Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Farrah Fawcett

1947-2009

The Curious Case of Mir Hossein Moussavi

As I birth this new blog, I can't help but draw some similarities between myself and that other life-giving child-birther: the woman. Yes, women are not that much unlike you and I. We both have dreams and aspirations, we both crave companionship and we both put our pants on one leg at a time- although the difference being that before hand I shave my legs regardless of whether or not I'll be having sex. All these strange coincidences lead me to wonder that if men and women share so many similarities, perhaps the women of America and Iran are not so different from each other. I wonder who Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Iranian presidential hopeful and reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi, text-messages when she's in the mood for a booty-call.

So will this new election bring any relevant change for the women of Iran? It is hard to tell where the candidates stand on social reform for women due to the fact that their websites lack any actual text, but instead contain a systematic repetition of squiggles (ie. اطلاعیه مهم دفتر مهندس میرحسین موسوی) . I can only assume that this is done to throw off the state controlled networks of the BBC and CNN. And if this claim , like the recent election results, is backed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi, who am I to question it?

But who are we to insist that Iran even needs social reform? Especially in a patriarchal society, isn't the old saying true that "father knows best"? So goes the story of Neda, a young woman who was shot in the heart while attending a Tehran protest with her father. Already Neda has achieved viral notoriety through Twitter.com and the national media while her name has become a battle cry for sympathizers across the globe. Iranian officials still deny the ongoing violence and put blame where it is plainly deserved, squarely on the shoulders of Western media. Shame on you, CNN. In other news, has anyone seen the Kim Kardashian sex tape? Boy I'd like to peek under that burqa.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Hello

Dear Readers,

My old blog, Bad Sum Bitch, has been long deserted, but a few hopefuls still insisted that I dust off my keyboard and forge onward. My wife was the first to protest. I can only assume that hours of my undivided attention was too much for her to handle. Quin Brown and Prince Gomolvilas were other supporters. The latter left a moving quote in the comments section of my last entry. I feel compelled to include it here:


Martha Graham said:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and, because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

As inspirational as this has been to me, I find it surprisingly odd that even when he quotes the words of others the term 'queer' inevitably surfaces. I hope this new blog will be half as entertaining and enjoyable as the last one was.

Sincerely,

Michael DeAntonio