Hodgepodge post

You know how it is to come across so many good reads and then you bookmark them and don't want to delete them later even though the loooong list of bookmarked sites is getting you confused already everytime you try to locate something? That's been my dilemma for the past couple of weeks. I've been postponing putting them here on account of the Christmas season (I wanted to do my part in putting the focus on the significance of the season). But even though Christmas officially ends in a few days yet (Feast of the Epiphany which is always on the 2nd Sunday of January and which, this year, falls on Jan. 8th), I think now is a good time to post these thought-provoking pieces on the blog.

But first, believe me when I tell you that all of the following are worthwhile reading fare, no matter what persuasions guide you. You may yawn at the thought of watching Peter Jackson's take on King Kong, but this review from frontpage.com hardly dwells on special effects and movie trivia. Actually, it evaluates the film while exploring the "feminine virtue and masculine heroism" dimension that Kong and Naomi Watts' character bring to the fore.

And then here's a piece by Gaby Friedman titled "Deconstructing Dowd" which I like reading every once in a while. A chunk of it:

When a woman behaves modestly, she finds it much easier to find the good guys—the ones who aren't interested in bimbos, the ones who won't discard them for younger models after a few years of marriage. These are the kind of men who value a woman for their intelligence, who will be looking for a real relationship, not a flash-in-the-pan good time.

Another of those entertaining reads that I stumbled on last year (and which got me thinking more deeply about masculinity and femininity) is a piece titled Confessions of a Former Hoochi Mama. This article, if I remember correctly, is the one that had me checking back at the site again and again for other interesting and "counter-culture" pieces.

More not-your-usual reads lurked in the Web, to my delight! Now the "Marx" being referred to in My grandma would trash this Marxist rubbish is not by any means the German fellow whose analysis of society revolved around class struggle. It springs from a book authored by Eve Marx and discusses the topic of romantic relationships, albeit humorously.

Finally, are you one to think of prostitution as the world's oldest profession? Or, do you rabidly oppose the mere notion of women making a living out of selling their bodies? Do you hardly give the matter altogether any thought? Well, Prostitution is Not a Profession would be worth checking out wherever your principles lie. It could open your eyes about a thing or two.