"bride wars" and the diminution of half the human population.

i'm bored of ill-constructed, stock movies with stock characters and stock plots. i'm also bored of the idea that the the only thing women care about is being in a relationship. that's what many movies suggest, explicitly. it's rampant in this society, in songs, art, advertising. being in a relationship is part and parcel of the culture of materialism that is incessantly promoted by the market's propaganda machine. in this conception, 'being with someone' is like having a bally bag or a lexus car. the pursuit of knowledge has no value; a life of careful morality and compassion is not considered. all that matters is that you're 'with someone'. gleeful faces in elongated shrieks, 'i met someoneeee!'; sorrowful singles. nothing else cheers, nothing else matters. identities are not shaped by contemplating who we are or what we want in life, but, rather, the romantic relationship. characters like this seem to live life by trial and error, flailing about this way and that, without any guidance or anchor. and, if they're in a movie, eventually erupting in dramatic outbursts in public places. it's sad that so many people, especially girls (so it seems to be, anyway), go through life with such confusion and insecurity, not knowing their purpose or goal, tying up their essences and identities into an attachment with another person. some may argue that by going through many relationships we come to learn more about ourselves and what we want. of course it's true. but what wasted time. life is about balance: love and learn.

there were some really funny lines from kate hudson's assistant.

live freedom freely

i am pleased that we live in a country that is not obsessed with itself, with its own augustness, but, rather, concerns itself explicitly with a concern for others. i am pleased that we live in a country in which we are unafraid to wear our skin on our sleeves and our ideologies on our heads. we live in a country in which we aim for plainness and honesty, not only through the behaviour of our people, but also through our state's ideology. we are not perpetually diminishing the role of public religion while at the same time infusing our public pageantry with the trappings of the dominant one. we are not concerned with raising ourselves to a position of physical dominance, but, rather, to be a force of morality among other forces of morality, in a co-operation of communities that struggles to ensure the upliftment of humanity at large, that commits itself to the freedom of every human individual, regardless of nationality, in a fraternity of humanity. we do not say we will help you, rather, we say we are united with you, and compassion is a given. to be canadian is to be human.

duty/free [manifesto]

a life of contemplation without action is a life lived lame. a life of apathetic experience is insubstantial. but in combination you have a whole: a life of both active contemplation and impassioned experience is a balanced life. in the actualisation of both/all aspects of life is life's real pleasure - experiencing the whole, wholly. in the acceptance of all our diverse and conflicting components is freedom. freedom is being whole. it is our duty to be free.