Rant....

Just as my good friend Darren posted on his oh so amazing blog Bad Grammer Good Blog this week my post will also be in the style of a rant. My rant will be directed at Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author of Herland, and to women. I would like to note that I really have nothing against women, but I thought it would be fun to experiment with this style of posting.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who do you think you are? Who are you to say women would be able to have a fully sufficient society without the assistance of men. Not only is this improbable, it is impossible. I don't care if this is a fiction novel, the idea of human beings gaining the ability of parthenogenesis is just stupid and far fetched. She continues to assert females as the stronger sex and that males are actually weaker. Yes women have faced oppression for thousands of years, but does Gilman really think she can just put an end to all this oppression by "freeing" an entire society of women from male's "rule"? No, she cannot, and should have never had an inkling of hope that she could. I also don't know where she came up with her theory that "The only reason a female has not withered away completely is that each 'girl child inherits from her father a certain increasing percentage of human development, human power, human tendency." This is a very illogical statement as she first says that women continue to live because of the infusion of the male's gene, but then says that everything the father adds to the child is negative. Really Charlotte? Really? Charlotte Gilman Perkins, we are all now dumber for having read your novel and your comments on women and how men seem to be unnecessary. This is no utopia! This is a mockery of a "perfect" society.

Now I'm not gonna say I'm the best "ranter" around, but I gotta start somewhere.....

Quotes from: "Reproducing Utopia: Charlotte Perkins GIlman and Herland"

Listening to some music....

Random shuffle on iTunes and Can't Tell Me Nothin' (Remix) comes on by Kanye West --of course-- featuring Lil Wayne.... it must be a sign from up above tellng me to finish my english project as he lays down the line.....

"So tired of ballin', excuse me if I yawn
Ha, But I know what I'm doin'
Out the window of the jet,
U.C.L.A. like a Bruin"
(you see LA)

Must be Saxon tellin me to get back to work.... but then again just as the song proclaims, he "Can't Tell Me Nothin'"

** guess I'm that bored I turn to Blogger to pass my time

Wow

Kanye managed to sell out in about 32 seconds... convenient.
Even with a presale password and logging on at exactly 12 o clock noon, I am ticketless.
Hopefully I find a way to get my hands on some tickets for the Glow In The Dark Tour, as I am so determined to do so.

I Used to Love H.E.R. ... I Still Love H.E.R.

....so after a long week of sitting (and burning) under the hot Mexican sun, I have finally made it back to snowy New Jersey. With that in mind, I was able to finish Herland but with the price of Internet being $15 a day, I was not able to blog about it. Lucky for all of you I am back and ready to blog about the book they call Herland....

I last left off with the men learning of how the inhabitants of Herland reproduce and thrive as a "nation". The men are in awe of how everyone is able to coexist. This is probably because there is no competition supplied by men, and since everyone is derived from one common source, it is as if they are one huge family. The men are embarassed of the world they come from, and the women of Herland almost feel pity for the men that they come from such a terrible place. Vandyck tries to explain the act of abortion and the women backlash at him. They stress how inhumane that is and how they would never be able to do that. Sommel says this is no way to build up a strong nation and that giving birth to a child (or girl) is an honor, and that you should take this as an honor.
Terry hates Herland. He sees the society itself as a terrifying, uncomplete place and that men are necessary for a nation to thrive. Herland just does not make sense to him. The three men begin relationships with the three women they met in the onset of the book -- Celis, Alima, Ellador. Terry and Jeff find love in Alima and Celis respectively. These two relationships are not as successful as Ellador and Van's. Van sees that the women want to have a mutual bnd and respect for their partner and he loves Ellador accordingly. Each couple is married; the men and women have differing opinions on what sex is: for intercourse or for reproducing.

...It was interesting to see the varying approaches to marriage and sex the three explorers had. Jeff and Van each see it as their female counterpart see it. They are able to compromise with their partners for the most part. Ellador and Van have a blanced relationship and Celis and Jeff have minor problems. They overcome their issues as Celis eventually is impregnated by Jeff, the first in over 2000 years of Herland. Terry thinks he is the owner of Alima, now that they are married, and he attempts to rape her. This leads to the banishment of the men from Herland...

Because he has fathered a child with Celis, Jeff decides to stay behind at Herland. Ellador accompanies Van back home and Terry leaves angrily. At first he threatens the country but he later backs down from his threats. The two men and Ellador leave the paridise of Herland and go back to the bi-sexual real world.

This book left many questions such as,
1. What is the world's reaction to Ellador?
2. What will happen to Jeff at Herland?
a. Will his child with Celis be "normal"?
b. If it is a boy, how will that change Herland?

Thank god there is a sequel With Her in Ourland
I'm sure that will be EVERYBODY's book to read!!

In conclusion i found Herland to be a little bit sexist, in the way Gilman made men to seem to root of all evil and that a society of all women could exist perfectly. In the end though, a man is left at Herland and who knows what will happen with that, so in a way men win... as it should be.
With Her in Ourland takes the persepctive of Van and Ellador living in a "real" society. Yes, Google has a Book tab and here it is for With Her in ourland... Google does it all.

Bring on the next book.

So Hot in Herr(land)!

Four chapters into Herland, and this novel has not taken me the places I thought it would have taken me. Three men+society of thousands of women who have been without men for 2000 years=... well you know. Herland is about three middle aged explorers - Vandyck Jennings, Jeff Margrave, Terry Nicholson - who want to discover the land where no men roam, just women. While Vandyck, or Van, actually wants to find Herland from reasons other men might, all three men are intrigued by exploration and the thrill of discovering un-found territories. The three men fly in a small bi-plane and view the area from above; it appears cultivated and technologically advanced for a society of all women. When they touch down they initially do not see any women but after rummaging around, they feel they are beign watched by three females. The three explorers try to get the women to come to them, but they play hard to get. Nicholson makes a grab for one of them, but fails and they chase the surprisingly athletic women to a settlement. They struggle to keep up but when they come upon the settlement, find themselves surrounded and then taken captive. All three are drugged, become unconcious, but wake up unharmed.
....i found this part of the book very weird. the capture seemed to accomplish nothing at this point of the book. they roam around pretty freely although they are still "captive." it is almost as if the men are welcomed there, yet the women do not know how to handle the three men....
....when they do escape from their non-strict imprisonment, they make it to the plane, only to see the three women from their first encoutner to be waiting for them. this part of the book surprised me and i i found it quite redundant. this might be done by Charlotte Perkins Gilman to show just how smart the women are....
The men start to befriend the women and even in captivity, talk freely with them. They ask how long has this been an all woman society, and they answer 2000 years. They are surprised that it took that long for them to ask.
....it seems that Herland is the perfect place. as a society of all women there are no problems, no enemies, everyone coexists together. reproduction is done asexually and babies are always female through the process of Parthenogenesis. Parthenos means virgin in Latin. its crazy to think that for the last 2000 years there have only been females and all the babies born are girls...
This is as far as I have gotten through Herland, it is not a hard read, but it also is not easy. I find myself reading passages a few times often, and getting lost in the book.

1. When will the action pick up?
2. Will there be a sudden twist?
3. ..and what will it be?
4. How could Herland be so "perfect"?

blogger is frustrating....

Lupe Fiasco Review

For all you who want a review on the Lupe Fiasco concert, check out Darren's post on his blog: Lupe Fiasco Review.

Darren's view on the concert was excellent and it was a blast. The energy was great and besides Optimus, his opening act, every song was great. Even during his 20 minute intermission Gemstones, a rapper/singer on the First and 15th label, kept the crowd going.

Check out the video of Superstar live at Nokia below...


and a crazy version of The Coolest (profane):