“Can’t we All Be Mediterranean”
In reading the article, “Can’t We ALL Be Mediterranean,” (author unknown), I found myself laughing uncontrollably. This article talks about the fact that Mediterraneans have a way of life that many people desire. The first sentence caught me because it hit close to home, “Mediterranean means having a way with eggplant, being hospitable, having a grandmother who makes incredible pastries…” As many know, my grandmother makes the MOST amazing dinners, pastries, anything really. I am always so grateful to have that in my background, besides my Hispanic blood. And yes, eggplant parm is her main, BEST dish EVER!
What also made me laugh about this article were the ways you can get your “Mediterranean on too!” The first one is my favorite, “Talk with your hands.” I especially liked this one because it’s something I, as well as many others, get made fun of about all the time. We are very expressive people and if we can’t use our hands, we might as well be dead. Another important point in the article was never to show up empty handed to a dinner. For my family this is a big thing, if you are going to taste this wonderful cooking, you had better bring something tastey to it! Another thing that is so true about this culture is the fact that you DON’T show up early to dinner, ever. For example, my grandmother always has something cooking- therefore it takes the whole day to plan and prepare dinner. If a guest unexpectadly shows up early, she is just so ashamed of not being done and now has to stress over it.
This article is just a great writing about Mediterranean culture and just how different things are…
Violence in an Ad?
Upon browsing myspace, I came across an ad while logging out. The add was for a certain brand of tshirts and involved a girl and the arm and hand of a guy. The girl was around seventeen or eighteen, I’d say, and was wearing a green tshirt with cartoon nails on it. Supposedly, this add was to stress the design on her shirt and how cute it was… (the nails had smile faces). But when I looked at this ad, I didn’t think it was cute or funny. The guy in the picture (who didn’t have a face) was striking a hammer at what looked like the girl’s head (from the angle of the picture ), but was probably supposed to be swinging at the nails on the shirt. The girl’s expression was happy and smiling, but think about it… what girl would have that expression and not be scared if someone randomly came at even her shirt with a hammer?! It would freak me out for sure…
It’s not just this ad that makes me think.. We don’t even really notice it but there are sooo many ads out there, holding violence towards women. I think of this stuff a lot when I see ads where the girl is supposed to be in a “hot pose,” which usually consists of some weird expression on her face and either a finger or her hand on her mouth or face… Often I see the “shh” pose for a girl. Does this just serve to be appealing because of the expression? Or is it somewhere embedded in us that- this is the way a girl is supposed to be- quieted, without a voiced opinion?
Poetry Reading
Last week, Samantha and I went to a poetry reading here at Saint Rose. We sat down in the commuter longue and waited for the space to fill. Unfortunately it did not, and akwardly enough we were sitting there with about six other people, for like an hour. Two people read, and the rest of us just sat there, hoping somebody would suddenly walk in and want to read a whole book of poetry. Mainly we felt bad for the people running the whole event.
Shortly after, a few classes walked in and we saw about ten more people volunteer to read. This put a more positive look on the whole situation, being that there were sooo many different kinds of poems being read. Some of them were so hilarious, some of them very sad and cleverly put, and some (most of them) funny ramblings about each person. Some of them simply started with, “My name is_____” and continued from there. I noticed that as more people came and read, everyone got more into it.
This was a positive experience for me and though I can’t speak for Samantha, I’d say she enjoyed the poetry as well. It’s cool to do something that I haven’t been able to do for a while, being that there isn’t much like that around. (or at least easy to find).
And another thing, I would have read- if I was more prepared 🙂
Appreciating the Differences Between Men and Women
This blog is comical in that it points out the obvious differences between men and women and how they act towards each other. One of my favorite lines in the blog is,
“I am not a considerate person. I rarely take time to think through things taking other’s time, thoughts, responsibilties, needs, or feelings into consideration before I speak or act. This was made very clear to me a few days ago in the area of women cooking for men.” Women always come across this problem, the fact that we are just naturally more thoughtful and sensitive to the words someone says or the actions of someone else. Men even admitt that they do not often think about things before they say/do them… (although I can only speak from my own experiences with them).
This blog points out many examples, from the blogger, that demonstrate how men are just a totally different species when it comes to mannerisms (in a comical light). We always take things to heart more, and I KNOW I can speak for most of the women out there.
Steph's Sillyness 