February Chit Chat

Wow theminis that so cool! Kiss that kid for getting that info out of them!! HA!

Melbert/Lorna
Yes I am literally that close - hilarious. My son feels quite impressed with himself - whats cute is he thinks everyone in the whole wide world knows who Batman really is _ George Clooney.

Wow! Minis-- so fun!
Cheers for your mini-mes-- especially your friendly, informed 8 yr old!
  

Huh.  Really IS a small world, isn't it?

(I better start behaving myself or methinks sumpins gonna come back and bite me in the ass someday)

Thanks for sharing theminis, nice story. You should go out more for dinner. Who knows who else you are going to meet related to George   

I think my brush with the pilots is about as close as I'll ever get, and if my son knows anything its that Mum is a "fan" of George Clooney lol.

what would he say wrote:@ Carla...so what happened, I only just read your post from 14th, .....the date is significant ?

I don´t know, beats me what happened. Since nothing really happened at all. Thank god.

Theminis....Re your comment about the book title...
George and Single....on that thread.

Take a look at these "Oddest BookTitles" for a laugh ?
I heard about the voting on them on BBC radio this morning.

http://www.welovethisbook.com/DiagramPrize2014

Shall do Joanna x

Good grief, how did some of those titles get published? How do you even sell them to a publisher.

Well....they're on that top voting list now....so it's worked !
Lol

Good Christmas present ideas for that "one who has everything" though.

Ok, the cats one I get because it seems anything with cats in it will sell. But the rest? Never mind how they got published, what I want to know is who's buying them?!

There can't be such a huge market for Christmas stocking gifts for people you don't like, surely?

OMG you need to watch that video, crazy, that is going to happen with you if you fly with Ryan Air (Ryan Air is a low cost airline in Europe). I can't believe they had to call the police to get out of the plane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASDuLY3F4v0

an interesting read
about power
in our time



CHI COMANDA NEL MONDO? FINITA L’ERA DELLA POLITICA E DELLE MULTINAZIONALI, QUEL CHE RESTA DEL POTERE È NELLE MANI DEI PICCOLI GRUPPI DI PRESSIONE (DAL CLAN ASSANGE A GRILLO-CASALEGGIO)

21 FEB 2014 16:55
Lo sostiene Moisés Naìm nel suo ultimo saggio “La fine del potere” - Per lo studioso americano, oggi comandano le minoranze, i piccoli gruppi organizzati che puntano a obiettivi intermedi, su scala locale, e in grado poi di influenzare il globale: ribelli, frange di partiti politici, start up innovative, hacker, nuovi media, personaggi carismatici…

Marco Belpoliti per "l'Espresso"

Il potere è finito, scrive nel suo ultimo libro Moisés Naím ("La fine del potere", Mondadori). L'illustre ex direttore di "Foreign Polity" spiega nel suo saggio come e perché il potere detenuto in passato da uomini politici e di governo, da aziende multinazionali, stati e centri economici, non sia più tale. Oggi non si sa bene chi comandi davvero. Non siamo più alla catena di comando individuata da Marx, quella del "comitato d'affari", per cui l'economia detta alla politica le proprie scelte, e neppure alla Sim (il sistema imperialistico delle multinazionali) delle Brigate Rosse.

Il potere, almeno quello d'interdizione o di contrasto, sembra risiedere sempre più in piccoli gruppi, siano terroristici, internazionali o centri di pressione. Tramontata l'epoca delle maggioranze, spiega Naìm, è la volta delle minoranze, delle azioni di piccoli gruppi, che si muovono grazie alla Rete puntando a obiettivi intermedi, su scala locale, e tuttavia in grado di influenzare il globale, grazie al teorema di Edward Lorenz, per cui il battito d'ali di una farfalla in Australia è in grado di scatenare un tornado in Europa.

LA FINE DEL POTERE - MOISES NAIME
Javier Solana, ministro degli Esteri spagnolo, poi segretario della Nato, alto rappresentate della politica estera della Ue, ha confidato all'autore che negli ultimi venticinque anni molto difficilmente i vertici politici delle istituzioni in cui si trovava «riuscivano ancora a fare ciò che volevano»: una miriade di nuove forze ostacolavano le potenze più ricche e tecnologicamente avanzate.

ASSANGE E SARAH
Ribelli, frange di partiti politici, start up innovative, hacker, giovani privi di leader nelle piazze, nuovi media, personaggi carismatici, che sembrano spuntati dal nulla stanno scuotendo il vecchio ordine. Il caso di Beppe Grillo e di Gianroberto Casaleggio, del loro Cinque Stelle, è un caso perfetto di quanto sta succedendo, in Italia, o WikiLeaks di Julian Assange in campo internazionale.

snowden
Ma gli esempi da citare sarebbero tantissimi. Naím parla di micropoteri: figure minori, sconosciute, un tempo trascurabili, che hanno modo di indebolire, contrastare, bloccare i grandi e tradizionali protagonisti del potere mondiale, le grandi organizzazione burocratiche che hanno retto il mondo negli ultimi cento anni. Le argomentazioni dell'autore di "La fine del potere" sono fondate su tre grandi cambiamenti avvenuti, su cui si sofferma ampiamente il libro: la rivoluzione del Più; la rivoluzione della Mobilità; la rivoluzione della Mentalità.

Il primo fattore è quello della crescita economica generalizzata: viviamo in un'epoca di abbondanza rispetto al passato. Il secondo riguarda la mobilità della popolazione nel globo: 214 milioni di migranti, con un incremento del 37 per cento negli ultimi vent'anni, effetto della crescente urbanizzazione.

La terza riguarda la "rivoluzione delle aspettative": non si dà più nulla per scontato. Il libro del politologo americano è molto interessante per via degli innumerevoli esempi che cita, frutto anche della sua esperienza diretta di persona a contatto con i centri del potere politico nei molteplici scacchieri internazionali. Tuttavia se la diagnosi è giusta - i macro-poteri sono in crisi, e qui nessuno sembra più in grado di decidere nulla, anche se a capo di un forte governo - Naím non ci dice da dove tutto è cominciato.

fbi hacker wall street journal hackingteam pedopornografia terrorismo criminalit
Secondo gli storici la data da ricordare è quella del 16 ottobre 1973, quando le truppe israeliane si acquartierarono sulla riva occidentale del Canale di Suez, e il 23 dicembre l'Opec, dominata dai Paesi arabi, decise il raddoppio del prezzo del petrolio. Per alcuni economisti questo conflitto accelerò il passaggio dalla economia keynesiana dello Stato sociale, statalista, al modello a rete del neoliberismo. Nello stesso periodo la produzione industriale cominciò la sua migrazione verso i settori immateriali, e la tecnologia analogica si trasformò via via in quella digitale, producendo il modello delle reti flessibili e dinamiche.

Che la trasformazione tecnologica sia il vero fattore attuale di trasformazione, di distruzione del lavoro e dei redditi collegati, lo dicono numerosi testi e ricerche pubblicate negli Stati Uniti negli ultimi due anni: la distribuzione del potere segue le linee prodotte dal cambio di paradigma lavorativo e la conseguente distruzione delle forme tradizionali. Ma questo è un discorso ulteriore, che nel libro di Naìm trova in parte spazio.

BEPPE GRILLO DAL TRENO
La risposta alla domanda circa l'inizio di tutto questo è nascosta in un vecchio articolo di Italo Calvino, pubblicato nell'agosto del 1974 sul "Corriere della sera", intitolato "Il potere intercambiabile". La questione che lo scrittore italiano discute è la caduta di Nixon in seguito allo scandalo del Watergate. A volte gli scrittori sono in grado di percepire piccoli segni del cambiamento, forse in virtù del loro potere d'immaginazione.

Calvino è colpito dalla vicenda dei microfoni introdotti nella sede del comitato elettorale democratico dagli spioni al soldo del presidente americano e dai nastri di registratori utilizzati. Gli pare che sia una vicenda di gadget, di congegni tecnici che funzionano troppo, o funzionano male.

Calvino nota, sulla base di questo indizio tecnologico, come il modello su cui si regge il potere in America sia di tipo meccanico e non biologico: «Il governante deve garantire il funzionamento del grande impianto, lo scorrimento silenzioso senza raschi e sibili che attirino l'attenzione sui guasti mal aggiustati, sugli intrighi di ripiego che devono restare segreti».

Casaleggio VAFFADAY DI GENOVA FOTO LAPRESSE
La scelta di Nixon, poi la sua caduta, e quindi il passaggio del potere al vicepresidente, mostrerebbero come in America domini una sostanziale impersonalità del potere medesimo: «La società americana chiede al presidente di incarnare la rapida sostituibilità dei pezzi di ricambio che garantisce il perpetuo funzionamento del meccanismo globale, il suo continuo deperimento e rinnovamento».

Appena formulata questa ipotesi, Calvino ha però una sorta di ravvedimento: forse non bisogna fidarsi delle immagini troppo semplicistiche. E subito arriva a una conclusione davvero notevole: «La società moderna tende a una configurazione estremamente complicata che gravita su un centro vuoto ed è in questo centro vuoto che si addensano tutti i poteri e i valori».

EDGAR HOOVER E RICHARD NIXON 2 watergate mark felt
Nixon, il presidente che voleva impersonificare il cittadino medio, è pur sempre un "personaggio", come lo sono stati Clinton, e ora Obama, si può aggiungere. Il vuoto, scrive Calvino, convive con questa personificazione. Calvino legge la caduta di Nixon come l'emblema di quel vuoto che è divenuto il potere contemporaneo. Addirittura lo identifica in un modello che è quello stesso dell'Italia: «Che affacciata su questo vuoto vive bene o male da anni, ma con costi sempre più pesanti che altrove, perché per gravitare su un centro pneumatico ci vorrebbe una società molto più solida».

Parole scritte trentanove anni fa, ma sembrano valere ancora oggi. Il centro vuoto è quello che Moisés Naím descrive nel suo libro, anche se non usa questa metafora. Di certo "il trono è vuoto", per usare il titolo del libro di uno scrittore e regista, Roberto Andò, e da un bel pezzo; tuttavia per trarre delle conclusioni, e delle previsioni, abbiamo atteso parecchio.

1 italo calvino 003
Non che il potere sia scomparso, ma, come ha mostrato lo stesso ventennio berlusconiano, in cui un tycoon televisivo ha conquistato il potere mediante un mezzo moderno, come la televisione, senza però essere altrettanto moderno nel gestirlo, il centro vuoto è ancora lì, in attesa di essere riempito. "La fine del potere" ci avvisa che non ci sarà più qualcuno, o qualcosa, in grado di farlo nei prossimi decenni, o almeno di imprimere una rotta unica e duratura al sistema-mondo. Grande sarà il disordine sotto il cielo? Difficile dirlo.

http://www.dagospia.com/rubrica-2/media_e_tv/chi-comanda-nel-mondo-finita-lera-della-politica-e-delle-multinazionali-quel-che-resta-72350.htm


WHO CONTROLS THE WORLD? ENDED THE ERA OF POLITICS AND THE MULTINATIONALS, WHAT REMAINS

February 21, 2014 16:55
Supports Moisés Naìm in his latest essay "the end of power"-For the American scholar, now be minorities, small groups pointing to intermediate targets, on a local scale, and can then influence the global: rebels, fringe political parties, innovative start-ups, hacker, new media, charismatic characters ...

Marco Belpoliti for "L'Espresso"

The power is over, writes in his latest book Moisés Naím ("the end of power", Mondadori). The illustrious former editor of "Foreign Polity" in his essay explains how and why the power held in the past by politicians and Government, from multinational companies, States and economic centers, no longer such. Today no one knows well who really controls. We are no longer the chain of command by Marx, the "Business Committee", whereby the economy dictates the policy choices, and even to the Sim (the imperialist system of multinationals) of the Red Brigades.

The power, the prohibition or at least, seems to reside increasingly in small groups, whether international or terrorist pressure centres. Down the majorities, explains Naìm, it was the turn of minorities, of the actions of small groups that move thanks to pointing to intermediate targets, on a local scale, and yet able to influence the global, thanks to Edward Lorenz's theorem, that the beating of a butterfly's wings in Australia is able to unleash a tornado in Europe.

THE END OF POWER-MOISES NAIME
Javier Solana, the Spanish Foreign Minister, then Nato Secretary-General, high representative of EU foreign policy, he confided to the author that in the last twenty-five years, hardly the political leadership of the institutions in which they still had "to do what they wanted: a myriad of new forces hindered the richest and most technologically advanced.

ASSANGE AND SARAH
Rebels, fringe political parties, innovative start-ups, hackers, young people without a leader in the squares, new media, charismatic characters, who seem sprung up out of nowhere are shaking the old order. The case of Beppe Grillo and Gianroberto Casaleggio, their five-star hotel, is a perfect case of what is happening in Italy, or Julian Assange WikiLeaks in the international field.

snowden
But the examples to cite would be many. Naím speaking of micropoteri: minor, unknown figures, a significant time, which can weaken, counter, block the big traditional players and world power, the large bureaucratic organization that have led the world in the last hundred years. The arguments of the author of "the end of power" are based on three major changes, which focuses largely on book: the revolution of More; the mobility revolution; the revolution of mentality.

The first factor is the general economic growth: we live in an age of abundance than in the past. The second concerns the mobility of the population in the globe: 214 million migrants, with an increase of 37 percent over the past twenty years, as a result of growing urbanization.

The third concerns the "revolution of expectations": do not you give anything for granted. American political scientist's book is very interesting because of the countless examples that mentions, as a result of his direct experience of person in contact with the centers of political power in many international theatres. However if the diagnosis is correct-macro-powers are in crisis, and here no one seems able to decide anything, although the head of a strong Government-Naím does not tell us where it all started.

fbi wall street journal hackingteam hackers child pornography crime terrorism
According to historians the date to remember is that of October 16, 1973, when Israeli troops up quarters on the West Bank of the Suez Canal, and the 23 December Opec, which is dominated by Arab countries, decided the doubling of oil prices. For some economists this conflict accelerated the transition from the Keynesian welfare State, statist, network model of neoliberalism. During the same period, industrial production began its migration to the intangible areas, and analog technology was transformed gradually into digital, producing the model flexible and dynamic networks.

That technological transformation is the true current factor of transformation, destruction of work and incomes, they say numerous texts and research published in the United States over the past two years: the distribution of power follows the lines produced by the paradigm shift of work and the consequent destruction of traditional forms. But this is a further speech, which in the book of Naìm located in the space.

BEPPE GRILLO ON THE TRAIN
The answer to the question about the beginning of all this is hidden in an old article by Italo Calvino, published in August 1974 in "Corriere della sera", titled "interchangeable" power. The Italian writer discusses is the fall of Nixon following the Watergate scandal. Sometimes the writers are able to see small signs of change, perhaps by virtue of their power of imagination.

Calvin is struck by the story of microphones introduced into the seat of democratic electoral Committee by spies in the pay of the American President and the loggers used tapes. They like that it is a matter of technical devices, gadgets that work too, or work badly.

Calvin note, based on this clue, as the model on which they hold power in America both mechanical and biological: "not the ruler must ensure the functioning of large, silent without scrolling scrape and hiss that attract attention to the poorly adjusted, fault on makeshift intrigue that must remain secret.

Casaleggio VAFFADAY DI GENOVA PHOTOS LAPRESSE
The choice of Nixon, then his fall, and then the transition of power to the Vice President, show how in America a substantive domains impersonality of power: «American society asks the President to embody the rapid replacement of spare parts that ensures the perpetual global mechanism works, its constant decay and renewal.

Just made this assumption, Calvino has a kind of repentance: maybe you shouldn't trust the images too simplistic. And immediately get to a truly remarkable conclusion: «The modern society tends to extremely complicated configuration that gravity on an empty Center and this Center void that gather all power and values. "

EDGAR HOOVER and RICHARD NIXON watergate 2 mark felt
Nixon, the President who wanted to impersonate the average citizen, it's still a "character", as they have been Clinton, and now Obama, you can add. The gap, Calvin writes, lives with this personification. Calvin reads the fall of Nixon as the emblem of that vacuum that has become the contemporary power. Even identifies it in a pattern that is the same of Italy: "That overlooks this empty lives for better or worse, for years but always heavier costs than elsewhere, because to gravitate to a pneumatic Centre would take a much more solid society."

Words written thirty-nine years ago, but they seem to still apply. The vacuum Center is what Moisés Naím describes in his book, even if you don't use this metaphor. Certainly "the empty throne", to use the title of the book by a writer and Director, Roberto Andò, and a nice piece; However to draw conclusions, and the forecast, we expected a lot.

1 italo calvino 003
Not that the power has disappeared, but showed the same twenty years Berlusconi, a television tycoon won power through a modern medium, such as television, without being equally modern in handle it, empty Center is still there, waiting to be filled. "The end of power" warns us that there will be someone, or something, can do so in the coming decades, or at least to give a unique and lasting route to world-system. Great will be the disorder under heaven? Difficult to say.

Snoden's right, the great powers away with everything. There are spying on civilians and innocent powerful individuals behave.

Nicky80>>>>>> I live 3 minutes from Friedrichshafen Airport. About my house around flx constantly planes . The Ryan Air [img][/img]

This is a fascinating subject to explore for a Saturday....
Both on your own birthday numbers and of course on someone else you may interested in !

Search your Birth Number

http://www.seenox.com/2014/02/07/story-behind-your-date-of-birth/

I did the calculation, so I´m the originator. But I don´t recognise myself from the description. Birth date is right so this analysis must be wrong Anyone else ? was yours accurate?

   I am in a good mood, I have a week off. Vacances de sport at school and single mom´s blessing !   

Have a lovely week everyone!

Ah Joanna how cool. I'm "the life of the party" who had thought         

#3 – THE LIFE OF THE PARTY 3′s are idealists. They are very creative, social, charming, romantic, and easygoing. They start many things, but don’t always see them through. They like others to be happy and go to great lengths to achieve it. They are very popular and idealistic. They should learn to see the world from a more realistic point of view. Famous 3′s: Alan Alder, Ann Landers, Bill Cosby, Melanie Griffith, Karen Round butt, Salv! ador Dali, Jodi Foster - See more at: http://www.seenox.com/2014/02/07/story-behind-your-date-of-birth/#sthash.OeyvNqjI.dpuf

@ Carla: George is a originator too   


The ORIGINATOR 1’s are originals. Coming up with new ideas and executing them is natural. Having things! Their own way is another trait that gets them as being stubborn and arrogant. 1′s are extremely honest and do well to learn some diplomacy skills. They like to take the initiative and are often leaders or bosses! , as they like to be the best. Being self-employed is definitely helpful for them. Lesson to learn: Others’ ideas might be just as good or better and to stay open minded. Famous 1′s: Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Hulk Hogan, Carol Burnett, Wynona Judd, Nancy Reagan, Raquel Welch. - See more at: http://www.seenox.com/2014/02/07/story-behind-your-date-of-birth/#sthash.OeyvNqjI.dpuf

Food for Thought....

I may record this to be played at my funeral !

Funeral???? eeehhhmmmm Joanna you have the wrong thoughts. Better look for something to be played at yorr next birthday  

Nicky80 wrote:Funeral???? eeehhhmmmm Joanna you have the wrong thoughts. Better look for something to be played at yorr next birthday  

Well this will be appropriate for that too. Lol

( I do like to be prepared though !)

really nice the dust one!!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/exclusive-video-man-accused-of-groping-modern-family-star-sarah-hyland-filmed-during-a-similar-encounter-with-sandra-bullock/story-fnii5s3y-1226834740206


THE man accused of groping visiting Modern Family star Sarah Hyland was filmed during a similar red carpet encounter with US actress Sandra Bullock last year.

Days after Nedal Lakmas allegedly assaulted Hyland at a promotional event in Sydney, video has emerged of him in a heated exchange with Oscar-winner Bullock on the red carpet last July for the premiere of her hit comedy The Heat at George Street’s Event Cinemas.

In that footage Lakmas’s hand appears to graze Bullock’s chest area as he moves in for an autograph.

Bullock clearly flinches and snaps “don’t touch my breast” before attempting to laugh off the incident.

Funny guy

Someone told me I was immature....well guess who's not allowed in my treehouse anymore?

— Bill Murray (@BiIIMurray) February 22, 2014

It's a parody twitter account.
Bill wouldn't do tweets...unfortunately for us.
It would be a riot if he did though.

I have acquired a newfound admiration for Olivia Wilde.  I thought I would share this Celebitchy article about her that I found interesting regarding her views on the plight of women, particularly in Hollywood.  It's quite interesting if you have time to read it:

Celebitchy

Olivia Wilde has some remarkable thoughts on female roles in Hollywood

Olivia Wilde occupies a certain “sexy female sidekick” niche in Hollywood. Or she did until last year when she announced her pregnancy with Jason Sudeikis, and you know how Hollywood feels about pregnant women. Which is fair enough … I guess. One can’t play a hot girlfriend or femme fatale type while visibly knocked up by some mysterious offscreen source. Men never have to worry about that stuff. They can knock up their wives, girlfriends, and randoms, and the roles shall continue unabated. Sort of like the real world.

I have grown to like Olivia even if her days are numbered (pregnancy or not) as an onscreen presence. I’m so glad she and Jason stopped making sh-t up about their zomg awesome sex life because nobody wants to hear that stuff. Olivia seems acutely, painfully aware of her waning marketability. Part of that is because she’s made some really bad role choices. Nobody thought The Incredible Burt Wonderstone would do well. Okay, maybe someone thought it would do business, but nobody actually wanted to see it themselves. Another reason for Livvy’s downswing is that Hollywood grows tired of the same starlets. Out with the old, and in with whomever is waiting in line.

Female roles are also so stereotypical. Women usually get stuck with “girlfriend” or “sassy sidekick” and nothing else.Other than Bridesmaids and The Hunger Games, I can’t think of any female-driven films to really make a mark in the past few years. Olivia is tired of this crap. She’s calling Hollywood out for a State of Female Justice panel on GRITtv.org. What she says makes complete sense:


“I’m offering up my voice here as a representative of the media, which is often (I think) fairly criticized for being a big part of the problem when it comes to justice for women, equality for women, how women are objectified, how we objectify ourselves. I think a lot about where that problem is stemming from. Our responsibility is to be storytellers, and why aren’t we telling the stories to empower the masses, to educate them to avoid a lot of these situations. It seems like that’s really part of the healing process — the community coming together and empowering themselves through the power of the group and understanding that they don’t have to put up with that sh-t anymore.

Why isn’t that coming from the media? Why aren’t women in particular being empowered from a young age from the media. So I’m really interested in that. It’s not entirely surprising that within the media, in Hollywood, they can’t even figure out their own system of injustice. And that is something that I confront on a day-to-day basis. Any woman working at any level in any part of Hollywood will tell you … it’s really hard to get any stories made that are about women … not just women being obsessed with men or supporting men. And it’s really hard to get men to be a part of films that are about women in a leading role.

I’m really interested in how we can adjust that considering that it’s all based on the demand. Movies are made based upon what people are asking for. Magazines are sold based upon what they think people are asking for. So really the power is in our hands, and it’s really just a matter of asking for it much louder.

I don’t know if some of you have been to these live reads at LACMA, where a classic film is read live on stage by actors who just sit and read the script. We did one recently of American Pie, but we reversed the gender roles. All the women played men; all the men played women. And it was so fascinating to be a part of this because, as the women took on these central roles — they had all the good lines, they had all the good laughs, all the great moments — the men who joined us to sit on stage started squirming rather uncomfortably and got really bored because they weren’t used to being the supporting cast.

It was fascinating to feel their discomfort [and] to discuss it with them afterward, when they said, “It’s boring to play the girl role!” And I said, “Yeah. Yeah. You think? Welcome to our world!” It was also fascinating to see how the movie was just as entertaining and hilarious and exciting with women getting these roles. It clearly should be done more often. When we switch the roles, which has been done with movies, many of you probably know already that in Aliens, Sigourney Weaver’s role was written for a man. In Salt, Angelina Jolie’s role was written for Tom Cruise. These things, when reversed, have proven to be just as exciting and entertaining with women in leading roles.

[From GRITtv]

What’s amusing about this topic is that both Amber Heard and Rashida Jones have been complaining about the dearth of interesting female roles, but Livvy really drives the point home. I think the most convincing part of her speech is where she admits that audience “demand” is the biggest obstacle in seeing better roles for females. Do people really want to see kick-ass females? I hope so.

Here’s a video clip of Olivia’s speech. I’m sure she rehearsed it and prepared ahead of time, but she executes it in an “off the cuff” manner. She’s amazingly good at arguing her point. I hope filmmakers are listening.

It is very interesting.  I always thought that IOM lost an opportunity by not changing some of the characters to women.  It would have been more interesting.....I read this article a few months ago that says basically the same thing only using book characters....

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/12/bilbo_baggins_is_a_girl_until_children_s_books_catch_up_to_our_daughters.html

Bilbo Baggins Is a Girl
Until children’s books catch up to our daughters, rewrite them.


My 5-year-old insists that Bilbo Baggins is a girl.

The first time she made this claim, I protested. Part of the fun of reading to your kids, after all, is in sharing the stories you loved as a child. And in the story I knew, Bilbo was a boy. A boy hobbit. (Whatever that entails.)

But my daughter was determined. She liked the story pretty well so far, but Bilbo was definitely a girl. So would I please start reading the book the right way?

I hesitated. I imagined Tolkien spinning in his grave. I imagined mean letters from his testy estate. I imagined the story getting as lost in gender distinctions as dwarves in the Mirkwood.

Then I thought: What the hell, it’s just a pronoun. My daughter wants Bilbo to be a girl, so a girl she will be.

And you know what? The switch was easy. Bilbo, it turns out, makes a terrific heroine. She’s tough, resourceful, humble, funny, and uses her wits to make off with a spectacular piece of jewelry. Perhaps most importantly, she never makes an issue of her gender—and neither does anyone else.

Despite what can seem like a profusion of heroines in kids’ books, girls are still underrepresented in children’s literature. A 2011 study of almost 6,000 children’s books published between 1900 and 2000 showed that only 31 percent had female central characters. While the disparity has declined in recent years, it persists—particularly, and interestingly, among animal characters. And many books with female protagonists take place in male-dominated worlds, peopled with male doctors and male farmers and mothers who have to ask fathers for grocery money (Richard Scarry, I’m looking at you). The imbalance is even worse in kids’ movies: Geena Davis’ Institute on Gender in Media found that for every female character in recent family films, there are three male characters. Crowd scenes, on average, are only 17 percent female.

More insidiously, children’s books with female protagonists sometimes celebrate their heroine to a fault. Isn’t it amazing that a girl did these things, they seem to say—implying that these heroines are a freakish exception to their gender, not an inspiration for readers to follow. Children’s lit could benefit from a Finkbeiner test. (Well-intentioned kids’ media can, ironically, introduce their youngest listeners and viewers to gender barriers: The first time my daughter heard the fabulous album Free to Be … You and Me, she asked, “Why isn’t it all right for boys to cry?”)

So Bilbo, with her matter-of-fact derring-do, was refreshing. With a wave of my staff I turned Gandalf into a girl, too, with similarly happy results. I started to fool around with other books and their major and minor characters, sometimes by request and sometimes not. In The Secret Garden, Dickon, the animal-loving adventurer who rescues Mistress Mary, became Mary’s best friend Diana. In the Finn Family Moomintroll books, the Snork Maiden and her brother the Snork traded genders. In the Narnia series, Peter Pevensie and his sister Susan made the pronoun switch. (That was a nice fix for the infamous line about Susan’s abandoning Narnia for “nylons and lipstick and invitations.”)

Friends tell me they pull similar tricks while reading to their sons and daughters: Women who farm become not “farmer’s wives” but “farmers.” Male animal characters become girls, and vice versa. Sleeping Beauty goes to MIT. Their kids, boys and girls alike, get to hear about a world as full of women as the real one—and as free of stereotypes as we’d like ours to be. Kid-lit may be catching up to our kids, but we don’t have to wait for it.

My daughter might forget all about the heroines and heroes she helped create. But she might not. I hope that years from now, when she has a chance to take her own unexpected journey, she’ll remember the story of Bilbo—and be a little more inclined to say yes.

Michelle Nijhuis is a contributing writer for Smithsonian, a contributing editor of High Country News, and a 2011 Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow.

Isn't it amazing that we women make up 51% of the population in the US and just under that at just about 50% worldwide and we're still fighting an uphill battle for equality!  Just not feelin' the love lately!  

Why aren't more women WRITING roles for women. Easy to say you don't get good roles, be like George and go out and find the interesting stories then write the roles for women.

LornaDoone wrote:Why aren't more women WRITING roles for women. Easy to say you don't get good roles, be like George and go out and find the interesting stories then write the roles for women.

To be fair, we don't know that there aren't plenty of scripts being turned in every day that can't get past the dust bin. I tend to agree that it's more about the audiences not demanding more interesting roles for women. But those who make the decisions about what gets financed tend to go with a surer thing...it's all about the profits, nothing new there!

I agree Lorna they should be but I think it is still a male based industry....I think women are writing things but they have a harder time selling them....unless they are a big name.

We're fortunate here in UK with our TV dramas.
We have plenty of strong dramatic roles for women
in tv series ie....
Prime Suspect, police, DC Inspector
Silent Witness, Criminal Pathologist
New Tricks, police, DC Inspector
Silk, London Barrister
Spooks, MI6 spies
and various plays with strong women roles.
At the moment we have a series running called
Mr Selfridge, about the beginning years of the famous London department store.
It's now during the period of WW1.....100 years ago this year.....and so covering the time when women's working roles gradually changed as they had to take on work usually done by men.
It's a useful history lesson for our youngsters,
hopefully any way.

Lighterside wrote:Isn't it amazing that we women make up 51% of the population in the US and just under that at just about 50% worldwide and we're still fighting an uphill battle for equality!  Just not feelin' the love lately!  

I so agree Lighterside. I work in a men dominated environment and it is a fight everyday. It is really hard to get the respect you want especially if you are in the management. If you are nice you are to easy and flirty and if you are strict you are a "bitch".

But I must say even though with men it is had to get the respect you want but women can sometimes be the bigger enemy because of jealousy and that can turn very nasty. So looking back I rather work with men knowing how hard it is but it is still easier than with women....But of course this is just my opinion...And of course there are always exceptions....

Oh yes an office full of women can be very trying
to cope with.
But put a young man into the environment and it becomes more bearable.
That was my experience anyway.

@Nicky...when I worked in public accounting for a large national accounting firm, they had all the staff accountants in a "bull pen" area and you wouldn't believe the cat fights!  People throwing away your reports at the printing area because they were in a hurry or angry with you over some imagined sleight, arguments over who is getting the best clients or paid more money or whatever their reasons.  The jealousy factor was ridiculous as well.  And you think the girlfriend threads here are tough, try working with a large group of women who pick apart your wardrobe, your demeanor, etc. every day. OMG!

I would much rather work with men, although like you pointed out...they're no picnic either! ahahahahahaha

I was once accused of sleeping with the boss when
I got a promotion.
Just because I was the only divorcee in an office full of married women and I wore mini skirts in my 30's !!

Happy memories. Lol

In my previous role I worked in mainly male environment probably 70% male/ 30% female and believe me, the men were so easy to get along with. They were just straight up what you see is what you get, no games. A lot of the women in my team behaved like jealous, backstabbing children most of the time - so Id take an office full of men any day -

Ok this one is really a horror story...once I was hired by the husband of a friend (our boys were in classes together) when we first moved back home from California and he had been carrying on with one of the CPA's in the office unbeknownst to his wife.  When she left the firm, I replaced her working on a part time basis, only during school hours.  John and I were also working together on the school board and other projects at the same Catholic parish, so there were a lot of ties between our families.  

Well the woman came back to work and did everything in her power, her absolute level best of dirty tricks, to get me out of the office.  She would make rude comments about me, wondering aloud why John thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread...that kind of thing.  She'd hold back my paycheck (she did our payroll) and I'd have to ask several times to get it. She even CHANGED MY WORK on the computer to try to embarrass me!  We were in a meeting and my balance sheet was OUT OF BALANCE by $50.00 because she changed the parameters of the report not to include the petty cash account so it put the balance sheet out of balance.  I had left late to pick up the kids from school the day before and asked her to make the copies of the report for me for the meeting first thing the next morning.  The partner and I go to the client's the next day and when we got back into the car he was fuming.  Fortunately for me, I had kept MY COPY that I printed out before going home and took it with me.  When he said, "Don't you ever let me go into a client meeting with a balance sheet out of balance again!" I couldn't figure out what he was talking about.  I pulled out my copy and showed it to him, perfectly in balance and then we figured out that Lorrie had changed the format before printing...to get me FIRED!  She wanted to get rid of me, so she could try to get back into the affair with the boss.   

How's that for dirty, mean and nasty!  She set me up and it was only providence that I had proof!  I never again trusted anyone else with my work, needless to say!

Wow....What happened to her eventually ?

Always cover your back with someone like that around every time. But it's a hard lesson to learn that you can't trust your work colleagues.

It was a hard lesson to learn but it actually helped me when I went to the big national firm...more competition, higher stakes and more dirty tricks but I was already baptized by fire as they say, so I was prepared for them this time! LOL

She eventually got herself pregnant by one of his largest clients (chain of 150 fast food restaurants) and then took the client and that business away from him and started her own firm.  Why he would think he would fair any better with her than anyone else did, I'll never know but when you're stupid, you suffer and he was certainly thinking with the little head too much of that time and he paid the price.  

What was hard was the wife calling me and asking why I left the firm.  I tried to avoid her for a few months but as I said, our boys were friends, so it wasn't an easy task to avoid talking and inevitably I would run into her at Church or school.  She and I were also on the Council of Catholic Women together, working on projects.   I was angry that he put me in that position but eventually they worked it out I guess, they had several more boys together after that time.

Oh glory lighter.....150 Shades of Fast Food Chains
came to mind while reading that !!
Sorry.....my weird humour coming through.

What a tangled web we mortals weave....
or something like that.
All part of life's rich tapestry.

Back stabbing bitches at work? Been there, experienced that!

LornaDoone wrote:Back stabbing bitches at work?  Been there, experienced that!

LOL Lorna...whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger! The bitches at work are what keeps people on their toes! LOL   

WOW really bad story Lihterside. But yes as Lorna said stabbing bitches at work.......kind of normal. 
And woman wonder why men are many times preferred over women. We make it always more difficult to ourselves.

Interesting article Lighterside. Also nice to read experiences...

I agree with Nicky as I work in male dominated environment too. So all familiar to me.

However the most upsetting aspect in my job is the gender pay gap. Last year in one quarter I brought 9,8% more money to the house than anyone else. Other quarters 2% more or about the same, still my wage is about 20% less than my male counterparts, just because I can´t do coctail parties, travel etc. (I could but I don´t want to bacause of a child) but I can work from home. They think being home is "holidaying" which is not.

I have met many very professional women in my time in work life. Who´s work moral and skills I really admire. But mostly the fair ones have been males.

http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/Blog.aspx?blogentryid=1179007&showcomments=true


BREAKING: Robin Thicke and Paula Patton end eight-year marriage

'Blurred Lines' singer Robin Thicke has split from his wife of eight years, Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol star Paula Patton.

"We will always love each other and be best friends, however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time," Paula told People magazine in a statement.

Robin and Paula met almost 22 years ago at a teen nightclub and dated throughout high school and Paula's time at university. In April 2010, they welcomed a son, Julian Fuego Thicke.

The couple's marriage has been the subject of cheating rumours over recent months, following Robin's controversial performance with Miley Cyrus at the VMAs.

Back in August, a photo emerged of Robin groping a socialite's butt at the VMAs after-party (see the video below for more). A few months later, in January 2014, the 36-year-old was photographed kissing and dirty dancing with a woman at a Paris nightclub.

In September, Robin described his marriage to Star magazine as "the greatest love of the century and the most functional, dysfunctional marriage in Hollywood".

No surprises there - most women don't like to see photos of their man openly groping other women

Oh dear. Another victim of fame, eh? Looks like she's better off without him but how sad.

On another note entirely, can anyone figure out why so many peeps are tweeting 'George Clooney's inside!!'?

That tweeting started a few weeks ago and I cant remember why, think it started as a joke.  Shall take a look and see if I can prompt my memory.

Did they start doing that after the new Nespresso ads aired (when the actress yells out George Clooney is inside)