Burger King and the Corruption of the Innocents

Mood: Upbeat
Listening to: My kids being monkeys

So. Burger King has a new ad campaign out. In case you have your head in a hole in the sand (like New Orleans does about having a serious gang problem), Burger king is going around to the few uncharted, pristine places on earth and giving the natives Burger King burgers in a farcical attempt at a taste test as a marketing campaign.

I know that there are some (hello Pointlessbanter.com!) who are saying that the BK execs are laughing all the way to the bank hearing the moral outrage of people that brings more publicity to them, but hear me out. Pointless banter, I love ya, but I disagree. Not about them bankrolling, they are, but about how it’s unsavory even if not true. It’s like making a commercial about using a certain brand of condom because your sister prefers it. Eww. I’m not usually one to get up on my soapbox and preach over a moral cause involving fine dining of the fast food variety, but I deem this cause worthy. Now I’m pretty sure BK isn’t actually going out and finding indigenous people to run marketing exercises on. They’re pretty hard to find because they’re so isolated. That and the fact that they’d probably catch you and eat you, but I digress.

What I find so completely offensive about this ad is the fact that BK is presenting the point of view that they aren’t happy ruining the health of the connected world. They have to ruin the health of absolutely everyone. I’d say BK is getting a bit hegemonous for my taste. I mean seriously. Apparently Burger King isn’t satisfied with making the known world fat. They are out to make the entire planet fat. Because introducing burgers loaded with saturated fat would really be the best thing for people who subsist on a healthy diet of fruit and insects. All for the cause of marketing.

Another thing that gets me is that BK seems to be telling us that we can’t trust the taste buds of the everyday man. We could not possibly choose a Whopper over a Big Mac. Are we all really on board for eating burgers chosen by people thing who have never had a burger before? I’d say that if you really gave a person a burger who’s never had one before (especially a fast food nightmare like a Whopper), they wouldn’t eat it. They aren’t programmed to crave fat like the western world is. People who have never eaten bread and may eat fire cooked meat once a month most likely aren’t going to go for ground grey meat on a squishy roll. As I said, it’s a nice marketing idea to raise discussion, but it’s a little morally corrupt. I’m not a major burger queen anyhow, but it did make me want to go to BK less, rather than more. I can pick my own burger thanks, I don’t need a Maori tribesman to do it for me.

Becky

The "F" Word

Listening to: Random Hindi on the Ipod.
Mood: Ready to get back into a schedule

Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close at our house. It’s Sunday and the kids are already in bed. Hubby will stay home for 1 more day just to use up some vacation. I am SO ready to get back into our daily schedule. For some reason or other, it’s impossibly hard for me to get into my schedule when my husband or eldest daughter are home. They just seem to move at a different rate and direction than yours truly. Fine for a few days, but then I need to have some space to do the usual things required to run a 4 person household.

For some reason (besides having always sworn like a sailor) I have had the “f” word on my mind a lot lately, and I don’t mean fuchsia. I am a huge fan. I love love love it. It just carries a poignancy that you can’t replace with milder words without losing the passion or looking retarded. I think George Carlin is my hero when it comes to the word. He just lays it all out there and wonders what in the heck is the big deal? I agree. How did we manage to capture such an offensive sentiment into one word, and why f? I can think of plenty of words that are far more offensive than the “f” word. Words, for all my propensity for swearing, never ever use. Perhaps it’s just the lure of the forbidden. Perhaps if everybody walked around yelling “Fark!!” every time they ran into a telephone pole, it wouldn’t be so attractive. Whatever. I’m still going to be using every time I mentally rip someone a new one for pulling in front of me in traffic. After all, can’t have my 5 year old developing this propensity so young.

Becky

Assless Chaps, Mom Jeans, Mullets, and Mustaches

Listening to: Chinese Democracy (yes, again)
Mood: Strung Tight (I took a very late nap today)

As usual, VH1 classic is providing me with some entertainment. I always find it great fun to look back on different times and styles and have a good laugh. I’m sure I’ll be laughing about 2008 in 20 years too. As a kid growing up in the 80’s, I saw lots of questionable fashion choices. Let’s take a look at 2 of them.

So. Gloria Estephan. I can’t remember which music video this was, but it was a pretty well known 80’s tune. Gloria’s not a bad singer. Hot face to boot. But Gloria, honey, who told you that mom jeans and ass-less chaps would be a good idea? Who? You had a great stage presence and a decent song, but I just couldn’t stop staring at your bottom half trying to figure out what you had going on down there. I’m going to go out on a limb here and declare ass-less chaps a bad thing for 95% of people. Seriously Howard Stern, you are included in that 95%. Mom jeans are just wrong for everyone. Absolutely everyone.

On to the Man Mullet Stache. I don’t know who came up with this look, but they need to never go near men’s fashion again. The easiest way I can describe this look is to say Lionel Ritchey. Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to Lionel Ritchey just as long as I don’t have to look at him. The mullet, the mustache. *Shudder* By themselves they’re just bad, but together, they’re so bad they’re almost good, in a comedic way. That look just doesn’t work for anyone, but it was so ubiquitous. Gloria’s fashion camp also decided one of these gems of a man should be in her video too. I’m sure Gloria is slapping her head and saying “Doh!” when she sees the music video just like the rest of us do when we see 80’s pictures of ourselves with huge, permed hair, acid washed jeans and neon leg warmers.

In conclusion, I’m SO glad the 80’s are done. I hope most of the fashions never see the light of day again. I’ll laugh from here. I don’t want to see it up close again.

Becky

Ted Nugent is Freakin Nuts

Listening to: Ghost Adventures – Creepy Shit!
Mood: TGIF, baby!

So this probably doesn’t come to a surprise to anyone unlike me who was totally ignorant about who Ted Nugent was, but that dude is absolutely frickin nuts. I saw him on an old MTV cribs episode. Wow. He gets a hard-on over a hunting stand.

I watched the video from Wango Tango too. He was one sweaty dude. He was almost swimming in his own sweat while singing about sex. I know they say that sweat and pheromones attract those of the opposite sex, but please. I can safely say that I would NOT want to do the wango tango with him.

They ask this dude his opinion on political things too. I still haven’t figured that out. I know he comes off as a right wing nut who is all about gun rights for individuals, but why ask Ted Nugent? Because he was a singer, or has a famous name? Ah well. I guess if we can make a big deal of Joe the plumber (who wasn’t actually a plumber) then we can listen to Ted Nugent for a few minutes.

Becky

Pet Pedicures and You

Listening to: An Adoption show on Siberian Adoption
Mood: Unanchored.

Wow. It’s been quite a bit of time since I emerged from the time warp black hole that is being a mother of an almost 5 year old and an almost 1 year old. Whew is it good to get some grown up expression out.


I don’t know if you’ve seen the commercials on animal planet about pedicures, but it really cracks me up. We had dogs when I was growing up. I worked at an animal hospital also, so I’m pretty comfortable with cutting animals nails.


The premise of this ad is that if you cut your pet’s nails with a traditional pet nail clipper, you are hurting them and are a terrible pet parent. They even have a vet saying that they always try to eliminate pain in pets (read: and why aren’t you, you jerk?). The schtick is that you should buy a pet “pet-icure” system that slowly files the nail away painlessly. They have lots of cut dogs in the commercial that sit quietly and patiently while their nails are being filed. I haven’t seen too many dogs that will sit still while their nails are slowly filed.


The best part of this advertisement is how they imply that if you don’t use the Pedicure system, you are a horrible person who will cause your pet tons of pain and mental anguish. Really? I think it’s a good concept, but this commercial is too ridiculous.

Becky

Bounty Girls

Listening to: Akhila chatter – like usual.
Mood: Excited for the Weekend

Anyone noticed that there seem to be a lot of bounty hunter shows popping up? It started out with Dog the Bounty hunter – the fruity red neck dude who really cares about the scuzz balls he catches. I’m not really a huge fan if you couldn’t tell. Then, these shows started popping up all over the place. Or perhaps it’s just all the different channels available now.
One of the shows that really irks me (and all bounty hunter shows do) was Bounty Girls. The premise of the show is a bail man and a team of chick bounty hunters hunting down people who don’t go to their day in court. It’s really a ridiculous show. Lots of bitchiness, cattiness, and the bond man coming off looking like a pimp. Literally. The way those women kiss his ass is totally ridiculous. Look ladies, not only are you doing yourself a disservice by behaving like spoiled teenaged girls, you are doing a disservice to others also by promoting the reality tv trend that has people encouraging others to act petty, selfish, and generally like assholes.

Becky

Teddy Bears and Laser Hair Removal

Listening to: Peter Pan
Mood: Excited for the Weekend

I know, I know. Not usually something you hear in the same sentence. We get advertisement envelopes in the mail for local businesses. I’m sure most of you do. I got an ad about laser hair removal that featured a totally naked chick wrapping her arms around a huge teddy bear. Em, what? Why in the world would you sit buck nekked for an advertisement with a child’s stuffed animal? And why is that at all relevant to hair removal? Because the bear is hairy? I don’t think I want to see a totally nekked bear. I really didn’t need to see her naked with the bear either! Just another example of a marketing team that needs to be fired.....

The General.com

Mood : Tired
Listening to: John Stewart

I was watching some show the other day and saw a commercial for the general.com. It’s an insurance company with a cartoon general as a mascot. I don’t know about you, but I have a serious problem trusting a no-name insurance company that uses a cartoon as a mascot. Geico is pushing the line with their animated gecko, but at least most people know who they are. General.com is not. What kind of insurance coverage would you get? It almost doesn’t matter, because really, who is going to go check it out? A cartoon general? I think they need to either hire some marketing guys or find some who will encourage people to take them seriously.

Saving Dar Fur - One Tee Shirt at a Time

Listening to: Anthony Bourdain in Ghana
Mood: Calm

I was leaving Target today when I noticed a man walk by with a green tee shirt that said Save Darfur. Now I really hate picking on people who are at least trying to improve the condition of others. It shows that they at least have others in their thoughts and are trying rather than constantly being caught up in their own lives. It kind of made me wonder if this young gentleman was involved in the rescue of Darfur in any way beyond a tee shirt. I sincerely hope so, seeing as to how tee shirts are a decidedly ineffective way of stopping the slaughter of lots of people. It’s great that people are reminded of situations like Darfur, but unfortunately, a tee shirt is likely to remind them for 15 minutes, and then fade into the background of the mind. Tee shirts are a great start, but we need to remind people in a manner that spurs them to action. We claim to be a great humanitarian nation. We should be doing more than we do to improve not only the condition of our citizens, but also of those around the world.

Taking Up Residence in a Clothing Receptacle

Mood: Cranky from the obscene heat and humidity. For the 3rd day in a row.
Listening to: Hercules. Again.

I know I’m a little late in making fun of this, but I’m just getting around to blogging again. It’s not the easiest thing in the world for me to get on the computer. Not with 2 kids and a co-dependent husband.

So what kind of person, exactly, wanders into a stranger’s house and then decides it would be a good idea to take up residence in that person’s spare bedroom? In the closet. In a compartment. I guess she was homeless, but how could you possibly think that the person would not notice activity in a spare bedroom? Not to mention food going missing and such.

To the dude: What? How could you not notice a strange, homeless lady in your home for an entire year? This just goes beyond anything. You didn’t notice missing food, a disturbed shower, or say, long hairs laying around? What? Maybe it’s just because I live in a smaller apartment or perhaps because I have my closets filled pretty much to the brink, but I am pretty damn sure I would notice if someone else was in my house. I’m pretty observant and like things in their place. I’m positive that I would notice someone else using the shower.

Crazy!

Becky

Movie Review: Knocked Up

Listening to: A TV show about Angels being evil

Mood: Calm

I have been looking forward to watching this movie since it came out. It looked so promising. From what I heard, Seth Rogan is quite the up and coming funny man. This is why it was so disappointing. The story line was not only clichéd, it was way to drawn out and made way too many clichéd points. It also wasn’t that funny. Seth probably will go on to comic greatness, but I was underwhelmed by Kathrine Heigl. I don’t watch the tv show she is in, nor have I seen 27 dresses, so I don’t know if it’s just this movie or her acting in general. I hope not too many people bothered paying to see this in the theater. Hopefully they just wasted a Saturday evening watching it at home.

Becky

Utopian Fantasies

Listening to: Steve Irwin – Crikey!

Mood: Tired of foolishness

I was driving through town the other day and noticed a guy walking down the sidewalk with a sign imploring us to end world poverty. It made me stop for a minute and think about why exactly people do this with signs. I can understand why people would do this to raise awareness for political causes or customer service issues, but ending poverty and hunger? Now don’t get me wrong. If it were possible, I would be all for ending all of the foolishness and suffering in the world. What strikes me is that there’s little to no chance of this happening in the near future, if it ever does. The world is such a complex, savage place, how in the world do they expect quick answers or resolutions? I’m pretty sure that most people are aware that the world isn’t a happy utopian place. Most of our parents educated us about that when we didn’t want to eat our veggies. We also already have plenty of brilliant, caring people working on the problems of the world. There really is no easy answer to poverty or hunger. It seems especially futile to me when there are only a few people standing together. Protests, marching, and lobbying the government for changes (think Vietnam war type protests) are a great tool. If enough people get up in the government’s face, they at least give lip service about change. But 1 or 2 people already lobbying on a street corner for something that most people agree is important?

Becky

Movie Recommendation: Citizen X

Mood: Happy
Listening to : The Sweet Sound of Silence

I don't recommend many movies, as everyone has different tastes, but I had to let out a huzzah for this movie. Donald Sutherland (Kiefer's daddy) plays a main role in a Soviet Union serial killer drama. So take yourself over to Netflix (or does anyone actually still use blockbuster?) and check it out.

Becky

Book Review : The Dirt on Clean – An Unsanitized History by Kathrine Ashburg

Mood: Calm
Listening to: Prince and the Pauper, the Barbie Version

I just finished reading my first ever book about bathing and cleanliness and I have to admit, it was more than just a little interesting. It was a bit unsettling to discover that my ancestors (Dutch and German) were considered among the dirtiest. It did get off to a slow start, but it went on to cover sanitation, oral health, and the political science of hygiene and body odors. Not exactly dinner table conversation, but very, very interesting nonetheless.


Verdict : Not an immediate must read, but an interesting read to work on over time.

Segway Scooters at the Mall

Mood: Relaxed
Listening to: Anthony Bourdain China

I just had to giggle to myself the other day. I noticed that one of the mall security guard had a nice segway that he was wandering around the food court in. Wait, what? Why in the world would a security guard need a scooter? This has just reduced my faith that mall security guards have any function beyond form. Seriously, a 2000 square foot food court. Do you really need a little scooter to move you around? This falls under the same lunacy as wheels in tennis shoes. Stop being so lazy and walk, son! The pinnacle of this sighting was when the guard parked his segway next to the stairs and walked down and outside. It was SO tempting to just jump on there and take off with it, laughing maniacally.

Becky

The Color Green

Mood: Relaxed
Listening to: Anthony Bourdain China

I know this post is going to be totally un PC, but oh well. I’ve never been too concerned about PC. Is anyone else getting fed up with seeing and hearing about living green at every single turn? I understand that being “green” and helping out the earth is important, and a worthy goal, but good grief! I’m a magazine freak. I love reading all kinds of magazines. If I see one more “green issue” I’m gonna go postal. The problem isn’t so much that they focus on being ecologically sound, it’s that the advice is either repeated or not really sustainable for regular people. I’ll give recycling as an example. Now I’m not sure how many people have had their head in the sand, but recycling has been a big deal at least since I was in grade school, some 15 years ago. My family has been recycling and doing our part since then. So how much of a difference can we really make by toting recycling as the one thing that the average man can help out with. Another example is building an ecologically friendly house. While this is a fantastic idea, it is just not sustainable for the masses. Most of the materials and process associated with this process are just beyond anyone who is not at least medium rich, which is most of the nation. Builders aren’t going to pick up the ball either. I’m all for awareness, but I’m not so hot on beating an issue to death.

Becky

Get Outta My Personal Space

Mood: Calm
Listening to: Anthony Bourdain in China

So I was at Target with my kids the other day and I had the unfortunate experience of meeting someone who had absolutely no concept of the polite distance between strangers in the western hemisphere commonly known as personal space. We were in line at the snack bar (because, well, I had my kids along and at 3 pm, lunch still looked hours away if I didn’t eat while running errands) and I noticed that someone behind me was standing really, really close to me. As in touching my back with the side of her body. Now I’m not a touchy feely person. I am very, very jealous of my personal space and generally try to avoid touching people I don’t know. I got a little uncomfortable and inched forward. There wasn’t much room to move forward, as I was as close as comfortable to the guy in front of me. This person then scooted forward until she was touching me again. I’m not talking about bumping into me, I’m talking sustained contact. I turned around to see what in the world her problem was, but then she backed up an inch and wouldn‘t meet my eye and decided that the ceiling tiles were fascinating. I’ve come across skeevy guys who don’t have a concept of personal space or just want to cop a feel, but this was a chick! An older, middle aged woman chick! After I turned back around to talk to my four year old, she sidled up to me again. It was the weirdest thing I’ve come across in a long time.

As you probably know, I live in NY. Not bumbledum upstate NY, half hour from NYC NY. People are pretty eclectic here, but overall, educated and normal. So what gives? How did this normal looking middle age woman simply miss the personal space etiquette that is glaringly obvious in the US? We just paid for our food and scooted off really quickly, and she just left. I’m still not quite sure what happened there.

Becky

Sending Myself Sexual Solicitations

Listening to: Jungle Book
Mood: Calm – for now

I was looking through an old email inbox recently and happened to notice my name in the inbox. I was sure that I hadn’t sent myself anything, so I was really curious as to what was in that email. I opened it and found an ad for obtaining a larger penis. Now I always get a kick out of these type of ads in a roll your eyes sort of way because, well, I don’t have a penis. Why would I need a bigger one? The idea that I sent a penis ad to myself just made me laugh out loud. (That’s right fools, writing as LOL just makes you look stupid. Same goes for IDK. ) I know I probably have a spam producer somewhere on my computer, but it still made my day. So here’s to offering yourself a bigger penis than the one you don’t have.

Becky

To The Dude I almost Flattened

Listening to: Bare Necessities – Jungle Boy

Mood: Calm – for the moment

To the Dude I almost ran over today:

Okay, so as an older white guy, you probably aren’t a “dude”, but hey, that’s just my terminology. So I almost ran you over today. Yep, I know, it’s really scary when a car weighing a couple tons is coming right at you and you aren’t really sure it’s going to stop. I apologize for scaring the crap out of you. It certainly wasn’t intentional. I really wouldn’t want to go to jail for manslaughter over you. A rapist or mass murder perhaps, but not just for you.
A couple of things that you probably didn’t notice in your adrenaline hazed stupor as you stared at me in amazement as you crossed the street in front of me.

1. You were crossing a street. I understand that I had a red light. I really had every intention to come to a complete halt. I just had a different idea as to where that stop was going to be. It’s common practice for people and cars to stop at a corner so that they can see the activity on the street so they can judge when to enter the intersection. So I really don’t think it was worth all the attitude you threw my way when I stopped suddenly for you because you decided to step off the curb 30 feet from the corner, which brings me to point 2.

2. Drivers have lots of things to pay attention to – pedestrians don’t. Being in control of said heavy, moving, vehicle is something that requires lots of attention in different directions. To be perfectly honest, I stopped so late because you happened to be in the last direction I looked before stopping at the intersection. I’m sure this clears up my intentions about whether I wanted to flatten you or not.

3. I understand we live in a city and pedestrians are absolutely ever where, like flies on road kill, but this still does not give me the psychic ability to read your mind. Don’t you think it’s just a little foolish and arrogant to step off the curb before you make sure the cars will stop? Perhaps someone is coming along like me who just didn’t see you but was driving faster and not planning on stopping.

So I’m sure I’ll never see you again. White Plains is a pretty big place. Hopefully neither of us have another encounter like today. I know it gave me a few brand new grey hairs. I'm sure you wouldn't notice any new ones anyhow.

Becky

All Hail to Cannon Powershot

Listening to: Elder daughter taking a bubblebath
Mood: Calm


So I got a new camera recently and I am uber excited about it. I bought an “el cheapo” digital camera off of E-bay 3 years ago and while it works okay, there is a lot left to be desired in the matter of shakeage and taking pictures in a low light setting. It has 6 megapixles which was pretty much all that was available at the time. It’s a ghetto booty camera from China, but has done a decent job if you don’t try to take pictures in less than full sunlight. I bought a 12 megapixle ghetto booty camera off of E-Bay the next year, but I’m not even gonna talk about that camera. It just sucks that badly.


I’m a picture taking person. The advent of digital cameras excited me to no end because you didn’t have to pay for crappy pictures anymore. You could see them instantly and just throw away the not so great ones and try again. No worries about blinking or looking away when the pictures was taken. Not to mention not paying development fees. Anyhow, since we have a recent new addition to our household (the pint sized daughter) I started bugging hubby to get a better camera so that we could forever preserve this joyous time. Okay, actually I was just getting REALLY fed up getting fuzzy pictures thought I could swear I was still as a statue. They looked clear enough on the microscreen of the camera, but would then be fuzzy on the computer.


So I’m having some fun playing around and taking pictures of both my family and some other neat stuff, which I LOVE to do. I probably couldn’t make it as a pro photographer, but I think I have a good eye and I really enjoy taking pictures.


While I haven’t read the manual so I understand what each button does, I would highly recommend this camera to an amateur who wants to point and shoot and come out with pretty nice pictures.



Here's a picture I took with the camera of the Kensico Dam in Valhalla New York on a sunny day:















Becky

Total Eclipse of the Children of the Corn

Listening to: The absolute madhouse chaos of McDonald’s play place on a busy day

Mood: Content

I was watching a show on VH1Classic the other day and happened to catch Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. Now this is one of my husband’s favorite songs of all time, so we both sat down and watched the video. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before as this song became popular way before I was allowed to watch MTV. My parent's were afraid it would corrupt my preteen self forever.

Wow. For a nice, traumatized, love song, they sure missed the boat with the video. What is with the whole children of the corn vibe? With the glowing eyes? How does this fit at all with the video. And then it ends with a creepy, stalker-esque, cougar situation at the end. It’s such a passionate song, they could have done much better with the video. Am I missing something?Does this song go with a movie of the Mrs. Robinson caliber?

You gotta love the 80’s hair that Bonnie is rocking though. It’s so fun to look back on the 80’s and rip on all the totally silly fashion stupidities that occurred. So help me if leg warmers ever truly make a comeback.

Becky

Getting Rich - Some Day

Listening to: The absolute madhouse chaos of McDonald’s play place on a busy day

Mood: Content

I know I’ve been rather absent. I had been hoping to write quite a bit more often than I’ve been able to. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with life and motherhood lately. I’ve been trying to get back on the horse, but the damn thing keeps trotting away. Anyhow, I’m trying to get on here more.

So I was driving home recently and heard a commercial on the radio. It just happened to be a day that both my kids were quiet at the same time, so I could actually hear the radio. Normally I just ignore commercials, but this one caught my attention for one reason or other and then I was hooked just from the ridiculousness I was hearing.

The commercial I listened to promised people untold wealth – eventually. They were trying to get people to turn to them instead of a get rich quick scheme. Now I don’t know what’s passing for marketing experience these days, but if that’s all it takes, I think I’ll go into marketing.

Come on! Who wants to admit they want to get rich eventually. Well, I’m sure that those who do don’t order self help/instruction tapes off of the radio. Do you really think that it makes the schtick make any more believable if you don’t promise immense wealth immediately? Most people don’t get immensely wealthy unless they are very lucky and win the lotto or they have a fantastic business idea that takes off.

Just think about it. Who wants to explain t their spouse, “But honey, it promised untold wealth eventually!” I think my husband would come really close to beating me if I spent money on something like this. I would probably beat him if he did it too.

Becky

Good use of Tax Money

Since just over 1% of the US adult population is in prison now, I thought maybe this would be a good use of their time. A lot harder to find time to get into gang nonsense and shank people if you're worried about dancing in unison. I know I wouldn't want to get caught if it meant dancing to soldier boy and MC Hammer. With lots of other guys. Then again - too much MC Hammer may incite violence against the gaurds..... Check it out.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/220961/

A Doubting Theresa

Listening to: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous – Good Charlotte
Mood: Cranky

Time magazine recently featured a story about Mother Theresa, some letters she had written, and about doubting her faith. I was both amazed and a little saddened about what I read. I was born a bit young to fully comprehend and appreciate all that Mother Theresa did before she died, but I held her in high esteem as a person who had truly made a difference in the world and had compassion for others.

I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God, or divinity in the personified form that religion has shaped it to be. I don’t believe in heaven or hell. When you die, that’s it, game over. I believe in spirituality to some degree, but more as a mental function than anything outward. I’m pretty comfortable with my feelings on the subject. I’m not doubtful about it nor am I apologetic about it. I wasn’t raised this way though. I was raised in a Dutch reformed church and in a very conservative family. I was a pretty serious Christian until I was about 17. It has been a long road for me to become comfortable with what I believe in as an adult. I know the tremendous guilt and uncertainty that comes with going against what you were raised as and believed in for so long. I cannot fathom the spiritual agony that Mother Theresa must have felt when she could not banish her doubt after devoting her whole life to God. It must have been such a huge burden every day to wake up and want to believe whole heartedly and not be able to.

It took years after Mother Theresa’s death for these letters to surface. She didn’t want the letters published, out of what I am going to guess is shame. She was made out to be a saint almost before she died. Her work was heavily tied to God, Christianity, and the catholic church. How could she admit doubt in the face of all of the expectations placed on her? The shame she felt must have been huge. It must have been difficult to go through the day with such a crippling secret and feeling of hypocrisy. I’m not trying to be sarcastic or snide here – I really feel for her.

Mother Theresa, I hope you died at peace. God never commanded people not to doubt, and I do believe doubt is the product of a healthy, productive mind. If indeed your God is real and judged you after you died, I’m sure he forgave your doubts. You made such a positive impact on the world. You not only helped those in need, you inspired the rest of us to sacrifice for the good of humanity. Had you been someone else, you may not have made the difference that you did. We remember you with respect and love, doubt or not.

Becky

Personal Messages from Failed Emails

Listening to: Rain – The Beatles
Mood: Tired and a bit cranky – getting a cold

I tried to send an email to a friend recently. Well, he’s only my friend by proxy – really he’s my husband’s friend. Anyhow, this friend gets along really well with my eldest daughter. We had some cute ballerina dress up pictures that my husband thought he would like to see. I got his email address from hubby and proceeded to send the pictures. Now since I get on average about 6.3 minutes to myself on the computer a day, I got off and proceeded to be a maid/cleaner/milk fetcher for my 2 kids. The next day I got an email saying that the mail was undeliverable. I’m not sure if I had the wrong email address or the picture bounced off his email because it was too big – it really isn’t important. What I did get a huge kick out of was that the email sounded almost as if it were sent by a person. It read, “I’m sorry, I cannot find this mailbox. I have given up.” Now, I’m sure this is either a bot, or an automated response. I just got so tickled that it sounded like a real person. I know, I’m retarded like that. I actually felt sorry for Yahoo mail because it sounded so dejected about not being able to deliver that mail. So thanks, whoever programmed Yahoo undeliverable mail responses, you made my day.
Becky

Book Review: Desire - Women Write about Wanting

Listening to: Penn Masala – Mere Mehboob, Mere Sanam
Mood: Happy

I like to pass along personal reviews for books that I have read to give others an idea of what to expect and suggestions to pick up a book if it is good. I’m no Ebert or literary critic, but I read a lot, and tell it how I see it. I read mostly nonfiction with a trashy romance novel thrown in every once in a while for good measure. I won’t be reviewing the romance novels unless I find one that knocks my socks off.

I picked up this book at my local library (which is where I find almost all the books I read) in the new release section. The title caught my eye and I thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I did. I think women will get more out of this book, as obviously it’s written by and for women. The book is comprised of essays on a few different areas of desire for women. It’s inspirational and uplifting for women without being preachy, sappy, militant or generally goofy. These women are professional writers and they really delve into their emotions and desires in an artful way. Yes, some of the essays are about sexual desire, but the beauty of the book is that it examines many other areas of desire for a woman. A few articles even confront the conflicting desires that women have today as to what they should desire.

I recommend this book to any woman. I had a hard time putting it down once I started it. You may not identify with all of the situations, but you will identify with the women who wrote them. Read it!

Are You Ready for Your Closeup?

Listening to: Backyardigans

Mood: Calm and slightly incredulous

I get Time Magazine and generally enjoy reading it a lot. It helps me feel connected to the world and politics around me. I just read an article in Time last week about having your own personal paparazzi. Wait a minute. What? Why in the world would you want this?

I’ve always given kudos to the uber-capitalist society that we live in here in America. It’s really an amazing system. However, how do you fool people into thinking this is a good idea? I imagine this kind of service can’t come cheap, and that people with money like this to spend have at least a few more functioning brain cells than the rest of us. So how do you possibly convince people that they should spend money to have a camera hound chase them and spill all their secrets? What kind of narcissistic ego issues must you have to want this when you’re not famous? Even famous people detest the paparazzi. Why, just why?

I definitely need to develop a product or service like this. If you’re stupid enough to part with your money for things like this, why in the world should I not cash in?!
Becky

Welcome to Just Passing Through

Hi!
I'm Becky. You've landed up in my personal blog about life. This is the blog I save just for my random musings. I've been blogging on Yahoo 360 for 2 years now and decided to move to blogger to organize my thoughts better. If you'd like to check out my previous writing or more about me, see: http://360.yahoo.com/profile-h6VVLvEjfKeRs37GCw2TsX6YAeY-?cq=1
I have a blog on my take on current politics also if you'd like to check those out at:http://becky-politicalrants.blogspot.com/. I will also be writing a blog on being a mom and all of the absurdity that comes along with that too. I'll leave the link here later.

I'm 26. I live in White Plains NY, which is about an hour north of NYC. I love living here. I'm married to a fantastic guy from India and we have 2 kids. I have a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. I'm not working right now. I have chosen to stay home for a year with my youngest child and am 1 month into that. I absolutely love to write. I find it a fantastic medium for communication and reflection. I also like to read nonfiction, cross stitch, run, be outside, cook, eat what I cook, and play with my kids.

I'm a big fan of letting people have and express their own opinions. All my writings are just that - my own opinions. I have no qualms about making fun of myself in the process - it's one of the few unrestricted joys in life. That being said, I welcome comments and thoughts from anyone on what I've written. However, I would ask that you be kind and remember that these are my thoughts. Logical arguments with something I've said - fantastic. Name calling or undefended scorn - not so much.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope I can bring some occasional sunshine in this circus we call life.