Messages

1

Philosophy / Re: Good Documentaries

« on: March 09, 2010, 02:02:24 PM »

Those are great, I checked them out!

Here are some other good ones, mainly dealing with human consumption/corruption/etc:

These are online, and the first one is only 20 minutes! (The second one, Zeitgeist I and II, are very intense, but have definitely changed my view of the world.)

http://www.storyofstuff.com/ 
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

I also recommend:

The Corporation      (about corporate greed)
The Beautiful Truth      (about healing cancer with whole foods!)
Collapse    (a pretty frightening but beautiful political documentary that just came out)

I also liked the recent Michael Moore film: Capitalism, a Love Story.  I usually dislike talking or thinking about anything that has to do with money or politics (why ruin a beautiful day?), but unfortunately, money and politics define our current system.   

2

Philosophy / Re: Modern man is neurotic, and here's why...

« on: March 09, 2010, 01:46:12 PM »

Sorry for posting late here, but I just want to mention that the same is true for women, only in a different way...
First of all, I agree, men are discouraged from crying; which is so unhealthy in my view, since crying puts a person in touch with his humanity and provides the body with a powerful psychosomatic/mental relief.  We came out of the womb crying, and continued to cry even after we learned how to speak.  Not to cry out of joy or pain for months or even years (!) at a time, I would think, is definitely a result of mental repression.  (Although in the current world we live in, I can see how this repression is often necessary for mental survival.)

And a lot of women may say they don't like to see a man cry, and neither do I...but why would I?  I also don't like to see a child or a woman cry.  At stated, it is repressed in our culture, associated with negative connotations such as "weakness" and "frailty," and so it makes everyone uncomfortable.  Let alone "howling" in pain at a funeral--that sounds so healthy!--I do wish I heard that.

But what about women?  Not in terms of crying, but in terms of accessing their deep, true feelings?  I know so many women who are neurotic, and I'm sure it because of a similar type of repression.  Whenever women DO express their emotions, it comes out totally skewed (like yelling at a boyfriend out of nowhere) or viewed as taboo (i.e.  "she was freaking out," "acting psycho," etc.)  I don't think people, and especially women, are given any cultural tools to appropriately access this part of themselves. 
   
And while it makes us neurotic, I also think it cuts us off from a great, great source of power. 

3

Philosophy / Re: Why Europeans conquered the world

« on: March 09, 2010, 01:03:56 PM »

I'm a little late here, but I just want to mention the popular book by Daniel Quinn, "Story of B"; he dubs the European (now U.S.) imperialists Totalitarian Agriculturalists, and argues that the agricultural revolution disconnected us from nature and, more importantly, caused our population to skyrocket. 

Because more land was needed to support a growing and greedy culture, the agriculturalists expanded their horizons and took over more and more land.  They were successful not only because of their weaponry, but because they literally raped the land and thus forced hunter-gatherers to have to adopt to their way of life. 

And while the practice of agriculture is able to maintain and, in fact, cause population growth, it is obviously not sustainable.  Because, short of terraforming other planets, we've run out of land to conquer.

4

Advice Column / Re: You are Who You are... Coming to Terms.

« on: March 09, 2010, 11:12:27 AM »

What a great reminder that diversity is a good thing!  It's so easy to forget in our culture. 

Muscular, athletic women are gorgeous!  I live in the Rockies, where there are many big, buff men who prefer equally strong and fit women, who could tackle a trail with them and not get tired.  I am of the tall, lanky (read: wimpy) variety myself, although I have an athletic build, such as broad shoulders.  In turn, I used to be attracted to tall, lanky men myself, but as I've gotten more exercise in the past year than I have in years, I've started admiring the more physical Alpha males out there.  I feel like I'm naturally an "alpha female" myself, based on my bone structure and natural temperament, but it's been buried for years.  Now that my muscles are working, I feel connected to that inner power!

Which is why (if I may say so) this guy sounds like a jerk!  There's nothing wrong with personal preference, but it sounds to me like there's an undercurrent of male chauvinism here; to say that a woman looks "gross" because she looks powerful just sounds insecure.  Especially if he said it to your face...that's just weird.  Maybe he is intimidated by powerful females; there are certainly many men who fear intelligent, talented, or otherwise powerful women in all areas.  Or maybe he just fears powerful people, period.

Wow, I'm reading way too much into this. 

5

Food & Diet / Re: Grass-fed meat vs. grocery-story stuff

« on: March 09, 2010, 10:32:41 AM »

I am lucky to live in the Rocky Mountains, where lots of people hunt.  I used to think hunting was inhumane and unnecessary, but when I learned about factory farming (including the kind of feed used), I didn't touch meat for six months. 

I love meat, though, and if I can't get it fresh, I count my pennies and get the grass-fed kind.  There is a world of difference in taste for me, too: from fresh game to grass-fred, and grass-fed to "regular" meat.  Wow!  I also like to think that a better diet for the animal means a better treatment in other areas (at least I hope).  I think eating meat is necessary for humans, but at least an animal in the wild lives a happy life!  And a grass-fed animal gets to eat its natural food.

Kudos taimenz for switching! 

6

General Discussion / Re: attraction

« on: March 08, 2010, 07:31:24 PM »

Maybe I'm biased, but... When my boyfriend is on the diet (he is off/on), I definitely find him more attractive.  He can get away with eating crap, so I can't really tell a physical difference.  But when he eats caveman-style, he just seems...less sloth-like?  His smell/taste/energy is totally different.  More sharp and strong, or something.  Grrr.  I like it. 

I'm also more sensitive now, to the point where--weird as it sounds--I can literally sense when he's had one too many unhealthy meals.  I can smell and taste it on his skin.  (Not to mention hear it. Though I picked up on those lovely noises before.) 

As for me, I have noticed that a lot more men approach me now.  Of course I look and feel so much better, but I think it has more to do with my level of confidence.  I used to make myself as unapproachable as possible; I was always on guard and glared at men if they looked at me twice.  I couldn't stand male attention.  Now, I couldn't care less!   I just feel powerful, and not as "suppressed" (and ditto on the sex drive!), and it's been awesome!  The male attention is just a happy side-effect.

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Advice Column / Re: lots of carbs bad??? What about Japan????

« on: March 08, 2010, 05:18:30 PM »

Also worth mentioning: most Asians are lactose intolerant and dairy isn't part of their food culture. 

So no dairy, lots of good fish, an emphasis on vegetables, and those small portion sizes--sounds really healthy!  And rice, as Nicky pointed out, is one of those "in between" carbs, which is served up steamed and eaten with chopsticks (..not that you can't wolf down food with chopsticks).

Unfortunately, Western globalization has slowly taken over.  Did y'all know that Okinawa, formerly the land of centenarians, has a new generation that--thanks to McDonalds and such--is now the most obese in Japan?  It's so insane.