Thinking

Thanks to my friend, Marie, for nominating me for a Liebster Award! We have never met in person, but I think that we should correct that, and pronto!

In typical, Colleen does not follow the rules fashion, I am only answering her questions and not nominating any other blogs. Mostly because I cannot think of eleven blogs but also out of laziness and the fact that this took me much longer than I expected. I am cheese-brained today.

1. If you could get paid to do anything, what would you do?

I’d love to be paid for my writing and photographs.

2. Who are your favorite actors?

Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Jimmy Stewart, George Clooney, Michael Fassbender, Matt Damon

3. When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was eight, I wanted to be a pilot. After that, I didn’t think about it, which probably explains a lot.

4. What is your guilty pleasure?

Ooh, I love magazines and have subscriptions to Harper’s Bazaar, Sunset, Kiplinger‘s, and New Mexico. I also find it very difficult to turn the channel when TMZ is on, which is really quite awful, I know. But that guy with the long blonde hair makes me laugh every time.

5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Oh dear, I had never counted. Thirty-seven! Which includes gardening clogs, rain boots, and flip-flops. Somehow those last three make me feel better about having so many, but in all honesty, I think it is time to purge! Maybe I can get down to twenty-five?

6. What made you start blogging?

I wanted to be in the habit of writing.

7. What is your most popular blog post?

There’s a way to know this? I am terribly uneducated in this department!

8. What do you order at Starbucks (or whatever coffee/tea place you patronize)?

Being a local-lovin’ Portlander, Ristretto and Albina Press are my favorite coffee shops. I order a small decaf latte, as I am naturally caffeinated. Always a mug or cup and saucer, never a paper cup, I sit down and sip slowly. I also like to lick the foam off the inside of the cup when no one is looking.

9. What is your favorite memory of a grandparent?

Of Grandpa Briggs: holding hands and walking to the Western Motor Lodge to buy candy.

Of Grandpa Marv: sitting on the back porch early in the morning.

Of Grandma Frances: staying up late to play Kings Corners.

Of Grandma Tess: talking on the phone.

10. If you could change two things in the world, what would you change?

That women everywhere be treated as equals.

An end to violence.

11. What is your favorite song?

I could never ever choose one, so a few.

For fast driving: The Doors, “L.A. Woman”

For sheer loudness: Radiohead, “The National Anthem”

For the best jam: The Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”

For sweetness: Debussy, Suite bergamasque – III. Clair de lune (Andante très expressif), played by Walter Gieseking

Yesterday, in a serious bout of procrastination, I distracted myself with a series of mindless activities, culminating in watching James Lipton’s Inside the Actor’s Studio. As always with that peculiar man, it was interesting and illuminating and provided many laughs. It also inspired me to answer his Ten Questions.

1. What is your favorite word? Um, no thanks, that would be like choosing between my two cats.
2. What is your least favorite word? It is not so much the word as a particular usage. “That was SICK!” When the person clearly meant cool, bitchen, or awesome.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? The truth as found in a certain mystical quality that I cannot name but know the instant I’m exposed, like Laird Hamilton surfing, Ella Fitzgerald singing, James Galvin writing…
   
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? Treacle, insecurity, and cruelty, in no particular order
5. What sound or noise do you love? A manual transmission automobile in reverse, preferably at high speed.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Repetitive tapping – pencils, fingers, feet, etc.
7. What is your favorite curse word? FUCK! It’s very economical. One word with a myriad of connotations.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Making fil-ums
9. What profession would you not like to do? Soldier, with evermore thanks to all who do…
   
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Welcome to Fantasy Island…”

And now, for something completely different.  I don’t normally share my ideas on the state of the world, politics, or the economy.  Partially because I don’t want to stick my foot in my mouth for lack of information, mostly because it’s nobody’s business but my own.  But with all the attention being paid to the film Miss Representation on Facebook and the web, I decided to join the conversation.  This morning, I watched the trailer, eight minutes of ideas, commentary, sound bites, and statistics to get people thinking about the roles of girls and women in American society.  Without having seen the film in its entirety (it airs on the Oprah Network on the 20th), I don’t know how they address the statistics cited, but here are my thoughts on what is presented.

“3% of positions of clout in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing, and advertising are held by women.  16% of writers, directors, producers, and cinematographers are women.”

This is depressing and certainly gives a perspective on why so much of the media we see portrays women in a negative light or as mere sexual objects.  If we aren’t in the room making the decisions, it’s difficult to change the content.

“The 2010 midterm election is the only time since 1979 that women have not made gains.”

I wonder, were there as many women running for office?  If so, were they intelligent and well spoken?  An Olympia Snowe or a Patty Murray (or a Shirley Chisolm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed - to use an old school phrase – she was bitchen!) versus a Michelle Bachmann?  Bless her heart, she flummoxes me, and, as a woman, I’d make no hesitation in choosing a thoughtful, educated man, regardless of party, over a woman who makes so little sense.  None at all.  The same goes for any candidate of color.  I would love to see more representation, but I am not going to vote for someone who doesn’t put a clear message in my voter’s pamphlet.

“At age seven, equal numbers of girls and boys want to be President, but by age fifteen, there is a large gap.” 

At age seven, I wanted to be a pilot, and a boy told me I couldn’t because I was a girl.  I cried bullshit but then realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to do anyway.  I’m forty, and, heaven help me, still don’t have a career path nailed down.  However, I can say, rather definitively, that I never, ever wanted to be President.  Maybe the girls who said they did at seven had the same change of heart as I did about being a pilot, not because someone told them it wasn’t possible, but because they wanted something different for themselves.

“Women make up 51% of the population yet are only 17% of the Congress.”

Again, I wonder how many women are running?  I know I can’t recall many women from Oregon being on the ballot.  Also, that is a difficult job, with work that never ends, the majority of which is away from home.  It’s certainly not something I would choose.  Heck, Mitch Daniels, a man, didn’t run for President for the same reason, “the interests and wishes of my family is the most important consideration of all.”  Here’s hoping this is at least partially responsible for the lack of parity.

Finally, to what started me writing this post in the first place.  Soon after I watched the trailer, I was doing part of my daily workout, a POP Pilates for long and lean legs, and wondered what my motivation for working on my body is.  Do I feel pressured by the media to be something other than what I am?  Am I overwhelmed by images of model thin women and feel I must conform?  In all honesty, no.  First and foremost, I want to be healthy, fit, and strong.  Emphasis on the strong.  I don’t want to take the easy way out by using prescription drugs instead of good self-care.  It’s bad enough that my skin is starting to sag and my hair is turning grey with amazing rapidity.  I don’t want to have to start popping pills, too.  I’ve seen enough prescription drug ads, as many as I have for wrinkle creams and weight loss, to know that they are bad news.  Side effects may include…

So there, I’m done.  Happy hump day!