How About This Strategy

Meet the man who has met ‘about 500’ women on the subway

It's men like this that utilize and promote strategies that some would call aggressive who make communicating with men a tenuous proposition for women.  It's men like this that make women think that men are always running some kind of game when they talk with women.

How to Ignore a Man Who Is Trying to Pick You Up on the Subway

How about this: Men, stop playing games.  Stop using strategies.  Just stop.  If you want to make a connection with a woman, do so in an honest fashion.  If the woman doesn't want to talk to you, let that be that.  Women shouldn't need strategies to defend themselves against aggressive men.  Aggressive men need to stop being aggressive men.

Ask My Candidates

Terror threat against feminist Anita Sarkeesian at USU

Feminist cancels speech at USU after terror threat

Video Game Feminist Cancels School Speech Amid Shooting Threat

Anita Sarkeesian cancels university speech following shooting threat

​Anita Sarkeesian Cancels Speaking Event in Light of Shooting Threat

Feminist, Gaming Critic Cancels Utah State Speech after Massacre Threat

'Massacre' threat forces Anita Sarkeesian to cancel university talk

I find this incident to be disgraceful and personally embarrassing.  It shames me that officials at Utah State University were unable to provide adequate security for this event after a substantial threat was made against it due to my state's laws regulating guns.  But what can I do about it?  Really, what?

The laws that prevented officials at Utah State University from providing what Miss Sarkeesian felt would be adequate security for this even come courtesy of the Utah State Legislature and the politicians who represent the people of Utah.  As election time is fast approaching, there are currently many candidates vying to represent the people of Utah.

In my district, the race is between Clare Collard, pictured above, and Daniel W. Thatcher, also pictured above.  I was able to easily find an email address for both of these candidates, and sent the following email this morning:

Dear (Insert Candidate Name Here),

http://www.standard.net/Police/2014/10/14/Feminist-speaker-cancels-appearance-at-USU-after-terror-threat.html

Yesterday an planned speech at Utah State University was cancelled by controversial Feminist Anita Sarkeesian.  According to a statement by the University, the move was made after Miss Sarkeesian was informed that due to Utah state law persons with concealed firearms permit would still be allowed to carry their firearms into the event.  Due to this, Miss Sarkeesian felt that her safety could not be guaranteed, especially given the substantive threats made in the past against her in the past.

In light of such an event and the inability for University to provide security that the speaker felt was adequate to the situation, do you feel that state laws regulating firearms need to be addressed?  I'd also like to know why you feel this way.

Full disclosure, I plan to make a post to my blog stating that I had sent you this email, as well as posting any response that you send me.  The reason that I am doing this is to show that ordinary citizens can get a response from their local politicians if only those citizens put forth the effort.

Thank you for your time

Hunter Red

http://www.redertainment.com/

I look forward to their responses.

Overlooked Privacy Invasion Ruling

Sometimes a story comes along that I am honestly amazed that people overlook and are not outraged by.

'Paternalistic' Law Banning Upskirt Photos Thrown Out By Texas Court

"Protecting someone who appears in public from being the object of sexual thoughts seems to be the sort of 'paternalistic interest in regulating the defendant's mind' that the First Amendment was designed to guard against. We also keep in mind the Supreme Court's admonition that the forms of speech that are exempt from First Amendment protection are limited, and we should not be quick to recognize new categories of unprotected expression."

So a law banning people talking upskirt photos of people against their will was overturned because the breaking the law amounted to a thought crime, and upskirt photography might be a new kind of expression that was unprotected up to this point.  I know that we're all distracted by the Ray Rice and other spouse beating scandal thing, and us going to war against a group of people on the other side of the planet because of the outside possibility that they might attack us here in America, again, but come on!  This ruling isn't getting the attention that it deserves.  This ruling just made it legal in Texas for people to invade people's privacy.  That's wrong, and the reasoning used for the decision is wrong.  The way we thing about things is a primary motivating factor of why we do things.  To discount people's thoughts as it relates to their actions is to discount a basic part of the way that people live.

Also, saying that a law is paternalistic in nature is not accurate.  It's not that woman are specifically protected from having their underwear photographed surreptitiously, it's that in most instances of laws like this being broken it's men photographing women's underwear surreptitiously.  It's like saying that laws against graffiti are specifically against people expression involving spraypaint.  No, that's just the circumstance where the law is most often broken.  There isn't a pervasive number of women who are surreptitiously taking photographs of men in their underwear, so women are not likely to break laws having to do with people surreptitiously taking pictures of people's underwear.

Why aren't people making a big deal about this ruling?  The only place I saw this case being reported on was on Jezebel.  As near as I can tell, this ruling did not get picked up for national news attention to any degree.  Why aren't people getting motivated about this?  Why aren't people getting mad about this?  Why don't I have an ending for this piece?  Hey look, a kittie!

Distractions

I need something to distract me from the stresses of the day.  Something that will distract me from the perpetual bad news machine that is the American press today.  Something good, wholesome, and nice.

Al Green, Sting, Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin among Kennedy Center honorees

Okay, it's good that the Kennedey Center is going to honor Sting, but I wonder how the WWE will handle it since Sting's never really worked for them.  That questioning makes this news story not rise to the level of the distraction that I needed.

Kate Middleton and Prince William Expecting Second Royal Baby

News from the royal family has been a good source of distraction for the past couple of years.  The news of the impending royal baby is good, but I need something more domestic to distract me.

Nude Bras for Women Of Color Will Finally Be a Real Thing

And that'll do it.  Wrestlers and royal babies may provide temporary distraction, but boobs will always provide me with something that will remain front and center in my mind.

Indeed.

Boobs. Boobs Boobs Boobs Boobs. Boobs.

Let's Have a Conversation About Kim Kardashian's VMA Dress

Okay.

This dress combines four of my favorite things: Red, black, white, and boobs.  Also, the pattern is interesting.  The pattern gives me a semi-legitimate excuse to stare at the dress.  I mean the boobs are also a legitimate reason, but staring at this dress for the boobs is generally seen as lurid, and lurid things are wrong.  Looking at this dress for the pattern is a non-lurid reason to stare at this dress, but no one would believe that you are looking at this dress for the pattern.  Also, did I mention boobs?

Hair Of The Guy That Bit You

When you are hungover, there are things that you happen upon that sound good when, under normal circumstances, you would never reasonably consider.

Guy Fieri's New Menu Offers a 52-oz Bloody Mary Garnished with Sausage

This is not one of those.  A drink garnished with sausage is the kind of thing I'd only eat if you paid me.  And threatened me.  And paid me more.  And threatened me again.  And then threatened to not pay me.  And then paid me more.

I'm Putting Together A Collection

People are talking about Tom Carson's review for the movie Third Person, starring Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde.  Specifically people are talking about Tom Carson's objections to Olivia Wilde playing the role of a writer.  Quoting from Carson's review:

She's supposed to be a writer too, but your belief in that won't outlast Wilde scampering naked through hotel corridors once Neeson playfully locks her out of his room. With that tush, who'd need to be literate? Who'd want to?

While the debate goes on as to whether or not Olivia Wilde is a smart and articulate person while also being hot as balls, Tom Carson's objections bring up an interesting question in my mind.

What does a writer's butt look like?  While we think of writers as bookish, shy, demure, and generally unattractive people, those are all stereotypes.  Writers run the gamut from confident people with well defined features and long silky hair to trollish imps who people wish would stop dicking around and get the fuck to work.  As near as I can tell there is no good consensus out there as to what a writer's butt looks like that is not reliant on stereotypes.  I am looking to change that.

I am looking to put together a collection of pictures of writer's butts.  I'm not looking for paparazzi shots or the kind of pics that would fill the gossip rags if the gossip rags gave a fuck about writers.  Rather I am looking for writers to document their own posteriors for posterity, as well as to better inform the public about the general form of some of the most deep thinkers of our time.  I'd like to see submissions from some of the greatest writers of our time, specifically I'd like to see derrieres of Neil Gaiman, Nicholson Baker, and Margaret Atwood.  I'm doing my part.  Here's mine:

A Problem I Can't Have

There are sometimes that I wonder what it would be like to be a major league baseball player.  Being on the road might be a problem, and I'd surely have to start buying sunscreen in tubs in bulk, but being able to be paid a lot of money to play a game I played as a kid is any person's dream.  Sure the average playing career might not last that long, but with the correct financial planning I think I could make the amount of money I'd make last a lifetime.

Kate Upton's Curs'ed Boobs Are Bringing Sports Stars to Ruin

I'd also like to have this problem.  Yes, I'd like to have the problem of a woman most men idolize being possible detrimental to my career.  Very much so.

Statements Of Significance

Occasionally you come across a statement that is so significant that it changes your perspective on the world.

Report: Long Island Medium Cannot Actually Talk to Ghosts

This is not one of them.  No shit.

Useless Rag

I had an idea for a blog post a couple of weeks ago that kind of fizzled out.  It was going to be a long comment on how there are a great many examples of clothing that is designed for women that women either find uncomfortable to wear or do not meet their needs, while there are not similar examples among clothing designed for men.  The idea came to me after reading this post on Jezebel and the comment I made thereafter.

After thinking about it for a while I came to two conclusions.  One: I could write this blog post but what could I present that would further the discussion, or bring conclusion to it?  Eventually I realized that the only idea I had was to complain about something that is going on and saying that people should do something about it instead of being actually able to do something about it.  Two: There is an example of clothing designed for men that men find uncomfortable to wear and does not fit their needs.  I could only think of one example, even after spending several days pondering over the wide variety of clothing options for men and what those pieces of clothing actually accomplish.  The one piece of clothing that is designed for men that men find uncomfortable to wear and does not fit their needs is the tie.

The tie.  There are times in our lives when all men must wear a tie.  Whether it's to work, a formal occasion, church, or to a funeral, eventually all men wear a tie.  Yet, despite long dutiful thought about the subject, I cannot think of a good use for the tie, and I bet none of the men reading this post can think of one either.  Some people think that a tie is used to cover up the buttons on a white collared shirt.  Some people, amusingly, think that the tie is meant to point toward something that lies under the belt.  Some people think that the tie has some sort of masochistic function.  However, none of those reasons seem to ring true, and just seem to serve as placeholders for the real reason that we have yet to discover.  The fact of the matter is that the tie serves no real purpose and is uncomfortable to wear when put on in a way that is deemed proper.  The tie just seems to be completely useless.

‘World's Poorest President' Rages Against The Necktie, Calling It A ‘Useless Rag'

It's good to see that somebody else out there agrees with me.

Why Does This Exist?

Sometimes you run across something that you are honestly befuddled by.  You look at the thing, look at it again, and then look at it again, and wonder, sometimes to yourself and sometimes aloud, why this thing exists.

Yep.  That's a pair of compression shorts with a special appendage attached to them designed especially for men.  And I mean ESPECIALLY for men.  You would never, EVER, see this be worn by a woman.  These compression shorts are real and are really for sale.  Really.  The existance of this product makes me think: Why does this product exist?  Why?  WHY?!?

Kate Upton Says You Should Pay More Attention to Her Butt

I'm sorry, what was I just thinking about?

List Of Things I Won't Do

I love it when people give me a list of things to do.  It makes it so much easier to ignore people when I can do it for reasons.  So, I was overjoyed when I saw a post by Jezebel contributor Tracy Moore.

Every Healthy Morning Habit You Should Adopt Right Now

Perfect!  Let's go down the list and see just how many of these things I won't be doing and why.

Wake up early.

This actually isn't unreasonable.  This may require me to change when my alarm clock goes off everyday by a couple of hours, but this can be done.

But get enough sleep.

I get off work at 11PM, and usually get to sleep by 1AM.  How am I supposed to get enough sleep and wake up early?  Frankly, I'd rather choose getting enough sleep over waking up early, that is unless sex is involved and, since I currently don't have a romantic partner, that isn't an option for me.

Smile!

No.

Go outside.

I do go outside.  I go outside everyday.  I mean my car is outside, so I kind of have to go outside to get in my car.

Drink water. 16 ounces of water.

Should I do this before or after I take a shower?  Or during?  Hey, that's not a bad idea.  Drinking water while I shower would cut down on the amount of water that wastefully goes down the drain.  It may be a little bit, but every little bit helps!

Drink warm water with lemon in it.

Okay.  How do I arrange this?  Also, would that count as cannibalism?

Drink warm lemon and cayenne pepper water first thing in the morning.

Cayenne Pepper sound like the name of a porn star.  How am I supposed to drink water with a character from a comedy in it AND a porn star in it?  Perhaps that's something I can get at Whole Foods.

Drink green tea.

Water and green tea?  Can you just choose one?

Drink coffee.

Water, green tea, and coffee?  Can you just choose one?  Also, if I undertake this advice, how am I supposed to avoid having to urinate multiple times in the hour after I wake up?

Eat before morning workout.

Wait, there's something implied here that might be a problem.

Just eat fruit.

Then I'd have to buy some fruit.

Eat healthy things.

Should I eat healthy things before or after my morning Heineken?

Just make sure it's actually healthy.

I'm thinking Tracy Moore probably wouldn't approve of my morning Heineken.

Eat within an hour of waking.

This isn't unreasonable, but would require me to eat right after getting out of the shower.  If I do that, when am I supposed to watch SportsCenter?

Go outside and look at the morning sky.

Again with the outside thing.

Meditate.

No, it's spelled mediate.

Stretch.

Can I do this while I'm drinking my coffee, green tea, and my Liz Lemon/Cayenne Pepper water?  If not, I might run out of morning to do all these things that are supposed to be a part of my morning routine.

Flex and point your feet for 15 to 30 seconds.

Again, is multitasking an option with this?

Move your body.

Isn't that kind of a given when you wake up?  I mean I'm not a quadriplegic and I'm not Mr. Show level of lazy, so moving my body when I wake up is a part of waking up.

Go for a morning walk.

Should I get dressed first?  That's hasn't been included in this list yet, and I really don't want to walk naked in front of the elementary school that's just up the street from me.

Shower.

Okay, that's done.  What else?

"Slather your body in lotion SLOWLY."

You seem to be really specific about this slowly thing.  Is somebody watching while I do this?

Dry-brush your skin.

I don't know what this means.

Do some journaling.

Does blogging count?  What do you mean no?

Visualize.

Can you be specific?

Map your day.

No.  Outside of work, I don't like to clutter my days with doing specific things at specific times.  That way people won't get upset when then hit me up at the last minute to do things for them and I have to tell them that I have plans.  Sure this seems like more their problem than mine, but I don't control them.  I am only in control of me and the way that I do things and react to things.

Eat that frog.

Again, I do not currently have a romantic partner, so this might not be an option for me.

Ask yourself "morning power questions."  Such as:  

What do I have to look forward to today?  

What's absolutely perfect about my life?  

How can I make today absolutely awesome?  

What's the best thing that could happen today?  

What am I grateful for?

The answer to all of these questions is Heineken.

Listen to music or something uplifting.

Okay.  Done.

Do all 12 of these things within ONE HOUR or else:  

Say 10 morning affirmations (quick!)  

Hydrate your body  

Brush your teeth (and tongue)

Stretch

Meditate (different from affirmations)

Warm up your voice

Make a fresh green juice

Eat something light (air?)

Read something stimulating

Review your goals for the day

Drink loose leaf tea

Set an intention for the day

Many of these have been covered already, specifically stretching, drinking tea, and hydrating.  Am I supposed to do them again?  I'd rather not be redundant in my morning routine.

Get dressed.

Again, is this before or after I take my morning walk?

Don't forget your beauty routine.

Okay.  That basically consists of shampooing and conditioning my hair, then brushing it straight back.  Should I be doing more?

All of these things that are prescribed for me would seem to take up a lot of time.  Is this a way to tell me that I should not spend as much time as I do watching TV and playing video games?  If so, that's quite a sneaky way to do it.  I think I'd rather just listen to Pure Morning on a loop, but thank you Tracy Moore for the suggestions that I am going to ignore.