about all the trips she went on when she was younger.)
The same rule above also applies to your car or vehicle. It should be clean, spotless and the only piece of clutter should be a book / map of an area you want to drive to sometime (eg. Ontario's wine region in Niagara).
NOTES
These are just 5 tips that increase your chances of getting laid. They are not a guarantee. You could still mess up by insulting her in some unforeseen way. Or she could turn out to be a headcase / damaged goods, in which case you are better off without her. (Far too many women out there have developed some weird psychological hangups that make them unable to have long term relationships. If you sleep with such a person they might end up stalking you, treating you like dirt, messing your mind, any number of things. You are better off avoiding headcases as they need professional treatment before they can even stand a chance of having a long term relationship.)
Getting laid on a first date is actually a good signifier that your relationship will last a longer period of time and lead to a lasting relationship (possibly even marriage) - at least when it comes to modern women. Conservative / religious women expect to be wooed a lot longer before the courtship reaches the bedroom.
As such it is best to avoid women who are not your counterpart in terms of belief system. Atheists probably should not be dating Christians and vice versa. Muslims and Christians dating, not such a big deal because Jesus is a prophet in Islam. Before meeting women for dates (assuming you met them via online personals) screen out any who are potentially problematic because of their religion. Women who describe themselves as spiritual are okay (and often free spirits sexually), but Roman Catholics or Russian Orthodox might have some antiquated ideas about marriage before sex. (Which is funny, because people who don't have sex before marriage are more likely to have a divorce.)
Now I am not saying you cannot date women who are of a different belief system than yourself. Go right ahead. Just understand that it is not going to be easier when it comes to trying to make the relationship last more then 2 months.
Three reasons why this improves your odds. Women like men who take care of themselves physically, they should be clean and well groomed. Secondly, women like men who know how to dress themselves - so wearing sophisticated and manly clothing improves your odds dramatically.
So for example just wearing a manly yet sophisticated jacket from Kish Wear - Men's High Fashion, dramatically improves your odds your date will like you.
The problem is that most men tend to dress like slobs, and that does not impress women very much. At the same time however you don't want to come across as emasculated - what you want really is to give the impression with your clothes that you are like a rugged James Bond type who can fist fight a bear and then go dancing all in the same night.
#2. Only go out on dates on Friday night or Saturday night.
Honestly, timing is everything. Women work just like men do, and they don't want to spend the night at a man's place when they have to get up the next morning and work. That would mean showing up at work possibly late, in the wrong clothes, and all sorts of problems. Thus dates on Sunday nights to Thursday nights have a dramatically lower rate of people getting laid. Also, never meet for coffee in the morning or afternoon. Coffee dates are for suckers. Women use coffee dates to browse for men. They are significantly less likely to sleep with someone when they are just browsing.
Avoiding eye contact on a date is a great way to NOT get laid. |
This is really important. Do not avoid eye contact when talking, as some men do when they feel uncomfortable. Instead what you need to do is every time you are talking to your date then give them your full attention by looking deep into their eyes when you are talking to them. Try to repeat that when they are talking to you too.
Don't stare at her breasts (although you can sneak a peek briefly), don't check the time on your phone, don't use your cellphone when bored unless she goes to the bathroom (in which case turn it off when she comes back), don't stare at a TV or other women. The only person who should be the centre of your attention is her.
#4. In conversation avoid anything controversial or trivial arguments.
Don't talk about abortion (she may have had one), evolution vs creationism, politics, religion, etc. Instead stick to entertaining topics. If sports come up talk about them briefly, but don't go into great detail about your favourite sport unless she is also very interested in that sport. And even so, know when to stop. If she looks at her watch it is time to switch topics. When it comes to pop culture don't get involved in trivial arguments and then check who is correct on your cellphone. It makes you appear to be the type of person who always has to be right - and arguing about something trivial on a first date is not a good sign.
#5. Clean your apartment / house as if your mother is coming over.
Nothing messes with your feng shui than having a huge mess in the place. You are not going to want to invite a woman over when your place looks like a giant laundry basket of dirty clothes. All your clothing should be in the closet, or neatly piled in a proper laundry basket (or stowed in a laundry bag). The floor should be clean, there should be less than 3 dishes in your sink or the sink should be empty. Your entire apartment / house should be spotless, as if your Great Aunt Ida is coming for a visit soon and she smacks you with her cane if the place isn't perfectly clean.
Furthermore the only things left out, clutter wise, should be your musical instrument, painting, woodworking project, architectural designs, poetry notebook or something creative which you have left on the coffee table. This gives you something to talk about. If you don't do any activities like that your next best option is a coffee table book about traveling overseas. (Because like your Great Aunt Ida, women appreciate a man who is creative / likes to travel abroad. She may be a stickler for cleanliness, but Aunt Ida loves to talk about all the trips she went on when she was younger.)
The same rule above also applies to your car or vehicle. It should be clean, spotless and the only piece of clutter should be a book / map of an area you want to drive to sometime (eg. Ontario's wine region in Niagara).
NOTES
These are just 5 tips that increase your chances of getting laid. They are not a guarantee. You could still mess up by insulting her in some unforeseen way. Or she could turn out to be a headcase / damaged goods, in which case you are better off without her. (Far too many women out there have developed some weird psychological hangups that make them unable to have long term relationships. If you sleep with such a person they might end up stalking you, treating you like dirt, messing your mind, any number of things. You are better off avoiding headcases as they need professional treatment before they can even stand a chance of having a long term relationship.)
Getting laid on a first date is actually a good signifier that your relationship will last a longer period of time and lead to a lasting relationship (possibly even marriage) - at least when it comes to modern women. Conservative / religious women expect to be wooed a lot longer before the courtship reaches the bedroom.
As such it is best to avoid women who are not your counterpart in terms of belief system. Atheists probably should not be dating Christians and vice versa. Muslims and Christians dating, not such a big deal because Jesus is a prophet in Islam. Before meeting women for dates (assuming you met them via online personals) screen out any who are potentially problematic because of their religion. Women who describe themselves as spiritual are okay (and often free spirits sexually), but Roman Catholics or Russian Orthodox might have some antiquated ideas about marriage before sex. (Which is funny, because people who don't have sex before marriage are more likely to have a divorce.)
Now I am not saying you cannot date women who are of a different belief system than yourself. Go right ahead. Just understand that it is not going to be easier when it comes to trying to make the relationship last more then 2 months.
Labels:
beauty,
cheating,
fashion,
love,
relationships,
romance,
sex,
weight training
Friday, April 04, 2014
Pickup Lines for Women to use on Men
Some of these are a bit disturbing, others are just funny - the images were produced by Cosmo - and what they are promoting is pickup lines for women to use on men.
I personally find that pickup lines men use to be quite lewd and rude, so how are these any better? Is Cosmo trying to say that using these lines are acceptable just because it is a woman saying them? I don't think so. I think any pick up line that "crosses the line" in terms of rudeness should get a man slapped across the face.
And what standard is this setting for women? Sexual aggressiveness is fine and all, but what about how men will respond to such questions of sexual availability? Some men will no doubt take it too far.
Call me old fashioned, but a little romance is always better that a cheesy pickup line.
I personally find that pickup lines men use to be quite lewd and rude, so how are these any better? Is Cosmo trying to say that using these lines are acceptable just because it is a woman saying them? I don't think so. I think any pick up line that "crosses the line" in terms of rudeness should get a man slapped across the face.
And what standard is this setting for women? Sexual aggressiveness is fine and all, but what about how men will respond to such questions of sexual availability? Some men will no doubt take it too far.
Call me old fashioned, but a little romance is always better that a cheesy pickup line.
Labels:
funny,
relationships,
sex
Are Men Being Pressured to Accept Realistic Standards of Female Beauty?
This was originally posted in The Onion (which is a satirical news website), but it raises an interesting question about whether men are actually being pressured to accept realistic standards of female beauty.
To me this comes back to age old adage:
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Some men prefer women who are well endowed with larger hips, larger breasts, and so forth - while some men prefer skinny women. Rarely are women both skinny and well-endowed.
"The Vitruvian Woman" varies wildly from man to man, although the accepted norm (according to psychologists) is a breast to waist to hip ratio of 3-2-3, such as 36-24-36 or 32-21-32 or similar ratios.
Even women have an idealized ratio for men, of what they consider attractive, which is approximately a chest-waist-hip ratio of 10-7-9. Large chest, slim waist, nice buttocks.
'Confronted on a regular basis with images of women who represent a diverse array of body types, a growing number of American men are reportedly feeling pressured to accept the increasingly realistic standards of female beauty now depicted in the media, social scientists confirmed this week.
“More and more, men today find themselves bombarded with un-retouched images, and with that comes the considerable mental burden of trying to reconcile what they see in these ads and magazines with their personal perceptions of beauty,” said sociologist Cliff Hillard, who studies attainable ideals of female attractiveness in the media and how they can create an overly realistic sense of what women ought to look like. “For most men, it’s very discouraging. Instead of seeing only rail-thin models, they’re now exposed to accurate representations of women whose proportions mimic those of actual human females.”
“Think about the average man flipping through a magazine that features pictures of women who haven’t had their cheekbones raised or their noses reshaped with Photoshop,” Hillard continued. “How is he supposed to feel when he sees something like that?”
Every day, according to Hillard, men are faced with “inescapable” displays of average-sized women, women who are representatively diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, and women who are not professional models. According to one recent study, the average man sees photographs of women without digitally exaggerated bust-to-waist ratios dozens of times per day on TV, billboards, and the sides of buses, which the findings suggest has a demoralizing effect on the male psyche and has been shown to negatively influence men’s self-esteem and mood the more often they view such images.
Hillard noted that major companies like Dove, H&M, and Ralph Lauren now use nontraditional models in their advertising campaigns, an increasingly popular trend that, according to the sociologists’ research, ultimately serves to make men feel upset and frustrated when the women in commercials don’t live up to their own personal fantasies.
“Nowadays I can’t even leave the house without seeing an ad featuring properly proportioned women of statistically normal weights,” said San Diego–based civil engineer Spencer DeLane, adding that some of the models’ bodies are “startlingly average.” “Sometimes I don’t even want to go online or turn on the television because I know I’ll see a regular, healthy-looking woman. Don’t these advertisers understand how deeply depressing that is for me?”
“It’s not fair to me, and it’s not fair to other men like me,” he continued. “Having to live with society’s expectations that I accept women just the way they are takes an enormous toll.”
In a recent USA Today poll, 87 percent of men said that in the past month they’d seen an ad that made them feel inadequate by challenging their conceptions of physical beauty. Within that group, 74 percent said they’d seen a model posing without makeup and 83 said they’d seen visible blemishes, with a further 62 percent reporting that they’d seen a model with slight wrinkles around her eyes that “could very easily have been digitally or surgically removed.”
Armed with mounting evidence that men can feel crushed under the heavy mental strain to appreciate all types of women, Hillard questioned the costs of depicting them in a sensible way that reflects their natural physical variance.
“Here you’ve got a generation of boys who will grow up looking at women in the media and seeing flaws here, flaws there, flaws everywhere—what are they supposed to think?” said Hillard, who noted that his 12-year-old son is just now beginning to objectify women and that such portrayals could grossly alter what he perceives as an idealized female form for the rest of his life. “That’s why it’s more important than ever to empower men so they can teach themselves to ignore these ads and images.”
“We men simply need to have conviction in our own ideas of what makes a woman beautiful,” he added.'
To me this comes back to age old adage:
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Some men prefer women who are well endowed with larger hips, larger breasts, and so forth - while some men prefer skinny women. Rarely are women both skinny and well-endowed.
"The Vitruvian Woman" varies wildly from man to man, although the accepted norm (according to psychologists) is a breast to waist to hip ratio of 3-2-3, such as 36-24-36 or 32-21-32 or similar ratios.
Even women have an idealized ratio for men, of what they consider attractive, which is approximately a chest-waist-hip ratio of 10-7-9. Large chest, slim waist, nice buttocks.
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Fred Vs Martha - What are they thinking?
Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.
And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"
And then, there is silence in the car.
To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.
And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
And Fred is thinking: ...so that means it was...let's see...February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...lemme check the odometer...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.
And Martha is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
And Fred is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.
And Martha is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
And Fred is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty...scumballs.
And Martha is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.
And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...
"Fred," Martha says aloud.
"What?" says Fred, startled.
"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have...oh dear, I feel so..."(She breaks down, sobbing.)
"What?" says Fred.
"I'm such a fool," Martha sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."
"There's no horse?" says Fred.
"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Martha says.
"No!" says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.
"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Martha says.
(There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)
"Yes," he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)
"Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?" she says.
"What way?" says Fred.
"That way about time," says Martha.
"Oh," says Fred. "Yes." (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)
"Thank you, Fred," she says.
"Thank you," says Fred.
Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.
The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification.
They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.
Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?"
And for fun, below is another example of how men and women think differently.
And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"
And then, there is silence in the car.
To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.
And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
And Fred is thinking: ...so that means it was...let's see...February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...lemme check the odometer...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.
And Martha is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
And Fred is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.
And Martha is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
And Fred is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty...scumballs.
And Martha is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.
And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...
"Fred," Martha says aloud.
"What?" says Fred, startled.
"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have...oh dear, I feel so..."(She breaks down, sobbing.)
"What?" says Fred.
"I'm such a fool," Martha sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."
"There's no horse?" says Fred.
"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Martha says.
"No!" says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.
"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Martha says.
(There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)
"Yes," he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)
"Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?" she says.
"What way?" says Fred.
"That way about time," says Martha.
"Oh," says Fred. "Yes." (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)
"Thank you, Fred," she says.
"Thank you," says Fred.
Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.
The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification.
They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.
Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?"
And for fun, below is another example of how men and women think differently.
Labels:
funny,
psychology,
relationships
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Mixed Martial Arts is for Wussies
By Charles Moffat.
I love the scene below from "Grudge Match". It summed up how I have been feeling about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) for years now.
I am so happy "Grudge Match" brought this topic up.
MMA is a bunch of steroid overdosing men with big egos who don't really know how to a throw a proper punch. Oh sure, the MMA has lots of "big men" in their 'sports entertainment' franchise (MMA is not a real sport), men with even bigger egos, but there is really no skill involved in MMA.
Why?
Let me break it down for you. The MMA fighting style exactly the same fighting style as two seven year olds rolling around in the dirt punching each other. That is not a "martial art". It is not a "sport" either. It is two grown men behaving like 7-year-olds. Observe the photos below and see what I mean.
See the similarities? Even little girls fight like that. (Seriously, I have seen it happen.)
Chimpanzees have better fighting styles. A chimpanzee at least knows how to throw a proper punch. Heck a chimp can even be trained to jump in the air and do a spin kick.
Here is another thing that bothers me about MMA - the length of the fights.
A boxing match is typically 10 to 15 rounds long, 3 minutes per round. That is 30 to 45 minutes of getting punched in the head and chest.
MMA (Unified Rules) matches have 3 rounds (sometimes 5 rounds for a title match), each round is 5 minutes long. So that is only 15 usually, with a maximum of 25 minutes in a title match.
What that tells you is that boxers have roughly twice or thrice the endurance of MMA fighters (who apparently get tired too easily because they're a bunch of pansies that fight like children).
What is also funny is the number of times MMA 'fighters' have gotten into real life fights with police, random strangers, etc - and got seriously beat up because they turned out to be wussies in a real fight.
Take for example a Brazilian MMA fighter named Maiquel Falcão who in 2013 tried kissing a girl at a gas station. He then got beat up by the girl's boyfriend and sent to the hospital with massive injuries. That is just one incident. There is another incident where a MMA fighter got in a fight with a much smaller Navy Seal, and the Navy Seal won easily.
With the growth in MMA popularity during the last decade there is now literally dozens of incidents per month of self-proclaimed MMA fighters (losers who joined a MMA club of some kind) who have been getting beaten up by the police, military personnel, boxers, martial artists (real martial artists, not the phoney MMA kind), and even grannies with their handbags.
Seriously. How bad of a fighter do you have to be to get beat up by a granny with her purse?
Lastly...
And I bring this up without any feelings of homophobia - but MMA feels a bit gay. And by a bit, I mean a lot. Two grown men rolling around on the ground, mostly naked, grabbing at each other and punching each other - I wouldn't be surprised if they sometimes get an embarrassing erection.
Now there is nothing wrong with being gay. It is just that MMA is a very macho piece of 'sports entertainment' and the gay moments happen during EVERY fight - and even before the fights, as you can see in the clip below.
Whether that was to psyche his opponent out (which it probably did) it illustrates what I am trying to prove here. MMA is just 'sports entertainment'. That whole scene was probably done just for publicity.
MMA is no more a real sport than the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), another 'sports entertainment' franchise which uses a lot of theatrics and acting in order to provide more entertainment for the audience.
Basically what it comes down to is that MMA is an adult glorification of the same kind of fighting little kids do. No finesse. No skill. Just brute stupidity.
Boxing requires discipline.
Martial arts (real martial arts) requires discipline.
Military training requires discipline.
MMA? All that requires is a bunch of steroids, some weight training, and a big enough ego to step inside a ring and fight like an embarrassing little kid.
I guarantee if you stick a 200 lb MMA guy in a ring with a 200 lb angry chimpanzee, the chimpanzee will beat the crap out of the MMA guy (and possibly eat his face off). Why? Because MMA men are just punks with muscles and no self control - and can apparently get up by a granny wielding a purse.
But a boxer? You put a 200 lb boxer in a ring with an angry chimp and the boxer will knock the chimp's lights out. And they would never get beat up by an elderly woman with a purse.
End of Story.
About the Author
Charles Moffat has formally studied boxing, kick boxing, wrestling (Olympic style) and studied Taekwondo in South Korea. He currently teaches archery and boxing in Toronto, Canada.
I love the scene below from "Grudge Match". It summed up how I have been feeling about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) for years now.
I am so happy "Grudge Match" brought this topic up.
MMA is a bunch of steroid overdosing men with big egos who don't really know how to a throw a proper punch. Oh sure, the MMA has lots of "big men" in their 'sports entertainment' franchise (MMA is not a real sport), men with even bigger egos, but there is really no skill involved in MMA.
Why?
Let me break it down for you. The MMA fighting style exactly the same fighting style as two seven year olds rolling around in the dirt punching each other. That is not a "martial art". It is not a "sport" either. It is two grown men behaving like 7-year-olds. Observe the photos below and see what I mean.
See the similarities? Even little girls fight like that. (Seriously, I have seen it happen.)
Chimpanzees have better fighting styles. A chimpanzee at least knows how to throw a proper punch. Heck a chimp can even be trained to jump in the air and do a spin kick.
Here is another thing that bothers me about MMA - the length of the fights.
A boxing match is typically 10 to 15 rounds long, 3 minutes per round. That is 30 to 45 minutes of getting punched in the head and chest.
MMA (Unified Rules) matches have 3 rounds (sometimes 5 rounds for a title match), each round is 5 minutes long. So that is only 15 usually, with a maximum of 25 minutes in a title match.
What that tells you is that boxers have roughly twice or thrice the endurance of MMA fighters (who apparently get tired too easily because they're a bunch of pansies that fight like children).
What is also funny is the number of times MMA 'fighters' have gotten into real life fights with police, random strangers, etc - and got seriously beat up because they turned out to be wussies in a real fight.
Take for example a Brazilian MMA fighter named Maiquel Falcão who in 2013 tried kissing a girl at a gas station. He then got beat up by the girl's boyfriend and sent to the hospital with massive injuries. That is just one incident. There is another incident where a MMA fighter got in a fight with a much smaller Navy Seal, and the Navy Seal won easily.
With the growth in MMA popularity during the last decade there is now literally dozens of incidents per month of self-proclaimed MMA fighters (losers who joined a MMA club of some kind) who have been getting beaten up by the police, military personnel, boxers, martial artists (real martial artists, not the phoney MMA kind), and even grannies with their handbags.
Seriously. How bad of a fighter do you have to be to get beat up by a granny with her purse?
Lastly...
And I bring this up without any feelings of homophobia - but MMA feels a bit gay. And by a bit, I mean a lot. Two grown men rolling around on the ground, mostly naked, grabbing at each other and punching each other - I wouldn't be surprised if they sometimes get an embarrassing erection.
Now there is nothing wrong with being gay. It is just that MMA is a very macho piece of 'sports entertainment' and the gay moments happen during EVERY fight - and even before the fights, as you can see in the clip below.
Whether that was to psyche his opponent out (which it probably did) it illustrates what I am trying to prove here. MMA is just 'sports entertainment'. That whole scene was probably done just for publicity.
MMA is no more a real sport than the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), another 'sports entertainment' franchise which uses a lot of theatrics and acting in order to provide more entertainment for the audience.
Basically what it comes down to is that MMA is an adult glorification of the same kind of fighting little kids do. No finesse. No skill. Just brute stupidity.
Boxing requires discipline.
Martial arts (real martial arts) requires discipline.
Military training requires discipline.
MMA? All that requires is a bunch of steroids, some weight training, and a big enough ego to step inside a ring and fight like an embarrassing little kid.
I guarantee if you stick a 200 lb MMA guy in a ring with a 200 lb angry chimpanzee, the chimpanzee will beat the crap out of the MMA guy (and possibly eat his face off). Why? Because MMA men are just punks with muscles and no self control - and can apparently get up by a granny wielding a purse.
But a boxer? You put a 200 lb boxer in a ring with an angry chimp and the boxer will knock the chimp's lights out. And they would never get beat up by an elderly woman with a purse.
End of Story.
About the Author
Charles Moffat has formally studied boxing, kick boxing, wrestling (Olympic style) and studied Taekwondo in South Korea. He currently teaches archery and boxing in Toronto, Canada.
Labels:
exercise,
sports,
weight training
Gymnasts at Work
Want to build muscle? Don't think bodybuilding, think gymnast. To see why watch the following 2 videos about a bodybuilder who decides to become a gymnast for a day and learns how difficult it is.
I think the problem people have is that they see skinny gymnasts but don't see that these gymnasts have great upper body strength (due to a very high power to weight ratio).
Watch and you will see that the gymnast makes the bodybuilder look like a complete amateur. So if a bodybuilder cannot do it, just imagine how horrible you would be trying to do the same activities. With lots of training the bodybuilder would eventually be able to do all the gymnast activities - and so can you. It is really just a matter of conditioning and training your body.
I think the problem people have is that they see skinny gymnasts but don't see that these gymnasts have great upper body strength (due to a very high power to weight ratio).
Watch and you will see that the gymnast makes the bodybuilder look like a complete amateur. So if a bodybuilder cannot do it, just imagine how horrible you would be trying to do the same activities. With lots of training the bodybuilder would eventually be able to do all the gymnast activities - and so can you. It is really just a matter of conditioning and training your body.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Thursday, February 06, 2014
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