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This is one of my favorite chapters in this book. It tells you that you do not have to be that person that you grew up as. That who your elementary classmates thought your were, or who your parents think you are, have no bearing on who you actually are. For you can define that reality. You can forge a new identity; one that best fits who you are right now.
You can do this by physically moving to a new area and taking on a new identity, to simply creating an affirmation campaign and changing who you are directly, and let the rest of the world forge your new identity for you.
LAW 25
RE-CREATE YOURSELF
JUDGMENT
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you.
Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience.
Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you.
Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions—your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I
Julius Caesar made his first significant mark on Roman society in 65 B.C., when he assumed the post of aedile, the official in charge of grain distribution and public games.
He began his entrance into the public eye by organizing a series of carefully crafted and well-timed spectacles—wild-beast hunts, extravagant gladiator shows, theatrical contests.
On several occasions, he paid for these spectacles out of his own pocket.
To the common man, Julius Caesar became indelibly associated with these much-loved events.
As he slowly rose to attain the position of consul, his popularity among the masses served as the foundation of his power.
He had created an image of himself as a great public showman.
The man who intends to make his fortune in this ancient capital of the world [Rome] must be a chameleon susceptible of reflecting the colors of the atmosphere that surrounds him—a Proteus apt to assume every form, every shape.
He must be supple, flexible, insinuating, close, inscrutable, often base, sometimes sincere, sometimes perfidious, always concealing a part of his knowledge, indulging in but one tone of voice, patient, a perfect master of his own countenance, as cold as ice when any other man would be all fire;
...and if unfortunately he is not religious at heart—a very common occurrence for a soul possessing the above requisites-he must have religion in his mind, that is to say, on his face, on his lips, in his manners; he must suffer quietly, if he be an honest man, the necessity of knowing himself an arrant hypocrite.
The man whose soul would loathe such a life should leave Rome and seek his fortune elsewhere.
I do not know whether I am praising or excusing myself, but of all those qualities I possessed but one—namely, flexibility.
-MEMOIRS, GIOVANNI CASANOVA, 1725-1798
In 49 B.C., Rome was on the brink of a civil war between rival leaders, Caesar and Pompey.
At the height of the tension, Caesar, an addict of the stage, attended a theatrical performance, and afterward, lost in thought, he wandered in the darkness back to his camp at the Rubicon, the river that divides Italy from Gaul, where he had been campaigning.
To march his army back into Italy across the Rubicon would mean the beginning of a war with Pompey.
Before his staff Caesar argued both sides, forming the options like an actor on stage, a precursor of Hamlet.
Finally, to put his soliloquy to an end, he pointed to a seemingly innocent apparition at the edge of the river—a very tall soldier blasting a call on a trumpet, then going across a bridge over the Rubicon—and pronounced,
“Let us accept this as a sign from the Gods and follow where they beckon, in vengeance on our double-dealing enemies.
The die is cast.”
All of this he spoke portentously and dramatically, gesturing toward the river and looking his generals in the eye.
He knew that these generals were uncertain in their support, but his oratory overwhelmed them with a sense of the drama of the moment, and of the need to seize the time.
A more prosaic speech would never have had the same effect.
The generals rallied to his cause; Caesar and his army crossed the Rubicon and by the following year had vanquished Pompey, making Caesar dictator of Rome.
In warfare, Caesar always played the leading man with gusto.
He was as skilled a horseman as any of his soldiers, and took pride in outdoing them in feats of bravery and endurance.
He entered battle astride the strongest mount, so that his soldiers would see him in the thick of battle, urging them on, always positioning himself in the center, a godlike symbol of power and a model for them to follow.
Of all the armies in Rome, Caesar’s was the most devoted and loyal.
His soldiers, like the common people who had attended his entertainments, had come to identify with him and with his cause.
After the defeat of Pompey, the entertainments grew in scale. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Rome.
The chariot races became more spectacular, the gladiator fights more dramatic, as Caesar staged fights to the death among the Roman nobility. He organized enormous mock naval battles on an artificial lake. Plays were performed in every Roman ward.
A giant new theater was built that sloped dramatically down the Tarpeian Rock.
Crowds from all over the empire flocked to these events, the roads to Rome lined with visitors’ tents. And in 45 B.C., timing his entry into the city for maximum effect and surprise, Caesar brought Cleopatra back to Rome after his Egyptian campaign, and staged even more extravagant public spectacles.
These events were more than devices to divert the masses; they dramatically enhanced the public’s sense of Caesar’s character, and made him seem larger than life.
Caesar was the master of his public image, of which he was forever aware.
When he appeared before crowds he wore the most spectacular purple robes. He would be upstaged by no one.
He was notoriously vain about his appearance—it was said that one reason he enjoyed being honored by the Senate and people was that on these occasions he could wear a laurel wreath, hiding his baldness.
Caesar was a masterful orator.
He knew how to say a lot by saying a little, intuited the moment to end a speech for maximum effect. He never failed to incorporate a surprise into his public appearances—a startling announcement that would heighten their drama.
Immensely popular among the Roman people, Caesar was hated and feared by his rivals.
On the ides of March—March 15—in the year 44 B.C., a group of conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius surrounded him in the senate and stabbed him to death.
Even dying, however, he kept his sense of drama.
Drawing the top of his gown over his face, he let go of the cloth’s lower part so that it draped his legs, allowing him to die covered and decent. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, his final words to his old friend Brutus, who was about to deliver a second blow, were in Greek, and as if rehearsed for the end of a play: “You too, my child?”
Interpretation
The Roman theater was an event for the masses, attended by crowds unimaginable today.
Packed into enormous auditoriums, the audience would be amused by raucous comedy or moved by high tragedy. Theater seemed to contain the essence of life, in its concentrated, dramatic form.
Like a religious ritual, it had a powerful, instant appeal to the common man.
Julius Caesar was perhaps the first public figure to understand the vital link between power and theater.
This was because of his own obsessive interest in drama.
He sublimated this interest by making himself an actor and director on the world stage. He said his lines as if they had been scripted; he gestured and moved through a crowd with a constant sense of how he appeared to his audience.
He incorporated surprise into his repertoire, building drama into his speeches, staging into his public appearances.
His gestures were broad enough for the common man to grasp them instantly.
He became immensely popular.
Caesar set the ideal for all leaders and people of power. Like him, you must learn to enlarge your actions through dramatic techniques such as surprise, suspense, the creation of sympathy, and symbolic identification. Also like him, you must be constantly aware of your audience—of what will please them and what will bore them.
You must arrange to place yourself at the center, to command attention, and never to be upstaged at any cost.
OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II
In the year 1831, a young woman named Aurore Dupin Dudevant left her husband and family in the provinces and moved to Paris.
She wanted to be a writer; marriage, she felt, was worse than prison, for it left her neither the time nor the freedom to pursue her passion. In Paris she would establish her independence and make her living by writing.
Soon after Dudevant arrived in the capital, however, she had to confront certain harsh realities.
To have any degree of freedom in Paris you had to have money.
For a woman, money could only come through marriage or prostitution.
No woman had ever come close to making a living by writing. Women wrote as a hobby, supported by their husbands, or by an inheritance. In fact when Dudevant first showed her writing to an editor, he told her, “You should make babies, Madame, not literature.”
Clearly Dudevant had come to Paris to attempt the impossible.
In the end, though, she came up with a strategy to do what no woman had ever done—a strategy to re-create herself completely, forging a public image of her own making.
Women writers before her had been forced into a ready-made role, that of the second-rate artist who wrote mostly for other women. Dudevant decided that if she had to play a role, she would turn the game around: She would play the part of a man.
In 1832 a publisher accepted Dudevant’s first major novel, Indiana.
She had chosen to publish it under a pseudonym, “George Sand,” and all of Paris assumed this impressive new writer was male. Dudevant had sometimes worn men’s clothes before creating “George Sand” (she had always found men’s shirts and riding breeches more comfortable); now, as a public figure, she exaggerated the image.
She added long men’s coats, gray hats, heavy boots, and dandyish cravats to her wardrobe. She smoked cigars and in conversation expressed herself like a man, unafraid to dominate the conversation or to use a saucy word.
This strange “male/female” writer fascinated the public.
And unlike other women writers, Sand found herself accepted into the clique of male artists. She drank and smoked with them, even carried on affairs with the most famous artists of Europe—Musset, Liszt, Chopin. It was she who did the wooing, and also the abandoning—she moved on at her discretion.
Those who knew Sand well understood that her male persona protected her from the public’s prying eyes.
Out in the world, she enjoyed playing the part to the extreme; in private she remained herself. She also realized that the character of “George Sand” could grow stale or predictable, and to avoid this she would every now and then dramatically alter the character she had created; instead of conducting affairs with famous men, she would begin meddling in politics, leading demonstrations, inspiring student rebellions.
No one would dictate to her the limits of the character she had created. Long after she died, and after most people had stopped reading her novels, the larger-than-life theatricality of that character has continued to fascinate and inspire.
Interpretation
Throughout Sand’s public life, acquaintances and other artists who spent time in her company had the feeling they were in the presence of a man.
But in her journals and to her closest friends, such as Gustave Flaubert, she confessed that she had no desire to be a man, but was playing a part for public consumption.
What she really wanted was the power to determine her own character.
She refused the limits her society would have set on her.
She did not attain her power, however, by being herself; instead she created a persona that she could constantly adapt to her own desires, a persona that attracted attention and gave her presence.
Understand this: The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role you are doomed. Your power is limited to the tiny amount allotted to the role you have selected or have been forced to assume.
An actor, on the other hand, plays many roles. Enjoy that protean power, and if it is beyond you, at least forge a new identity, one of your own making, one that has had no boundaries assigned to it by an envious and resentful world. This act of defiance is Promethean: It makes you responsible for your own creation.
Your new identity will protect you from the world precisely because it is not “you”; it is a costume you put on and take off. You need not take it personally. And your new identity sets you apart, gives you theatrical presence. Those in the back rows can see you and hear you. Those in the front rows marvel at your audacity.
Do not people talk in society of a man being a great actor? They do not mean by
that that he feels, but that he excels in simulating, though he feels nothing.-Denis Diderot, 1713-1784
KEYS TO POWER
The character you seem to have been born with is not necessarily who you are; beyond the characteristics you have inherited, your parents, your friends, and your peers have helped to shape your personality.
The Promethean task of the powerful is to take control of the process, to stop allowing others that ability to limit and mold them.
Remake yourself into a character of power.
Working on yourself like clay should be one of your greatest and most pleasurable life tasks. It makes you in essence an artist—an artist creating yourself.
In fact, the idea of self-creation comes from the world of art.
For thousands of years, only kings and the highest courtiers had the freedom to shape their public image and determine their own identity. Similarly, only kings and the wealthiest lords could contemplate their own image in art, and consciously alter it.
The rest of mankind played the limited role that society demanded of them, and had little self-consciousness.
A shift in this condition can be detected in Velázquez’s painting Las Meninas, made in 1656. The artist appears at the left of the canvas, standing before a painting that he is in the process of creating, but that has its back to us—we cannot see it.
Beside him stands a princess, her attendants, and one of the court dwarves, all watching him work. The people posing for the painting are not directly visible, but we can see them in tiny reflections in a mirror on the back wall—the king and queen of Spain, who must be sitting somewhere in the foreground, outside the picture.
The painting represents a dramatic change in the dynamics of power and the ability to determine one’s own position in society.
For Velázquez, the artist, is far more prominently positioned than the king and queen. In a sense he is more powerful than they are, since he is clearly the one controlling the image—their image.
Velázquez no longer saw himself as the slavish, dependent artist. He had remade himself into a man of power. And indeed the first people other than aristocrats to play openly with their image in Western society were artists and writers, and later on dandies and bohemians.
Today the concept of self-creation has slowly filtered down to the rest of society, and has become an ideal to aspire to. Like Velazquez, you must demand for yourself the power to determine your position in the painting, and to create your own image.
The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousness—being aware of yourself as an actor and taking control of your appearance and emotions.
As Diderot said, the bad actor is the one who is always sincere.
People who wear their hearts on their sleeves out in society are tiresome and embarrassing. Their sincerity notwithstanding, it is hard to take them seriously. Those who cry in public may temporarily elicit sympathy, but sympathy soon turns to scorn and irritation at their self obsessiveness—they are crying to get attention, we feel, and a malicious part of us wants to deny them the satisfaction.
Good actors control themselves better.
They can play sincere and heartfelt, can affect a tear and a compassionate look at will, but they don’t have to feel it. They externalize emotion in a form that others can understand.
Method acting is fatal in the real world.
No ruler or leader could possibly play the part if all of the emotions he showed had to be real. So learn self-control. Adopt the plasticity of the actor, who can mold his or her face to the emotion required.
The second step in the process of self-creation is a variation on the George Sand strategy: the creation of a memorable character, one that compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage.
This was the game Abraham Lincoln played.
The homespun, common country man, he knew, was a kind of president that America had never had but would delight in electing. Although many of these qualities came naturally to him, he played them up—the hat and clothes, the beard. (No president before him had worn a beard.) Lincoln was also the first president to use photographs to spread his image, helping to create the icon of the “homespun president.”
Good drama, however, needs more than an interesting appearance, or a single stand-out moment. Drama takes place over time—it is an unfolding event. Rhythm and timing are critical. One of the most important elements in the rhythm of drama is suspense. Houdini for instance, could sometimes complete his escape acts in seconds—but he drew them out to minutes, to make the audience sweat.
The key to keeping the audience on the edge of their seats is letting events unfold slowly, then speeding them up at the right moment, according to a pattern and tempo that you control.
Great rulers from Napoleon to Mao Tse-tung have used theatrical timing to surprise and divert their public.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood the importance of staging political events in a particular order and rhythm.
At the time of his 1932 presidential election, the United States was in the midst of a dire economic crisis. Banks were failing at an alarming rate. Shortly after winning the election, Roosevelt went into a kind of retreat. He said nothing about his plans or his cabinet appointments. He even refused to meet the sitting president, Herbert Hoover, to discuss the transition. By the time of Roosevelt’s inauguration the country was in a state of high anxiety.
In his inaugural address, Roosevelt shifted gears.
He made a powerful speech, making it clear that he intended to lead the country in a completely new direction, sweeping away the timid gestures of his predecessors.
From then on the pace of his speeches and public decisions—cabinet appointments, bold legislation—unfolded at an incredibly rapid rate.
The period after the inauguration became known as the “Hundred Days,” and its success in altering the country’s mood partly stemmed from Roosevelt’s clever pacing and use of dramatic contrast. He held his audience in suspense, then hit them with a series of bold gestures that seemed all the more momentous because they came from nowhere. You must learn to orchestrate events in a similar manner, never revealing all your cards at once, but unfolding them in a way that heightens their dramatic effect.
Besides covering a multitude of sins, good drama can also confuse and deceive your enemy.
During World War II, the German playwright Bertolt Brecht worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. After the war he was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities for his supposed Communist sympathies.
Other writers who had been called to testify planned to humiliate the committee members with an angry emotional stand. Brecht was wiser: He would play the committee like a violin, charming them while fooling them as well. He carefully rehearsed his responses, and brought along some props, notably a cigar on which he puffed away, knowing the head of the committee liked cigars.
And indeed he proceeded to beguile the committee with well-crafted responses that were ambiguous, funny, and double-edged. Instead of an angry, heartfelt tirade, he ran circles around them with a staged production, and they let him off scot-free.
Other dramatic effects for your repertoire include the beau geste, an action at a climactic moment that symbolizes your triumph or your boldness.
Caesar’s dramatic crossing of the Rubicon was a beau geste—a move that dazzled the soldiers and gave him heroic proportions. You must also appreciate the importance of stage entrances and exits.
When Cleopatra first met Caesar in Egypt, she arrived rolled up in a carpet, which she arranged to have unfurled at his feet. George Washington twice left power with flourish and fanfare (first as a general, then as a president who refused to sit for a third term), showing he knew how to make the moment count, dramatically and symbolically. Your own entrances and exits should be crafted and planned as carefully.
Remember that overacting can be counterproductive—it is another way of spending too much effort trying to attract attention.
The actor Richard Burton discovered early in his career that by standing totally still onstage, he drew attention to himself and away from the other actors.
It is less what you do that matters, clearly, than how you do it—your gracefulness and imposing stillness on the social stage count for more than overdoing your part and moving around too much.
Finally: Learn to play many roles, to be whatever the moment requires. Adapt your mask to the situation—be protean in the faces you wear. Bismarck played this game to perfection: To a liberal he was a liberal, to a hawk he was a hawk. He could not be grasped, and what cannot be grasped cannot be consumed.
Image: The Greek Sea-God Proteus. His power came from his ability to change shape at will, to be whatever the moment required. When Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, tried to seize him, Proteus transformed himself into a lion, then a serpent, a panther, a boar, running water, and finally a leafy tree.
Authority: Know how to be all things to all men. A discreet Proteus—a scholar among scholars, a saint among saints. That is the art of winning over everyone, for like attracts like. Take note of temperaments and adapt yourself to that of each person you meet—follow the lead of the serious and jovial in turn, changing your mood discreetly.
-(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)
REVERSAL
There can really be no reversal to this critical law: Bad theater is bad theater.
Even appearing natural requires art—in other words, acting. Bad acting only creates embarrassment. Of course you should not be too dramatic—avoid the histrionic gesture. But that is simply bad theater anyway, since it violates centuries-old dramatic laws against overacting.
In essence there is no reversal to this law.
Conclusion
During a time of change, one of the most effective survival techniques is to reinvent yourself.
Watch you you carry yourself and conduct your affairs. Watch your dress and associations. Be aware of your mannerisms.
To quote a movie that I found amusing; “manners maketh man”.
Manners maketh man.
Do you you want more?
I have more posts along these lines in my Happiness Index here…
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Here we discuss how to manage a family household. We show that it is really a very easy thing to do. However, there are rules and roles that MUST be followed for it work perfectly.
Unfortunately today, this is considered to be something that everyone knows how to do automatically. It is not taught. It is not carried down from parent to child. It is just considered to be unimportant. Therefore, very few people know how to really manage a household.
As such there is a dearth of practical information on this subject.
In well run and well-managed households, people follow rules and take their roles seriously. This picture, and this article describes a traditional conservative household arrangement.
The information herein describes how to manage, and run, a family household in the traditional manner. Here, we discuss the importance of roles, rules, and responsibilities. Also known as “the three “r’s” of family happiness.
Introduction and Summary
There are two ways to manage a household. They are;
Progressive. There are no rules. There are no roles. There are no responsibilities. Everyone does their “own thing”.
Traditional. Managed with fixed roles, set rules and firm responsibilities.
There are NO other ways to manage a household. Partial, or experimental rules are always temporary. Unless there are strong and fixed rules, any familial management is progressive. Or to put it in another way, if you do not have roles and rules, you are running the household progressively.
In the 1960 and 1970s, most people had a traditional family. In a traditional family, the husband works, and gives all of his earning to the wife. The wife in turn, budgets the money, provides fresh and healthy meals, makes sure that the house is clean, and that everyone is happy. She is in charge of the education of the children, and supervises it and runs off to the school if anything does not pass her muster.
Special important note
While there are some similarity between political usage of this nomenclature, the relationship ends there. There are many politically progressive social liberals that maintain traditional conservative households. For instance, Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama, and Joe Kennedy. They all have very progressive liberal political interests, however they all run and manage their households in a traditional conservative manner.
While many American political personalities are staunchly progressive liberal, their home life is often quite conservative and traditional. In the case above, we have former President Obama washing the dishes after a family dinner in his household.
Historical background
America was founded upon and used traditional household management techniques from the very beginning. This served Americans well. It was a time-honored method with centuries of success. Everyone ran their families in the traditional manner. From the immigrants from South America to the American Indians, to the European Settlers. Everyone managed their families using the traditional model.
The single dwelling, single family house has been a stable of American society for many, many decades. This is what most young couples dreamed of someday owning.
In the traditional model, the man of the house would be the “bread winner”. He would go out and work. He would bring home his earnings and give all of it to his wife. She, in turn, would budget the money for the family. She would handle all domestic issues, the house, the family, the education, the meals and the clothing. Thus freeing up the man to concentrate on one solitary thing; making more money.
It worked well.
Then, around 1913, some new progressive ideas started to take hold of society. This included the Federal Income Tax, the Federal Reserve, and all the “modern progressive” lifestyles.
Here is a small group of girls dressing like men in the 1920’s. they are wearing boy’s knickers, ties and men’s attire. It was so very shocking at the time.
Women and girls started to smoke, wear men’s clothes and flaunt promiscuity. Traditionalists were shocked and tried to downplay these behaviors. But they gained popular attention and were popularized by Hollywood, thus making the progressive lifestyle mainstream.
These ideas were such that rules, roles, and responsibilities would be rejected in favor of a new and improved way of managing families. That is to say, one that has no rules, no roles, and no responsibilities.
In the 1920’s, it became popular to become a flashy “flapper”. This was a name that was coined by the rubber overshoes that the girls would wear at the time. They wouldn’t button them secure, and thus they would “flap” back and forth as the flappers walked.
This festered in tiny pockets in urban areas up until the 1960’s where it began to become popular due to the need for both parents to work to support the family. (It’s fundamentally due to the rise of inflation caused by federal mismanagement of the US dollar. But that is a discussion for another time.)
The 1970’s saw wide-scale implementation of progressive family management. Which was pretty much management of nothing, using no rules, no roles, and no responsibility. It was kicked off by the SJW Feminist movement in the 1970’s which pretty much put the “kill shot” into traditional family management, and family longevity.
Don’t believe me? Facts don’t lie.
This
is a chart of the divorce rate in the United States over time. You can
clearly see that the SJW feminist movement during the 1970’s played a
major role in the divorce rate in America and the reduction on parental
education for the children. This was coincidentally ALSO the time when
the majority of American households migrated away from traditional
conservative family arrangements to progressive arrangements wither
there are no rule, no role, and no responsibilities. What is truly sad
about this is that most Americans today, having been raised in families
after 1975, have no idea how wonderful a traditional conservative family
arrangement could be.
Today, the vast bulk of families manage using the progressive model. There are no roles, no rules, and few (if any) responsibilities. The rare hold-outs are traditionalists that can be found outside the mainstream society.
That is why you will find many people eating fast food for lunch, the rise of poor food choices, and the increase in obesity. That is why most families need to have two incomes. As no one is able to budget on one income.
Here, this post discusses how to run a family using the traditional model. And yes, do so today, in the heavily taxed, stressful, reality that the United States is today.
America has changed substantially in many, many ways from what it was first established as. Traditionalists, and conservatives lament these changes. While progressive socialists embrace the changes.
The Two Roles
In a traditionally managed household, there are two main roles. These are absolute and defined roles with ZERO shared responsibilities.
The “Man of the House”. He is the figurehead, and the “leader” of the home. He is the sole earner of the family. He gives 100% of his earnings to the family. His job is primarily towards earning money, maintaining household related equipment and repairs, and discipline.
The “Housewife”. She is totally responsible for the household budget, investment, savings, and all things financial. She is responsible to see that the household is clean, in good care, and that all domestic issues are taken cared for. She selects, chooses, budgets and handles all clothing and food choices for the family. It is her responsibly to make sure that the children are well behaved and being good in school.
In a well-run household, the wife would tell the man what to wear. She would select his clothing. Laying out his work clothes for the day, and his “house clothes” for him (with slippers) when he gets home from work.
Contrary to the progressive narrative, house clothes and slippers are a functional way to keep the house clean. Often the man would work dirty and filthy factory jobs. He would need to strip off his dirty and filthy attire before the housewife would ever let him put a step in the house.
Which has led to such things as basement bathrooms (in Pittsburgh) and "Mud Rooms".
The housewife is responsible for all domestic affairs. This includes the house, the clothing, the food, and the children. She is totally and completely responsible for it all. To assist, she might ask her husband to behave in certain ways, or assist at times, but she is ultimately the person in full control of the domestic environment.
The wife is responsible for good, nutritious meals that are both healthy and tasty. She is responsible for the behavior of the children and teaching them about their roles in the family, in the community, and in society. She is also responsible for their spiritual and moral development.
"After three years of happy marriage, and getting stressed out by her job in a busy payroll department, she decided in 2018 to turn back time — and live like a 1950s housewife.
That’s when Holte, 30, transformed her Hillsboro, Oregon, home into a suburban shrine to the pre-ERA era, busying herself cleaning, making dresses using vintage patterns — and getting dinner on the table by the time her husband, Lars, 28, gets home from his job as an engineering manager.
“I feel like I’m living how I always wanted to. It’s my dream life and my husband shares my vision,” she says as a vinyl Doris Day soundtrack plays in the background. “It is a lot of work. I do tons of dishes, laundry and ironing, but I love it and it’s helping to take care of my husband and that makes me really happy.”
- The woman quits her job to spoil her husband like a 1950s housewife
The man, on the other hand MUST make and earn money. He must not fail at this task. If the housewife says that there isn’t enough money in the budget, then he must plan on how to bring more money in BY HIMSELF. It is his responsibility.
When the household is in good hand, well maintained, and budgeted for, the man can relax. he can concentrate in earning money for the family. There is an old saying “Behind every successful man is a strong woman.” That is very, very true.
When the husband and the wife are working together as a team, there is nothing that they cannot resolve. The man, unencumbered by day to day squabbles and strife, can best work and plan on making more money to improve the family lifestyle.
The Main Rules
One of the characteristics of a traditional family is that there are rules associated with roles. Each role will have a set of rules associated with it.
Here is a scene from the Hollywood comedy titled “THE STEPFORD WIVES”. It makes a parody of the traditional family and ridicules it. In this scene the housewife gets all excited that the food that she purchases for the children is new and improved. In real life, most housewives would provide healthier selections of food for the children.
Roles with rules are fundamental to the operation of any organization. It’s much like in a hospital. The janitor cleans the floor. The nurse attends to the day to day needs of the patients, the doctor makes medical diagnoses, and the patient just lies on the bed and concentrates on getting well.
The rules for the “Man of the House” are…
Earn money.
Give all the money to the housewife to budget.
Represent the family in appearance, action, and behavior.
Repair and maintain things as needed.
Maintain and discipline the children as needed.
Assist in the education of the children as advised by the wife.
Enforce rules.
The housewife will place limits on televisions, iphone, and electronic media. She will determine the amount of time allocated in recreation, chores, and study. She will be responsible of the care and behaviors of the children. It will not be automatic. It is learned, and it is up to the mother to teach this.
The rules for the “Housewife” are…
Budget the money.
Create numerous savings accounts.
Maintain and keep the household, clean, tidy and presentable.
Cook, and plan fine delicious and healthy meals.
Make sure that everyone is well attired with clean clothes.
Maintain a “warm hearth”; a household free of stress.
Represent the family in the community, church, and society.
Teach the children.
One of the most important roles of a family is to maintain a good standing in the community. Both the man and the woman cultivate this role. However, the woman makes and takes special care that the local organizations are represented and cultivated. That way the family gains social standing in the community that can aid and support the family in times of trouble and distress.
God forbid I go into someplace like Harbor Freight with a big wad of cash.
Yeah, give me a sec and I’ll back right up to the front door to making loading all this crap I don’t need into the back of my rig easier.
This is why the Wifely Unit takes care of the money around here. I’m horrible about that shit . That is why our bills get paid on time and why I now actually have a killer credit score.
-Busted Knuckles
Characteristics of a Traditionally Managed Family household
You might find the following characteristics within a traditional conservative household…
Savings to cover any emergency.
Cleaned and ironed clothes.
Toothbrushes replaced bi-monthly.
Trim and fit family members.
Formal sit-down meals.
Well tended yard.
“His” chair.
“Her” bathroom.
House shoes (slippers) beside the front door.
A pantry that is full. (A consequence of budgeting.)
Well behaved, and respectful, children.
Hours where the kitchen is “closed” from use.
A lack of dirty dishes. (The sink is always clean and spotless.)
Formal sit-down dinner meals.
Rules about smart-phone use in the house.
A fully stocked refrigerator.
One of the characteristics of a conservatively run traditional household is a well-stocked refrigerator. It is by far the easiest way to determine if the household is run progressively or in a traditional manner. A full stocked refrigerator is a consequence of budgeting. The housewife will buy healthy delicious fruits, meats and vegetables. Then use them to prepare very cost-effective meals. Progressively run households do not have the time, the inclination, or the routines to maintain this kind of quality life.
Some things that a Progressive Liberal family cannot do
If a family falls into the progressive liberal “trap”, often out of necessity, they will have a difficult time. They will be unable to enforce any type of traditional conservative family rules. It’s simple really. When people live a life without rules, they resent any rules when they are put in place. It’s human nature.
Thus, here are some things that progressive liberal families have to
struggle with. Traditional conservative families won’t experience these
problems.
The things that progressive liberal families have trouble with include…
Formal dinners at dinner time. Most progressive
liberal families have a very difficult time with this. They find it
difficult to set aside time and have difficulty in getting everyone to
recognize the importance of communal dinners. When they do manage to set
time aside, it is often short, and the experience becomes a mere
formality. It is never a daily event.
Chores and roles.
Progressive liberal families are disgusted by roles and greatly resent
taking on any kind of responsibility. they have a very negative view of
any kind of male or female role and avoid it where at all possible. As a
result, the household tends to become cluttered, messy, dirty, and
disheveled.
Saving Money. Most progressive
liberal families have an understanding that what a person earns is
theirs to do with they wish. Thus it is very difficult for them to save
money. Especially saving money for family purposes.
Discipline.
When children are raised in a progressive Liberal household; one where
there are no rules, the children become unruly and directionless. They
often develop emotional and behavioral issues. This becomes a burden to
the rest of the family.
Some good links
I have numerous other posts specifically related to this subject. If you enjoyed this article, then you might find the other articles quite interesting and enlightening. Please click on any of the links. They will open up into another tab on your browser.
In addition, I have some thoughts on some “tools” that might be beneficial to the wife and husband…
Here is a post that might help the housewife balance the family budget when the income source drops from a two-person income to that of a singular wage-earner…
Conclusion
There are two ways of managing a family. You can manage either progressively, or traditionally. If you want to manage traditionally, you will need to take on a completely different mind-set. In the long run you will be healthier and happier, but the adjustment might be painful for some.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
Posts about the Changes in America
America is going through a period of change. Change is good… that is, after it occurs. Often however, there are large periods of discomfort as the period of adjustment takes place. Here are some posts that discuss this issue.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
Articles & Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
This is a very detailed discussion on how a Business KTV works in China. This is a pretty large multi-part post. It was originally posted HERE, but it soon became problematic as the videos would not load and the SEO flags weren’t being picked up by the search engines. So I broke it down into smaller bite-sized posts. It’s faster to load, easier to read, and you can see all the videos without problem. Enjoy.
Post 12 of 17.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Your Aide / Wingman
A very important part of your visit to a business KTV is to have an aide or wingman to look after you. They will make sure that you are registered into the room, and that your passport will not get lost or misplaced. They will keep an eye out for you and help you out of the KTV room when it is time to go.
If you are not careful, these girls will eat you alive.
Working Hours
The girls generally get ready for work around 3pm. They get dressed,
have their nails and hair done. They show up for work around 5 to 7pm
depending on the venue.
The business KTV’s are open up until 6am. Most others tend to close a little earlier.
If you are having fun at a business KTV, then you MUST watch the
time. Otherwise, you will be terribly drunk and end up going back to
your room around 3, or 4 in the morning.
Now, here is the rub. After a solid 9 to 12 hours of heavy drinking,
you (unless you are under 25) will be too exhausted to provide any
energy in your penis for sexual activity. And no, Viagra or Cialis will
not be much help either. Even if you had the lift, all you will want to
do is… sleep.
So…
Use the Cinderella rule. You leave the KTV before 12 midnight. Pick a time somewhere between 11 and 12. No later.
Then, you will no be so exhausted, or sleepy and can be able to get your money’s worth of fun.
Further take note, that the girls all turn into pumpkins at 6 am. So
if you are looking forward to some morning heat, remember that it will
have to occur before 6am, because the girls will be out of there and on
their way to their families.
So another reason to leave the KTV early (before the rest of the guys
finish partying) that that if you leave at 3 am, you will only get
three hours with that gal, and at that, you will spend most of the time
sleeping.
Be advised and take note.
Going to the Room
They will help you and the girls into the elevator and you will ride it to your floor. It will be something like this video below. The girls will take the lead and show you where the room is and help you get settled. They will open the door with the card key and place the card in the activation slot.
All the hotels in China utilize electronic locks. This is either with a magnetic card or some similar mechanism. Households for the most part utilize keys (if they are rented) or thumbprints if they are owned. The newer houses also are staring to use face and retinal scan recognition technology.
It will be like this if there are two or more girls with you…
Otherwise, if you are just going with one girl. It might be a little like this..
Or, like last week when it was warmer out, it might be a little like this…
The girls will file into the room and my aides will collect my gear and keep it safe with him. I will retain my glasses and cell phone. Then we will call it a night.
My aides will then go off to their own individual rooms with their companions. And I will be left alone with the girls. The girls will typically find a outlet to plug and charge their cell phones with. They will check their WeChat, and confirm any last minute messages. Often they will have other guys (fans?) sending them messages that they need to respond to. I just let them take a few minutes to get settled.
Turning In
The girl or girls get settled in. If you are there with three girls, typically two will rest in the other bed and you will be with one girl. Then they will take turns with you. If we are all too drunk it is simply a matter of passing out for five or so hours. Otherwise, showers are used and everyone gets clean.
Don’t trust the bath towels. I don’t care if they are sanitized. You use them everywhere except down in the groin area. Trust me, you don’t want to get the clap or some other serious illness. Use a condom.
Brush your teeth.
Make sure that you take your eye glasses off, or they might get broke while you are romping and playing around.
If you really like the girl, get her WeChat, so that you can get together again in the future.
Sometimes, you just want to decompress for a bit before you engage in any kind of sexual activity. When this happens I like to see where they are from and so I ask all kinds of questions about their hometown and the food that they eat. Often we talk about life and dreams. I’ve had more than a few chats about bitcoin, setting up international trade, and tax/tariff laws in the United States. Honestly I was really impressed with one gal who had a dog grooming business and a massage parlor on the side. She had her act going on.
Some of the girls are quite wild and experienced, but I am just a rather boring old Joe. So we just keep things simple, which in a way is kind of a relief to the girls. Now, keep in mind, that if you are there with multiple girls make sure that they are all EQUALLY engaged, or else the one who has been neglected all night will want to leave – thus spoiling all the fun.
Sometimes the girl will leave behind a trinket or two for you to remember them by. That’s a nice thought, but I just throw them away. If I don’t have their WeChat contact information, I probably won’t ever see them again.
If you want to return to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Once I was finally retired from MAJestic, and I was able to do whatever I wanted. As such, I made a cognitive appraisal of my situation. I performed what they call in the industry, a situation analysis.
I discovered that my life as a post-MAJestic operative in the United States was not going to be a pleasant retirement. I discovered that I would forever be monitored, watched and observed. I discovered that those watching me were themselves, NOT part of MAJestic. But, rather outsiders who were doing so for other reasons. And they, not knowing who I was or what I was capable of, could cause all sorts of uncomfortable situations.
Uncomfortable for all of us.
Indeed, I would have to constantly “look over my shoulder” and follow all kinds of odd reporting rules, often changing without notice. Rules that were politically driven, and not structurally driven. I would have to live the life as a third class citizen, and float under the poverty level. My life would be solitary, poor, meaningless and difficult.
Yuck!
Therefore, I did what was my only option. I left the United States and moved overseas. For after all, that is the only recourse that was available for me.
Quick Review – Why I was incarcerated.
This subject is covered in great length elsewhere. But to summarize, it’s all quite simple, really.
The United States has many top secret programs. Those programs where the agents might be considered dangerous or might need to be monitored are put into a monitoring program. You can think about every “Top Secret” themed Hollywood movie you have ever seen. Would you want those agents walking around freely once they exited their respective programs?
Jason Bourne meets the Antifa.
James Bond 007 has an encounter with the IRS.
Jesse Eisenberg (American Ultra) gets pulled over for “special screening” by the TSA.
Ripley+ decides to move and live in New York City.
In the United States, there is only one legal long-term monitoring program. (The parole system is a short-term monitoring program.) That is the sex offender registry.
Thus, all potentially dangerous agents, as well as all (core two implanted) MAJestic members, are retired as sex offenders so that they can be monitored. This is the way it is done. Don’t get all hot and bothered about it. The decision to do so was concocted sometime in the 1990’s.
Yet, since the programs that the agents were in were so secret, no one can be told what they did or what their roles were. No one knows.
It’s secret right?
The reader should be quite versed in what a “cover story” is. After all, it is a Hollywood staple. In the movie “American Ultra“, the cover story was rabid crazed monkeys forcing a quarantine on the town. And in real life, the cover story for the retirement of MAJestic (so-called) dangerous agents is “sex offender”.
That’s the way it is done.
No no one is told anything. At best there is a note on their binder to contact some phone number in Washington D.C. There they would have a very blank vanilla instruction sheet of what to do and what to watch out for. There would be no information on their capabilities, their training, their missions, or anything like that. Those who would be responsible for “retiring them” would be in the black as to their true and real purposes.
So they are just labeled a “sex offender” and monitored. And no one is the wiser. To everyone else, the person is just an evil sick and twisted sex felon. Yuck. No one even wants to go near them. No one knows the TRUE and REAL reason why they are being monitored.
No one.
The problem with being in a waived, unacknowledged, special access program is that it is so secret. The secrecy is complete and there might be one other person on the entire planet who knows your role and the full extent of your training and what you are capable of. This causes problems. Firstly, the secrecy necessitates a need for monitoring. Who knows what an agent is capable of? Secondly, it causes problems with the agent who often does not like being classified as a bad and dangerous person.
Personally, I really don’t understand why I, personally should be monitored. I’m not a covert assassin or military killer. I’m not a radical. And while it is possible for some elements of MK Ultra related training in my background, I really highly doubt that. I’d know, after all.
Truthfully, at worst, I think that I am more like an improved Ripley +.
I am not anything even approaching a 007; a Jason Bourne, or a member of the Mission Impossible Action force. LOL. Truthfully, I’m not someone that is going to attack people indiscriminately or shoot up a High School.
At worst, there might be some kind of transitional reality-shifting around me. Maybe your socks might change color. Maybe your 4L car engine turns into a 3.6L engine. Maybe the Beatles song “I want to hold your hand” becomes “I wanna hold your sand.” Maybe the wine color of the color chartreuse turns into a yellow-lime color.
No biggie.
Yeah. I know it sounds so terrible. Walking around being modified by Lord-knows-what, for who-knows-why, but that is no reason to have someone monitored until they die. Is it?
Hollywood wants to make everything so terrifying. However, life is rarely so dramatic. It’s not all bang em’ up and shoot em’ out. Even when you are face to face with the “real deal”, you really won’t be able to tell. You won’t.
Remember Hollywood is fiction.
Please keep that in mind. It is our fears that cause us to box ourselves inside this reality of ours. The real deal is something else all together. Still… I just don’t understand why I personally need to be monitored. Really, I’m not going to do anything, nor have I ever done anything.
Anyways…
This is my story regarding this phase in my adventure .
When I exited prison, I was alone.
My parents were dead. I had few friends and relatives remaining, and none of them wanted to endure the reporting requirements to the local police for housing me . I cannot say that I blamed them. No one wants to let the local police have any of their personal information; whether it was bank, e-mail or automotive unless there was a compelling reason to do so. I became a “tar baby” , and no one wanted to help me.
I had few options .
We’ve all probably had moments in our life when things got so tough, we just wanted to throw our hands up and quit. But it’s precisely in those times when have to grit our teeth and keeping going on. Quitting is the easy thing to do. It’s the keep-going-on that’s hard. But it’s taking the hard way that makes you a man.
So you swallow hard. You look at the bright side of things, what ever you can find, and plow forward. When people treat you poorly and things don’t go you’re way, you just let them roll off your shoulders.
My New Life in America
Characteristics of my new life as third class citizen of America;
Inability to obtain “white collar” or professional employment. Employment in doing the only thing that I knew how to do. I was stuck doing unskilled labor or being retrained to some semi-skilled non-professional occupation.
Inability to live where I wanted to. I had to live in “sex offender free” zones. This has become problematic, as local level government has over the years, been intentionally fencing sex offenders out of their jurisdictions.
Inability to leave the state without permission.
Inability to sleep at a girlfriends house, friend’s house, or hotel without notifying the police.
Inability to visit city, state and federal parks.
Must be aware of all sex offender laws in all jurisdictions. As they change and are revised, the offender is not notified, it is up to them to be aware of changes in the law. Ignorance is not acceptable.
Inability to get medical treatment without notification that I was a sex offender.
Reporting requirements and registration. Depending on my locale, I might need to report every year, or every month. Some areas require that I wear a GPS tracking brace, and ask permission to own a phone.
Inability to obtain any kind of secondary education without notification and an interview by the police..
Changing of address needed government approval.
Changing of phone number needed government approval.
Purchase or sale of a vehicle needed government approval and notification.
Driver license requiring special identification as a “sex offender”.
Changing of Internet registration data needed to be reported.
The slightest violation in any reporting aspect would result in a felony. Such as buying a new cell phone. Downloading a social media APP, or walking on the sidewalk outside of a playground.
Being subject to neighborhood notification. Depending on location, this might mean signs being posted, police knocking door to door and telling people about me, or my picture being displayed on local television every couple of weeks.
Internet database access of my criminal history.
Periodic reporting every few months to the local police station.
And as of 2017, a big stamp on my passport (thanks to Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas) that says that I am a “Sexual Predator against children”. Making it difficult for Sex Offenders to even leave the United States.
Of course, I could accept these limitations. Others have. They generally move in with friends or relatives, or perhaps a wife or a girlfriend and start their life anew. However, that was not in my cards.
"For sex offenders, our mistake is forever available to the world to see. There is no redemption, no forgiveness. ... There is never a chance for a fresh start. You are finished. I wish I was executed because my life is basically over."
- Townhall.com
You see, but…
I had few relatives.
I had no relations remaining in the United States. When I exited prison, I discovered that my “friends” took hold of all my belongings and sold them off to flea markets, and book dealerships. All that I could find were some old photos and underwear getting moldy in the basement of a garage behind one of my “friends” houses.
Now, truthfully, as all readers can expect that there are various “work arounds” that a person can do in order to minimize the effect of these restrictions. For instance, I could find a cheap house far away from a city or town, and keep to myself. I could live in a shack off at the edge of a state forest, or cemetery. I did not need to be connected to the Internet, cable, or telephone. Or, alternatively, I could use someone else’s service. I could live a quiet and retired life far away from others, and be left alone quietly to die.
Ok.
Well, in a way I did that. You cannot get any further away from you fellow Americans than to move completely around the globe. And so that is exactly what I did. I decided to leave the USA. If the government, and my fellow citizens do not want me around, I am not stupid. I let them have their way. I gave them what they wanted. I gave them what they legislated towards.
I did what they legislated. I am now far, far outside of their life.
Sorry you seem so butt-hurt about the IRS and the USA, etc. Obviously you have a seething rage and hatred for the USA for whatever (unexplained) reason . That’s OK. Stay in China and hate us all you want. Works for me.
-A quote from a jack-ass who was trolling me.
A Felon who was once a Professional
This is the story of my post-prison life and how I tried (unsuccessfully) to reintegrate into American society . This was before I decided to leave the USA. What I describe here is well known to anyone who once was a white-collar professional and who entered the prison system.
It is set up that way.
Lower rung elements of society won’t experience the same kinds of hurtles. That is because they have a large and extended support network, for the most part. Some, upon exiting prison would find construction work with friends, or start a tree stump removal business. Others, with skills in the “trades” would pick up where they left off doing plumbing, or electrician work. (The possessed so-called “trade skills” that enabled them to be self-employed.)
But I could do none of that.
The rural poor can make do if they have a felony in their background. They have a support network and can survive on their network of friends and associates.
As a “professional” all “professional” work was closed and denied to me. (Professionals include doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers. All require professional registration at the state level, or barring that, employment with a company that is a registered entity.) All of it. This is partly due to design; no registration agency would touch me. But it is partially also due to the culture of industry ; no one would hire me.
My life was over in the United States. By law, I have now become a third class citizen with all sorts of restrictions on my behavior, where I lived, how I acted, where I worked and what I could do. Not to mention what tools I could use. For instance, how can someone work in a office and NOT have access to a computer, a telephone, or a printer? No one is going to hire you with those restrictions. Why not simply ban wearing shoes?
I could have accepted it.
There is more than one way to do something
However, I did not have to. I had other options. I had skills. I had friends. I had abilities. My dear reader, when I was selected for this W(U)-SAP out of AOCS while at NAS NASC Pensacola and then began my mission parameters at NWS China Lake it was because I had skills and ability.
These skills; these abilities, did not suddenly vaporize and disappear when I was incarcerated and retired. I still had them. I just could not use them…
…in the United States.
Logic dictated that I had a choice. I could stay in the USA and be monitored as a third class person, live on the dole, and subsist in a life of loneliness. Or I could leave and set up a new life elsewhere. I could leave the USA. Hum… What to do? What to do?
So I left.
Prep while in Prison
The entire time when I was in prison, I studied. I learned how to write and read Chinese. It was pretty darn difficult to do. Let me tell you. But I was able to obtain some study guides and spend all of my free time learning. I practiced and practiced.
My sister sent me a small stipend to live off of. Instead of spending all of it at the commissary, I saved most of it up. So what when I would be released I could buy a plane ticket and leave.
Of course, while in prison, everyone thought I was bonkers. They laughed at me. They made fun of me.They mocked me. They played tricks on me and made my life difficult. This was true with my fellow inmates, as well as a number of guards. They would come up to my cell, and ask “Hey Professor! How’s that Chinese coming? You gonna dig your way out of here eh?”
But I was used to it.
All the time when I was in High School and working in the coal mines, I was constantly picked on and being made fun of. They made fun of my dream to become a rocket scientist. They picked on me and constantly berated me telling me that I would “never amount to anything”. Though they didn’t say it that way. They said that I “wouldn’t amount to jack shit“.
It just caused me to work harder. I took it. I gritted my teeth and shoveled harder. Some times I would say “Fuck you”, and pick up the pick axe and throw my weight into it.
To qualify as a Naval Aviator, I had to meet physical requirements as well. My Aerospace Engineering degree wasn’t good enough. I had to be a perfect physical specimen. So every day I exercised. I did two hundred pushups at a time, and the same in sit-ups, not to mention running five miles every day before my classes at the university.
So, here I was. I was well experienced in dealing with ridicule by assholes. I studied. I saved, and I planned. When the time came for me to be released from prison, I was ready.
This would never happen to me
This is the story that I lived and experienced. There are many who might say “that would never happen to me because…”. Of course, these fools abound. (yes; if you the reader believes that it can never happen to you – are a fool. It can happen to anyone.)
All it takes is to be accused…
The truth is that no one really knows what is in store for them unless they live that life themselves.
You could be smart, and obey the law. You could do everything right and perfectly, and never get into trouble. You could be a virtual saint in real life, helping poor people and tending to the needy, but it won’t matter. Someone can crash into your life and make an accusation, and turn your life upside down.
The Chicago PD claims Jussie Smollett paid Ola and Abel Osundairo $3,500 to fake an attack. In it, he claimed that white anti-gay Trump supporters attacked him. It was later discovered that the entire episode was a fabricated.
All it takes is one person to make an accusation, and their army of friends to “jump on the bandwagon” and accuse you in unison. The media picks up on it and goes after your jugular. Death threats become common. People drive slowly past your house. Sugar is poured in your gas tank. Someone tries to set your house on fire. Your pets show up missing…
You think I don’t know about this?
In fact, one of the most common stories that I would hear in prison was how no one expected that they would go to prison (with the exception of black urban youth, they seemed to view it more or less like a rite of passage.). Even people who were involved in the most horrible or obvious criminal activities all thought that they were “smarter” than the law or legal system.
I once shared a cell with a man who had five DWI’s and he just could not reconcile why he was in prison. He said he just did nothing wrong, he just broke the law. WTF?
The reader should learn from my story.
YOU can go to prison easily…
In America today, going to prison can happen to anyone . Yes, and that means YOU. Yes, you! All that needs to occur is for someone to accuse you of violating the law. It doesn’t need to be proven. That’s Perry Mason nonsense.
Today, it’s a new ballgame. Once you are accused, you risk having your entire life destroyed.
Some people manage to survive the accusation, and then try to limp along on their lives. They are hurting, but they still have their house, their car, and their families. They still have a job, a role, a life. Others, like myself, are not so fortunate.
You could be hiding in your house and never go out at all, and the legal authorities can break down the door and accuse you of some crime. The DA could press for a huge horrible sentence and offer you a much lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Which is, in fact, how nearly 90% of all criminal cases in the United States are resolved.
So, yeah. You could agree to their terms, and then the Judge could ignore your plea agreement . (Like what happened in my case.) Learn from my experience.
If someone wants you to go to prison, you will go. That’s the way it works in the USA.
An emotional time
Anyways, here is what happened after I completed my prison sentence. It is difficult to describe my complex emotions at the time. I just cannot.
But I will try. To begin, I will quote from one of my favorite authors a segment that well describes my feelings and emotions at the time. I felt betrayed, and alone.
Betrayed, and alone.
“The Fog Horn blew. And the monster answered.
A cry came across a million years of water and mist. A cry so anguished and alone it shuddered in my head and my body. The monster cried out at the tower. The Fog Horn blew. The monster roared again. The Fog Horn blew. The monster opened its great toothed mouth and the sound that came from it was the sound of the Fog Horn itself. Lonely and vast and far away. The sound of isolation, a viewless sea, a cold night, apartness. That was the sound.
"Now," whispered McDunn, "do you know why it comes here?"
I nodded.
"All year long, Johnny, that poor monster there lying far out, a thousand miles at sea, and twenty miles deep maybe, biding its time, perhaps a million years old, this one creature. Think of it, waiting a million years; could you wait that long? Maybe it's the last of its kind. I sort of think that's true. Anyway, here come men on land and build this lighthouse, five years ago. And set up their Fog Horn and sound it and sound it out towards the place where you bury yourself in sleep and sea memories of a world where there were thousands like yourself, but now you're alone, all alone in a world that's not made for you, a world where you have to hide.
"But the sound of the Fog Horn comes and goes, comes and goes, and you stir from the muddy bottom of the Deeps, and your eyes open like the lenses of two-foot cameras and you move, slow, slow, for you have the ocean sea on your shoulders, heavy. But that Fog Horn comes through a thousand miles of water, faint and familiar, and the furnace in your belly stokes up, and you begin to rise, slow, slow. You feed yourself on minnows, on rivers of jellyfish, and you rise slow through the autumn months, through September when the fogs started, through October with more fog and the horn still calling you on, and then, late in November, after pressurizing yourself day by day, a few feet higher every hour, you are near the surface and still alive. You've got to go slow; if you surfaced all at once you'd explode. So it takes you all of three months to surface, and then a number of days to swim through the cold waters to the lighthouse. And there you are, out there, in the night, Johnny, the biggest damned monster in creation. And here's the lighthouse calling to you, with a long neck like your neck sticking way up out of the water, and a body like your body, and most important of all, a voice like your voice. Do you understand now, Johnny, do you understand?"
The Fog Horn blew.
The monster answered.
I saw it all, I knew it all-the million years of waiting alone, for someone to come back who never came back. The million years of isolation at the bottom of the sea, the insanity of time there, while the skies cleared of reptile-birds, the swamps fried on the continental lands, the sloths and sabre-tooths had there day and sank in tar pits, and men ran like white ants upon the hills.
The Fog Horn Blew.
"Last year," said McDunn, "that creature swam round and round, round and round, all night. Not coming to near, puzzled, I'd say. Afraid, maybe. And a bit angry after coming all this way. But the next day, unexpectedly, the fog lifted, the sun came out fresh, the sky was as blue as a painting. And the monster swam off away from the heat and the silence and didn't come back. I suppose it's been brooding on it for a year now, thinking it over from every which way."
The monster was only a hundred yards off now, it and the Fog Horn crying at each other. As the lights hit them, the monster's eyes were fire and ice, fire and ice.
"That's life for you," said McDunn. "Someone always waiting for someone who never comes home. Always someone loving something more than that thing loves them. And after a while you want to destroy whatever that thing is, so it can hurt you no more."
-Ray Bradbury. The Foghorn.
Finding a place to land
Leaving prison is pretty bitter sweet. You are damaged. And while, you are made stronger, more efficient; a “better” person in many ways, the full realization and manifestation would take years.
You are damaged.
Years of your life has been put on “hold”. What ever education that you had picked up in prison had no applicable application outside of the prison walls. It’s as if your educational background has been obliterated. You have no money. No recent “job history”. No vehicle, phone, furniture, and clothing worth mentioning. You are reborn, but not as a young infant. No, that is for most felons, but not for me as a “Sex Offender”.
You were reborn as an old man with a big sign that said “stay away!”.
Family
“Don’t hold together what must fall apart. The familiar life crumbles so the new life can begin.”
— Bryant McGill
My sister opined that posters would have to be put up in the town where she lived advertising that a sex offender lived with her . This would not be good because she had a life and a business in that town, and any association with me was potentially hazardous to their family business. After all, she reasoned; who would shop in a store that supported a “sex offender”?
This was especially true in small rural communities and small cities. The fact was that, she believed, that I would have to advertise my presence to the community. That advertising would severely destroy her small town business that she had worked so hard to create.
My brother also expressed concern that there were families with children in his apartment building. I was not permitted to live near families with children. Or near parks, playgrounds, schools , public spaces, libraries, post offices, and other locations. Even a park bench would violate my parole if I lived within proximity to it. He owned a nice collection of firearms, kept pistols in his trucks, and maintained concealed carry. If I was anywhere near him, I could be arrested.
A felon cannot be in the physical proximity of a firearm. Even if I rode in a car, and I had no idea that there was an unloaded gun in the trunk, I could be arrested for possession of a firearm. A second offense and a gun charge at that. I would be looking at 15+ years’ incarceration. (Word to the wise, I knew a guy doing time who was looking at an additional 15 years simply because he was hitchhiking. The guy who picked him up was an off duty cop. He was arrested by the guy who picked him up because the off-duty police officer had a holstered pistol.)
Both relatives did not want to help me in any way. There was no choice in the matter. I was on my own.
I was on my own .
Be a resilient man. For a resilient man understands that the only thing he can control is himself. Only he can change his circumstances and only he can control how he reacts to adversity. Circumstances don’t dictate your life-you dictate your life. The resilient man waits for no one to solve his problems; he is always actively trying to solve them himself.
Half-way Houses
“Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse.”
–Adlai Stevenson, 23rd Vice President of the United States
With no money and no friends, the only recourse for me would be to enter some kind of “half-way” house arrangement. These organizations are designed to help felons transition back into society. The felon is given a place to sleep (while paying rent), some food (while paying for the meals), and help locating work. It’s a great way to integrate oneself back into society. However, there is one problem.
Most “half way” houses did not accept sex offenders .
There is evidence that some half-way houses that do actually accept sex offenders require that a large bond be posted. If the sex offender violates their parole in any way they lose their bonded money. On the surface this sounds like a good idea, but it is actually just a money-making scheme.
There is a high rate of parole violators partly due to the fact it is very easy to violate parole; for sex offender, the mere idea that they could reoffend because they sat in a car with someone else who had a cell phone was a real threat.
Other violations include, having a phone number, having a facebook account, applying for a job using a email account, going to a PG rated movie, watching television, having a MP3 player, going to a restaurant that served beer, or using the computer.
I ask the reader; could they live in America under these parole stipulations?
Is the reader actually willing to risk parole by watching a Disney or Pixar movie? How about riding in a car with a friend who happens to have a cell phone? Are you, dear reader able to insist that all of your friends leave their cellphones at home when they are next to you? What about going to a movie rental place? What if you pick up a DVD box that is rated as PG? Are you and your friend ready to accept prison incarceration for that little mistake?
Most, but not all. Yet finding one, with an open bed was problematic, if not impossible. So, actually, once I exited prison my troubles were only just starting. I had to have an address and a place to live.
Not only to start my life over again, but also to meet the reporting requirements for a sex offender.
If I could not obtain a place to live, work, and meet their reporting requirements and fees (!) I could be re-imprisoned for failure to meet the terms of my release. I was in-between a rock and a hard place.
Low Income Housing
“Our carceral state banishes American citizens to a gray wasteland far beyond the promises and protections the government grants its other citizens… When the doors finally close and one finds oneself facing banishment to the carceral state—the years, the walls, the rules, the guards, the inmates…the incarcerated begins to adjust to the fact that he or she is, indeed, a prisoner. New social ties are cultivated. New rules must be understood.”
– Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
I looked at low income housing .
That was an alternative, with the fact that I had no income. Low income housing, also known as “Section 8 housing” is a special program in the United States that provides subsidized housing for people with low to no income.
There were different sub-programs involved, and I could apply for each program individually. All in all, it is a good program, except that it is abused by a certain percentage of the population, often mismanaged, and tended to have a large percentage of mentally ill inhabitants in it.
As will all segments of society, at the bottom you will find crimes; [1] often of a most petty nature, [2] poor manners, and a [3] general disregard for others. But as transitory housing, it was well worth the investigative effort that I could apply to it.
I knew that it would be a difficult thing to attempt to do. The waiting periods were very long (typically lasting years), as there were many people trying to enter these programs. But I had to give it a try and see if I could at least get on a waiting list.
I went to many interviews with this goal in mind. In all cases they (The management of these housing organizations.) dealt with an enormous State level and Federal level bureaucracies. As such, I had to fill out many forms, and consent to all kinds of background checks. But the bottom line was always the same.
None of them would accept sex offenders.
This was usually due to the facts and requirements of the federal and state agencies; they routinely denied people with this kind of criminal history, and also due to the whims and choices of those whom interviewed me ; they often just simply chose not to help me.
I would say that all of the state run and state funded organizations refused to give me anything other than a thank you, but no. Many times the people wouldn’t even bother to shake my hands.
The religious ones were different. But they too often received state and federal funds, and they also had their hands tied. The religious organizations were there to help. They were doing this work for spiritual purposes and actually believed in helping people. While the state run organizations were just getting a paycheck. It was just a job to them.
Those whom made the hiring decisions failed to hire me. It was their choice. It was made by their own personalities and how they accepted or did not accept my application.
One of the companies where I applied was a service center that provided a live person on the phone to handle customer complaints and questions. These firms typically hired felons because they offered terrible hours and were easy to monitor and evaluate performance on because the employee was “chained” or “tethered” (figuratively speaking) to a computer that they could monitor and appraise.
The woman who interviewed me, after completing the interview and passing the test, plainly told me directly; “I will not hire anyone who is a sex offender. Period.”
She then gave me this big smirk on her huge black (African-American face) and said in the most sarcastic manner possible “Oh, but I DO hope that you can find work somewhere else…”.
Religious Charities
I looked into religious charities that would house the unemployed, sick, or mentally disabled. (By the way, for the record, I am a big fan of religious charities. If the reader wants to do good, I would suggest donating some time or money to their religious charity of choice.) But most also would not accept sex offenders.
It turned out, as one manager told me, that in order for the ministry to accept government and state grants to operate they had to abide by the requirement that they would not take sex offenders. So to operate and house the homeless they must agree not to house sex offenders. It was a federal requirement.
The government created these policies, and yet had no program to deal with those that they put into the programs. What did they think we would do? Without being able to live, get work, or be able to perform simple tasks we became a liability and a burden to the community.
But that did not matter to those who buy votes to get reelected. They only wanted to stay in office. They would offer “feel good legislation” in order to buy votes and to stay in their comfortable offices.
The term “ feel-good" legislation” refers to indiscriminate and/or unenforceable bans, as well as draconian sanctions applied to behavior that is already illegal. They consist of laws that have no basis on existing crime, but rather on the emotional needs of the population. It creates a general disrespect for law and reduces compliance, while aggravating (or at best, failing to improve) the problems these laws were supposedly enacted to solve.
Friends
I looked into old friends, my former business connections, distant relatives, and even friends of friends. In each case the answer was no. I cannot blame them, but I actually did need to be able to have a place to sleep, and one that I could register with the police with. It was a problem that I had to resolve and to do so quickly.
A need to act quickly
I had three days to take action. (It was not my choice, but rather the time limit imposed on me by law .) Three. I looked at my resources. I had on the clothes on my back. I had $100 in cash and a check from the prison of all the money that I had saved up. I had no relatives or friends remaining in the United States who were willing to help me.
However, I did have resources outside of the United States.
You see, prior to my arrest, I had been doing a substantial amount of international business. As such, I had friends, job and employment contacts , and even (some) savings in a bank (untouchable by the United States government ).
It was a great coincidence that I had the nudge to put aside some money outside of the USA. All I had to do was reestablish contact with my external resources and build a new life elsewhere .
I tell you the truth, if I could have made a new life back inside the United States I would of. But even if I could, it would be a paltry one at that. At best, I was looking at laborer work (physical labor with a shovel or moving dolly) or janitorial work in my late 50’s for minimum wage. I was looking at bike-riding instead of a car, and a small shabby low-rent room in a boarding house instead of an apartment (a owned home was out of the question). (These boarding houses, with rent of $100/week were often quite shabby affairs, with neat but dusty decrepit surroundings, unadorned light bulb hanging down from the ceiling with a lone wire, and stained curtains on the wall.) It was not a nice promising new life that awaited me.
It would be a lonely life. A life without relationships; where friends and girl-friends were difficult to make and keep. (All a girl would have to do was look me up on Google .) It would be a life where I would be scrutinized for everything that I would do, how I would do it, and why. My life would be a prison disguised as “freedom”. (Which was by intentional design, that had somehow due to political manipulation, morphed into something actually quite unreasonable and difficult.)
Path of least resistance
So, I took the only opening that was available to me at the time . I registered with the police as I was compelled, by law, to do. I then tried to collect my identification, but they were all discarded or mislaid, so I had to reapply for everything.
Eventually I was able to obtain my identification papers. I had to reapply for everything from scratch. [1] I began with fingerprints, and then using it to [2] reapply for a driver’s license. Then using that, [3] I applied for a Post Office box. Then with that, [4] I applied for a replacement passport. With the replacement passport, I was able to [5] apply for a visa to China, and [6] buy a plane ticket.
You don’t think that I just got out of prison and boarded a plane, did you?
I tried to find work and housing, but it was impossible to do so. I couldn’t even open up a bank account because during my arrest, everything fell apart. For instance, the auto-deduction bill payment system bankrupted my account , and I found that I owed them thousands of dollars before they closed my account .
Heck, when I got out of prison, I discovered that it was impossible for me to open up a bank account unless I paid the balance due plus interest. I could have bought a car with the amount they wanted.
At the Airport
I arrived at the airport, not expecting any hassles.
I followed the procedures that I had done a thousand times before. Only this time, I was no longer a first-class American citizen. I was a third-class felon. When I went through TSA, I discovered just what it was like to be a caged animal.
It seems so odd. But this is what happened to me. Now, you can justify it in all kinds of ways. Yo can say that it was an “orange alert”, or that I was a felon. Or you can say that I was a convicted sex offender. What ever, this is exactly what happened.
They took me aside to another part of the airport, and stripped me naked. They conducted a cavity search. They placed all my belongings on this enormous table and photographed every item. They went through my wallet, my bags, and my papers. In going through all my belongings and wallet they asked me why I was carrying the few dollars that I had on me, and why I didn’t have a cell phone. They asked me where I was going and why. They scanned all the music on my MP3.
I wonder if the Gestapo was ever so thorough in Nazi Germany? Well, I ask the reader this. Think about it. Were they?
When I went though TSA, it was local police, TSA and immigration officials that conducted the searches. They were quite nice about it. Seriously. But, I in no way felt that I was living in America. I felt like I was back in prison.
I went through immigration, and then boarded the plane for a new future. It was a future of unknown expectations, and unexpected lifestyle. But I was not afraid. Anything was better than the life in a hard labor prison in the Southern United States.
The often quoted phrase “It’s all good!” took on a new level of meaning once I stepped out of prison and left the shores of the USA.
The reader needs to recognize that talented people retain their talent regardless of the situations that they encounter. As I experienced such a deluge of “bad luck”, one would expect me to end up on the street begging. However, that is not what happened. How? The answer is simple, if a person is exceptional, and is chosen by MAJestic; their core being will stay intact even after they left the organization.
Such is my story.
The airline apparently “lost” all of my luggage. Imagine that! I wonder if some “good Samaritan” decided to accidentally misplace my belongings once it was identified that I was a “sex offender”.
As a result, my connecting flight to NYC where I would board a Chinese airline had to be without luggage.
A baggage handler takes luggage from conveyor belt connected to a Ryanair Holdings Plc passenger aircraft at Stansted Airport. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Lord only knows what happened to the overall dispensation of my bags. They are probably lost somewhere in Newark, forever collecting dust and slowly rotting away.
So I arrived wearing black medical scrubs (my preferred choice of attire when flying internationally for long trips where one has to go through multiple American TSA checkpoints ), a pair of black house slippers and socks, and one pair of underwear. I had my backpack with a handful of documents, a toothbrush, and a towel. And less than one hundred dollars. That was it.
I had nothing, no hope and no life in the United States.
But I did have one elsewhere. Knowing that gave me advantage. So I made a few phone calls, and renewed my contacts. I reconnected with my outside resources and boarded a flight overseas .
Final Egress from the USA
Exiting the airport in the United States, and boarding the Chinese airlines to China was like a breath of fresh air.
No problem. I might be a pariah in the United States, but outside of the country I was just an average man. I had served my time, and even got a certificate of rehabilitation out of it. I had no parole officer to report to, or any limitations on where I could live. I was free, as long as I left the country. Though, I am sure that there is some bureaucrat that wants to change even that.
I might have been a felon, but I was still a citizen (though a third class one at that), and I possessed the basic rights as a citizen and that meant that I possessed an American passport . The fight out of the United States was the turning point in my life up to that time, and after I left, everything came together quickly.
It was a purge of all my belongings and a sum totality of my past.
After being treated so harshly at the hard-labor prison camp in the hot Arkansas wastes, followed by being an “untouchable” being barked at by TSA and militarized police, I entered a new world.
It was a much softer world. It was a world where smart people were valued. It was a world where knowledge had merit and your worth was determined by your ability. It was a polite world.
I immediately felt at home.
In hindsight, I should have obtained a second passport prior to my incarceration. Let that be a lesson to the reader; always have a second passport. Do not count only on having an American passport.
American passports make opening a foreign bank account nearly impossible, add all kinds of reporting and legal difficulties, and adds additional fees to everything you do, just because you are an “American”.
More about the problems of being an American in the modern global economy, please read THIS ,and THIS , and (probably the best advice) THIS , and THIS,and THIS .
I would also advise the reader to keep all passports and personal papers in a place outside of their home and vehicle. Maybe a safety-deposit box, or with a very trusted friend.
When the USA government wishes to “investigate” you, they tend to seize everything. They will freeze and take your bank accounts, and all kinds of personal papers, computer and cell phones.
Don’t be caught as I was, all bank accounts frozen, all documents seized (and then lost by the authorities), all records taken, and with all friends inclined to avoid you.
The airline lost my luggage, so when I arrived in China I wore only a pair of slippers, and some black (charcoal) colored hospital attire, and a small backpack with only my most important papers. That was it.
Truth be told, I arrived in China alone, with just the clothes on my back and a handful of possessions in my backpack. My entire luggage kit was lost. I was like a tattered hobo with a bindle stick .
Reconnect with Loved Ones
As soon as I was able to, I met up with my (now) wife. It was a joyous reunion, though she was aghast at how much I had aged while in prison.
She helped me access my Chinese bank accounts, get new clothes, and establish a place to work. For the first time in over five years, I felt relaxed and calm.
Arrival at my New Home
I felt like a man released from a Gulag. Approximately a month from my release from prison, I was reconnected with former colleagues and friends. I was employed, and furnished with new clothes, and an apartment, and was well on the way to my new life. A life, mind you, completely different than anything that I had ever experienced before.
The reader should watch the final scene in the movie; “The Next Three Days” (2010). It starred Russell Crowe as John Brennan and at the end of the film, the family arrives at a hotel in Caracas, Venezuela. As Lara lies down next to him, Luke kisses his mother on the forehead and falls asleep. John takes a picture of their sleeping faces as the movie ends.
This was what it was like arriving at my new home outside of the American Gulag.
The freedom NOT to tell anyone about your life and how you live it.
Above is a screen shot from the movie; “The Next Three Days” (2010) where the hero and his family escape the USA and finally find freedom in another nation. The movie was good, but it’s all Hollywood dreams, smoke and mirrors.
Here’s what the real deal looks like, and what I experienced;
Hollywood is fun, and the movies are great escapist entertainment, but this is the real deal. It doesn’t end after an hour and a half at the movie theater. You live it. Here’s what it really was like. Photo by the author upon arrival with my wife as we rode to our new home.
Literally, I had nothing else. It was like this…
“He stood before the yellow door. The printed letters over it said THE SUN DOME. He put his numb hand up to feel it. Then he twisted the doorknob and stumbled in.
He stood for a moment looking about. Behind him the rain whirled at the door. Ahead of him, upon a low table, stood a silver pot of hot chocolate, steaming, and a cup, full, with a marshmallow in it. An beside that, on another tray, stood thick sandwiches of rich chicken meat and fresh-cut tomatoes and green onions. And on a rod just before his eyes was a great thick green Turkish towel, and a bin in which to throw wet clothes, and, to his right, a small cubicle in which heat rays might dry you instantly. And upon a chair, a fresh change of uniform, waiting for anyone—himself, or any lost one—to make use of it. And farther over, coffee in steaming copper urns, and a phonograph from which music was playing quietly, and books bound in red and brown leather. And near the books a cot, a soft deep cot upon which one might lie, exposed and bare, to drink in the rays of the one great bright thing which dominated the long room.”
-The Long Rain, by Ray Bradbury.
Landfall after the storm
That is where my transition-adventure ends.
For the most part, after I left the United States I began a new life, with new friends, and a new occupation in a new location. Everything is thus new, exciting and very, very different.
My experiences have changed me, and now I look upon all news and politics, and life in general as an American expat would. With incredulity, shame and profound sadness.
Final Comments
A close friend saw me five years after I had exited prison. He told me that I had “changed in a fundamental and visceral way”. He said that I was hurt and broken inside in a way that it was hard to gauge, but it was entirely evident that I had been hurt, betrayed and damaged to a point of being a totally different person completely.
On the upside, everything that I experience is observed by the <redacted>, and thus determines the future course of events for Americans.
Yeah.
They have been watching this entire time.
Watch what is going to unfold in America. Just you all watch.
What it will be…?
Wait and find out.
MAJestic Related Posts – Training
These are posts and articles that revolve around how I was recruited for MAJestic and my training. Also discussed is the nature of secret programs. I really do not know why the organization was kept so secret. It really wasn’t because of any kind of military concern, and the technologies were way too involved for any kind of information transfer. The only conclusion that I can come to is that we were obligated to maintain secrecy at the behalf of our extraterrestrial benefactors.
MAJestic Related Posts – Our Universe
These particular posts are concerned about the universe that we are all part of. Being entangled as I was, and involved in the crazy things that I was, I was given some insight. This insight wasn’t anything super special. Rather it offered me perception along with advantage. Here, I try to impart some of that knowledge through discussion.
Enjoy.
MAJestic Related Posts – World-Line Travel
These posts are related to “reality slides”. Other more common terms are “world-line travel”, or the MWI. What people fail to grasp is that when a person has the ability to slide into a different reality (pass into a different world-line), they are able to “touch” Heaven to some extent. Here are posts that cover this topic.
John Titor Related Posts
Another person, collectively known by the identity of “John Titor” claimed to utilize world-line (MWI egress) travel to collect artifacts from the past. He is an interesting subject to discuss. Here we have multiple posts in this regard.
Here are (what I like to call) “snapshots” of the Chinese New Year celebrations in February 2019. The Chinese use a lunar calendar, and the New Year started on 5FEB19, and started the week-long celebration.
This celebration is profoundly different than anything experienced in the West. It is a time of family and friends. It is a time of crazed dancing, and orgy of food, and prolonged heavy drinking. It is also a time when you will see friendships renew, relationships expand, and families strengthen.
The cultural aspects of this event are (in large part) unknown in the West, but I find them fascinating. Everything from the “spontaneous dancing upon arrival”, grain alcohol guzzling, monkey parades, and the barbecued octopus tentacles dipped in hot spicy pepper sauce becomes commonplace during this time.
Here we look at a series of scenes from China. All of the scenes are in the form of micro-videos. All videos were taken within the week of 3FEB19 through 8FEB19 and represent a cross-section of typical China as observed by typical Chinese using their cellphones. The application used to record these videos is the TikTok APP.
Travel
While officially, the week vacation is a full week, many businesses and factories stay shut down for an entire month. They work reduced shifts leading up to, and after the official holiday. They also rely on reduced staffing during this period, as most Chinese travel great distances from their employer to go back home for the holidays.
Of course, the traffic is crazy and the crowds are massive. It is very difficult to get a plane seat, or a seat on the train as literally millions of people are moving here and there, to and from, leading up to the Chinese New Year holiday. As a result, many hop in their cars and drive for two or three days to make it back home.
Here’s a video of what it is like. Of course, there are often instances of heavy traffic, and other frustrations of driving long distances…
To save on the expense, they often share the ride with other similar people traveling in the general direction. For instance, this year, one of my product engineers drove home and shared a ride with a fellow from Guangzhou. He lived in a nearby town, and was a friend of a friend.
Impromptu and spontaneous dancing upon entry
Of course, it is always great to see loved ones. But, the Chinese do so with a new twist. many Chinese like to welcome each other with a dance. I kid you not, and when that happens, you are obligated to go ahead and dance with them.
Now, the reader should be aware that this is not a traditional thing to do. At least, I don’t think it is traditional. It seems to have cropped up literally “out of the blue” this year, and is all over the social media. Yeah. I know, it’s silly.
But then, on the other hand, it is certainly memorable…
I really do not know where this all got started from. It seems like everyone is able to take part in it. From little kids, to school boys and girls, to adults, to aunties to grandparents. It’s the darnedest thing, I’ll tell you what.
The rules are simple;
The originator of the dance is the person in the house.
They will play a song upon the arrival of friends or family.
They will then start dancing impromptu as soon as the door opens.
Those who enter and find the host dancing are obligated to dance with them as well.
The guests are not expected to remove their shoes when dancing.
If they are carrying something, they can put it down so that they can dance.
Yes, it is pretty crazy. Whether or not this fad will continue throughout the year, or will die this Chinese New Year is up to speculation. I guess that we will all just have to wait and see.
Partying with Friends
Of course, the entire week is filled with meals and parties. The Chinese really do love to party.
They drink (that grain alcohol), and wine… not to sip… but to quaff down in entire glass-fills. This is not only reserved for friends, but for co-workers, classmates, cousins, immediate family, extended family, and even the entire village (if you come from a smaller settlement).
I have videos and videos and videos of this. I have thousands of videos taken during the KTV, or adventures in the bars. I have videos at the BBQ pits that are everywhere, to the impromptu get togethers that seem to reflect what China is today.
Friends get together with friends. Girls go out with girls. Guys go out with guys. Brothers go out with brothers. Sisters go out with sisters. This is a time when everyone goes out to party with each other
Here are some general videos that seem to represent most of what is going on during this period of time.
Just some gals having fun with their friends. They could be co-workers or just friends. But, what does it matter, really? Life is too short to play the corporate “game’. Go out, go forth, and make friends. have a good time, and get drunk with your co-workers. Life is meant to be lived.
That’s some chicks in a bar. What about the guys? What if you are in the midst of building your life, and aren’t in a city bar? What can you do?
Heck you do what we used to do in Pennsylvania (and Florida, New York and California, and Michigan too). You get a keg of beer, and a bunch of food and have a BBQ outside, and crank the music up loud.
And yes, they have meals inside and outside. In fact, the Chinese love BBQ and many a great night can be spent drinking beer, chatting, dancing, and singing over BBQ…
Can you blame them?
You’ll also note that the Chinese will cook other things with the BBQ. Truthfully, the BBQ is anything cooked over flame. So, the Chinese will often cook such things as chicken, beef, pork, and mutton. In addition, they will cook such things as onions, lettuce, pepper (actually very good), toufu, and bread. They will cook things like fish, wrapped in aluminum foil, and even make up a batch of noodles.
The noodles are kind of rare, but, heck, if you want some spaghetti, well… go for it. All food is glorious. Don’t ya think?
Here’s a video of some guys at a KTV. What? They aren’t singing. Oh, I wonder why… Oh, look one of the guys just made a call and arranged for some pretty girls to join them for fun and frolic. Gosh, youse just got to love China!
Fireworks
Of course, everyone knows about the fireworks. We have fireworks in the United States. Ah… yeah, but the Chinese do it differently.
To them, the noise and the lights scare away evil spirits that retard growth, prosperity and wealth. The louder the fireworks, the noisier the fireworks, and the louder… the better. So when you see the fireworks in China, it is absolutely amazing. It completely dwarfs anything seen in the USA by a factory of a thousand.
Check this out. Isn’t it just amazing?
What is truly amazing is that these fireworks don’t last for 45 minutes or so. They last all night. They last for 12, and even 24 hours! Just like this. I well remember seeing the scene from my house in TangXia when the morning sun lifted and I could survey the city around me, that the fireworks and smoke still continued in all it’s crazy glory. It looks like the hills are all on fire. Seriously.
And good luck trying to get some sleep. LOL.
This is all over the world. Here is a very impressive display from a tiny, tiny village in the middle of the mountains. Pretty impressive eh? make the firework display in NYC look like a child’s toy.
To me, it all looks like a horrible weapons barrage that seems endless. What ever it might look like, I can tell you that any bad spirits would be too frightened by all the noise, the bright lights and explosions. For certain!
Family Meals
Many families eat outside in the restaurants, however many families have these huge spreads in the homes. Just like the United States, there are familial get together’s where all the kids get to play and the adults make the food, chat, play cards, and generally get shit-faced drunk.
Here is a typical middle-class family. Note that many families live in those large apartment buildings. The smaller homes are quite expensive and are worth many millions of dollars. The furniture is typical, as is the flooring and the walls. The Chinese do not like carpeting in the least. (It’s dirty.) They prefer white, gold and red colors, and while this household might look opulent to us Americans, know that it is pretty much typical for the middle class Chinese.
This video could have been taken anywhere in China. It could have been taken at my in-laws, or my friends house. It could have been taken in Shenzhen, Shanghai or Beijing. It’s very typical.
I actually pointed this out before to other Americans. They responded that that couldn’t possibly be the case. They argued that if this was true that we would see examples of Chinese houses in the American media…
Sure. Sure. Sure.
Hum. I guess they still believe in the Easter Bunny. You don’t argue with people who have closed minds and who’s reality was formed by the American media and their distortions, inaccuracies, and outright lies.
Here’s another typical Chinese house made up for the 2019 Chinese New Year holiday…
Parades
Of course, there are parades. Some have the famous dragon that can be seen in China-town in the States. But the Chinese parades tend to be quite different than the United States in ways difficult to describe…
Here we have a bunch of “monkey kings” dancing in the parade. This, in my mind, is pretty darn awesome, and you won’t find anything even approaching it in the States.
Some things are unique to China, and cannot be found anywhere else. Guys… different is good. You don’t want all the restaurants to look like McDonald’s. You don’t want all the coffee houses to look like Starbucks, and you don’t want every nation to have democrats like Ocasio-Cortez reforming everything to make it “better”.
Which is a great plus about China. They have declared war on SJW folk and take active steps to have them removed from society before they can tarnish and destroy time-honored traditions. Thank God for China and realizing that SJW moments harm the nation in numerous ways.
Anyways…
And here is another “parade” in a small village.
I really don’t have a word for what is going on here as this kind of thing is alien to the West. It certainly does not exist in America. It is where locals dress up like famous gods and heroes and go from house to house scaring away the bad spirits that might bring bad luck during the year.
Prayers to the Gods
One of the things that the Chinese do is light these mini candles that float up into the sky with the wishes and prayers of the sender. It’s actually a wonderful sight to behold, and many people take part in this ritual throughout the nation.
I read about this being tried in the United States. In fact, I read two stories about this, and the crazy reactions that resulted. The first story had the people doing this arrested for creating “UFO hoaxes”. The second story, also had people arrested, only this time it was because they did not have a permit to launch anything like this, and that it might disrupt the ability to fly.
Gosh darn it! Can’t Americans just be left alone?
Other Celebrations
Of course, the smaller communities in the rural areas would do what rural communities always did. They would host parties filled with song and dance (and free alcoholic beverages) for the towns people to enjoy. This was true in Europe and the United States, prior to all the new “progressive government” ushered in around 1913 or so…
If you don’t know what I am referring to, then I must humbly suggest that your knowledge of history is seriously in dire need of readjustment. I would suggest that you find some elderly people in your community and start talking with them. If you cannot, they find old issues of “The Good Old Days” magazine and read it.
All the progressive “improvements” such as banning alcohol, smoking, and making things “safer” did not exist until the 19th Amendment was passed. Those progressive assholes in the early 19th century really fucked everything up for the rest of us. They destroyed our Republic and gave us a Nanny-State. A land where everyone reports to “Big Momma”.
Sorry about that. I get sidetracked so easily.
Here we have some folk having fun, drink and song in a small village. Don’t they look like they are having fun? Don’t they look like they are having fun? Don’t they look like they are having a great time? Why can’t we have this in the Untied States?
Sorry, Dude… It’s because “of the children”…
And… in Tibet
For most Americans, we believe that Tibet is an annexed land that is under repression by the evil satanic communists. It must be set free!
Yah, maybe fifty years ago. Today, Tibet is wholly integrated into China. You could no more remove Tibet from China, as you could remove California, and Texas, and Nevada from the United States. Don’t believe me? Check out this map and see for yourself.
Here we can clearly see that the region of Tibet represents a significant portion of the landmass of China. It is bigger than both California and Texas combined together. yet, somehow, we Americans are told that we can “demand” China to offer autonomy to this region, in exchange for American “benefits”, what ever they might be.
Anyways, today, the population of Tibet is predominantly Han-Chinese. It’s pretty understandable, as the Chinese government gave incentives for the Chinese to relocate into Tibet. It’s sort of how the American democrats give free welfare to any illegal who enters the United States, as long as they will vote for democrats. Its the same thing.
Here we have a Chinese gal in Tibet celebrating the new year of the pig…
Aftermath
You’ll notice that many people talk with hoarse voices, as all the “white wine” pretty much tore holes in their throats. People gather their belongings, and start the trek back home. All the free drink, the free cigarettes, and all the food comes to an end. It’s a quiet calmness…
Conclusions
This was just a short and sweet posting of various videos taken in China during the CNY 2019 year of the pig. I know it’s not covered by the American media. The best that you can ever expect is a small blurb mentioning that new Chinese new year.
We interrupt our hate-fest against President Trump with some news from around the world. In China, they had a new year. Some fireworks were lit. Meanwhile Democrat XXXXXXX proposes some taxes to support the banning of YYYYYYY. It's for global warming, don't you know.
For most Americans, it is an interesting bit of trivia. Like how many buttons the average coat has, or the average size of a chicken egg. This is unfortunate, as the CNY holiday is much, much more than simply a “holiday”. It represents many things of significant value, and the fact that half the population of the world celebrates it should be reason for consideration.
I hope that I was able to present some new and interesting aspects of this holiday to the reader that is sorely lacking in the WELL (Super Well-Paid) “journalists” that work for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the LA Times and Salon… sigh. They are NOT doing their jobs.
Obviously one of two things must be true. Either [1] their job is no longer to inform, or [2] they are seriously incompetent, as are the complete editorial staff at the media headquarters.
>>This isn’t merely a question for Trump supporters, but for anyone who still thinks that a political system that isn’t completely run by thugs, with only a simulacrum of democracy as window dressing, is something worth trying to maintain and improve. <<
It is a fool’s errand to attempt to save the Union. The ideological gap between left and right is far to wide to ever bridge. They are polar opposites.
The best we can hope for is an amicable split. Fredrick Douglas wondered if the US is just to large an area to be governed by one central government in Washington. It is, a “one size fits all” system is not working
The sooner the majority of people in this country realize that and start the process of diving the nation in a peaceful manner, the better. Otherwise, we will continue our slow decent into hell.
There are many things that a person can do to improve themselves. In my case, I could lose some weight, and eat better. I could be kinder to people, and stop reading the news so much. I could spend more time with friends and family, and I could spend more time in nature. I think that if I did those things, I would be a better person.
It’s not just me. I look around the world and see all kinds of things that could be improved with a modest amount of effort. The key here is the word “modest”.
For instance, planting a tree in your yard. Exposing children to dogs and cats at an early age. Sweeping the sidewalk in front of your house, and having a small vegetable garden might be really nice if a decent percentage of people would spend the time and effort to force some change.
Now, well…
I look at all the things going on in the United States today, and everyone seems to agree on both sides of the political spectrum that things are “not well”.
There are many meme’s about the Obama apologies. Most of us Americans deeply resented Obama’s actions and behaviors.
The world is a steamy place, it seems. Radical communists have made their voices known and are taking off their masks and have complete control of the Democrat party, and many critical aspects of the United States government. They hold sway in key positions in every Federal and State organization, they have significant blocks of power in the Judicial branch, and they own all media, social media, and popular culture.
Conservatives, much like myself, really wish that we would be left alone and able to live our lives in peace. Seriously, we just want to be left alone.
Ah, such is our pipe dream.
Now, progressives are unhappy because they aren’t able to control everyone yet. They have entire wish lists of rules and laws that they want to implement to make America a “better” place. They will continue to be unhappy until people are on their knees bowing to them with arms outstretched. You know, like a scene out of ancient Egypt, or what it was like under Pol Pot or East Germany under the shadow of Communism.
American progressives want to take over America and implement an agenda very similar to what Pol Pot tried to do in Cambodia. – Ethnic cleansing. – To regain the glory of the Angkor Empire. – To reclaim Kampuchea Krom. – To get all CIA and KGB agents out of Democratic Kampuchea.
They just are beside themselves waiting for that day when you will be on your knees in supplication to them, and they will stand up in the mantles of wealth and glory.
So really, neither side is happy.
As such, here are some ideas that I have in an effort to recapture the spirit of what America used to be for my grandparents and my parents; “The Land of the Free”. It was a time when you could be yourself, say what you wanted, and you could even smoke in your office at work. Imagine that!
Unfortunately, too many of these young people are also upset about ridiculous things. They are part of a hypersensitive, hyper-politically correct group known as ‘Social Justice Warriors.’ A few years ago when I first heard the term ‘Social Justice Warrior,’ I wasn’t sure what it meant. I thought SJWs were doing some kind of noble, laudable work. I pictured them as volunteers at food banks. Maybe they were trying to help senior citizens get the prescription medicine they couldn’t afford. I pictured them trying to help the downtrodden in society. Instead, SJWs epitomize political correctness gone amuck. They are incredibly thin-skinned. They browbeat and scold others into giving up freedom of speech or expression. Want to wear a Halloween costume? You’d better check with the campus commissar of political correctness first. (Yes, the protesters want some sort of official on campus who will determine what can and cannot be said or done).
It was a time when being an American meant something truly great, and everyone referred to “their freedom”. It was a time when our president didn’t apologize for anything, and you were free to eat sunny-side-up eggs and get a five cent cup of coffee. All without some hugely fat, pink and green haired, monster of a woman (?) having something to say about it.
Freedom! Man, that’s what it’s all about!
Firstly [1], reduce the number of laws.
I know that this will upset the progressive liberals in the audience, but it is true. America has too many laws. They are too complex, and in a tiered layer structure from federal, state, county and local levels. They are supported by an army of attorneys, and law clerks. This has made life difficult for those of us who have to live under the laws.
Indeed, America has the highest number of laws in the world.
More laws = more restrictions and controls = LESS freedom.
Of course, many of the laws are just ignored. Most Americans just let the laws roll off our shoulders, and we shrug it off. But, an evil person; a progressive can use those laws and club us over the head with them. For the laws are so enormous and so numerous that everyone and anyone can get arrested, all you need to do is get on the “bad side” of someone.
It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.
When having sex, only the missionary position is legal.
It is illegal to skateboard without a license.
It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.
It’s a very simple logic.
As such, everything is over-regulated in America. Too much regulation takes away freedoms. In fact, if I were to be so bold, I contend that a law, no matter how well intentioned, is an affront to freedom. Thus, in a truly “free” nation, you would have the smallest number of laws necessary.
These laws have but one purpose.
They do things that would cause Americans to be fined, investigated, arrested and imprisoned for. This is true everywhere. Elsewhere in the world you can do so many things that Americans simply cannot. It is true. From buying Viagra without a prescription in Mexico to shopping with your dog in a grocery store in China. America has way too many laws and restrictions on freedom.
Now, I know some of the laws are supposed to be there to protect people, but they’ve gone way into overkill. Other countries are able to maintain safety without so many laws. So why can’t the US?
Come on!
Do we really… really need warning stickers on ladders to warn us about falling off? Do we really, and I mean it, really need to ban large sodas, sunny-side up eggs, or paper bags? Are Americas so friggin’ stupid (like our elected officials apparently believe) that we MUST be told how to behave, for our own good?
Really?
And what is all this nonsense about banning straws? Why not something useful, like banning potholes? Or, banning dog-shit on pizza? There has to be limits. There has to be guidelines, periodic audits and purging of antiquated, erroneous or outdated laws. Too much over-control is not a good thing.
You know it, and I know it.
There are reasons for all this control. Whether it is overt, or surreptitious, these laws are for control. Control over YOUR actions.
Of course, you can strip away the reasoning, the narrative, and the bullshit and get to the real root of the matter. The fact is, that many laws are there just to tax people and allow government to stick its nose where it doesn’t belong. Such, as I might dare say, such as in the affairs of private families and businesses.
Moreover, too much government control or state planning has never been good for economic growth, as history has shown. Don’t believe me? Check this link out…
In any event, there needs to be a serious overhaul of the legal system in the Untied States and a great reduction in the overall quantity and extent of the laws present.
I would suggest, and it is only my modest suggestion, to eliminate one law every second. That way, in about 200 years, there might be only the bare minimum laws on the books.
Secondly, [2] Pare down the size of government.
As if the first point wasn’t upsetting to the progressive liberals, asking them to reduce the size of the government is tantamount to asking them for voluntary castration. Taking money from a liberal is sacrilege. They clutch it in their greedy little hands and just won’t let go. Aiii!
The size of the US government has increased in size many, many times since the dawn of the 20th Century. The size of the government has grown like a huge monster out of control.
Ah, but unfortunately, governments don’t like to decrease in size because politicians don’t want to lose money. They’ve got their grubby little hands in the pots, and with America… that’s many, many pots. That’s many, many hands, and like fat pigs, everyone and everything is at the trough eating away.
Hey! How’s that $7,000,000,000,000 that Obama gave to South Africa helping you out personally? What about your friends? Or, how is it helping fill those potholes in the streets?
That’s why the founding fathers of America emphasized that government should be small and limited with minimal powers. And why, it was set up as a Republic where the only people that would be elected were our Congressmen.
The United States today does not look anything like what it was initially constructed as. In fact, it is the exact opposite.
The ideal size of government was the way it was during the 1800’s, when the US government was a small size and did not bother people much.
It had a very Laissez Faire type of approach, which allowed people a lot more freedoms and economic growth.
With small government came little need for taxes. Thus there was no income tax and no inflation. In fact, the value of the dollar remained stable throughout the 1800’s and by the end of the century actually had risen in value, thus technically resulting in deflation.
The size of the United States government has gotten so enormous and unwieldy that it is called “the swamp”. It is a mess of complexity where people who have been getting rich and comfortable living off it it, do everything they can to maintain the status quo.
Contrary to the narrative of “we need taxes for the roads and the bridges”, we had roads, bridges, a military and everything else long before we ever passed the federal income tax and the Federal Reserve. America got by just fine.
Anyone who uses that specious, and really over-worn argument, has the brain of a snail, and the memory of a tape worm. The issue is not, nor ever was, the collection of taxes. It has always been about how revenue was collected, and who paid for it.
Now that was the kind of government that Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers had in mind, which was nothing like the huge Orwellian type of government that we have today. Oh, and speaking about Orwell and his prophesies…
Big brother and the NSA observe and record everything that you do. It is all housed in Utah.
[3] Cut away the regulation, and fees that seem to be on everything.
Again, the progressives just love to regulate and control everything. They are control freaks. As such, the amount of regulation in the United States is insane. Seriously it is insane.
Oh, did I say that it is insane? Well, just in case I didn’t make myself clear on this matter; it is insane.
When Trump came to office, one of the first things that he tried to do was reduce the amount of regulation in the government. This caused eruptions of anger, laughter and disgust from the progressive liberal media.
The US has one of the highest costs of living in the world. You can blame inflation. You can blame innovation. You can blame crime. You can blame just about everything for this, but no one wants to blame the true root cause; rules and regulation.
Why is everything so darn expensive? Rules and regulation.
Each and every time that you add a regulation to something, you add a cost. Let’s suppose you want to make sure that hamburger buns don’t have green mold growing on it, so you write a regulation. Well, someone needs to inspect to make sure of compliance. Someone needs to be trained to inspect, and there needs to be a system of training, and monitoring the workers who do the inspections. All this costs MONEY. Someone has to pay, and that person is often YOU.
The rising costs of medical care in the United States is directly proportional to the size of paper-pushers that are used to service it. As the medical industry started to become regulated, the costs rose skyward into the stratosphere. You, when you pay a hospital bill, are not paying for the doctors services, you are actually mostly paying for the people in government to file and approve your forms.
In my dreams, I fantasize about every receipt having all the taxes and fees that went into the purchase listed and easy to read. That receipt would be a yard long, I’ll tell you what.
Here is the streamlined version of the Obama / Hillary Clinton healthcare plan known as the ACA. Each bubble represents a COST that YOU need to pay.
Compared to the other 200 countries, the US is definitely in the top tier when it comes to expensive costs of living. Prices and costs are way too high and so is inflation.
In the 20th century, the US dollar lost 95 percent of its value. In contrast, during the 1800’s there was no inflation and the dollar was worth more at the end of the 1800’s than at the beginning.
The value of the dollar has absolutely plummeted since the Federal Reserve was created. This means that the people who use this medium of exchange is forced to hold on to worthless scraps of paper. When I was born, my mother saved up for months to get me a $100 savings bond. When she died, and I inherited it, I discovered that I couldn’t even buy a decent meal with it. What was once worth a few months salary fell below the value of a meal.
Higher cost of living means that one has to work more and be a slave to their job more, with LESS free time to do what they want.
There’s not even time for personal growth.
What’s the point of living when all you do is work to make a living? What’s there to live for? It’s pointless. You are just a slave hamster on a treadmill. Being a debt slave is not living freely.
Why are you in your career? What does all the work buy for you and your children? Is the stress and worry worth it? Personal satisfaction comes from control of your finances.
As we all know, money can buy freedom, if one has enough of it. Thus, a higher cost of living means that people have LESS capability to “buy their freedom” since their money is worth less.
This insane rising cost of living in the US is most likely deliberately planned. Here’s why: The US is known to have the biggest gap between rich and poor. So it is in the interest of the wealthy elite class to keep the poor in America poor. There are numerous reasons for this. You can parse the reasons, but it’s really just human nature. The rich want to stay that way, so they support policies that benefit the status quo.
This inhibits the “freedom” of upward mobility in America.
The progressive liberals claim to want everyone to be equal. In fact, they want to be the wealthy elite with everyone obeying them. Conservatives tend to want to be left alone, as long as they are happy, they have no problem with others being wealthier then they are. Unfortunately, the income so disproportionately favors the wealthy in the USA, that it has become impossible for most people to have any kind of comfortable life.
This would also explain the deliberate dumbing down of America in the public education system, which insider whistle-blowers such as Charlotte Iserbyt have revealed.
So you see, even what freedoms you have in America are being slowly undermined behind the scenes, without the public’s knowledge or approval.
[4] Prison function should be redirected to reduce crime not be profit centers.
America has the largest prison population in the world. Currently, there are 2 million people incarcerated in American prisons. 2 million! That’s crazy.
That’s crazy!
For all sorts of reasons, mostly an overuse of laws, has turned the United States into one big prison. Here, just about everyone knows someone who has been in jail or prison. It is the same sort of situation that was present in the former Soviet Union. This is a truly worrisome condition.
No other country has anywhere near that amount in prison.
Does that really mean that Americans are the most evil and dangerous people on the planet? It must, you know, if every other nation uses the same measures of what constitute a crime is.
Does that mean that our police force(s) are the most efficient in catching criminals? It must, you now, if every other nation uses the same measures of policing and population control.
Or, is it instead structured so that our society is one where everyone is a potential criminal…?
The United States incarcerates Americans at an alarming rate. Further, once incarcerated, under the 16th amendment, they lose their Freedoms guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. They are thus able to be treated differently… as a second tier or second class citizen or slave.
Only in a dysfunctional, insane, crazy, toxic, repressed society would that many people be in prison.
How can the alleged “freest country in the world” also have the biggest prison population as well?! That’s a huge oxymoron that doesn’t make sense! Obviously there is a chasm of difference between what America says and what it is.
America does not treat people equally under the eyes of justice. Instead they use laws to force compliance to arcane rules and provide “safe havens” for the wealthy, while the rest of America suffers.
[5] PC culture needs to be stop being promoted by the media.
As if that is ever gonna happen…
US social culture is way too politically correct, which greatly reduces your ability to speak freely and honestly. It’s a restriction on free speech. From what I know back in the 1970’s, there was no political correctness. I would go to work and people would tell me what they thought of me to my face directly. People were free to be as honest as they wanted, so they could speak their mind freely and from the heart.
If a guy was fat, you told him to his face that he was fat. If a woman was a bitch, you called her out as a bitch or a shrill. Freedom, real freedom, is the ability to speak your mind without consequence.
Even if someone has something negative to say, honesty is always better than suppression and repression.
The HR departments tend to be populated by social justice activists and politically correct types. Their job is to make sure employees fall in line. This is achieved by fear. Companies will not tolerate racist, sexist, or otherwise intolerant behavior. Anyone caught telling an off-color joke by the water cooler could be fired. A male employee who compliments a female employee on her appearance could find himself in big trouble.
To prevent such trouble, the HR departments train employees on proper etiquette, behavior, and other matters that’s really nothing more than common sense. Employees get lectured about the company’s desire for a healthy, productive work environment with a welcoming atmosphere. The two words most favored by corporate HR departments are ‘diversity,’ and ‘inclusion.’ These words are used with a fervent religiosity. People ‘of color,’ ‘the LGBQT community, the disabled and so forth are to be treated with exceptional tolerance and kindness.
White males? Not so much, because they are usually seen as potential transgressors of company policy.
With this in mind, America has become a lot LESS free since the 70’s in terms of free speech and freedom to be yourself. In other countries where there is less political correctness, one feels a lot freer. It is refreshing, and really underlines this PC nonsense as a serious issue that must be addressed.
The overbearing political correctness in modern America, coupled with the media driving high levels of fear and paranoia in people, makes America a very socially unhealthy place to live. It is repressing individuality, our shared and unique cultures and people. I want my America back.
It is unhealthy to be called “deplorable”, “toxic” and a “Nazi”. It is unhealthy to treat being male and acting as a man an illness, while glorifying gay people and transgenders. It is a sign of a very, very sick nation.
We don’t see how sick the United States is today, because most of us are sitting right down smack down in the middle of it. We need to go elsewhere to see how people live their lives, and then we can make comparisons. When you make those comparisons, you can see the sickness in all it’s festering nastiness.
So know that political correctness is not there to help protect people. It has a purpose. It’s an evil and dangerous purpose. For it is a first stage in controlling the masses.
You see, once you restrict free speech in the name of “cultural sensitivity”, it then becomes easier to take away other freedoms and put in more control.
To take away freedom, you do it in small steps, so that each subsequent step becomes easier for people to take. That’s how the ruling elite impose their will when its unpopular, by doing it gradually in increments. They’ve always done it this way.
Go ahead, all these laws, rules, regulations and political correctness is all about changing you to a point where you will accept socialism. Then under that environment, you can be stripped of your freedoms; your liberties, and forced to slave away for others as they determine.
[6] All social engineering efforts must be curtailed and scaled back.
Compared to what it was like when I grew up, today’s American social culture is fake, artificial, phony and toxic.
Yes, being told that boys must act like girls in order to be masculine is FAKE. It is artificial, and it is toxic. There is simply no other way to say it.
Today our youth are not allowed to be their true self. Boys are not permitted to act like boys. Girls are not so severely restricted, but even then, they are being instructed in alternative gender roles. These teachings are harmful. For the children must act and fit within (modern progressive) “acceptable” modes of behavior.
In a way, it is normal for children to find out what their identities are. Starting from high school, teenagers learn to act very phony and artificial, like posers. They have to do so in order to be cool and have friends. Otherwise, they will become misfits and social outcasts.
The problem comes when powerful interests devote money, resources and time to direct them towards other objectives. In effect outlawing tradition in favor of a new future. One where all men act and behave like like girls. It is not healthy.
The divide between the left and right is widening in America. Instead of rational debate, we’re seeing more vitriol and trench digging. The mainstream media and the left want President Trump impeached. Their bogus ‘Russia’ narrative has unravelled, so now they’re calling Trump’s supporters ‘Nazis’ or ‘white supremacists.’
If you are authentic and down-to-earth, you will be seen as introverted and lacking in social skills, when in reality, you just don’t like acting fake and artificial. It’s very upside down.
Our world teaches kids to “be yourself,” but that rule often applies to everyone but the “traditional” male. The APA has declared “traditional masculinity” to be harmful. They’re wrong: https://t.co/FMNgXUy20s
This is how the typical American fake personality forms. Children are born with genuine personalities. But beginning in high school, they are gradually molded into the fake social persona that is required to fit into American social culture. This carries on into adulthood.
Trigglypuff. Dr Hoff-Sommers was appearing at the University of Massachusetts at Amhurst along with the comedian and radio broadcaster Mr Stephen Crowder and the Tech editor of Brietbart Mr Milo Yiannopolous. Milo made his usual spiel about ‘feminism being a cancer’, and the hall erupted. Next to take the stage was Dr Hoff-Sommers who said that ‘feminism was not a cancer but campus feminism was madness’. This reasonable observation of the far left feminist/gender studies/queer studies scene on American campuses was also met by howling and screaming from the audience. I fear that many of the audience of Leftists there would not recognize the right to free speech if it jumped up and slapped them round the face. There was one particular protester there whose behavior was so bad, so outrageous and so much more like that of a toddler than a grown woman that film of her flailing her arms about rapidly went viral. Trigglypuff.
Only older folks and senior citizens can afford to be down-to-earth again, because at their age, they no longer are trying to conform or fit in. Plus the seniors of today come from a generation when Americans were more down-to-earth than today.
The social culture is also very toxic in that it undermines your self-esteem. It is toxic because it tries to tear you down, making you feel insecure and inadequate. Today, no one feels accepted for themselves in America. They always feel like they aren’t good enough and have to prove themselves.
We do our sons no favors when we tell them that they don’t have to answer that voice inside them that tells them to be strong, to be brave, and to lead. We do them no favors when we let them abandon the quest to become a grown man when that quest gets hard https://t.co/FMNgXUy20s
The consequence of this is that when you develop a fake artificial social personality in America in order to fit in and be accepted. It is not at all healthy. It separates you from your true authentic self, which becomes suppressed in the process. Our youth starts to take on adaptive behaviors that are not healthy.
I do not care what CNN or WaPo or the Huffington Post thinks, this unhealthy behavior is not good for men.
The new America man as formed by American media and the PC sensitivities of the feminist movement and high-paid diversity officers in workplaces. They are known as caring beta-chucks or metrosexuals.
As a result of this psychological schism between your fake social self and your true authentic self, you experience a deep inner fragmentation, which in turn leads to mental imbalance and inner conflict. There is nothing healthy with gender-confused children.
This, I believe, is the primary cause of many forms of mental disorders in America. And it’s why you see so many crazy messed up people in America, and depressed degenerates everywhere (especially in urban areas).
Note that puberty suppression therapy through hormone intervention is increasingly being recommended for children with gender dysphoria and at younger ages, yet there is little evidence that shows that puberty suppression is “reversible, safe, or effective for treating gender dysphoria.”
In addition, Americans are raised to believe in many contradictory things, which screws them up psychologically. (As if gender confusion wasn’t bad enough.)
For example, Americans are taught that they are “free individuals in a free country”. Good right? However, Americans are also taught that they must conform to society and adopt all its strict rules, laws and boundaries. The two things are contradictory.
Freedom is the ability to have free exercise of thoughts and actions.
Liberty is the ability to practice freedom.
And at work, they are required to conform to their work culture and become subservient slaves to their jobs.
Shame on the @APA. As a psychologist, masculinity and femininity in their mature forms are inherently virtuous. “The main thrust of the subsequent research is that traditional masculinity—marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression—is, on the whole, harmful.”
All of this takes a toll on the hapless America (male) who hasn’t any decent role models outside of a fictional narrative to guide him. Instead he is presented with rules and codes of behavior that run against his biological and genetic programming. This is NOT healthy.
The new modern man as promoted by the mainstream media.
To give another example: Many Americans are raised with good Christian values but then in the adult world, they are taught that “profit is king” and that “greed is good”. Like two muscles that become damaged when they rub against each other, their minds become damaged by such conflicting beliefs.
They become like the Clintons who attend church. There is no way that this can be considered healthy.
Clinton at church. I wonder what it will be like for her when she enters Heaven. What do you think, dear reader? To me, it looks like the devil visited the church and is lecturing the people that if they give her more money she will guarantee them a seat in Heaven.
Anyway, the reason why this makes American unfree is this: If you have to develop an artificial phony social personality to conform to American social culture, then you are disallowed from expressing your true authentic self. In other words, you are not allowed to be yourself in America, at least not your real genuine self.
You see, being free to “be yourself” is the true definition of freedom, while having to be something you’re not is a psychological prison. Thus America, under PC rules of behavior, takes away your freedom to be yourself, which is the highest expression of freedom.
You’re not even allowed to flirt in America anymore.
Flirtation is seen as creepy, inappropriate and taboo in modern America. However, flirtation was normal, cool and acceptable in America prior to the mid 1980’s. (and in most foreign countries today, it still is) But after that, it somehow became a bad creepy thing.
People who grew up during the 70’s and 80’s know this, but no one dares to talk about this or has an explanation for why that is. In modern America, you are not even supposed to have desires to flirt. If you do, you are considered a creep, a pervert and a bad person.
The new socially acceptable American woman. You must cover your body and that gives you freedom!
Perhaps that’s why no one dares to talk about it. It’s a taboo. This is way too uptight, unnatural and no fun.
[7] Severely reduce fear-mongering and the severe neocon influence.
The social vibe in America is permeated with high levels of fear and paranoia. It really is. There is no denying it. You cannot visit a single media site without being confronted by this. Whether it is killer hornets in China, or armed illegals crossing the border, or the dangers of terror in West-boom-boom-askan, it is everywhere.
Dudes, in case you are unaware, war is terrible. It really it. It is horrible.
Any war with a serious and large nation like China or Russia will not be like you expect. It will not be televised on the nightly news, where you can watch it over your TV-dinner after work. You won’t be logging into the internet to see what is going on in the world. Listen up!
A war with China or Russia will be personal.
You will be lucky to have electricity, let alone internet access. You will be busy checking your stockpiles of iodine to keep the radiation poisoning to a bare minimum, and you will do your best to burn the blankets that your loved ones died in. After all, getting smallpox or the bubonic plague is not something to take lightly.
It will be a harsh reality where you might have to kill your beloved dog for food. It will be a reality where even taking a shower might be risky and threaten your very life.It will be frustrating, because there will be little that you can do. You won't know what is going on in the world, but you will know that your little piece of life in the USA will have been altered terribly.
LISTEN TO ME.
This is not going to be a scene from the walking dead where you and your friends get to fight zombies over the tattered remains of what was once a town. No, you will be dying from a sickness that you don't have any idea to cure, while you huddle in a burnt out and darkened cinder block room while drones, you won't know if friendly or not, will scan the skies above.
The neocons have no idea what they are playing around with.
The neocons in government, along with their friends in the mainstream media want war. They want to keep Americans living in fear. But this fear mongering is not sustainable. Sooner or later, the costs will become far too great. The risk of WMD events in the United States will become too alarming. This all must stop.
All this war-mongering is unhealthy. It creates segregation between people, and making the country socially unfree.
Remember, boys and girls, both World War I and World War II each were over within five years. The idea of long, on-going military operations didn't come into being until after the Korean War. Since then, most wars that the United States has been involved in can best be described as "forever wars".
This neocon influence is not only about wars and military. When coupled with the PC progressive narrative and the army of social justice warriors that occupy our urban areas it combines to a toxic environment.
This is further exasperated when you throw in social media and the internet.
The American political spectrum graphed for easy readability and comparison. Of course, the progressives consider Trump to be a neoconservative and fascist, yet his policies and actions do not reflect their narrative. His actions reflect a more libertarian approach to governance. Based on actions and policies.
America also feels very socially unfree in that there is this high level of fear and paranoia between people, even between neighbors, which creates social separation. You ask, “Hey! is that person an Arab and is he gonna scream “praise Allah” while he runs over my children?”.
You wonder if you should tell the girl in the office if she looks good in her dress, lest someone overhears and you lose your job for sexual harassment. (Which reminds me of the reason why the movie “God Bless America” came into being…)
God Bless America meme.
You can feel it in the social vibe and energy of most places, which does not feel positive at all. There is this unnatural fear of strangers, and this ice wall between strangers.
Maybe it manifests by being yelled at by trolls on social media. Maybe it’s simply because the NSA is spying on everyone, or that all your location data (whether you know about it being collected or not) is being sold to anyone with a spare $20 to spend.
Or, maybe it’s because the social media, and the mainstream media routinely makes fun of you or people that you care about and love.
Whatever the reason, there is a kind of coldness in the United States today that wasn’t there a few decades ago.
America is no longer a place where you can be truly free. It is a place where you are observed and judged. It is a place where you behaviors are policed and if you do not conform, you risk losing everything through incarceration.
All of this manifests in a kind of distrust to people who you do not know. While sure, you smile at others on the street, or shake the hands of people in church, you tend to back away from getting too close.
You know, there are some really, really strange people “out there”. You don’t want to have your child kidnapped, or have someone break into your car for some meth. You have to be careful.
Hey! Does that Antifa logo look familiar? Well, it should. It was the logo of the Communists who worked to bring Hitler to power. Then, once Hitler came to power, he set his Nazi goons after Antifa. Thus making them forever hate the Nazi’s that bested them. The progressive liberals wants a repeat of this.
Because of all of this, people seem cold and distant.
Out in public, people don’t talk to strangers unless it’s business-related. Communication is strictly for business only. There is no feeling of social or human connection at all. And no camaraderie between people. Instead, the atmosphere is one of cold isolation, which easily leads to loneliness.
People start to put on a cold and aloof face when ever they are threatened or whenever they are afraid of being themselves. This fear of not showing who you really are manifests in other things, most of which results in a cold exterior and attitude.
The lack of freedom to speak your mind results in a cold exterior. You develop this out of necessity. It is like the child that is bullied in school who develops odd behaviors to fit in or avoid being hurt.
The thing is, humans are not meant to be solitary creatures.
We are meant to be interdependent, have friendships and social connection with others. It is an integral part of our happiness. Yet this is greatly inhibited in America, as explained above. And America falsely teaches that one should not need others, but be independent from others.
Needless to say, trying to make friends in America is one of the hardest things.
People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason for the world being in chaos is that things are being loved and that people are being used.
What this means is that America has become very socially unfree in that you do not have the freedom to socially connect with others.
[8] Tone down social media…
Well…duh…
People in modern America seem repressed, robotic and zombie-like, it is like they have no soul and are not alive. Perhaps this is why zombie movies and video games are so popular nowadays.
Americans have gotten into the habit of turning towards the internet for answers to things, friendships, creativity and a sense of belonging. We have turned to things, instead of turning to people.
That is unhealthy.
Today, people devote hours to their computer or social media on their smart phone. Really, is all the :likes” on Facebook going to improve your life? We need to seek genuine acceptance with flesh and blood people what share our interests and values.
You don’t connect to ideas. You connect with people. You don’t feel belonging as a number, you belong when you have friends who call you by your name. We really need to step away from the computers and reconnect to others in real life in real time.
And hey! if you cannot connect with other people, then try animals. Dogs and cats make great companions. Please connect with something that is ALIVE.
Live your life with others. Share your passions, your experiences and who you are. Do not lock yourself in a tiny room in front of a flickering screen late at night.
You know, it wasn’t like that long ago though.
Americans were more human and natural in the past. Heck, I grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This is a fact, Jack. With each decade, Americans gradually became cold, soulless, guarded, unfriendly, unsocial, hateful, jeering, spoiled, standoffish, cynical, snobby, and began to dislike others.
I blame the Clintons, and their RINO friends.
All of a sudden there was no longer a sense of closeness between family and friends. It was like a “wave of energy” swooped across the nation and changed people.
Ok, maybe I’m a little too harsh on the Clinton crime syndicate. You really need to look at all the trends and the root behaviors of huge swaths of people. Don’t know what I am talking about? Maybe these two links will give you some insight…
Thus, I blame many things for this.
Maybe it’s the trend to put pineapple of pizza. Or, maybe it is when the government tried to ban Tab. Maybe it was when McDonald’s was forced to remove their little aluminum foil ashtrays. Maybe it was when all of the media was bought up by a mere five people, and yet still not considered a monopoly. Maybe it was when NASA was re-purposed away from space exploration to Muslim outreach.
Ah, there are so many things that can be the root cause…
Though I will have to lay corporate and political greed, the rash of MBA types being graduated out of universities and social engineering merged with technology to be some of the major vectors. The reasons are complex and numerous. The puzzle is a large one, with many, many pieces.
The influences on American life are many and complicated. There is no way that they can be distilled into something simple. However, with this under consideration, the reader should look at their own individual life and ask the difficult questions. Is life meaningful? Is is stress free? Are there things beyond your control, and or fears that are concerning? What are the solutions to reduce all this anxiety?
I guess that if there is one thing that I could positively say, is that the government and in the people in government stopped doing their jobs a long, long time ago. Instead they became focused in their own personal attainment of wealth.
The science fiction movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in 1978, where people were replaced by alien clones with no feeling or emotion, seems to have already happened in America. Perhaps that film was a foreshadowing, either deliberately or as a message from higher forces above.
Of course, if you are a cold, unfeeling, soulless person yourself, you may not see anything wrong with this nor will you suffer from it. It’s only when you are soulful, passionate, romantic and full of feeling (like I am) that you suffer and feel out of place by this.
We are human. We need to feel connected with others. We should turn off the electronic media. Instead of texting, talk in person. Instead of playing a game on the PC, go out to the park, bring some food and have an outing. We need to connect with others.
The good news is that you can still find people who are open, social, expressive, passionate and uninhibited today. If you look carefully you can find them. you do not need to travel overseas to find them either. They are right there, right under your nose.
We need to start TRYING to connect with others. We need to start doing it TODAY…RIGHT NOW.
They might be the gal having a caramel latte at Starbucks, or the guy putting gas in his SUV at the gas station. It might be the family taking their pet to the vet, or the old man shopping alone in the grocery store. You just need to go out, smile and make friends. Oh, yeah, one more thing that you gotta do…
Turn off your computer.
Conclusion
There are many things wrong with the Untied States today. There really is very little that we can do about it on a personal level. We can either accept it, or leave.
I like to think that America is a very resilient nation. I think that the people can adapt and change and restructure things towards a climate of prosperity and growth. With this in mind, perhaps if there was a sizable decrease in the number of laws and regulations, it would free up people…
Perhaps if we stopped our love affair with the internet and social media and started to connect with people, animals and families that we would be happier and healthier. Seriously, we NEED each other.
Take your dog for a walk, or better yet, a spin on the bike.
Finally, those evil and corrupt tyrants that are trying to box Americans into new construct involving political correctness and massive blatant crimes need to be reigned in. They need to be stopped.
This is not a complete list. Heck, I didn’t even touch upon taxes. I didn’t even mention many of the things that are seriously wrong with the Untied States today. I only offered a handful of things that would go a long way towards resetting America back on track.
It is a track that puts people first, and money second. It is a track that places an importance on traditional families, marriage, children and education. It is a track where we have roles within our communities and all work together for the better good.
It is a track where people can be the best of who they are. Where the government is small and stands out of the way of people’s freedom. A track where America implements what China does when it comes to social Justice Warriors… they isolate them, and keep them safe and far, far away from society. Lest they do irreparable damage to society.
Read about the Chinese solution here…
Finally, spend time with your loved ones. This can be your friends or family or pets. Just spend the time. You won’t regret it. Trust me.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this
post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss
growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with
the society within communist China. As there are some really stark
differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified
about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that
are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a
personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome
to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
What happens when you are given a five minute notice before your company lays you off? Then they hand you a NDA, and expect you to sign it, or else they will prevent you from getting food stamps and support. What then?
What options do you have? Another stab at getting yet another American job, and America boss in an American corporate environment? Is that what your options are? As an American man, just what are your options?
There are times when you just feel a screaming need to “bug out”.
But, let me tell you something. The world is yours once you have lost everything. That includes nations, food, culture and girls. You can go anywhere and be anyone. This is especially true for an American man who faced a vindictive ex-wife, or had an encounter with any of the many, many American alphabet regulatory organizations such as the IRS, DHS, CIA, FBI, ICE, FDA etc.
People, there is an entire world out there. It is big, and filled with all sorts of interesting and colorful people.
I urge the reader to divest themselves from the notion that the United States offers the only decent living arrangements on the globe. There are other places. Many others.
Some are better and some are worst. It is up to the reader to consider all of the options that lie before them and make determinations and judgments biased upon their own individual situation, preferences, and desires. Not (to make them biased) on fear or lack of experience…
You do not have to endure a life that is defined by others…
Introduction
The world is filled with interesting people, wonderful places, and really different ways of doing things. many of which are a pleasant surprise to Americans who have grown up thinking that the “American Way” is the only way to do things (as well as being the “best” way to do things).
Korea has a lot of very pretty girls. Personally, I prefer the lighter skin, the cute face and big eyes. I like the thin bodies and the long hair, not to mention the cute little behinds. And, let’s not even get started on the awesome food. OMG!
Multi-Part Series
There are so many nations and places to choose from. This post is part two of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short not to.
Written by a Man
Please note that this was written by a man. It is about things that might be of interest to a man. For similar posts written by women, I would suggest the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, or Salon.
Also note that this is a blog. It contains personal opinions. If you want to read something that is unbiased and doesn’t have opinions, try CNN.
LOL.
Finally, many of the things that are commonplace in other nations are either banned, censored or illegal in the United States. This post does not censor for American sensibilities. As there are people all over the world that reads it. I just can’t sanitize it for Americans. That includes…
Buying beer on Sunday.
Doing drugs in Holland.
Prostitution chain-bordellos in Germany.
Public nudity in Iceland.
Smoking in public in China.
Being able to eat in restaurants barefoot in Cambodia.
Traditional gender roles in Brazil.
The giant penis festival in Japan.
Buying ED medicine without a prescription. (Common everywhere.)
If you are an American, and you are too sensitive to the realities outside of America, then I would suggest you leave. Exposure to REAL freedom is not something to be taken trivially. Real freedom is not having to ask permission to do something. Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Brazil
Why not Brazil? It’s a land of amazing women, awesome beaches, and delicious food. It’s a big country with amazing beaches, fantastic forest, and adventuresome mountains. Awesome!
Map of Brazil. Brazil is a very large nation. Like the United States, they have their own issues involving a poor underclass, a wealthy upper class and a squeezed middle class.
I once had a project at a company that I worked for that had a joint venture with CEV and GM. The engineers from Brazil were pretty good guys and showed me around. It was quite the experience for me at the time. I never considered moving there though. Maybe the reader might have other ideas.
A nice article on what it is like for an American to move there can be found here.
Walking Down the Street: Brazil vs the USYou can see how Brazilians care more about the journey than the destination in the way that they walk down the street. They walk at a brisk pace, in a horizontal line so that everyone is at the same level, occasionally stopping to admire the scenery and talk with people that they pass by.
They are not in any apparent hurry to get to where they are going and are more concerned with having a good conversation with the people they are walking with.
Bahia is the part of Brazil where most of the slaves from Africa originally landed. So the afro culture is very visible there, alongside many of the other faces that Brazil has. While the politics of the United States maintains the narrative that the USA is racist and terrible, Brazil by far took the vast bulk of slaves from Africa.
In the US however, you will rarely see people walking since everybody drives.
If there are 5 people meeting up somewhere, they will likely take 5 cars.
In the rare case that you do see a group of people walking they will probably be marching in a straight line towards their destination at a pace that borders on running. They don’t make eye contact with anyone along the way because they are focused on getting to where they are going.Having Lunch: Brazil vs the USNow this imaginary group of stereotyped Brazilians have arrived at a restaurant where they will be eating lunch. They’re looking at least a 2 hour commitment and might even spend as much as 4 hours having lunch.
They are there to have good conversation with their lunch mates and will take their time eating their food. Even though they’ve got to get back to work after lunch they don’t show any signs that they are stressed out about that because they’re too busy enjoying the moment.
Bahia is generally just a place with a lot of color. Not just on peoples skin. The buildings, in the nature and in the varied music culture that you find in this very interesting state. Bahia is in many ways the image that many foreigners have of Brazil, with exotic looking people, lot’s of beaches and music everywhere. From a tourism perspective, it also has the greatest potential in all Brazil if you ask me. Bahia needs to have better air connections to the outside world, before the world starts flocking to the place. But i think this will happen in the future, as this is really a part of the world that has a lot to offer.
Our stereotypical group of Americans each took their own cars to get to the restaurant for lunch. Once they get there they are going to pull out their phones and get on Facebook to check in.
They quickly order their food because they are in a hurry to get back to work. They might not have even stopped working and will have their phone in their hand as they are eating to keep up with the barrage of emails that they received, or they will be catching up on the latest articles from Buzzfeed.
If someone wants to have conversation with their lunchmates they will have to compete with the cell phones for attention. Likely they will give up trying and will pull out their own cell phone so that they have something to do.Socializing in Brazil vs the USNow it’s after work and this group of Brazilian friends have decided to meet up somewhere to have a beer and continue the conversation from lunch. They’re there to have a good time and to enjoy each other’s company.
If someone invites another friend, s/he will be received with open arms by the group, because in Brazil friends of friends are your friends too.
If you’ve ever been to Brazil, you know they adore their pastel. You will find it at the feira (our farmer’s market), the pastelaria (shops that sell only pastel), beach kiosks and at bars. I have never met a Brazilian who doesn’t indulge in these bad boys every now and then. And they go great with either a glass of cold beer or with sweet caldo de cana (freshly pressed sugar cane juice). Sweet and savory filling options are abundant, the three of the most popular ones are: beef, creamy hearts of palm and cheese.
In the US, after work everyone goes home and does their own thing. Maybe they have some productive activity to do, but just as likely they are going to sit in front of the computer or go watch TV.
If they did manage to find some friends who weren’t doing something with, it wouldn’t be so easy to bring someone from outside that social circle along with them. They certainly wouldn’t be received as warmly and unconditionally as they would’ve in Brazil.
Brazil has some amazing beaches. The sky is blue and the water clear. The people are nice and friendly and the locals really want to have a great time and party.
However, it seems that it might be a dangerous place if you want to cross the street. Here is an interesting excerpt from a Brazilian blog in regards to driving in Brazil;
“Brazil does have a Traffic Code, and it is based on the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. There are extensive Rules of the Road, including long sections on Defensive Driving and First Aid. In order to receive Brazilian drivers licenses Mark and I had to study these rules, then take a sophisticated computerized test, a difficult psychological written exam and an eye exam.
The Motor Vehicle Bureaus around the country perform rigorous annual vehicle inspections. There are radars and speed bumps everywhere, and heavy fines for scofflaws. It is not for lack of regulations, enforcement or will that Brazil has plunged so far down the traffic fatality slope, fatalities which last year alone totaled upwards of 40,000.So what is it?
Aggressive tailgating, reckless passing — on the right, on the left, into the oncoming lane — it just doesn't gibe with my sense of the Brazilian spirit of paz e amor. I was baffled until one white-knuckle ride into Rio, when it came to me in a flash. Futebol.
Traffic in Brazil can be a real nightmare. As can be shown by pictures such as this. If it was me, I’d try to get on a side road and get out and have a beer. Ugh!
The national sport, the national passion. They're all playing soccer. The drivers are forever cutting in front of each other to take any field advantage they can, they're passing with reckless abandon to get to the imaginary goal posts. One car scrapes against another? Just a rebound, the ball (or in this case the car) remains in play. Driving at breakneck speed on the shoulder? No worries, that's just an offside position, which is not an offense in itself.Mandatory traffic rules I learned in high school Drivers Ed are treated by many drivers here as optional.
Stop signs are just a suggestion, observed by only a few. A Yield sign is observed by no one. Emergency Vehicle Priority? That's just a challenge for a driver to maneuver behind the emergency vehicle and ride its coattails.
Here is the Trans-Amazon highway in Brazil. It’s a long highway that crosses the nation.
Pedestrian Priority? You're joking. And weren't we taught that to keep a safe distance from the car in front of you, you had to be able to see the car's back tires? Brazilian drivers tailgate close enough to smell the alcohol on the breath of the driver in front.I've lost count of the number of near accidents I've witnessed. But since they were only nearaccidents, since the drivers maneuvered and veered and avoided and stopped just short of the actual accidents, there is an argument that can be made that Brazilians are excellent drivers. I even see the logic there.
Apologists cite the poorly maintained roads, the bad or misleading traffic signs, and some blame the weather. Huh? The weather? But nobody is forced to put the pedal to the metal. That's cultural. After all, Brazil ranks second in the list of foreign-born winners of the Indy 500, and third on the Formula One list. They love speed. It's not for nothing that the soccer breakaway is one of the most exciting plays in the game.”
Prostitutes for Teenage Sons
"Don Cesar and his son Juan walk through the brothel — protection in hand — in search of a prostitute for Juan’s first time. The choice is made, Juan enters a room and not long after emerges from behind the tin door with a big smile on his face and followed by his presumed “first”."-Dad takes 16 year old son to a prostitute to have sex for the first time.
When I was in High School, we had a foreign exchange student from Brazil. He told us, and we were jaw-dropped amazed, that his father took him to a prostitute when he turned 16 years old. He explained that that was a duty of all fathers. To select a worthwhile prostitute for his son, so that he can become a “man”.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
He explained that he thought it was a great thing. Later on, when I came home and sat at the dining table, I mentioned the conversation to my parents. Ugh. I did not expect the reaction. My father kind of chuckled and told me that it was probably just nonsense. Not my mother, though. My mother got all upset and started screaming. I was sent to the bedroom and instructed never to mention it ever again.
In hindsight, I should of finished my dinner before I mentioned it.
Anyways, many years later, when I met other people my age from Brazil, they all explained that to me. All of my friends and business associates lost their virginity between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age. Always to a prostitute, and always to one specifically selected by their father, or in one case, their uncle.
Aside from that event, it made it easier for the boys not to be so fearful of the girls. While I don’t think that any of them became “hound dogs” in High School, I can affirm that the Brazilian exchange student was not afraid at all to ask my classmates out for dates and fun. Meanwhile, I was very timid around girls.
In Brazil, it is very important that a boy grow into a strong man.
In Brazil, as well as throughout South America, the “ideal” Hispanic family is a patriarchy that includes a strong male figure as the head of the household:
“A stereotypical Latino male exudes the characteristics of strength, power and masculinity. Machismo, or a strong sense of masculine pride, encompasses this ideal. And in the family, these ideals are passed from father to son.”
"Losing one's virginity over here [El Salvador] is seen as a point where you become a man and you become more vivo.
'Vivo' means 'alive' in Spanish, obviously, but over here, it means something like 'astute' or 'not immature.' Once you lose your virginity, you're supposed to get smarter around girls. You are supposed to be less interested in kids' stuff."
-Cracked
Girls
The women of Brazil are all awesome. I really like their free and happy attitude about life. I love the food, and the environment. I most especially love that they are traditional and honor the family.
"Most Brazilian girls look like half-Middle Eastern and half-Western European, darker than Argentine girls but lighter than girls from other South American countries. Since Brazil is similar to the United States with its large immigrant influence, it’s harder to pin down their physical features as easily as the Argentine girl.If the average girl in a US club ranks a 5, and in an Argentina club she ranks a 7, in Brazil she’d be somewhere between a 6 and 7. This means the average Brazilian girl is bangable, but what separates Brazilian girls from the others is their vibe. If you are a guy and you look at a Brazilian girl, your mind jumps to sexual thoughts much faster than usual. Since it is not because she is more attractive, I think it’s a combination of body and body language. "-RooshV
Brazilian girls have a smile to die for and there is no guy alive that won’t fall for those smiles. See what I mean?
Rose from Sao Paulo, Brazil. What a smile. Oh, my Lord! And that hair! Come one, guys! Look at this beauty. Brazil has wonderful people who are decent, and make great friends and traditional family members.
"Blessed with lustrous hair, dark eyes and skin the color of honey Brazilian women are without doubt, are some of the most gorgeous in the world. And what’s more they are not conscious or embarrassed about the fact.
Here women are confident about their looks and bodies and if you like what you see, they will welcome your appreciation as well.
At the same time though, theirs is a very feminine beauty even if not demure. You may see them in bikinis and dresses with plunging necklines, but not so much in pantsuits and masculine shirts.
Indeed, women here are encouraged to spend a lot of their time on their looks-body, clothes and hair. Staying attractive is quite important in a culture that judges people by how they look."-National Steriotype
One thing that I like about Brazilian women is that they are really, really friendly and outgoing in nature. Truthfully, if a girl happens to spot you in a bar or café and you meet her standards, she will not hesitate to come up and ask you for your phone number or invite you to buy a drink for her. They are quite easy to strike up a conversation with. They are quite interesting and talkative, and before long you may even find yourself sharing a joke or a song with one of them.
Big Butts
I have talked to numerous men who found that the Brazilian women tended to have very nice big asses. Personally, that is not my thing, but they were all agape over it. They just couldn’t control themselves.
It turns out that having a big butt is a considered beautiful in Brazilian culture. Girls that are slim, and shapely, but who’s behinds are more or less “normal” aren’t considered so good looking. In fact, there are stories of young girls injecting all kinds of things into their behinds to make them bigger, including animal growth hormones. While Brazil does have plastic surgeons, their primary practice seems to be related to increasing the size of the butt more than anything else. Read about it HERE.
Who’d figure?
Some Brazilian gals on the beach. In Brazil, it is considered attractive, and even “womanly” to have a nice big plump ass. They actually go to plastic surgeons to get this done, and young girls have been known to inject steroids in their butt cheeks to make them get bigger. Not my thing, but different strokes for different folks, don’t ya know.
Luckily, not every Brazilian is like this. So those of us who find this a bit extreme can rest easy. We can hang out with girls with tiny behinds and help them feel beautiful. LOL.
Traditional Girls
Since the Brazilian culture is very traditional, Brazilian women like to be courted the traditional old-fashioned way. They look forward to be taken out to a fancy place and are happy if you wine and dine them in a stylish manner. They like to get all “dolled up”, and dress appropriately. Who doesn’t like that?
Like many other traditional societies, Brazilian culture has long laid down specific roles and duties for each gender. Women were mostly expected to keep house and raise children while men were the breadwinners in the family. This fact, is a critical one “in my book”. It is an important thing that matters to me immensely.
Family Culture
In many Latino families, the father is central to the nuclear family constellation as well as to the extended family network. It is his job to assume the responsibility for establishing extra-familial boundaries and maintaining these relationships. He is the head of the family and he must take on that role.
A strong father figure. From the movie “A walk in the clouds”. In Latin nations, especially in South America, it is the job of a father to raise his boy to become a man.
The importance of extended family marks a unique aspect of Latino families—that of familialism. In addition to providing a relatively strong attachment to the nuclear family, the strong familial orientation provides a sense of solidarity while concurrently reinforcing the notion that the family is more important than the individual
Let’s begin with a story about an experience I had while I was working at GM. This story illustrates that different places has different cultures, and failure to understand and adapt to that culture can have serious consequences. In this case, the story revolves around the public display of a lack of respect of a wife towards her husband. This took place, of course in Brazil, Sao Paulo, to be exact.
I once was involved in some business in Brazil. As such, I had to travel back and forth between the United States and Brazil. I was, at that time, working for Delco Electronics (It's who we are), which was (at that time) a division of General Motors. I was involved in a Car computer project (ECM) for CEV, which is a pretty big Automotive company within Brazil.
One day, all of the foreigners on staff were invited to a big banquet with other white-collar workers at CEV. We had some pretty important people from GM there. It was held in a big auditorium within a equally impressively large restaurant and hotel complex. Everyone sat at these very large round tables with a nice table layout on a large white tablecloth. Each couple (for the most part, everyone came as a couple) would sit in groups of two at the table. Thus, maybe five to 6 couples would sit at the table.
Another scene from the movie “A walk in the clouds”. The father is the head of the household and is the public face for the family.
At a given cue, all the ladies (the wives and girlfriends) got up and went to the buffet to get their man (husbands or boyfriends) dinner. They got up, went to the buffet, selected what their husbands would eat, and returned to the table. They would place the plate in front of their man with respect, and then go up and get their own food.
The men would accept the meal their wife chose for them, and began eating it. They would sit there and eat, while all the ladies were fussing about their food, and making sure that the man's plate was full.
A plethora of cultures have had an influence on Brazilian cuisine including Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Moors, African and the Indigenous. The food in Brazil is awesome and fantastic. It is an amazing taste treat.
However, the local section manager, a man who came from Michigan, well his wife refused to go up. He kept on elbowing her. She refused. And everyone at the table noticed. In fact, people at the other tables were noticing as well. They started whispering and talking among themselves. But she was adamant.
She said things like "you're not my boss", "I'm not doing it, uh uh, absolutely not. No!", and "I don't care what other people think. Do it yourself.". She said loudly, and ended up having some people pause and stare, "You don't tell ME what to do!".
A wife refuses to honor her husband in a public Brazilian dinner in front of all the supervisory management staff. She destroyed her husbands role, job and standing.
Eventually, he got up and joined the rest of the ladies at the buffet counter. He was the only man to get up. He was the only man to carry a plate back to the table. He was alone in the big hall that maybe held a few hundred key employees of the company.
All of the key employees, the bosses and the supervisory staff, watched him do this. The President of CEV, the division managers, all the middle level managers, the supervisors, and all the engineers, and their secretaries all witnessed this. They all noticed and ate. Their local conversations at their tables became subdued and quieter.
Meanwhile, his American wife sat there smugly and proudly. They ate in silence. The wife, sitting proud and strong. Obviously she felt that she was the king of the entire event. Meanwhile, he sat there facing his plate and afraid to look up. This happened in front of everyone, while everyone else in the room kept glancing their way.
There were some speeches. Some gifts and door-prizes were exchanged.
The dinner ended. Everyone went home.
The food in Brazil is so delicious. Here is a nice creamy soup. It goes just great with wine or an ice cold beer. I’ll tell you what.
While the American couple hadn't a clue as to what was transpiring. The rest of the room did. For them, dinner is a traditional and formal affair. It was a time when the man of the house can show off his family to the rest of his peers and his community. It is an opportunity to put a great face forward. Sort of like this...
The next workday, on Monday, he noticed that his parking space was being used by someone else. (Unless you have worked in GM, you don't know how important this is.) He went into the lobby, and the guards wouldn't look at him, and just waved him in. This was a big change from what he accustomed to.
It continued. His secretary didn't come in. Then, started coming in very late. She would not do anything that he asked. No longer would she make him a morning coffee. No longer would she answer him, or even talk to him.
No one responded to his emails. His work was getting piled up. Nothing was getting done. After a month, it got so bad, and I was sent down to look into the matter, as I held an important role in the joint-venture project. Our Division manager wanted me to look into this issue as it looked like the entire multi-million dollar project might collapse. That's right, millions of dollars of corporate investment was at risk.
So I flew down.
I talked to XXXXX. I talked to his secretary. I talked to the CEV Division Manager. I talked to the rest of the staff.
At first no one would open up. Oh, sure they were friendly to me. They showed me deference. They treated me well. But when it came to the subject about what was going on, everyone shut up. Obviously something was wrong. But no one told me anything.
Denise is a typical Brazilian girl. Don’t you just love her hair? I mean, it is completely awesome. Do you think that she would tolerate a man; her husband, disrespecting her family? I don’t think so.
Eventually, to make a long story short, I went out and started drinking with the CEV workers. That's always a great way to break down barriers and get to the heart of the matter. Of course, GM never approves of drinking, but this was back in the late 1980's and I was in another country and immersed in another culture.
Over some beers, the first person who let me know what was going on was his secretary. She looked at me straight in the eyes. She put out her cigarette. And she said in her broken English, loudly with defiance and pure hate;
"Why? You ask. Why? Because he's a fucking wimp. He's not, NOT, N-O-T a Man. He's castrado!"
Then she spit on the floor. Now granted, most ladies don't go to bars, smoke and spit on the floor. But she had a few beers, and was really agitated.
Being a wimp is very unattractive for a man. This is especially true if you are in a Latino country.
She wasn't just angry. She wasn't just pissed. She had this kind of deep burning ember of a rage that amazed me when it came out. I thought she was going to tear my throat out. She spoke viciously. She spoke in a way that the words were spit out venomously.
It turned out that in Brazilian culture, the man must be the MAN of the house. It is a very traditional nation and has unspoken social rules. One of which is that the woman must look good for her man. She must do great things for their Man, and for her family.
In Brazil, the Man is the titular head of the family. He controls everything. He is the "face" of the family. He is what everyone sees. However, the wife has full control over what goes on inside the house. She is the driving force that strengthens the man.
The Man is the head of the family, and he must LEAD. If he cannot be a Man; if he cannot act like a Man, and if he cannot control the behavior of his wife and family, then he is a loser.
In Brazil, you do not want to associate with losers. Not in the least. It is like being a leper.
The point in this is that he wasn't just a wimp to his wife. He was a wimp to society. From the secretary's point of view, she went from being a high assistant to an international boss, to the slave of a beggar. No, to someone worse than a beggar. Her status in the company fell right off the cliff.
Not only that, but that was true of everyone who associated with him. It was as if he had a serious contagious illness. no one wanted anything to do with him. No one would even talk to him.
It was like he was a child predator who had aids.
Shortly after that, I returned back to Indiana and talked with the Division Manager at Delco. We had a long and interesting talk. To cut down on all the details, let it be understood that my boss sent him back to the States. His two year stint in Brazil was cut short.
He was only there for a total four months.
Now, this is important. The thing is, when he returned home, there was no role for him to fill. His old job and position was already filled. He was a high-priced expensive executive with no home. Yes, for a short while they put him on "overhead", but eventually he was told to leave. They gave him a severance package. And that was it.
Years later, I heard that he spent a few years unemployed. He could never go back to GM, and his experience was too specialized. Eventually he took up contract work at a much lower pay grade. I do not know what happened since then, except that I know that he had to give up his free car, and had to sell the house at a loss. I do know that he moved into a small apartment later on. And, well, that's about all I know about him and his situation.
He probably got a divorce. He should of, if he didn't.
What does this all mean?
A good wife can make a man into a strong leader. He can become important, successful and wealthy. His family would profit and benefit. His life, and the lives of all those around him would improve. A weak or poor wife would do the opposite. A bad woman can destroy the life of the man that she is with. This can be through destruction of his self-esteem (which needs to be maintained for career success) to improperly managing family finances, to everything in between.
Men, choose your wives carefully.
In my little story, a true one at that, Mr. XXXXXX ‘s wife not only destroyed his role (and great career opportunity) in Brazil, but also wiped out his stable career at GM. Unable to find work, he had to settle for a different kind of labor, one without a career, without any kind of advancement. I am sure that his piece-of-shit wife berated him the entire time. Telling him what a loser he was for his life, and not taking responsibility for all the destruction that she herself, wrecked.
People. This is real life. This is not a television show. This is not a movie. This is not all unicorns prancing under a progressive rainbow, where gay people, and LGBT folk are all living in united harmony. This is the real frigging’ deal.
Malaysia
It’s beautiful. The girls are stunning. The food is delicious. The weather is warm to hot, but it’s actually quite lovely once you get used to it.
The beach at Nipah Bay is hailed as one of the most beautiful beaches in Pangkor, and is frequented by foreigners and locals alike. There are uninhabited islands nearby such as Giam Island and Mentagor Island, surrounded by a rich diversity of corals and marine life. Snorkellers will find this beach a little haven.
“Kuala Lumpur has so much to offer. You can enjoy city life to the fullest - there are a massive amount of shopping malls here, a variety of restaurants and cuisines, and people from all over the world.
Along with the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower is easily Malaysia’s most recognizable and popular landmark. Constructed in 1994, the tower stands at 421 metres and effortlessly trumps the Petronas Twin Towers with the highest and most spectacular view of the city. This gleaming tower’s spindle-like apex is visible from almost anywhere in Kuala Lumpur.
There are neighborhoods that offer their own unique character, adding a spice of life to the city that is rare to find.
I also love how you can get away from city life pretty easily with hikes in local mountains or drives to nearby ports and beaches.
What I love most is the diversity and acceptance - of people, of cultures, of religions, and of activities. The quality of life is amazing as the opportunities are endless in what you choose to spend your time doing.
There is a huge Muslim population in Malaysia. This is true in all the cites such as Kuala Lumpur.
Healthcare is insanely cheap in Kuala Lumpur….at least in comparison to the USA!
The doctors are all trained in Western cultures and are very knowledgeable. I’ve gone to general and specialty doctors out here as well as dentists, and am now about to have a baby out here, and feel insanely comfortable!”- Kimbra is an American expat who moved to Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia has a robust retirement visa, called the ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ program. Although it requires a sizeable deposit in a Malaysian bank, the visa is ten years and allows visa holders to purchase residential homes, as well as providing a national identity card. Any income received outside of Malaysia is not taxable.
Langkawi is a group of 104 beautiful islands located in Andaman Sea which is about 30 kilometers off the coast of northwestern Malaysia. The Langkawi island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills and natural vegetation. Langkawi receives heavy rain annually which is more than 2,400 mm. From December until February there is a dry season in Langkawi and September is the wettest month on Island. Only four of the all islands are inhabited with about 99,000 people living there.
While there is a large Muslim population in Malaysia, they are not radicalized like the Muslims in the Middle East, Russia or Western China. As such, you can drink, smoke, go to bars, and have a good time. Women can go out and not be afraid that pack of rabid Muslim Syrians wouldn’t attack them. It’s a very safe place.
A few years back some radical Muslims tried to blow up a bunch of folk, and the government cracked down with zero tolerance. Today, there is hardly a peep from the radical Muslims in this nation. They were exterminated by the government when they reared their ugly head.
Kuala Lumpur girls having a great time at a bar. We can choose our reality. We can build and create the life we want. It’s just a matter of assembling it and making it happen.
England
London does not represent England. London is an “International” city located within England. England itself, is something else entirely. Here, we discuss the areas outside of London, but within the UK.
Why not England? I had friends there, and they (no matter how friendly they are with the United States) always consider the USA to be the “backwater” insanely-political has-been. At the time, prior to the UK break from the EU, I considered it a stepping-stone to global advantage. However, I never pursued that avenue of thought. Here’s an interesting article about moving to England from the United States. It is titled “What is it like to move to England from the States?” and can be found here. Some excerpts;
“The old adage of "British food is great, if you like fish and chips, bangers and mashed or chicken tikka masala" is now a load of bollocks (bull$!@t). There are amazing restaurants to be found in London - some great restaurants and farmers markets (my favorite, bar none, is Borough Market). Once you learn to navigate the different supermarkets (Tesco, Sainburys, Waitrose, Asda, etc) and discover their online interfaces, you begin to appreciate the convenience. BUT, weekends are terrible when you consider that everything closes by five pm (1700) on Sundays.”
And…
“One thing you will miss is water pressure. Sadly, the Victorian mains and the age of many homes were designed with limited water and poor pressure. Some people say they have "power showers" which are often essentially electronic devices designed to add some pressure at the expense of a loud and powerful noise. Who needs leaf blowers when a power shower will do.”
England can be quaint and colorful. Here is a small village known as Bibury in England.
And…
“Everyone sits at their desk and bangs on their computer primarily, and depending on your role determines your clothing choices. Even in startups, sales is often suited and booted in sharp suits and thin trousers (not pants, as we say in America). Engineers or Developers are relatively shabby in t-shirt and trousers chic. And everyone else seems to dance to their own drum.You can usually tell a person profession from their dress: finance and insurance people are in the dark suits and the only hint of color is their tie and shoes, which will not make sense to American fashion. Seniority is often determined by who is wear their jackets in the office -- you can tell who the junior manager is by their newer clothing and jumpers (sweaters) over their collared shirts.”
England can be very beautiful. It has a great countryside, miles of beaches and a long history.
And…
“Meeting others can happen as an American, since your accent provides no hint of geographic background that is within the English discerning. My favorite experience is saying hello to people in a locale I just joined and watch the turned heads and smiles that suddenly appear. Just remember not to be too loud and you will be well received.”In the article are comments from a reader. Her name is Dawn Rutherford Marchant, (or screen name) and had some very interesting comments that included;“It is hard. Just because people speak English, do not be deceived. It is an utterly alien place from America culturally, and I found (and still find) the adjustments frustrating and I sometimes still get furious by the difficulties.
England is full of history. There are houses that are centuries older than the oldest homes in the United States. The countryside is wonderful.
One of the biggest realities is the drop in the material standard of living. British wages are not as high as in the US and things are more expensive. Obviously, this impacts on lifestyle.Houses are very expensive and you will live in a house half the size you'd expect in the US, often attached to your neighbour and with a one car garage (if you are lucky). There are no basements, so you feel cramped and everything is cluttered -- I've never seen a walk-in closet to date. You will cram everything into a 'wardrobe' the size of your coat closet. “
It’s intangible, but you can’t beat it. Historically, pubs (or “public houses”, to give them their full, point-backing-up name) have been a place geared towards social interaction, with the booze acting as a lubricant. Bars sometimes seem to be there to get you hammered first and foremost, with social interaction being an occasional, accidental by-product. The average Brit teen is fine in his/her local pub around 16yrs old. At a bar/the US in general, even being 21 is no guarantee, unless you have an ID, a birth certificate, and a letter from the president saying it’s cool for you to drink Buttery Nipples.
And…
“But there are pubs! Pubs are an Englishman's refuge and the place where you meet up with mates for a quick pint, as a routine part of 'friend maintenance.'
It’s extremely common for families, infant progeny included, to go out for a pub lunch on the weekend. When family & child go to bars for lunch, odds are that daddy will end up behind them at some point in his life. Plus there’s absolutely no tipping. COmpared to the USA, that automatically saves you 20% of the cost.
Our groceries are ordered on the internet and delivered to our front door -- as is typical for all supermarkets. We live on the 'High Street' in our village -- bakeries, cafes, barber, grocery store and bus stop are located there, and three pubs of course. The train station to London is an 8 minute walk.My daughter is 14 and has 11 subject areas: Latin, Greek, French, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Advanced Maths, History, English, English Lit and Music (theory, performance and composition). She anticipates fluency in French at 17. The education system is exam based, there is no GPA. She wants to study medicine and as med school begins freshman year, she has already begun pre-med coaching sessions at school.
England is an explorer’s dream. There are so many places to explore and discover. You can walk, hike, bike, and travel via car.
Brits get a lot more time off -- 5 weeks as a rule -- and travel is a priority. The cultural aspects of the country are fascinating - tiny it may seem, but it takes a lifetime to know this place, and with Europe, so close opportunities are expanded even further.A massive advantage of living here is the National Health Service. If an American could understand it, they would be amazed by its magnificence. “
This is so good…
“The Brits have extremely strict zoning restrictions and there are no 'strip malls' -- not anywhere. So you drive for an hour straight and won't see a petrol (gas) station or any commercial building sticking out like a sore thumb.
Here is the English pub called the White Lion. When a pub is called something hilarious/awesome (Dirty Dicks? The Hung Drawn and Quartered? Both real, both literally hundreds of years old), it’s not a cheap laugh, or a novelty, or a pun that gets old fast. Sorry, Amy’s Winehouse.
There is a deep love and care for the countryside that makes it compelling, and you can never tire of it. It is the work of a thousand years -- a landscape built by man, layer by layer. A masterpiece.”
As in all of these cases, I strongly advise the reader to read the original articles as there are many worthy things worth reading there. What I have placed here are only some excerpts. The comments are all pure gold.
Here’s a comment from one of the commenters that also lives in England from the USA;
“Beer. A pint of beer at a business lunch is totally acceptable.”
Moreover, that comment is worth Gold because it just says the world about what freedom, work and life is like once you leave the American Prison Gulag. (We never realize what our lives our missing until we step outside of our reality and start comparing with the realities of others.) No, it’s not as simple as being able to drink. That is trivial. It is the sum total of what you can and cannot do.
Are you, my dear reader really… actually free?
Are you the champion of your life? Do you keep all of the money you earn? Do you wear the clothes that you want 100% of the time, every single day, with the hair style that you prefer? (All American companies have a “dress code”.) Do you and can you take a day off to have fun? And, not have to ask ANYONE for permission? (Don’t lie to yourself. Think.)
Do you have a “boss”? Yes. Then you need permission.
Most Americans, unless you are Bill Gates, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton has a boss. They tell you how to behave and how to live your life.
Once you realize that, you begin to understand the NEED to start to get a little bit more control back into your life. Maybe you will still have a “boss”, but if you can start to reacquire the freedoms that your parents and grandparents enjoyed, then you will be on your way to happiness.
English can seem magical to an American. It is a great place for walking, hike and just travel.
Consider the drinking culture. Let’s compare.
When I was at Delco, the rule was that you could lose your job if the management found you to be hungover, drinking near or during the ten hour block of time associated with work, lunch and commute. They strongly policed this rule. It was “for our safety“, and “to become more competitive” were the excuses. However, if this was the case, then why did it ONLY apply to us “White Collar” workers and not the rank and file union staff?
In general, America has more of a bar scene than a pub culture. Particularly popular is the sports bar, where thousands of giant TV screens simultaneously broadcast billions of seemingly never-ending games. Such places are rowdy, loud and full of frat bros loaded on light beer.
British pubs are quiet, relaxing environments, and although there are pubs in America, they don’t serve the same function as they do in the U.K. This is because Brits occupy pubs in the same way Americans occupy coffee shops. Brits will happily go to a pub during the day (without fear of judgment) to work, read, take meetings or simply enjoy a drink.
"In every corner of every pub in every British town, you will find a fruit machine. This is not a vending machine from which punters may dispense fresh fruit for their consumption; rather it is a slot machine much like the ones found in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Colloquially known as a “gambler,” the machine is a confusing clusterjam of flashing fruits and strange beeping that only the person with the lowest IQ in the pub can understand."
And…
"As we all know, the legal drinking age in the U.K. is 18, which means there’s a much younger clientele frequenting British pubs than there are American bars. Add to this some British lackadaisical door security, and you’ve got kids who couldn’t get into an R-rated movie without an accompanying adult buying drinks, making the pub look more like a youth club than a fully licensed taproom.
In America, however, almost every bar will have a bouncer on the door who won’t let you in unless you have valid identification proving you’re 21 or over.
Even if you’re 63 and look terrible for your age, you’ll still be asked for ID.
Interestingly, in the U.K. it’s actually legal for someone as young as 16 to drink beer, cider or wine in a pub so long as it’s with a meal and they are accompanied by an adult over 18 who purchases the alcohol."-BBC America
In fact, the pubs in England are “Family Friendly”. Most British pubs are family-friendly and even have a playground out back for the kids. Usually there’s a separate area inside the pub marked “Family Room” where children are permitted. This ensures the little tykes don’t displease the kid-loathing adults drowning their sorrows at the bar. Meanwhile, I don’t recall ever having seen a child in a bar in the United States.
I look back at the USA in this regard and lament the loss of freedom that the British obviously retained.
Finally, I want to throw my “two cents” into the ring about drinking…
Japan
Japan is very beautiful. The government sees to it that the natural beauty of the countryside is maintained. I really wish that the USA would devote some money to preserving buildings and planting trees like the Japanese do, instead of giving it all away to third world countries like Obama has done.
Why not move to Japan? Indeed, Japan has always interested me. I think it began with the Ultraman televisions series that I watched as a boy. Maybe it was the pretty girls, the J-Pop music, or perhaps it was the cool gadgets that were always being invented there.
While everyone focuses on the absurd and crazy ways that the Japanese handle things, the fact and truth is that Japan is an exceptionally beautiful nation. It is intended to be that way. For instance, after World War II, most of the forests in Japan were all cut down for the war effort. Since then, the Japanese set forth to preserve which forests remain. This has resulted in amazingly beautiful woods, parks and natural areas.
Japan is very beautiful and people make it a point of pride to treasure it. They take pleasure in the colors, the arrangements, the scents and the atmosphere. The result is wonderment.
I visited, but never moved. Never the less, other Americans have moved and they have some interesting things to say about the Japanese culture.
“I'm guessing that one of the top reasons people want to move to Japan is because of how eye-poppingly insane everything here is. Japan is the patron saint of the Internet -- everything is either batshit crazy or adorable (or both), with the sole requirement of being impossible to explain in any conceivable context.Man, I'm about to destroy a lot of illusions.To start, let's talk a little about Japanese TV. You may have seen clips of some X-rated Japanese game show floating around the Internet wherein an audience full of young women eagerly compete for the privilege of having sex with some random guy on stage in front of hundreds of people (if not, you're probably searching for them right now). Here's the shocking truth behind those videos -- they are porn.”
Gasp!
“As in, they are professional pornographic videos dressed up to look like a game show, because ... you know, just because. Does porn need a reason?There's a Simpsons porn out there featuring people sweatily groping each other in jaundiced yellow body paint, for Christ's sake. Nobody is posting clips of that on the Internet and claiming it's the new season ... well actually, somebody probably is, but nobody would seriously believe that.”
Oh, don’t be so sure about that…
“The porno game show I'm referring to is called Kobe Surprise, and it is every bit an actual game show as Walt Disney's Pocahontas is a historical documentary. Just like those goofy "true life" pornos MILF Hunter or Bang Bus, nothing about it even approaches reality, yet all you apparently need to do is tell everyone it's from Japan and suddenly people think it comes on every night after Wheel of Fortune.Don't get me wrong -- there are some daffy game shows in Japan, and there is definitely erotic programming on late night TV, but the country isn't full of shamelessly sex-crazed lunatics who have stopped trying to measure the immensity of the shits they no longer give."So what about those infamous vending machines that sell used panties?" you might ask. Well, they do exist, but they were outlawed nearly 20 years ago. You can still find one from time to time, but they are illegal as fuck and usually hidden in sex stores or fetish clubs, and not in a bus station next to the Mr. Pibb machine.”
Another illusion shattered.
Japanese television series titled “Must Love Cats”. The Japanese love cats. It’s all about going cat crazy in Japan.
“I shook my head particularly hard when I read about the Japanese fundraiser that allowed people to squeeze some hot girl's breasts if they donated money to AIDS research, because every website that reported on it wrote about it like it happens every Tuesday in Japan. It doesn't. The event was hosted by a freaking porn channel -- that's like if Hugh Hefner held a topless car wash at the Playboy Mansion and the BBC told the rest of the world that there was one next to every McDonald's in America.But maybe you dream of living in Japan not because the porn flows like water (it doesn't, at least not any more so than in any other country where the Internet is a thing), but because of your love for anime, which is so popular and widely accepted among Japanese adults that you could enjoy your obsession in peace with the approval of your peers. Even though we've moved on from porn, don't put those tissues away just yet -- you may need them for the next paragraph.After all these years in Japan, I can honestly say that animation (major studio productions notwithstanding) is still mainly considered kids' stuff. There is shockingly little anime on television, and most of it is unapologetically meant for children. The only adults who really get into it (referred to as otaku) are usually perceived by the media as overweight, unwashed weirdos who are probably child molesters. Sound familiar? You're bound to spend just as much time hiding your Trigun DVDs from company here as you would anywhere else.”
What about the Stuff…
“To me, Japan isn’t even a country. Japan is its own planet... completely different than anywhere else in ways that are incomprehensible to most westerners.”
-Simon Black
There is no doubt that Japan has it’s fair share of unusual (and creative) stuff. This runs the spectrum from dental floss to unusual automobiles, and everything in between. In fact, entire books and movies can be written about this one aspect of this culture. (Which is yet another one of the reasons why I oppose the effort to make everyone and everything “equal” and the same. Such as what we see in the Obama administration, and in the EU from Brussels. Different is good. It is not bad.)
Japan has all kinds of crazy things. I particularly like this potato-bug styled cell-phone case. Can’t you just imagine using it to talk on the subway, or better yet putting it in your purse? Cool.
Japan is unique, and for me, I think it is just wonderful. They do things their way and on their terms. They just don’t care what others think. When President Obama wanted them to open up their borders to permit Muslim “refugees”, they politely declined. As they expected that any immigrants to their nation, [1] assimilate, [2] do not try to change anything, and [3] observe THEIR customs (not the other way around).
I truly wish that America would be this way. You see, I strongly believe that it is our differences that make us all great. Not our similarities.
How about some fine Japanese vegetables? Here we have some grown in molds and then hand painted. Cool idea. Now how about Donald Trump, or maybe pumpkins shaped like Hillary Clinton for Halloween?
That being said, the rigidity of the nation might be a little uncomfortable for many Americans. As it has become stylish to cover oneself with tattoos, and promote multi-sexual trans-gender confusion.
The Japanese are a very traditional society, and as such they are conservative. Which is something that I favor. They might be odd, and beyond a little strange, but they are certainly traditional.
Tattoos are generally not tolerated in Japan. They are associated with dangerous gangs and unsavory types. You are not permitted to publicly display them, and you are most certainly not permitted to enter public pools with them.
Japan is a traditional nation. They take pride in their culture and in their traditions. For instance, gender roles are fixed and stable.
Learn English with proper gender roles. Japan takes pride in it’s culture and in it’s traditions. They absolutely do not welcome change, and like most other Asian nations, have a very dim view of SJW Social Justice Warriors.
Japan has all kinds of interesting traditions and holidays. This is something that I have always found quite interesting. If you go to another nation, you want to experience their culture. That is, instead of hiding away in Starbucks of McDonalds. You really need to go out and live life to it’s fullest.
Only a selfie stick can pick up the vastness of this pink penis. Image is a snag capture from Tumblr including the text below it.
Working in Japan
From an article titled “The best and worst things about living in Japan” found here. The author sends some time discussing working in Japan.
“It's ridiculous that people show up 15 minutes early and stay 90 minutes late every day. It's expected that if you are sick, you use a vacation day rather than a sick day. And to be hire-able at your next job you need to show that you've used as few vacation days as possible.It's also not too rare for people to have to take weeks or months off of work due to "mental illness" but it's actually because they are so #$!% overworked and stressed out.Everyone pretty much realizes that the work-pace in Japan is rather arduous. What people don’t seem to realize is that the work culture in Japan goes hand-in-hand with the Japanese culture as a whole.When my grandma died, my supervisors expected that I would follow the same rules as everybody else. You get one or two days off work for grieving and travel to the funeral, any other time is to be vacation time. So I had to pull out my contract and remind them that they agreed to give me a week in such an event. So yeah, moral of the story: Japanese people are overworked and under social pressure not to relax.This all sounds pretty lousy to me. I mean, my job isn't very stressful at all, but I still really look forward to my days off and just having time to relax. I can't imagine living and working in Japan being so stressed out and then being discouraged to take time off. It sounds awful.”
The author of the article then goes on to compare the United States with Japan.
“Compared to American public transport at least, Japanese public transport is unbelievably awesome. In Europe and other countries, it's probably pretty good as well, but the Japanese have really got it down pat. Their subway and train systems are crazy convenient, accurate, and make getting around the country so much easier. Even their buses are awesome.When I was in Japan, I never felt like having a car would have made my life more convenient. Having such a integrated system of public transport made getting around very easy and simple and it's one of the things I miss most. Japan sure does love its trains though.”
From a different article titled “5 Things Nobody Tells You About Living in Japan” found here and here are some interesting statements made in the article;
“Everything Is Frightfully Low-Tech. Quick question: When was the last time you had to use a fax machine? "What is a fax machine?" is an entirely acceptable response.Well, you should try moving to Japan if you want to recapture the magic of the fax machine and other 1990s technology. I actually use one about twice a month to send out my work invoices, because many of the Japanese companies that employ me do not accept paperwork by email. The rare ones that do require that my Word/Excel files be compatible with their 1998 version of Microsoft Office, which is sort of like requiring your Avengers Blu-ray to play on a Betamax machine.My point is, on the surface Japan seems like the closest thing Earth currently has to a moon base, what with their stock exchange being entirely computerized and wireless Internet literally coming out of their vending machines.But the truth is, many things are still being done in painfully old-fashioned ways, a phrase which here means "by hand and on paper." Actually, having seen the amount of paper a typical Japanese office goes through, I feel safe in assuming that the entire country has declared a shadow war on both the information age and trees.How can this be? Well, Japan is still mainly in the hands of the older generation: Over a fourth of the population is over 60, and they're in no particular hurry to adopt new technology (particularly not Apple products, because as far as Japan is concerned, Steve Jobs can go fuck himself). Institutions like banks, the postal service and government offices still keep all of their records on paper, maintained and filed by superfluous personnel who could easily be replaced by an old Soviet computer (which incidentally is more or less what a friend of mine at a Yokohama municipal office was using at his workstation as recently as 2010).Many businesses still don't even accept credit cards. A Japanese airline can get you to any corner of the globe without a hassle, so long as you're paying in cash, even if the tickets come up to a few thousand dollars each (and I wish I wasn't speaking from experience). This is made even more difficult by the fact that I don't think I've ever seen a 24-hour ATM anywhere in Japan.That's right; most banks in Japan keep their ATMs indoors, which means that once the banks close (typically around 6 p.m.), so do the machines, utterly defeating their entire purpose for existing.
It's another extension of that technological resistance -- pretty much anywhere outside of Tokyo harbors a deep generational resentment for automation. They don't want the ATMs operational while there aren't any bank employees around to help in case something goes wrong (although outside of users being clubbed with a thermos and robbed, the list of possible mishaps is embarrassingly short).
You can always try an ATM at a convenience store (the number of which currently exceeds the national population), if you don't mind the variable transaction fees that seemingly change at random. And that's only if your ATM card will even work in machines outside of your bank, which it almost certainly won't. “
And…
“The good news about health care in Japan is that your insurance is accepted pretty much anywhere. The bad news is that most hospitals keep shorter hours than a Blockbuster Video.
Generally speaking, Japanese hospitals are only open from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and are usually not open at all on the weekends.
So if you lop off a digit at a family barbecue, you basically have to wrap your stump in a Pikachu towel full of ice, wait for Monday to roll around and hope your severed finger doesn't get freezer burn.”
Yikes!
Here is yet another article about living in Japan. It is titled “What is it like living in Japan as a foreigner?” and it can be found here. Here are some tidbits;
“Unnecessarily long work hours. It's the norm in Japan that everyone needs to work long hours. Employees won't leave the office until the boss does. If it means surfing the internet, chatting with colleagues, or doing anything else other than work while waiting for your boss to leave then so be it. It's not really a big deal unless you want to go home as early as possible to spend time with the family.If you have a baby and need a stroller, what a hassle! Space is a premium in Japan so most places where you need to push your stroller are narrow: doors, corridors, spaces between tables and chairs in restaurants, etc. This causes inconveniences for you and others. And others don't seem to hide their annoyance at you. Forget about bringing your heavy duty stroller from abroad. To get around, you're going to need a light and compact Japanese model that you can fold and keep in your pocket (ok, I exaggerate).The subway system is excellent! Unless you have a stroller (or are in a wheel chair for that matter). Not all subway stations (in Nagoya) have elevators or even escalators. We lived next to such a station so whenever my wife wanted to go anywhere not walking distance she had to managing going up and down flights of stairs with a stroller, a baby, and a young child. Did she get any help? Did I mention that people in Nagoya aren't very friendly?Never mind about not being friendly. Many are downright rude. Imagine you get off the subway train and are now waiting for the elevator to take you up. What many will do, especially teenagers and young adults, is as soon as the elevator doors open they'll just cut in front of you from the sides and fill up the elevator with you still standing outside the elevator waiting to get in. And it's not because you're a foreigner. I've seen them do this to others with strollers and even to old people too.Too much cigarette smoke everywhere. Even in restaurants, the non-smoking section is usually just a small corner in the back. Yes, they make you walk through all the smoke to get to a not-very-isolated-from-smoke non-smoking section. Out in public, it can be a challenge if you want your kids to avoid secondhand smoke.”
And in common with China as well, you can enjoy this comment…
“You get a lot of attention. Let's just say men tend to date girls one or two rank above what they would date "back home" by virtue of being a foreigner. But it's not just there you'll receive attention, it's in general life. In the street, you'll be ignored like everyone else, but in a social situation, particularly with beer involved, people want to talk to you. They are curious. They come out of their shell and ask you lots of questions. It can be a lot of fun.”
And…
“"Foreigner" is too broad of a term. Your experience in Japan will differ wildly depending on what caste of foreigner you are. Your caste is determined primarily by your ethnic/national background, but your economic standing and personal charisma will play a role as well.Here's the rough ranking, from most to least desirable:
White Western European or North American/Australian/NZ
White Eastern/Southern European, South American
Developed East Asian (Taiwan, SK, Singaporean, HKer etc)
Developing East Asian (mainland Chinese, Vietnamese)
Southeast Asian
Middle Eastern, South Asian (basically “brown people” to use the rough term)
Blacks
It's also not a perfectly linear ranking of course, there are caveats to each caste. East Asians, especially ones from the Sinosphere, can be accepted almost as full Japanese after a while. This is especially true with Taiwanese. Among East Asians, Taiwanese are regarded particularly well. This is in contrast to whites, who while treated with more reverence, are almost never accepted as "Japanese". So they will always be considered outsiders.But by no means is it a bad deal to be Caucasian of any nationality in Japan. The position is so comically worshipped that there's literally comics written specifically to address the issue: Charisma Man”
And welcome to the rest of the world, outside of the Western cultural bubble, you see this…
“There are no discrimination laws. If you look at some job postings, you may see a listing for a flight attendant as "Light skinned attractive woman, less than 50kg, at least 167cm and between the ages of 22 and 30". Once she hits 30, she will either be transferred or let go. Schools that do home stays for students have difficulties because the Japanese family may only want a blonde, blue eyed female student that's not fat but legally the school can't accept such a request. Companies the same thing. You may see an foreign recruiting agency trying to get around things by putting a requirement of "no more than 10 years work experience", which is their roundabout way of saying the Japanese client requested someone under 30. “
And, in common with China and the rest of Asia is this statement;
“Education and job are highly regarded in Japan, and most of Asia. If you are well educated and have a great career, you will be treated well and respected even more so than in the US.”
Office Women
Nell provided some real “meat” in regards to details about what it was like to work in Japan as an American expat woman. Interesting reading indeed;
“Japan was my life dream until I really lived there.I chose Japanese language and culture as my major in university, I felt the sound of Japanese language was extremely attractive that every night I listened to my text book record as a¨lullaby¨ before sleeping.After graduating, when I got an offer from a company in Japan, I felt like I won a lottery. So I started my Japan living experience as a foreigner.The first shock was during the 3 days newbie training in Tokyo head office.I learned a word 相槌 (aiduchi) which basically means when somebody (especially a senior in the company) talking to you, no matter what he/she talks, no matter you agree with him/her or not, you must keep on nodding, saying そうですね (soudesune)、なるほど(naruhodo)、はい(hai)、ええ(ee)、勉強になりました(benkyo ni narimashita) etc with a perfect smile, to show your respect.
I understand and admire the social convention and manners like this, and actually it was a part of my "fancy elegant Japan" image, still when I had to do it nonstop for 8 hours, keep a polite sweet soft voice(which is not my usual, or, let me say, real voice), and keep those sincere "I admire you, senior" eyes...
It did drive me crazy.
Japanese office woman. There are all sorts of traditional unwritten laws in Asia. There is also a kind of “uniform” that business women wear.
The second shock was in the “welcome party”.
We newbies were the “main characters” who were supposed to give some special “show” as a tradition. I was lucky because I was both a female and a foreigner, so nobody asked me to do anything except for a short speech introducing myself.
But my “douki”(the coworker who attended the company same year, so my newbie coworker) was a Japanese guy. Senior coworkers in my apartment forced him to drink a whole bottle of Tabasco in that party in front of everybody. It was a situation he had no way to escape. He did. Then he vomited terribly.
I helped him cleaning and later we became friends- I realized why in Japan lots of “douki” coworkers have way better relationship with each other than with other coworkers- They kind of need a “union” to protect themselves from seniors in this strict “upper and lower relationship society”(縦社会 tatesyakai、上下関係 jyogekannkei).I said I was lucky to be a female that no male coworker in the company “bullied” me that much to feed me a bottle of Tabasco. But soon I felt maybe to be a female was not that lucky.In our office (and lots of traditional Japanese companies), there were 2 kinds of positions. “総合職 sougousyoku”(general position) and “一般職 ippansyoku”(common position).Former is the positions you can get promoted step by step, usually require higher education background; and latter is the positions basically you can never get promoted, usually ONLY for women who wouldn’t work for a long time, would quit job after get married or give a birth. (I have never seen any male in a “common position” in Japan. But if there is please correct me).
So in our office, all men were in “general position” and all women were in “common position” except me. I was the only female in a “general position”. At first I was kind of, a bit proud of myself. But soon I found it was a complicated situation.
Female workers in Japan have all sort of rules and regulations that they must follow. THis is true for mean as well. This often comes as a shock to American women as they are not used to such restrictions in dress, and behavior.
Every morning female coworkers make tea or coffee for the male coworkers who they were working with. But it’s hard to say it’s part of their work as assistants or it’s just kindness. Still I have never seen any male coworker making coffee for a female coworker or a male coworker.
I was a junior, I had a senior male coworker as my trainer. So I very much hesitated if I should make coffee for him. Finally I did, still I felt it’s something I HAD TO do otherwise I would look not nice and would be DIFFERENT with other girls which would make me a difficult situation in the office.Couples years later when I made some real Japanese friends, I tried to ask them why I always saw Japanese women pour tea, pass chopsticks and tissues when eating in restaurant for man, but seldom see men do such things for women?
They answered me honestly “Hmmm…we got used to it… and the tea made by women is more delicious.”I found some “benefits” to be a woman in Japan too. Though I needed to serve beer for male coworkers when eating in a restaurant like my other female coworkers do, girls usually pay less than guys when separating the bill. I guess it’s somehow a “balance” in this society.Another shock is overtime work. In the first year I lived in Japan, I never finished work before 9pm, the average was 10pm. Sometimes I finished work earlier, or had nothing to do. But I dare not go home, because my boss and seniors were still working.
It was too shame to let them know I was "free".
Later I got to know sometimes my boss and seniors do the same, they don't leave the office because it's too shame to let their staffs know they are "free". And of course, the overtime is basically no pay.”
Jinji ido
In Japan, however, at the end of the fiscal year in April, they have what’s called “jinji ido” (“moving people around”). Basically it’s musical chairs within the company, where the bosses shift some employees around from department to department. Were you working in human resources for four years? Congratulations, now you’re in sales! Weren’t popular as a secretary? Well now you’re working in finance.
No one is safe from the “jinji ido” – some number of bosses, fresh employees, and veterans are all shuffled around every year. On the one hand, this makes working for the same company your entire life not a completely soul-crushing prospect, since you always have the hope that you’ll be moved somewhere else next year if you don’t like your current boss or department, but on the other hand, it helps justify Japanese people feeling chained to their jobs.
Either way though, it was always fun watching the results of the yearly Japanese office Hunger Games.
Oppai
An oppai club in Tokyo is similar to many bars around Asia, but with some twists. All over this part of the world it is very common for guys to go to bars or KTV’s and effectively pay for the attention of girls.
Here is a writeup from Guys Night Life on the Oppai clubs in Japan;
“We don’t necessarily mean sex, just to have a sexy girl sit with you while you enjoy your drink. That is how things work at the oppai clubs in Tokyo, but as we mentioned there is a twist. Calling these a strip club certainly wouldn’t be correct, because when you think of a strip club you think of sexy girls dancing naked on stage.
That doesn’t happen here.Instead what happens at the oppai clubs is you pay to have a few girls sit with you, usually it is 3 girls for a little under 15 minutes each. When they sit with you they pull their tops down, and your hands are free to play with them titties.
Keep calm and oppai shibotai.
Some girls may do some kissing (you have to brush your teeth when you enter lol) or will let you suck on their tits, but not all will. There are some set-in-stone rules at oppai clubs, and if you break them you will be asked to leave.First off your hands are only allowed to play with the boobs, you can’t go down between her legs. Sometimes the girls might do some light cock rubbing through your pants, but you can’t pull your dick out and aren’t going to have sex or get a blowjob here. The most famous oppai club in Tokyo is Pretty Getter which has multiple locations. Another one you can try is Ooedo, and there are others around town as well.How much does an oppai pub cost? It is roughly $60 to have the 3 girl rotation that lasts a little under 45 minutes. You will need to buy a drink as well.So, in one way they are a lot like strip clubs in the western world because you are going to go there to get horny and blue balled. However unlike in the western world you can head to a blowjob bar right after to alleviate that concern.”
Yeah. You can go and sit down with three girls and play with their breasts for 15 minutes or so. Kinky, but cool.
Girls
Japanese girls are very similar to all Asian ladies. I find Asian ladies very attractive in a very kind and sweet way. Here is an interesting quote on this subject;
“Coming from a culture where the women are taught to be big-mouthed, rude, and disrespectful, the American visitor to Japan will at once be pleasantly surprised by the poise, demeanor, and courtesy of the Japanese girl.
This to me is sexually attractive. It is nice to be treated with respect wherever you go. Even when your approach is rejected, it is done with such exquisite politeness that you feel nothing unpleasant at all.
I find that traditional Japanese clothing is very visually appealing and attractive. The Japanese women do actually wear traditional clothing. It is not a rarity.
As I’ve gotten older, I have come to value courtesy and politeness very highly, perhaps because it is so rare in Anglo-American women.
Obnoxiousness does not equal strength, as American women believe.
Boundaries exist, and everyone knows what they are. Japanese culture also teaches humility and self-sacrifice as positive virtues. This ethic is extolled in countless historical dramas, soap operas, and other cultural contexts. Japanese girls are genuinely humble and modest, for the most part; and this character trait I find very appealing.”-Quintus Curtius
Fast Food Insanity
Finally, let me just say that the Japanese has taken the “Fast Food” engine and allowed it to run amuck (off the rails). Here, in Japan, you can see the most extreme versions of American staples. Really, do the Japanese actually eat these creations? I actually wonder.
Japan really does seem to enjoy the extreme side of living. I mean, who can actually eat such creations? They look great, but one burger would be enough to feed you for a week, don’t you think?
Another thing that I really like about Japan is that they like the gender roles to be clear and enhanced. Girls and women should be demure, cute, pretty and attractive. For they are the bedrock of the society.
As such, even the workers in McDonalds are cute and adorable.
Japanese fast food workers. Aren’t these girls cute? I really like the girls in the fluffy dresses and the hair ribbons. It is so attractive. This is McDonalds in Japan. Bet you didn’t know that.
Mr Bernie Sanders opined about the benefits of living in Sweden (yet he never moved, I wonder why?) and because of that he wanted to transform the United States into some kind of socialist paradise modeled under Sweden.
His ideas sounded stimulating to say the least. The kind of stuff that people who have never held a job, worked for a boss, or paid taxes would believe.
Imagine that… a place where everyone is equal and all contributes to the common good and everyone is equal, happy and content. What’s not to like? (At least that is what his followers thought.)
Personally, I disagree with this philosophy. In fact, I strongly believe that it is our differences that make us strong. Not our similarities.
Sweden has many nice and tight coastal communities up and down the nation. Each one is quaint with their own sense of belonging. Here is an interesting article titled “I’m an American living in Sweden. Here’s why I came to embrace the higher taxes.” Written by Tom Heberlein on April 8, 2016. It can be found here.
“In Sweden, the four-page tax form comes in the mail already filled out. On a Saturday morning, Betty and I take our coffee to the couch and review the forms. Seeing they look reasonable, as they always do, we "sign" with a text from our phones. In 15 minutes we are done. We don't have to hire a tax consultant, and we avoid fights about whether a print cartridge bought at the drugstore is a business expense or not.”
And…
“When the conservative government, favoring lower taxes, came to power in Sweden in 2006 one of its first steps was abolish the property tax and replace it with a fixed fee. The real estate fee for services is 7,112 SEK per house ($825 at current exchange rates). This is the same for everyone no matter what the assessed value of the dwelling. The fee is $12 a month for our co-op apartment in Stockholm. If we owned the same property in Madison, our taxes would be $18,000 a year.”
A hiking shelter. In other nations, such as Sweden, the government has invested in parks, hiking trails and shelters for the citizens to use and enjoy.
Sweden is a very good example of “looking outside of the box”. We, as Americans have become so accustomed to the “American way of life” (that is to say “the American way of doing things”) that it is actually impossible, and even shocking, to see that things are done differently elsewhere. It is, to us, inconceivable. However, that is a real problem. Given the size of the human population that there can NEVER be a “one size fits all” top down, centralized approach to social governance, no matter what the statists, and the progressive social democrats think. Humans need and desire independence. We need to find out what fits us and do things in a way that enables us to live our life in peace and harmony.For some, this might be along the lines of what the Swedes do. For others it might be more akin to what is practiced in North Korea. For others it might be similar to how one lives in France. Rather than look at the good, and at the bad in a foreign location, I propose that one conduct a full immersion in a different nation and decide themselves what is preferable to them.It is the same as what I have done in China, and what most long-term expats have done as well. Every place has both good and bad aspects. It is up to us to determine which aspects of our life is most signifigant to us, and then move to an area that best supports those ideals. For me, America today seems to only be beneficial for the uber-wealthy in the large urban mega-cities on the American coasts, and not really beneficial in the rest of the nation.
Fireplaces and snow. When Winter comes around you can bet that the Swedes keep warm and toasty in their wood-stove heated homes. When I lived in Wrentham, I had a wood stove and it kept the entire house (it was quite small) nice and toasty in the Winter.
In my mind, if you are able to be happy and satisfied in your labors and with your family, then the undesirable aspects of a place can be minimized in importance.
Some people, like my brother, love the mountains and they love the snow and the cooler weather. I cannot blame them. There is something absolutely awesome about coming home after a good hard day’s work and firing up the wood stove, and having a nice warm beverage.
I used to live in a cabin on Lake Pearl in Wrentham, Mass. The living room window overlooked the lake and it was surrounded with fresh pine trees. In the wintertime, the snow would fall, and I would watch the squirrels going up and down the tree trunks while the fire crackled in the wood heater.
Ah, good memories.
A cozy cabin would be wonderful on a nice cold snowy day. Don’t you think? You do not need much. Just a wood burning stove – banned in the United States (thank you president Obama) and a rack to sleep on.
In Sweden, everyone is beautiful.
Everyone. Sorry, no exceptions. In the back of your head, you’re thinking, Well, how beautiful can they be? And it turns out, really fucking beautiful. It’s weird. It’s almost like a new planet of hot people. According to Greg Poehler, a Swedish 5 is an American 12.
Greg Poehler is an actor who plays a celebrity accountant who relocates to Sweden. This actor moved to Sweden, from New York, in 2006. He has strong opinions about Sweden.
And nudity is no big deal. (Like in Germany, and Iceland and the rest of the civilized world.)
That’s why you’ll see it on the Swedish show “Welcome to Sweden” (The Swedish version of course, it is censored in America.). Nudity’s not a thing for them.
I mean, it is a thing, but it’s a thing that’s constantly around, Poehler said that his kids swim naked all summer and then have to deal with their own culture shock when they come to the U.S. and have to cover up.
Poehler believes the nudity is actually a good thing:
"Even at a young age, you can just see how accepting they are of nudity and their bodies."
Friendship is largely based around dinner parties.
It can be difficult to make friends in Sweden, because most Swedes already have a strong group of friends that they’ve known for years. Good luck scoring a dinner party invite. “The party scene there is all about dinner parties,” Poehler explained. “So your friend selection is actually limited by how many seats you have around your dinner table. And unless somebody dies or gets divorced or moves away, you have no chance of getting invited to that table.” It’s an ongoing struggle: “I’m still trying to work my way through the dinner party scene.”
Television.
"In general, the Swedish viewing habits are much like it was in the U.S. 40, 50 years ago, where people are kind of all watching the same thing," Poehler said. That helped Welcome to Sweden get such impressive ratings. "The top 10 shows tend to get that type of number." And the "Friday night death slot" as it's known in the U.S. is actually a good thing for Swedish shows: "Our show was on Friday nights, which here would be a terrible night, but there is like the biggest night."
Log Homes
Log cabins have been traditionally built in this part of the European continent. Countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia and other Baltic regions were the regions where the log cabins have been built for centuries. The growth of coniferous trees in this part of the world is the primary reason for building these structures.
The log cabin was “invented” in Northern Europe, and Sweden is perhaps the center of that trend. The idea of rustic homes bravely facing the harsh Winter weather came from Sweden.
The shape of these trees and the quality of wood obtained from them is ideal for the construction of log cabins. Migrants from the Scandinavian countries (especially from Sweden) who settled in America in the early part of the 17th Century are credited to have brought log cabins to Northern America.
Taxes
Sweden, as far as the United States is concerned, is a land of high taxation. However, that might not be a bad thing. Yes, the taxes in Massachusetts were high. Yes, everything is against the law in Massachusetts. However, that does not take away from what I found most charming about it. (And to this day, I still miss my life in Massachusetts. I still consider it a wonderful place to live.)
One should NEVER make two-dimensional judgements about a region and a people until they first go out there and see it with their own eyes.
So, I say to everyone and most especially the readers herein, go to Sweden and make your own opinions. Don’t fall for the Bernie Sanders narrative that Sweden is “Heaven on Earth”, nor should you fall for the Alex Jones narrative that all taxes are evil. Find a middle-ground; a an area where you (personally) can find comfort. Then go move there and live your life.
Below is a summary of the Swedish tax system. I believe that I picked it up on Tumblr sometime during the 2015 – 2016 time period. I do not know who created this document, or whether of not it is accurate and reflective of the current taxiation system in Sweden today. It is presented for the amusement and consideration of the reader.
Income Tax in Sweden. Off hand, I would say that the taxes seem prohibitively high. However, that might be offset by other issues. The only way to find out is to actually go to Sweden and find out for yourself.
Now, there are others who offer an opposing view toward Sweden. Here are some interesting quotes worth consideration…
“Higher education may be free but students in Sweden often have to take out loans to cover living expenses including rent and food while studying. 85 percent of students in Sweden graduate with debt and these fresh graduates also suffer from a high debt-to-income ratio once they land jobs. Sustaining oneself while trying to establish a career can be tough. Rent in centers like Stockholm can be both expensive and hard to come by for most young professionals.”
And…
“Sen. Sanders claimed that lessons on democratic socialism can be learned from the Nordics. However, Scandinavians were among those quick to correct Sen. Sanders saying that they aren’t socialist. They are technically market economies. Perhaps there’s this notion that a utopia is where citizens are provided everything and that everyone enjoys freedom and equality. For the most part, this seems to apply to Sweden since the government covers essential services and the people have an egalitarian outlook hence the reason they’re mistaken to be democratic socialists. Still, the reality is that people have to work hard, pay taxes, and deal with competition common in a market economy if they want to thrive in Sweden.”
Peru
Why not? I guess that I was inspired by the Phil Manzanera song “Big Day” and the lyrics about Peru.
Here is a nice woman from Peru. There are many beautiful women all over the world. Each one comes with their own traditions, society and ways of doing things. When we have become so accustomed to the American way of doing something, it is often a wonderful experience to find others who share our traditional view of the world.
This is one of those nations that no one really considers except to travel to (to look at ancient ruins). But that should be the exact criteria to give it a good long hard look. Certainly something “off the beaten track” is what would be most desirable for a typical American expat today.
Cheap food, housing, and standard of living would factor high in where ever an expat might want to move to. Not only that, but having a passport from Peru will not make you a target by Islamic radicals trying to purge the world of Americans…
Peru. Only in Peru. This is a very unassuming nation in South America. It is quite different from the United States and that makes it very interesting to me.
Here are some comments by an expat in Peru. They have a blog that can be found HERE.
Driving
Apparently, it is pretty terrifying.
“The roads [in Peru] are pretty unforgiving. I once made a trip, well, tried to, from Trujillo to Otusco. I eventually turned around... those cliffs really humbled me.
I have gone up and down the coast -- flat, no cliffs -- all the way to Tumbes at the Ecuadorian frontier with no problems. I could write a couple of chapters about the experiences with buses and cars in a hurry, passing on curves... single lanes on high passes... cliff collapses... buses passing you on curves drafting you first or meeting a bus head on coming at you lumbering and top-heavy around curves... YOU GOT NO PLACE TO GO.
WEIGHT IS THE DOMINATING PRINCIPLE. THEY PUSH, HONK AND INTIMIDATE EVERYWHERE BUT ON THE CLIFFS. Life and death. I have frequently seen three people on a motorcycle with a kid sandwiched in the middle - all no helmets.”
“The premiere Mall in Lima is Lacomar right on the ocean. It is an excellent mall, large and it could be in NY or any other major city and would be regarded as Excellent.Also you can ask but in Lima is a park in a City Busy area that is a sanctuary for Cats. I mean,, the cats know it and there are a billion cats that hang there.. It is really a special place and quite an interesting phenomena.”
"More than six years of experience says that Internet is certainly reliable in Peru for remote sales and more. Video performance is choppy regardless of provider. Latency is an issue with video specifically. It really depends on from where you are planning on connecting and using what kind of services. There are Internet cafes in most cities and some small towns.If you will be located in Lima and want a month to month wireless router service without phone hookup to support multiple devices in a home, then Olo can be recommended. But Olo has a delivery footprint and you need to check if your house is within that footprint. I have used that service for almost a year from San Juan de Lurigancho (Lima). I have also been a customer in the past of Nextel, Claro, Movistar, and Speedy.
Claro/Movistar have a wireless dongle that works for a single computer. We had technical and customer service problems with Movistar. I used Nextel wide band with success for years. Speedy is fast, cheap, but good depends on the wiring in your part of the city and how much construction is happening near you.If you are planning on setting up a high speed phone center in the provinces using existing services beyond Lima it is probably not going to happen, though I do know of a successful Skype-based salesman who did B2B appt setting daily and operated from Huanuco."
Climate
“Coastal Peru is really all desert. Where people live in urban areas with lots of houses it tends to be much greener but certainly never lush. It is dusty, but really I think all of Peru is dusty. I have never seen a screened window yet once you go outside an urban or city area unless you see farms and agriculture it is more desert like""Yes, coastal Peru is very much a desert. I found the scenery grows on you, especially next to the coast. I am most familiar with the Lima area (Miraflores) and the humidity is surprisingly high for a desert, but then I come from an area of very low humidity, Wyoming. I do seem to recall other places along the coast (e.g. Trujillo) seemed to be less humid,""Lima weather in the summer is fine, but it winter it is only gray. High humidity and lower temps... kind of uncomfortable. In Trujillo, the weather is always pleasant. In summer, when the skies are clear and blue, the humidity is high and just short of 100%, but it never rains. Rain is so unusual here that if you see drops it is a major downpour. Sometimes it is just misty and you can feel the lightest of drizzles... and even that is unusual. So, in the summer the humidity gets kinda uncomfortable. Generally summer is pleasant, but there is always a run of about 2-3 weeks where the humidity gets outtahand."
Safety
"It is possible that expats live in isolated clusters in several countries, but full disclosure, you should know that Peru has still active guerilla forces and that 17% of GDP is now from cocaine, according to National Geographic.Apparently, Columbian 'interests' have decided to 'outsource' a bit of production and distribution to nearby countries, so I do not know how this bodes of stability or personal safety in Peru, but these are factors to consider.""There is a particular area where Coca production prevails and there are some conflicts. Peru produces more cocoa than any other country in SA. That is production of raw material but not distribution of final product. Living in the area of Trujillo for a few years now I have had no visibility of any activities in that regard. It may go on in the background but who know. It does not affect daily living in any regard.In all of Peru there are places known for safety and places known for danger. I have frequented Lima and flagged down many, many taxis without ever a hitch. Crime is not rampant and it is best not to exaggerate. Traveling through many parts of Peru I have never been accosted by a robber or thief. Of course, it is good to be sensible and wise, but I do not see an overwhelming or ever present threat of danger."
Conclusions
If you have a nice, comfortable life, then savor it. Appreciate it. Enjoy it.
However, if you are like one of millions of American men who have reached their 40’s and discovered that events, problems, and unforeseen disasters have decimated their savings, belongings, relationships and careers, perhaps you need to look elsewhere. Maybe you need to take a good hard look at your life and the decisions that you made decades ago that set you on the path that you now tread.
I suggest that there are many other nations and cultures out there, outside of the United States. There are good and bad things about all of them. But, given your situation, perhaps one or two might be more suitable than the progressive liberal “paradise” that the United States is turning into.
I urge you, or anyone who is asking the deep question “is that all that there is?”, to look outside the box, and consider the unthinkable; leave the United States and become an expat.
Take Aways
When things go wrong we often feel trapped. We become lost and directionless.
Part of the problem, and the cause for the lack of direction, is that we have automatically limited our options. We have, over the years, placed restrictions and limits on ourselves.
I suggest opening up ourselves to the reality that there are no limitations except those that we place upon ourselves.
A glance at a handful of other nations clearly shows that there are other places with other options for a man lost in the wilderness.
FAQ
Q: What if you cannot speak the language? A: Well, you learn another language. If you want to be in a certain place with a specific lifestyle, then you will do what ever it takes. Most of the time, this will include learning another language and adapting to a different culture. Trust me, if you really want, or better yet, need to move and start all over again, then you will do what ever is necessary.
Q: What if I have a job, a family, children, but I am unhappy? A: Then you need to find out what is making you unhappy.
Often it is things that have developed over a long period of time, that has taken a toll on us. Sometimes it is the little things, like having a wife that forbids you to drink cream with your coffee, or a work place that doesn’t allow you to smoke. Perhaps it is a constantly increasing tax burden with no appreciable increase in your standard of living. When your soul starts screaming at you, it’s time to listen. Something is wrong.
You, as the man of the house, must do something about it.
Q: I think that I am going through a “mid-life” crisis, but my wife thinks I’m bonkers, what do I do? A: Yell at your wife for discounting your emotions and your feelings. She should be better attuned to you, your feelings and your needs. Since she is disparaging you, then there is certainly something wrong; with her.
If you feel and think a certain way, then that has validity. No one, especially someone who is part of your family should ever disparage that.
You need to have a good sit down with your family and explain how you feel. It is not an issue about working out what to do, as it is a real need to state that your needs are not being met. That you are not being listened to, nor are your feelings being respected. You will be unable to continue in a life where these fundamentals are missing from your life.
Q: What criteria should be used to determine which nation to move to? A: Safety, ease of access, and personal finances. Where ever you go, you will need to be open to making new friends, adapting to a strange culture, and change your way of life. For some it is way to shocking. Here in China, we have a saying that Americans can’t last more than three months in China. Plan, and be careful.
In my mind, the most important things are [1] the pace of life… and, [2] how hard you have to work to just live in a most basic way.
Multi-Part Series
There are so many nations and places to choose from. This post is part two of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short not to.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
What happens when you are given a five minute notice before your company lays you off? Then they hand you a NDA, and expect you to sign it, or else they will prevent you from getting food stamps and support. What then?
What options do you have? Another stab at getting yet another American job, and America boss in an American corporate environment? Is that what your options are? As an American man, just what are your options?
There are times when you just feel a screaming need to “bug out”.
But, let me tell you something. The world is yours once you have lost everything. That includes nations, food, culture and girls. You can go anywhere and be anyone. This is especially true for an American man who faced a vindictive ex-wife, or had an encounter with any of the many, many American alphabet regulatory organizations such as the IRS, DHS, CIA, FBI, ICE, FDA etc.
People, there is an entire world out there. It is big, and filled with all sorts of interesting and colorful people.
I urge the reader to divest themselves from the notion that the United States offers the only decent living arrangements on the globe. There are other places. Many others.
Some are better and some are worst. It is up to the reader to consider all of the options that lie before them and make determinations and judgments biased upon their own individual situation, preferences, and desires. Not (to make them biased) on fear or lack of experience…
You do not have to endure a life that is defined by others…
Introduction
The world is filled with interesting people, wonderful places, and really different ways of doing things. many of which are a pleasant surprise to Americans who have grown up thinking that the “American Way” is the only way to do things (as well as being the “best” way to do things).
The world is filled with fun and interesting people. The cultures and societies are different, and in many ways there are changes that lead to a more relaxed and fulfilled life. You just need to go out and explore and venture forth. Now, come on, don’t these two gals look like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with?
There are so many nations and places to choose from.
Written by a Man
Please note that this was written by a man. It is about things that might be of interest to a man. For similar posts written by women, I would suggest the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, or Salon.
Also note that this is a blog. It contains personal opinions. If you want to read something that is unbiased and doesn’t have opinions, try CNN. LOL.
Finally, many of the things that are commonplace in other nations are either banned, censored or illegal in the United States. This post does not censor for American sensibilities. As there are people all over the world that reads it. I just can’t sanitize it for Americans. That includes…
Buying beer on Sunday.
Doing drugs in Holland.
Prostitution chain-bordellos in Germany.
Public nudity in Iceland.
Smoking in public in China.
Being able to eat in restaurants barefoot in Cambodia.
Traditional gender roles in Brazil.
The giant penis festival in Japan.
Buying ED medicine without a prescription. (Common everywhere.)
If you are an American, and you are too sensitive to the realities outside of America, then I would suggest you leave. Exposure to freedom is not something to be taken trivially. Real freedom is not having to ask permission to do something. Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Multi-part Post
This post is part one of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short.
Let’s start by talking about a tiny mountain nation smack dab in the middle of Europe.
Switzerland
Ah Switzerland. Perhaps my number one ideal destination. However, not my number one practical destination.
For a relatively small, landlocked country, Switzerland contains an exceptional amount of natural beauty and cultural diversity—with four official languages and all the variety they represent. These 10 towns spread across the country demonstrate the best Switzerland has to offer in terms of spectacular mountain scenery, flower-lined nature paths, lakefront beauty, and picturesque historic centers.
Here’s an interesting article titled “Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture” written by Chantal Panozzo on February 1, 2016. Found here.
“During my Swiss career, I was employed by various companies from 25 percent to 100 percent. When I worked 60 percent, for example, I worked three days a week. A job that is 50 percent could mean the employee works five mornings a week or, as I once did, two and a half days a week.
The freedom to choose the amount of work that was right for me at varying points of my life was wonderful and kept me engaged and happy.”
And…
“At my former American job, I received 10 days of paid vacation per year, and each of those days came with a sizable portion of guilt if actually used.
But in Switzerland, my husband's company gave employees six weeks of vacation a year.
Most of the Swiss companies I worked for gave four — the legal minimum is four. Moreover, everything shut down between Christmas and New Year's, giving most employees like me another guaranteed week off.”
Wow, it sounds like a great place to work. You can work at your own pace, and attend to your family life. If you are too stressed, you can work out an arrangements where you work part time. If you have family issues, you can adjust things accordingly. If you need more money, you can work out an aggressive work schedule. This degree of corporate flexibility is a freedom that Americans do not possess.
Winter in the Swiss mountains…
Living in Switzerland would be awesome. You have the mountains, the seasons, the fresh air, and a more sensible pace of life. Spring is glorious and Fall is magical.
“About three years into my Swiss life, I lost my job. And I discovered that in Switzerland, being on unemployment meant you received 70 to 80 percent of your prior salary for 18 months.
The Swiss government also paid for me to take German classes, and when I wasn't looking for jobs, I could afford to write a book.”
And…
“When I gave birth in Switzerland, I was encouraged to stay five days in the hospital. So I did. The $3,000 bill for the birth and hospital stay was paid in full by my Swiss insurance. As was the required midwife, who came to my apartment for five days after I came home from the hospital to check on both my health and my baby's.
Had I been in the US for my delivery, the cost would have been much higher — and the quality of care arguably lower. The average price for a vaginal birth in the US is $30,000 and includes an average of less than a two-day hospital stay.”
Switzerland isn’t just beautiful—it’s actually outrageously so. I guess it’s what I always expected. Switzerland, with its glacial lakes, the Alps and all the nature, it’s all very stunning. This kind of natural beauty in Switzerland is calming and cool. Despite the famous red color and cross of the Swiss flag, the only color that comes to mind for Switzerland is honestly and truly blue. The sky seems to be a constant shade of blue: bold and beautiful when the sun is out, and gloomy & grey under the clouds. The water, so fresh and readily available in the country, runs clear and reflects the blues in the sky. The glacial lakes shimmer. This country is blue. And it’s beautiful.
You know, working in Switzerland might be something to consider. And, of course, maybe having a child born in Switzerland wouldn’t be a bad idea. What do you think?
France
So many places to move to. Let’s talk about France.
Many people have said to me, “Oh Diane, you’re so lucky. You live in France…” And I stop them right there. Luck had nothing to do with it. I didn’t fall out of bed one day to find my suitcase packed, money in the bank, with a first class ticket on Magic Fairy Airlines, destination: France.
No. It never works like that.
My goal was to move to France and my choices leading up to that move got me here. This didn’t just happen to me while I idly stood by. I moved to France last year to be with Tom, but the first time I moved to France in 2009, Tom wasn’t even in the picture…
-Oui in France
Did you know that it is very easy to become a citizen of France? Yes it is. Look at all the uneducated Africans who now live there. However, I am not referring to that, I am referring to the French Foreign Legion. You serve, and you become a citizen. It’s a tough option, but a reasonable one for a younger man to consider.
It’s a great option if you burned your bridges in the United States, and want to start off new and fresh with a new identification, a new name, living in a new area. You just have to EARN it. That’s all.
France has so many beautiful lesser-known little towns that are worthy of a visit. Whether you’re in the mood for sleepy beach towns, colorful villages, or icy slopes, there is a perfect French town for you.
When I was back in high school and planning to go to the Air Force Academy to be a pilot for the Air Force, I took French classes. I took them for three years, as that was an Air Force Academy requirement at that time. I never really used it except for many years later when I visited Canada, Vietnam and Zambia.
Moreover, an interesting blog about living in France can be found here.
Like the other entries here, it offers some glimpse of alternative realities that aren’t even considered possible in the United States, like for instance a Wine High School…
“About this time a year ago, we had lived in France for only three weeks when an announcement on the city’s website regarding an event for that weekend caught our eye—Wine Fair! We knew that we had moved to the world’s largest grape-growing area but we didn’t realize that there was a high school devoted to the craft just a few minutes’ walk from the house. With the promise of 30 wines, 6 beers, and 2 ciders, we just had to go…for a taste, of course.
One of my favorite things to do is to drink wine whilst eating bread with cheese, olives and assorted goodies. Image that being an everyday event. OMG.
High schools in France give students the opportunity to decide if they want to pursue a university degree or prefer a more hands-on approach to a career be it industrial or laboratory science, health and social sciences, music or dance, or trades that require internships, to name a few.
The Lycée Charlemagne, located not far from where we used to live by the castle, specializes in agriculture, so if you want to become any kind of farmer, including a wine grower, this is the place to be.
Since Carcassonne is such a magnet for tourists, other high schools here offer specialization in hospitality and the restaurant industry.
In contrast, we saw a TV program about Le Mans, the French city north of us that is famous for the Grand Prix road race, and is the city of choice for young people who want to learn all about automobile and motorcycle mechanics.”
A wine High School. How about that!
I well remember us complaining in High School (that was back in the mid 1970’s) that our peers in France and Europe were given wine with their school lunches. Meanwhile the Democrats in the United States were insanely active in raising the drinking age up from 16 to 21. They insisted on raising the drinking age…“For the Children”. Ugh! It was so frustrating being treated such that we were somehow stupider and immature than our peers elsewhere in the globe.
That’s Democrats for ya. Always thinking that they know what’s best… for YOU.
Boys and girls were free to drink and smoke as they were growing up. This all changed when the Democrats took control of various state legislatures and enforced vice laws.
On the subarctic island, consumer prices were on average 56 percent higher than the rest of Europe in 2018, making Iceland the single most expensive country, ahead of Switzerland (52 percent), Norway (48 percent) and Denmark (38 percent), according to Eurostat data.
In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, Quint Johnson, had done "some research," before travelling to Iceland from the United States for a week's vacation with his family.
"But it's been a little bit of a shock," the 22-year-old student told AFP, having discovered the chilling rates for familiar items like a simple hamburger with fries and a beer.
A glance at the menu at an Icelandic restaurant will tell you that a plain cheese pizza will run you around 2,400 kronor -- almost 17 euros ($19) -- a glass of wine will be at least 10 euros and a pint of beer costs about 7 euros.
"That's a big price jump compared to what I'm used to," Johnson said.
According to the consumer price comparison site Numbeo, a dinner for two in an average restaurant ends with a bill of about 85 euros, a bottle of wine in a shop is priced at around 17 euros, and a dozen eggs cost up to five euros.
-France24
Not only that, but there are few countries in the world that can say they do not have any mosquitoes and Iceland is one of them!
Beautiful Iceland. Sure it is cold, but when the sun comes out it is glorious. Not to mention that the environment lends itself to cozy comfort.
The following are excerpts from Larissa Kyzer who lived in NYC before she moved to Iceland. Her comments can be found here.
“Forget lying about your birthday: if you’re one of those people who likes to fudge your age, be forewarned. Your Icelandic national ID, or kennitala, begins with the day, month, and year of your birthday, and you will be expected to recite it to everyone, everywhere, for pretty much everything. Get a library card, give your kennitala. Sign up for a cell phone plan, give your kennitala. Rent a video, give your kennitala. Unlike the American social security number, it is intended to be a very public number.”
And…
“…always bring a towel! You’ll find that people go to the pools a lot--if only to chat in the hot pots (the geothermal jacuzzis that are at every pool)--and even though you can rent a towel (and a suit for that matter), you’ll save a fair amount of money in the long run if you bring your own. Plus, if you carry your swim things with you, you’ll be ready at a moment’s notice for a trip down the water slide, or a gossip session or football debate in the hot pots.”
The People
Icelanders are proud, somewhat stoic people. Look, they are a race of people that sought to make a living on a cold, barren island 1000+ years ago. Pride and stoicism were necessary personal attributes. You know a country prides itself on individuality when it doesn’t subscribe to having a McDonalds. It did once upon a time before the economic crash in 2008 but has no desire to see the chain again in spite of its economic recovery.
I really like the idea that the buildings are painted in bright colors and that the people try to make the most of the environment. It’s pretty darn cool, don’t you think?
Icelanders are not necessarily warm and emotive people. Get to know them though and you’ll have a loyal, lifelong friend.
Icelanders are educated and informed. The culture there expects education, many Icelanders have advanced degrees. They are up on politics and they tend to be very well-traveled. Lastly, Iceland is a very progressive political country. For example, Iceland may be the most gay-friendly country on earth.
Financial Stability
97% of Icelanders identify themselves as upper-middle class, lower-middle class, or working class. Thus, the financial equality found in this culture, allows for a more stable society to raise a kid. Additionally, higher education is essentially free, so the cost of raising a child is much cheaper in Iceland.
Scenic and beautiful, Reykjavik is a wonderful place. The people are great once you get to know them.
Weather
Iceland is a sub-Arctic country located out in the middle of the north Atlantic. What can I say, other than the weather is cold, grey and rainy quite a lot. You get long, cold and dark winters.
In the summer, you get long days – very long.
Basically, don’t expect good weather. But when it comes – Oh Lord when it comes – Iceland is glorious. When the sun does come out it is simply spectacular. The blue of the northern sky is luminous and magnifies the vibrancy of the surrounding landscape by a thousand-fold.
"In general, the pace of life was much slower than I was used to. Icelanders work hard and they play hard, to use an old cliche. Icelanders take long vacations, some up to 4 weeks in the summer!
As an American, this is unheard of. I submit to the average American, that if you had a 4 week vacation you wouldn’t (at first) know what to do with it. "
Pace of Life
"All of Iceland tends to start work at 9 and they stay till 5 or 6; City traffic follows this pattern without much deviation. Weekends are slower affairs. Men watch soccer.
People wake late - almost everyone. Typical citizens would go visit friends for coffee in the afternoon.
Coming from a country and large city where there was always a plethora of choice, Iceland was far more limited. For example, an Icelandic visitor to the United States will be overwhelmed by the choices in US supermarkets. She will say, ‘Why do you need 200 kinds of breakfast cereal?’"
Again, this is a little strange for me as an American. Most of the rest of the world just isn’t as hung up on the human body as Americans are. It’s not just Germany, you know. It’s friggin’ everywhere.
Icelanders are very comfortable with their bodies, almost too comfortable if you ask most Americans. But once you are in their country, you must obey their strict public pool etiquette; no matter how uncomfortable you may feel.
In addition to not allowing shoes in the locker room area, all men are expected to strip, and clean themselves in the public shower before heading out into the main pool area.
I’m assuming this is also true for women in the ladies locker room, but I’ll just have to take their word for it.Most public pools also have hot saunas, and the same behavior is expected regarding a post session wash. Icelander’s take these rules very seriously because they have natural geothermal swimming pools often heated by my mother nature.
Due to this unrelenting desire to keep their pools and locker rooms clean, they will have no problem bluntly telling you to strip.
Matt Eliason remembers his first time to the Laugardalur community pool in which he was scolded for not participating in the necessary public strip tease. However, the reader should relax that he has since adjusted to this uniquely “European” behavior and now show no shyness when following the public pool etiquette.
Walking out of a bar at 4am into daylight
It’s true, the geographical location of Iceland´s Nordic island situates itself in such a way that most summer days yield over 22 hours of sunlight. This presents an interesting dilemma when you are walking out of the club on a Saturday night (Sunday morning) and you take a step outside the dimly lit club into the broad daylight. A very interesting summary about the all-night party atmosphere, and the price of beer can be found HERE.
Lack of Big Restaurant Chains
With stores like Whole Foods, McDonald’s and Starbucks ingrained into the psyche of all Americans, being stripped of these cultural consistencies has an effect on your day-to-day life for good and for bad. What this means is that the convenience of going out at your own leisure and get a McBurger is just not going to happen. This is both a positive and a negative.Outside of Domino Pizza and a couple KFCs, Iceland’s economic environment encourages upscale classy restaurants, and forces out big box chains, due to the economics of importing cheap fast food. McDonald did have a brief spell in Iceland, but the business plan proved to be economical enviable.
Language
Everyone speaks English.
While it’s always a good idea to learn a few words of the language where ever you travel everyone Brianna encountered spoke excellent English.(There was definitely a chuckle or two when she tried out her very limited Icelandic).
Chile
OK. That’s enough of the areas about and around Europe. Let’s take a spin to South America. Let’s look at Chile.
Chile? Why Chile of all places? You might ask.
Girls from Chile tend to be beautiful. Monica Godoy is a successful and one of richest actresses from Santiago, Chile. Monica was born in May, 1976. She has worked in more than 30 movies, some best being Sucupira (1996), Pepe Carvalho (2004), Hijos Del Monte (2008), 40 y Tantos (2010), El Laberinto de Alicia (2011), and Secretos en el Jardín (2013).
Mr Simon Black has a blog and organization where he urges people to obtain second passports, citizenship, savings accounts and banks. He urges people to be more international so that they can keep their options open when things spoil in one geographical region or another. In his blog he suggest Chile as a destination for American expats to migrate to.
Good advice this. As I can personally confirm.
The cities of Chile have a small town feel. The pace of life is slower and more relaxed. People enjoy life more, and spend more time with each other. They savor life.
While I do not agree with everything that he has to say, I do follow his suggestions on prudent preparation. I dare say that many of the Jews living in Poland in 1938 would have not died under the Hitler military machine were they to be prudent and alert.
From Simon, an interesting article about leaving the United States and moving to Chile can be found here.
“Yesterday on the drive back to Santiago from one of our blueberry farms, I stopped to visit some friends who lived in the area. About a year ago they bought some land in Chile’s incredibly fertile 7th region, which boasts a rare Mediterranean climate. It never gets too hot, and it never gets too cold. Plus, the rich, volcanic soil is packed with powerful nutrients.
As long as you’re in the right spot to ensure ample water security, the place is an agricultural paradise (our agriculture company owns two large farms in the region). There are literally four other places on the planet with this combination– southern California, South Australia, the Western Cape of South Africa, and parts of the Mediterranean itself.”
And…
“Yet by comparison to those other places, land in Chile is remarkably cheap.
Our agriculture company purchased several thousand acres in this prime region back in 2015 for about $1,700 per acre. Similar property in California, especially given how much water we have, would easily sell for 10x to 20x that price.My friends bought several acres of land for themselves as a sort of homestead, and they’re now living in a gorgeous setting surrounded by mountains and multiple rivers with cool, crystal clear water and a steady supply of fish. They’re raising livestock and have a garden, plus I got them started with a gift of some baby trees which are already producing fruit in their first season.It feels like lifetimes away from when they were living in New York City.”
And…
“My friends purchased the land outright (again, land is inexpensive). Then they paid about $55,000 to build their home. The house is quite nice– comfortably spacious with four bedrooms. And it’s all wired up with the latest gadgetry and home automation, with all sorts of sensors to control appliances and conduct routine tasks.
So they now have a roof over their heads and plenty of land to do whatever they want, and they own it all outright… they don’t owe a penny on any of it.”
Continued…
“My friends had concerns. They were living in New York before and didn’t like the trends they saw in their home country. There was too much debt. Too much war. Too much money printing. Too many lies. Too much spying. Too much violence. Too much uncertainty.
They wanted to distance themselves from conditions that made them uncomfortable. So they made a very deliberate plan and took steps that led them to where they are today– living in their own paradise. And they couldn’t be happier.These guys aren’t hiding from the world. He’s still working in technology and she’s still producing art… exactly what they used to do.”
Unlike the United States, when you buy something like a house or a plot of land, you own it. That’s right. You do not have to pay taxes on “your” land or suffer it being seized. The smaller nation often has smaller regulations that you need be concerned about and taxes that are easily affordable.
Highway in Chile. Most of the world has nice highways. They have bridges, public transportation, railroads, toll-booths, and roadside rest areas.
Yes, other nations have highways, bridges and tollbooths. Often in far better shape than what is found in the United States.
Vietnam
As a boy, I would watch the news about the war in Vietnam. It seemed so remote and so “third world”. Which at the time, it actually was.
I, as a boy, enjoyed the fighting and the battles. I was totally unaware of the beauty, the people and the environment in Vietnam. Vietnam is very, very stunning.
Fast forward to today. Vietnam is a growing country that seems to possess all the attributes that seem to interest me. It has great food, beautiful women, long clean beaches, and totally isolated from the madness that the United States has become.
Here’s what an American expat who moved to Vietnam has to say about it;
“I’ve been living in Vietnam a while now, relatively speaking. Longer than I expected, in fact. When I tell anybody new to town how long I’ve been here for, they always raise their eyebrows and give me a suspicious look, just as I used to do when I first arrived.
I never planned to still be here (over 6 years and counting…), though I have some friends who’ve stayed much longer. The first year here felt very long indeed. I did what most single foreign men do when they arrive in Vietnam. I became a sort of ‘playboy’. I thought it was cool then, but now I’m ashamed of that behavior, although it was a difficult habit to break.”
There are all sorts of great bars all over Asia. Vietnam has some nice ones. You can get reasonably priced drinks and munchies and have fine companionship for the night.
And…
“You only need one type of wardrobe in Vietnam, there is much less crime, it is cheaper (unless you shop at Vincom Center or something), scenic, and the cities have a frantic yet laid back atmosphere that I feel is unique to Asia, if not the world (and I’ve traveled most of it).Zooming around on a motorbike can be dangerous but I’ve seen more accidents in England than here and it gives a real sense of freedom. Ho Chi Minh City in particular has a ‘small town’ feel (even though it’s huge) which I love.
It’s like a friendly village but with millions of people you can bump into. My friend once likened hanging out here to being in prison (but in a good way), in that “nothing ever happens, but anything can happen!” I want to.
Halong bay in Vietnam. The world is filled with many beautiful places. We need only pull ourselves away from our computers and go forth and explore the world around us.
No we do not want everything the same… a world where there is a Starbucks on every corner,or the same progressive laws that America has. We should go forth and explore the world and relish in it’s differences.
Being an expat, it’s easier to make a good life for yourself in Vietnam. I have almost too many friends, a nice apartment, a good job (I’m a ‘traveling teacher’, rather than a ‘teaching traveler’), lots of hobbies and everything feels quite easy.
However, one thing I probably lack, and it’s a big thing, is a strong local connection. Even after all this time, I find the cultural divide quite exhausting to overcome, at least compared to other countries I’ve stayed in. I have very few Vietnamese friends and I am now living the lifestyle I used to frown upon, that of the ‘expat bubble’. Can I just blame my battle with the language for this?”
Vietnam has many beautiful ladies. They are a lot like the Chinese, only with a little darker tan and speaks a different language. I find them alluring.
Compared to Thailand, Vietnam is different. It is another animal altogether.
“For 95% of Westerners Thailand is probably a better choice, be it as a holiday destination or a new home. Downtown Saigon can be stressful, at times feeling like organized chaos where you're the only one who wasn't given the script. The never-ending stream of motorbikes makes something as simple as crossing the road a worry. People are less friendly, getting around can be a challenge and there's much less to see and do than Bangkok.But where downtown Bangkok feels like just another international city with a Starbucks on every corner, movies opening the same weekend as the States and more signs in English than Thai, Saigon still feels distinctly like Asia. Vietnam fills me with a sense of adventure.”
-Stickman Bangkok
Night can be really nice in Saigon, Vietnam. There is life and activity. There are things to do, places to be, drinks to drink and fun things to do with friends. Sure beats hanging out in front of the television while you wait for Friday to roll around.
As an expat, he hits upon something, that I think all us long-duration expats feel more or less…
“To be honest, one of the only things I truly dislike about life here is some of the expats! That might appear somewhat ironic, but the neo-colonial attitude of some foreigners here angers me, especially as many of them were clearly not ‘cool’ in any way before they came out here. Now suddenly they can be seen strutting about, taking advantage of local hospitality and often looking down on a culture that they don’t even try to understand.”
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long means “descending dragon”. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha City, and is a part of Van Don District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest.
Cambodia
Here is a bar street on the beach in Sihanoukville in Cambodia. It is considered a nice place to visit because the sex is cheap, the beer is cold, and the weather is warm. I like it because of the history. All during the Vietnam war I wondered about this place and what it must have been like.
“Many men get starry-eyed over a goal, imagining how life would be so great upon achieving it, but fail to play out the movie to its completion. Unlike Hollywood, life goes on, and you come back down to a basal level of happiness, no matter how great your achievement was. This is very common with men who want to travel to shitholes to meet good women.Imagine you visit a rough second-tier city in Colombia or Ukraine and meet a girl who is hotter than any other girl you’ve made love to before. And then what? Are you going to move to her city permanently?
Are you going to bring her back to the West so she can get corrupted like the women you left behind? Are you going to move her to another location where any children you have won’t have the benefit of seeing extended family? Understand that as soon as you experience the upsides from achieving a goal, the downsides come pounding at your door so that the overall cost of a goal is balanced with its benefits.”-“And then What?” by Roosh
Cambodia has always been a place that I was interested in. That with Laos, I have mutually considered them mysterious and stimulating.
During the 1960’s and the 1970’s, I watched the news and followed the descent into darkness as Cambodia was taken over by progressive leftists who (in the interests of “equality”) went about torturing and killing everyone. Now, few Americans know the horrible saga. All that is left is a legacy of the “killing fields”. (Yet, the leftists in Berkley, California want to duplicate this in the United States of all places. WTF?)
The Cambodian Killing Fields (Khmer: វាលពិឃាត, Khmer pronunciation: [ʋiəl pikʰiət]) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Progressive Socialist Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975).
The tree where little children were killed by progressive leftists in Cambodia.
The mass killings are widely regarded as part of a broad state-sponsored genocide (the Cambodian genocide).
Analysis of 20,000 mass grave sites by the DC-Cam Mapping Program and Yale University indicate at least 1,386,734 victims of execution. Estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million out of a 1975 population of roughly 8 million.
In 1979, Communist Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea. They toppled the brutal progressive liberals that comprised the Khmer Rouge regime.
Now, Cambodia is reviving. I have numerous friends (mostly Chinese, with one or two from Eastern Europe) who have told me tales of how wonderful Cambodia is. It certainly sounds enticing.
One thing that attracts me about Cambodia is that it has not yet been sanitized by Starbucks, McDonalds and hoards of business investors turning it into an upscale mall. In China, Shekou used to be quaint with it’s own flavor, cheap booze and friendly locals. Now it is a very nice, but expensive mall that serves tourists. The locals just sort of avoid it. Sad.
Here is a nice write-up by a man about my age who lives in Thailand, and thought that it might be a good idea to visit Cambodia. He begins with his impressions of Cambodia taken in early 2001.
“Dusty roads with what can only be called contraptions on wheels.
Criss-crossing the city on the back of a motorbike after dark and seeing almost no traffic.
Ultra-slow, virtually unusable Internet connections.
Friendly, smiling children yelling “Hello”.
Arriving back at the hotel at night to find the doors had been padlocked shut from the inside and you had to rattle them to wake up a young Khmer sleeping on the other side who would unlock the door and let you in.
These are just some memories from my one and only visit to Phnom Penh, back in 2001.In the 10 years since I first visited the Cambodian capital it has changed markedly as I discovered on a recent trip.”
He then decides to return.
A group of cute and happy Cambodian girls. I really like the smiles and happiness that radiates from these gals. You know, we owe it to ourselves to surround ourselves with happiness and contentment.
Only this time it is ten years later. The year is 2011.
“Getting around Phnom Penh is easy. Tuktuks in the guise of a motorbike pulling a carriage, motorbike riders as well as a few taxis make up the choices. You can walk and a number of the sights are in the riverfront area, just remember to look the other way when crossing the road if you're used to Thailand.Someone seems to have told every tuktuk driver and motorcycle rider in town that foreigners don't like walking, for you simply cannot walk past one without being asked where you're going and if you'd like a ride.
The hassles are relentless, many times worse than any vendor hassles in Thailand.”
And he talks about the food…
National food in Cambodia is similar, and at the same time is completely different from the tradition of the neighboring countries. It is possible to claim that the Cambodians eat everything! The dishes of the food in Cambodia also feature many wild fruits and locally grown vegetables. Widely used and popular in the national food in Cambodia are pickled and fermented vegetables and fruits, which are collected for pickling at different stages of their growth, which give the final product a completely phenomenal taste.
“Thai food might be more varied and diverse, but Cambodian food uses certain ingredients you don't commonly see in Thailand.
Buffalo meat, for example, is found on many menus, and deep-fried tarantulas are sold alongside other creepy crawlies.
Much of what is available in the fresh markets fell into the mystery meat category. Amongst the more unusual things we tried was beef with wild ants – and giant-sized ants they were. A good source of protein I am told!
This is a scene of Battambang, Cambodia. It is a small community that has everything that you need, but not large enough to overwhelm you. It is certainly a small-town vibe about this place. It is calm. It is peaceful, and pleasant.
Revisiting places from that first trip a decade earlier, when the few popular bars were scattered around the city, the long-running Sharky just didn't do it for us. Similar in format to Bangkok's Woodstock, the American-themed bar and restaurant with a reputation for tasty Tex Mex food left us unimpressed.
Sunrise Tacos it isn't.Phnom Penh may not compare with Bangkok for high-end dining, but there is a huge number of mid-range eateries making it something of a foodie's dream. Many riverfront restaurants are chic without being pretentious.”
And the booze…
“Phnom Penh is an alcoholic's dream with ridiculously low prices. Stick with the perfectly drinkable local Angkor draft and you'll never have a hole in your wallet.
This is the colonial section of the capital city; Phnom Penh. Notice that even in this big enormous city there is a nice small-town vibe that lingers and presents itself.
A handle runs around $1.00 – $2.00 in restaurants, $1.50 – $1.75 in the hostess bars and in some bars and restaurants, happy hour prices can be had for less than a dollar, 60 cents in some outlets.
Pretty much everything, drink-wise, is considerably cheaper than Thailand. Cocktails in decent bars could be had for $3 or $4, $2 at happy hour. Beer Lao is widely available and cheap, and wine is considerably cheaper than in Thailand. And my pet hate, tax and service charges are nowhere to be seen!”
And (of course) the ladies of the “night” (but this is Asia, they work 24-7)…
“The vibe in the hostess bars is different to your typical Thailand bar. Upon entering, many of the girls scream "Hello" and once seated you'll find yourself surrounded by a half-dozen girls.
They will be keen to chat, but unlike their Thai sisters they almost never ask for a drink.
The lady drink hassles that mar the bar experience in Thailand are no issue in Phnom Penh. With that said, at what seemed to be an industry standard $3.00 for a lady drink – of which she gets $1.00 – it's hardly cost prohibitive. And if you do buy a lady a drink, she will never suggest you barfine her, and won't even hint about joining you at your hotel.
Club girls in a Cambodian KTV. The girls are friendly and happy to please. It is a great environment for those who like to have a great time.
Many bars have pool tables and the girls often suggest challenging you to a game of pool, and request a lady drink if they win. Don't expect to see a Cambodian winning the world pool championships any time soon!As far as the women in the Phnom Penh bars go, the prurient might say that the biggest difference between the Thais and the Cambodians is that there's no need for silicone bags in Cambodia. They tend to be dark-skinned, curvy and can have absolutely striking eyes. And yeah, they are busty.Personality and attitude-wise, they are rather different to the girls working bar in Thailand. The Cambodian girls are much less hardened, much less mercenary and general chit chat tends to be more relaxed. They are generally more playful than the Thais, but without any real flirting or sexual innuendo. Thai working girls these days tend to be more professional; pleasant on the outside but rock hard on the inside."
Here’s a couple in a bar in Cambodia.
Here is a typical man with a Cambodian girl in Cambodia. Most girls in Cambodia tend to be curvy with soft places where they belong. Many find them very attractive, and with dark eyes and great smiles they tend to be irresistible.
"The Cambodians might be more pleasant and the bars employ some pretty ladies, but in terms of looks at least, you don't see anything like you do in the likes of Rainbow 4 or Bacarra. What they may lose in the looks department they more than make up for personality-wise. There are few tattoos to be seen and while smoking is allowed in the bars in Cambodia, it is the customers who are puffing away. Very few Cambodian working girls smoke. Cambodian girls working in hostess bars make a point of saying that good girls don't smoke! In fact the girls in the bars don't even feel like bar-girls. Thai bar-girls with anything more than a month or two in the industry are for the most part, hard. Many of the Cambodian girls in the bars seemed quite sweet.”
And..
What is Khmer Food? Khmer food takes influences from a variety of countries. Cambodia was a French colony for many years and also has many Chinese immigrants, so both French and Chinese foods are widely found. In the west of the country, the cuisine is, naturally, influenced by the food of neighboring Thailand while in the east the flavors of Vietnamese cuisine are more evident. Coastal towns such as Sihanoukville in the southwest are famous for their seafood, cooked in many styles, including Japanese and European. Common ingredients in Khmer cuisine are similar to those found in other Southeast Asian culinary traditions – rice and sticky rice, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime, garlic, chilies, coconut milk, lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime and shallots.
“What it costs for a night of these ladies' company, I don't know. Broaching the subject brought awkward looks from girls who seemed reluctant to discuss it. I was quoted $40 by ladies aghast that such should even be discussed, and they were probably more aghast when they realized I was only asking for the purpose of understanding how things work, not because I had any intention of being a naughty boy!
Locals tell me that hostesses will happily spend the night for $20 – 30, which seems awfully cheap. Bar-fines run $10, and drop to $5 after midnight, in some bars.
Some of the friendly club girls in Cambodia. They do like to please. Look at those smiles. What’s not to like?
There's much debate whether young South-East Asian women are “forced” to work in the bar industry. It's an argument that really doesn't hold up in Thailand where even the least educated can get factory work, which with overtime will provide a livable income. A comfortable life perhaps not, but it's honest work that one can feel good about.Cambodia is altogether different.
Many of the girls in the bars seemed to have very limited options. One girl, a striking looker with an uncanny resemblance to an ex-girlfriend, really tugged on my heart strings as we struggled to communicate and tell me about her life. The oldest of 3 children, the 24-year old long-haired beauty couldn't read or write. She had never been to school and she had almost zero employment options. Her only real options were working on a farm, for which she would make the equivalent of about $60 a month. The salary alone from bar work was that much, and she would also get $1 for every drink bought for her, as well as whatever gifts customers rewarded her with in the morning.”
While Mr. Stickman’s comments were from the perspective of a visiting (horny male) expat from Thailand, it should not be discounted. Most expats (judging from my trivial search on the Internet) to Cambodia seem to fall into a handful of categories;
Backpacker / explorers. They just traipse around the world on a trivial level to collect experiences to “wow” others in an attempt to boost their already insignificant ego. I tend not to associate with them. In my mind they are not experiencing life in depth. They are collecting trivialities. To experience life, you have to do more than just have a low-budget vacation.
Do gooders. These are often part of NGO’s set up by others with ulterior motives. They stay for the duration of their contract and then leave. They come with preconceived notions. (Usually related to sex, politics or religion.) They then try to implement their ideals, often fail, and head home afterwards.
Bad Guys. Anyone who wants to exploit others for money, labor, sex or the like. You see an occasional news article about these individuals. I have encountered them… all too often. Which is why many long-duration expats do not associate with other expats often.
Teach English. It’s always a good stepping stone into another culture. It’s also a necessity for those of us who have lost everything.
It would seem to be a great opportunity for someone to set up a factory or an industry in the area, but you would absolutely need to partner up with a local to be successful. Getting to know a local for just that purpose takes planning and an investment in time. Just saying, but if you are young and have the drive and the stamina to make something happen, Cambodia might be right for you.
Think of the beer. Imagine drinking it while eating some Cambodian steaks with a pretty local gal…
Cambodia has some nice local beers. Always the beer is great when ice cold. There is something fine about a beer and a hamburger in a tropical paradise .
I arrived in China when it was in it’s growth phase, and it worked out for me. Maybe Cambodia might be right for someone younger.
Attend University
There are some interesting takes on this “thing” about Cambodia. Consider one enterprising student who decided to attend university in Cambodia. Why attend a university in Cambodia? Because you can and it looks interesting on your resume. Roy, an American expat, who is working his way towards a degree in political science at the University of Cambodia, tells his story;
“Attending university in Cambodia is an adventure and much more interesting than slogging through classes at a community college back home. Right now I’m finishing my second term at University of Cambodia.
I love it here; the people are great. While there are a few students here from other ASEAN countries, I’m currently the only Westerner enrolled. Students and teachers all seem initially surprised, but quickly get used to having a barang in class.
As a native English speaker, I get asked about pronunciations, definitions and grammar; it’s a bit like being a living dictionary. There are also opportunities where I try to explain the oddities of US politics.The question I hear most often from my classmates is, “Why are you going to school in Cambodia and why did you decide to attend this school?” I explain that I love the country and the people. My choosing UC is based on instruction in English, the very helpful staff in registration and, if I’m going to travel halfway around the world to go to school, I want to be able to put something on my resume that makes it perfectly clear that I attended a university in Cambodia.There are no “student visas” in Cambodia but as a student you can get a business/ordinary visa without a work permit.”
Dual Pricing
Dual pricing based on race is very common in Cambodia, from the bus companies who charge white faces more to the hospitals that have one rate for Khmers and another for foreigners. Even the government-owned airline has one fare for Cambodians and another, much higher fare for everyone else. This is frustrating on many levels, not least when it’s foreign-owned businesses that are perpetuating what is, fundamentally, a form of racism. When asked how they can justify dual pricing based on race, race-based pricing advocates scramble all over themselves to defend the practice.
Cambodian nationality is, for the most part, based on race (non-Vietnamese minority tribes are the exception). Any child of a Cambodian mother is granted Cambodian citizenship, regardless of where he or she is born. The child of non-Cambodians, though born and raised in Cambodia, is not granted Cambodian citizenship. Ethnically Vietnamese families who have lived in Cambodia for generations are, for all intents and purposes, stateless as far as the Cambodian government is concerned. So the argument that the dual-pricing system is not racist because it is based on nationality is flawed, because there is no attainable path to Cambodian citizenship for non-Cambodians (and I don’t call paying a $50,000 “facilitation fee” attainable).
Moreover, non-Cambodian Asians often benefit from the dual pricing plan, paying the local rate even when they don’t speak much Khmer and are citizens of Western countries. In practice, actual nationality seems unimportant; looking Khmer matters more. Khmer-Americans are also given the “local” price by many businesses, whether or not they have Cambodian passports.
“I am a simple man who has been living in Cambodia for about 7 yrs. I return to my country of employ for some months at a time as I have a small business there which needs a little personal love every now and then.I have been to about 60 different countries and have lived for 3 months or more in about 15 of them. Some, for 1-3 years. I would say that on a humble scale I am reasonably worldly. I am definitely an adventurer.I have experienced dual pricing in quite a few different countries. Here it can be quite strong, agreed.The Chris with a capital C, made some good comments. Let us all think about this word racism. It’s a shocker isn’t it? Have I had better experiences in some countries than others, yes. Do I like the culture of some countries more than others, yes. Do I dislike the ego and blatant disregard for other nations well being that particular countries seem to display, yes. Do I like the smooth sound of some languages and not the guttural sounds of others, yes. Are there many examples like this, yes. Does this make me racist, maybe it does.Does Cambodia invade other countries, like so many of the world powers, no. Does Cambodia produce a huge amount of mass marketed products that are killing humans, animals and the planet, no. Does Cambodia steal the oil of other nations, no.I guess we all have our good and bad points.I can hear some of you saying that Cambodia does not have the wealth or power to do such things. And yet many of our countries have the power and have completely abused it. Which is less excusable?Expats, hmmm! That’s an interesting topic. We come here with more money than the average Khmer, can make more than the average Khmer, and have to pay more than the average Khmer… and in our own selfish way, that is apparently unfair. Seems like a fair enough tax system to me. How many of you pay full tax on your local wage? Maybe using local Khmer as an excuse for not paying full tax isn’t fair because that is as much a part of their culture as dual pricing.All around the world I have seen people from richer, more dominating, more arrogant cultures demanding everything they can get their hands on from some poor local. We so often take all the good we can get and then quickly complain or blog about something we didn’t like. Suck it up Humans. Take the good with the bad.Simple question… If the way of life in your own country is so good, then why are you here? To all the service men and women who are posted abroad without choice, please excuse this question.I now have a loving Khmer wife and 2 beautiful Khmer daughters. My mother-in-law lives with us too. It is a complete family. I am very lucky.Yes it is true that sometimes I pay more. Sometimes my wife and her friends laugh at me because I get better prices at the local shops and markets than they can. I speak quite a lot of Khmer but am not 100% fluent. I get some discounts because I have a Khmer family and sometimes my Khmer daughters get in free and I have to pay. Most importantly, I find gentle, wise respect gets me the best price, and it feels the nicest for me and others too.3 people go to a movie. 1 loves it, 1 doesn’t really care and 1 hates it. Same movie, only the minds are different. Suffering and happiness comes from the mind. If you don’t like something try changing your mind.I suggest that when you are troubled with the local ways that you go and enjoy an ice cold 50c beer, a $2 meal, or go for a free meditation at your local wat.”-GreyEarth
A Narrative by Ian
Here is a pretty darn and comprehensive report by a fellow who went to Cambodia. This is not the PC scrubbed Internet fare that is edited for millennial sensibilities and the PC rules (written or unwritten). It is raw and fresh, just like I like my sashimi. It is titled “My Phnom Penh Trip Report or Phnom Penh for Newbies”. Written by Stick Reader Ian January 5th, 2015. Enjoy.
“I had that nervous energy you get when you do something for the first time. I'm 58. At my age I don't often get to do something new. I'm boarding a Bangkok Airways flight to Phnom Penh and I haven't been to Cambodia before.
I've heard it's similar to Thailand of years past. I took the 2nd half of December off work so I could see my Thai partner for Xmas; I came all the way from Farangland to see her only to be told (several months ago) that she would go to the temple and thus be busy in the first week. OK, Cambodia here I come and I'll see her in the 2nd week of my vacation.
Translation; The man has been living in Thailand with a girl. He is an expat from the West. (Maybe from the UK or Australia. Ian is not a common American name.) His girlfriend will spend a week at a Temple, and he will go to Cambodia to see what it is like. He will be comparing it to Thailand, initally, and to the West (slang; Farangland) ultimately.
Naturally she changed her mind sometime after I booked the Cambodia trip. I said that was no problem — I was going anyway. Then she asked if I was angry with her? No, I wasn't. My expectation in life is if you say you'll do something then you do it. She said she was busy; I said I was going to Cambodia and that's the way it would be. I think it's best to live by your principles.
Thailand girls have a reputation for being “wishy washy”.
The real attraction of Cambodia was the prospect of Snookyville (that's Sihanoukville but often referred to as Snookyville, which I will continue to use in this post because I like the name). I've heard it's like Pattaya 30 years ago.Imagine that; a Pattaya of the early 1990’s. Everything cheap and fresh.I'm old enough to remember that and I liked it; I wanted to experience it again and see the place for myself. But when I investigated I found it was too difficult to get there. To my surprise there was no transport from the airport to Snookyville (maybe by taxi, but not using an inexpensive means of transport) and with my itinerary it wasn't practical to get there on the same day. Ditto for the return trip. With only 5 nights in Cambodia and the need to spend 2 of them in Phnom Penh I decided Snookyville wouldn't be the focus of my trip; I'd try Phnom Penh and see how that went. Maybe I'd make a flying visit to Snookyville, but the focus would be Phnom Penh.
First lesson. Transportation access is not that easy.
I thought Cambodia would be about getting laid and not paying much for it. Without going into every detail I'm outlining some of the things I experienced. My primer for newbie visitors to Phnom Penh. My trip report.
Here is his trip report. He expected to go to Cambodia for a lot of low priced sex. Here is what he experienced.
Arrival
I was worried about the visa on arrival process. I read about the dual currency economy. I knew I needed to bring US$ and while I don't have a problem with that I didn't think I understood how it would work. I figured this would be a cheap holiday so I budgeted $500 for the 5 days. (I budget that much for 1 day when I visit Bangkok, although I normally spend half of that on myself and give the other half to my partner. I'm Mr. Nice Guy; or maybe Mr. Dummy.)
Cambodian meal in Siem Reap. There is a mix of authentic Khmer cuisine, but also the local French influences and other international favorites. A couple of my own favorites include the stir fried beef loc lac and of course the french breads.
I needed $30 for the visa on arrival. I read I should have a visa photo with me when I arrive. I read it wasn't worth getting an e-visa, that it was just as easy to get the visa on arrival. That was bad advice. The visa on arrival process was frantic and disorganized; not exactly pushing and shoving but close to it. If I had an e-visa I could have simply gone to the Immigration queue and the arrival would have so much easier. Note that for next time. On the plane I met guys with similar plans to mine; one had been to Phnom Penh a few times before, the other was a newbie like me. Neither had an e-visa. The other newbie didn't have a photo and had to organize that in the arrival hall. I lost track of him in the Arrivals hall so I don't exactly know how things worked out for him. I saw him at the baggage carousel, so I know he survived. An e-visa would have cut 15 minutes and considerable stress out of the process.
If it were me, I’d pay the money. I would use an e-visa. You get what you pay for.
The taxi ride to the city was a microcosm of the visit. I read and was told (by the experienced traveler) that I should get a voucher for the ride that would cost $12. After looking around I managed to find the booth to get the voucher. But you don't pay for the voucher, you just hold on to it or maybe show it to the taxi driver. At the end of the journey you pay the guy $12. The voucher appeared to have no purpose except to reassure me of the price.True, I felt better knowing what the price would be and I could always push it in the face of the taxi driver if I felt I was being ripped off; but that didn’t happen. I paid the taxi driver $12 when we arrived at the hotel — he was happy and there was no argument about the price.And that's what the holiday was like. No stress; no fuss; prices are inexpensive so pay what is asked; obviously bargain where you can but everything seemed to be pretty well organized; if you didn't argue and accepted things as they were the whole process was low stress.I'm an experienced expat. I know when I visit other countries they're designed for their citizens not for me. It's up to me to experience their lifestyle and conditions. If I like it, that's great. If I don't, catalogue it and move on. No fuss, no furore.
Sounds like he understands the way of the world. Reader take notes.
Hotel and Getting Around
Thank you, Agoda. I selected what turned out to be a good hotel in the Riverside area that had a decent rate ($45 per night). They described themselves as a 3 star hotel which I thought was harsh; maybe not 4 stars but close to it. If you're new to Phnom Penh I recommend staying at Riverside. It's close to everything; it's easy to walk anywhere. There are lots of restaurants, pubs and bars close by. If you want to go somewhere that's too far to walk there are lots of tuktuks or motorcycle (motos) to use.In 6 days and 5 nights in Phnom Penh I must have said "no" 500 times to offers of transport. This is perhaps a downside of my visit; I can do that for a week without getting annoyed. If I was there for a month it would be different; although if I stayed for 3 months I'm sure I'd assimilate. Personally I like to walk. I get a better feel of the place, I'm in no rush and it was "winter" when I was there so it wasn't hot or unpleasant to be outside. (Around 25 – 27C every day with no rain.)
To put this in perspective, Southern China is nine months of 30 to 33C and very humid. (For you Americans in readership land, that is 90 to 95F and 90% humidity.) That temperature sounds absolutely wonderful.
Eating and Drinking
I have 30 years of experience visiting Thailand and think I know prices there quite well. I thought everything in Cambodia would be cheap and I was right & wrong. I was looking forward to eating on the streets and especially looking forward to eating good bread. I live in a country with poor quality bread and Thailand isn't exactly the patisserie capital of the world.
Street vendor selling bread in Cambodia. The bred is good and basic. It goes really good with butter and a nice strong local coffee.
I didn't like the look of the street food as much as I thought I would so I didn't eat much of it. There was bread everywhere but served with more fillings than I like. By "fillings" I mean pressed meats and a variety of vegetables. I didn't see as much plain bread as I expected and I had no ear for the Khmer language so had trouble asking for just a plain baguette. Even though I didn't like the fillings for the bread (served similarly to Vietnam rolls) I found they were good when I tried them. The baguettes were good quality, too, but I would have preferred to eat them plain.As I didn't eat much street food I was "forced" into restaurants. They were more expensive than I expected. In general I found the cafe and restaurant prices (in downtown PP) to be the same price as or even more expensive than food in the suburbs of Bangkok. But there was more variety in the Phnom Penh food than in Thailand; more western food options and the Cambodians use less spice. That wouldn't suit everyone but it happens to agree with me.
CAMBODIAN FRENCH BREAD WITH BEEF (NUM PANG ANG CHIA MUI SACH KO). Doesn’t this look great and delicious. I’ll bet that it goes great with an ice cold beer. I’ll tell you what.
Drinking was another matter. I can't remember being in a place where drinks were so cheap. In downtown PP, on Riverside which is a popular tourist and probably an upscale area for locals, it was easy to find happy hour with local draft beers for $0.75. Still on happy hour — bottles of local beer for $1; Beck's beer $1.25; Hoegaarden, Heineken, Guinness, Corona all $1.50; English cider (apple, pear or strawberry) $1.50; and every little hole in the wall bar and eatery has free wifi. As a visitor I didn't need or buy a local SIM card — free wifi everywhere worked well for me. Happy hour wasn't from 5-7 PM, it was generally all day and lasted until 8 PM, 9 PM or even 10 PM in some places.
Take note Americans. Even in Cambodia the Wifi is FREE.
Beer prices are very cheap. Hell, even in China, you can expect to pay a minimum of 30 RMB for a Hoegaarden ($5).
The drink prices were fairly consistent at pubs in that part of town. There are also hostess bars (this is why you're reading the article, right?). Surprisingly the drink prices weren't a lot different. A bottle of local beer in the bars was generally $1.00-$1.50; lady drinks were between $2.50-$3.50Hostess BarsMy research said the Cambodian ladies (in hostess bars) are less pushy than their Thai sisters and you could talk to them without being pressured into buying them a drink.That's true.You could ask them to come and sit with you. You could ask them to go away. You could buy them a drink. You could choose not to buy them a drink. Nothing seemed to be a problem. Having been around Thailand for a long time I don't feel it's right to string along the girls — they have to make a living — but they certainly didn't pressure me to buy drinks.When I bought them a drink it was me who offered and they happily accepted but I don't remember any lady asking me to buy a drink for her. If I didn't buy them a drink I'd leave a tip when I left and they were grateful. I think they get $1 for each lady drink so if I didn't buy them a drink I'd leave $2-$5 depending on how long I spent with them and everyone seemed happy. (I'm sure the bar wouldn't be thrilled but I'm not on earth to please everyone.)
Short Time… (Single shot sex, often under two hours.)
My research for the price of ladies' company was probably out of date. From going around I found the going price of ST (short time) was about $30 – $40 depending on the lady and the quality of the bar.
Long Time… (Overnight sex. Multiple shots.)
I only asked about LT (long time) with one lady who wanted $50. On night #1 I thought that was too much and declined. By night #2 I thought that was a dumb decision and went back to secure her services. She was happy to see me back and honor the previously quoted price. I suggested to her that she would have to be "enthusiastic" for that price; she said she would be and lived up to her part of the bargain. After 5 nights in Phnom Penh and being quoted $40 for ST by a few ladies I felt I was lucky to get my LT arrangement for $50; and stupid to pass it up on the first night. But, hey, that's why they call it a learning curve.
Cambodia is not Thailand.
Again my research said that hostess bars in Phnom Penh (and probably all of Cambodia) are not the same as Thailand. They don't have shows like Suzy Wong in Soi Cowboy, or Angelwitch in Nana Plaza; they don't have go-go dancers or coyotes; they don't feature skimpy outfits or near naked ladies to entertain you. You go into a bar; you choose a lady; you chat — the best you can with the language difficulties; you make a deal or you don't; you leave. As far as I could see that was about it.
That is how it works, don’t ya know…
The closest thing I found to a racy bar was a place called Cyrcee (pronounced seer-say). The description I got of this place was the ladies would give you a blow job before you could order your first drink. Well, that was an exaggeration. But it was a rocking little place if you like to be naughty.
You can find hamburgers all over the world. Here is a burger and fires in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap. Where’s the beer?
It's a normal hostess bar — no fish bowl or wannabe massage parlor. It had lots of ladies (about 20) with good variety. They weren't shy about what they offered or how it worked.There's a ST hotel across the road that costs $5 for the room; $10 for the bar fine and $30 for the lady.I am no longer a young man and as such there are limits to my powers (I wish I had the energy of yesteryear); yet the girl I chose managed to convince me to take her friend as well. The honest truth is I have tried this twice before in my life and each time was a disappointment. Instead of every man's fantasy of combined action both of my experiences were sequential with one girl doing her business and the other one a bystander; then the first one left and the second one had her turn.
Again, here is the truth. What you see on porn movies is all make-believe. This is pretty much how it goes down. My experiences have always been sequential affairs involving two, three, and once four girls.
These are not my best memories so I was reluctant to try it now. I raised the concern with these two ladies and they assured me they would work in tandem so I figured "at this price, even if it isn't good, I don't have that much to lose".Off I went with my two ladies and had a remarkably good time.I only wish I was 20 years younger but I'll cherish this as a good memory — the first time it's worked out for me like it does in the movies. If you want to go to Cyrcee I can't give an exact address but walk along 130 St heading west towards Central Market; you'll see the sign in the side street on the left just before the market; it's hard to find during the daytime (why would you want to go during the day?) but it's easy to see at night even though the sign is small.I just found out it's pretty easy to get Ceycee's address and a map if you Google it — let's leave it at that because the information is likely to be more current than anything I provide here.PP Street LayoutBefore going to Phnom Penh I was intimidated by the street numbering system and the advice on where to go. 136 Street; 130 Street; 148 Street; 51 Street…When you get there it's much easier to figure out. Even numbered streets go from east-west; odd numbers go north-south. Street numbers jump in large numbers; it's not a grid like Manhattan. Because of the irregular shape of the downtown area many streets start and end in a short distance. So when you're at Riverside you'll see the streets go 118, 130, 136, 144 & 148. You'll find all the street numbers somewhere in the city but they don't necessarily extend all the way across the city. It's the same for the odd numbered streets. It's much easier to get around when you learn this.ShoppingBelieve it or not I wasn't fully occupied with my "meet & greet" of the ladies. I like a bargain as much as the next person and think shopping in Thailand is great value. Phnom Penh was better. Clothes and shoes are inexpensive. Shops on the street and stalls in the Central Market had clothes for 50% to 66% less than Bangkok. Before going to Phnom Penh I bought a pair of trousers in a Bangkok Tesco Lotus for the bargain price of $15. After a few days in Phnom Penh I thought that was positively expensive. While I didn't research this extensively it seemed the prices in the roadside shops were relatively fixed and bargaining was the norm in the market.If you like a bargain you should visit the Central Market. They have lots of things — clothes, shoes, caps, hats, food — everything you could ask for. Many of the stalls had incredible inventory and selection of goods. The biggest challenge was choosing what to buy. And while I was happy with the prices I ran into some tourists who'd just spent a week in Siem Reap who complained the prices were double what they'd found there. So while I was happy they were turning up their noses saying everything was too expensive.Currency and How It WorksI said earlier I was intimidated by the idea of bringing and using US$. It really wasn't a big deal. Prices for tourists are quoted in US$. You pay and get change in dollars. The approximate exchange rate is US$1 = Riel 4,000. When change is less than $1 they give you Riel. You can pay in Riel if you want; in line with the easy going nature of the people everyone accepted the rate of $1 = 4,000. The actual rate was about 4,080 but not once did anyone say "No, you need to pay me 20,400" as opposed to 20,000 when something was $5. Considering it's a relatively poor country and almost everyone you meet would value the extra Riel 400 it's surprising that no one insisted on the extra few hundred. I've been in lots of countries where they want that extra 10c but in Cambodia everyone seemed relaxed about it.The one thing to be careful about is the quality of your US currency. I took money with me that I use in the US without a problem. But in Cambodia they're fussy. If a bill is ripped, torn, marked or too dirty they won't accept it. I had 2x $20 bills that no one would accept because one had a corner missing and the other had writing on it. No problem using them in the US but not acceptable in Cambodia. They are more forgiving of dirty $1 bills than 5s, 10s or 20s. I wouldn't recommend using 50s or 100s — they're too big for general use; it's better to stick to the smaller bills and use 20s as the highest denomination.Gratuitous Phnom Penh AdviceHere are some tips for Phnom Penh. 51 St around 172 St has a lot of pubs, clubs and bars. The Walkabout Hotel is full of freelancers, seemingly at any time of the day or night.
Here is a typical street scene in Battambang, Cambodia.
A place near there on 51 St called Zeppelin Cafe is a great place to go for a drink and listening to 70s guitar-based rock music. The owner, who appeared to be a Cambodian national with a ponytail, sits at the back of the bar with 2 turntables. He has an extensive collection of vinyl records (not a CD in sight) and plays what he wants to hear. He looks like a grumpy bugger and I doubt he takes requests — but it's a great place to sit down, have a drink and listen to some music you might have forgotten about. It's not a pickup joint and it's not the kind of place you can talk much — it is, after all, 70s rock featuring loud guitars.Just around the corner on 172 St is Pontoon, one of the most famous night places in Phnom Penh. It's a club or disco. Don’t go early. I went at 10:30 PM and it was dead. I heard later that it warms up around midnight. I was also told that it is "the" place to go in PP, has fabulous looking ladies (presumably freelancers) and lots of them. One of the challenges of advancing age is not having the staying power to roam the streets at 2 AM so I didn't get to find out; but people younger than me recommended it.On the corner of 51 St and 172 St is a place called Le Bon Cafe — a nice place to have a coffee, snack or light meal. It features both outdoor and indoor seating. The owners (or managers) speak perfect English so there is no risk of your order being misunderstood or the wrong item coming to your table. I dropped in during both the day and night; no matter what time I was there the owner / manager or perhaps a family member was there with perfect communications.Across at Riverside there are many cafes and pubs to choose from. The one I enjoyed most for a happy hour drink was on the corner of Sisowath Quay (the main river side road) and 110, 118 or 130 St; I didn't take note of the place's name and Google street view isn't helping me remember but the one at 110 St "looks" about right. Hint: it has this easily visible, non-illuminated Happy Hour sign at the front.You can't go far wrong with any place around there, but this corner pub / cafe had friendly staff, nice atmosphere and good prices. It was a place you can just sit down and watch the world go by.My hotel provided free breakfast which was quite OK. But I saw a place on Sisowath Quay called Camory Restaurant, near 110 St that offered breakfast for $3.95. They had a dozen choices for that price and I found I enjoyed it more than my hotel's free breakfast. Camory is also a hostel style guesthouse; they offer inexpensive accommodation and rooms with as many as 4 beds (presumably for a family or maybe for really good friends). If you stay there the breakfast is free.
Come on… How about the freelancers?
Going back to the ladies, another place known for freelancers is Sharky Bar on 130 St. I didn't find it interesting but I could have gone there at the wrong time — yet again. They have pool tables which seem to be popular. Note it costs Riel 1,000, all of 25c, for a game of pool. I read a ridiculous Internet post from some guy who complained he was aggressively confronted when he tried to leave without paying for 3 games of pool. He implied he was ready to fight the bouncers because he couldn't see the sign showing the price. It's amazing someone would be willing to go to hospital for a "principle" when all that's at stake is 75c. That's hard to understand.
Safety…
I walked around Phnom Penh by myself at all hours of the day and night. I was on main roads, quiet streets and dark back alleys. I didn't feel uncomfortable or threatened once. It was fine even on a quiet, dark street at night when I walked past 3-4 Cambodian men talking together and thought to myself "this might not be good". They kept on talking to each other and barely paid attention to me. I didn't feel there was any threat or safety issue in Phnom Penh.SnookyvilleI wasn't going to miss out on Snookyville. The original idea of going to Cambodia was to lose myself in multiple orgies in Snookyville. If I couldn't do that I was at least going to see it. Just like being in Pattaya 30 years ago — it was something I had to do.
What a disappointment.Again my "research" suggested there are several parts of town. There's downtown, Victory Hill, Serendipity Beach and some other beach areas. The beach areas were described as backpacker havens. As I'm on the older side of the scale I figure that backpackers and places that cater to them really aren't my thing.Victory Hill appears to be famous for a place called the chicken farm — a place with lots of freelancers who are supposed to cost as little as $5 a time. That didn't appeal to me either. And it seems the authorities have closed it down so even if it appeals to you it's unlikely you'll get what you want any more. So I figured it was a choice between Victory Hill and downtown. I plumped for downtown and chose an inexpensive hotel. It was a bad choice. The place was dead. There was virtually nothing around and very little entertainment.I'd read of a place called Charlie Harper's Bar that was supposed to be a happening place. With a name like that and Charlie of Two and a Half Men being the ultimate mongerer I figured it had to be good. By nothing more than good luck it was diagonally opposite my hotel. I walked in at 7:30 PM and it was quiet. There were some expats having a drink; a few had what looked like steady girlfriends but there were no other ladies hanging around. I thought it was probably too early.Drinks were similar prices to Phnom Penh. I noticed a sign that said "Lady Drinks $2". Not bad. I asked the woman at the bar when the ladies turn up so I could buy them a drink. She looked at me with complete surprise and said they have 4 ladies at the bar, they were all there right now and I could buy any one of them a drink. But they can't be barfined because they actually work at the bar.
What’s the point of that??
I can have a drink for myself and buy a higher priced drink for a lady who can't sit and talk to me or join me later? Who would do that? Not me.I asked if there was anywhere around that offered female company; she accommodatingly pointed to the street corner and said "up there, go to Kangaroo bar". Consistent with my experience in Cambodia I have to say she was helpful.It turns out Kangaroo bar is actually called Kangaroo Kitchen (even though it's a guesthouse and a bar). They did have ladies there; I couldn't figure out if they were freelancers or there was a bar fine involved. Of the 8-10 ladies I saw there was only one I found appealing. I spoke to her for a while but decided against taking things further and went back to my hotel alone.
Ah. It happens.
I also read that you shouldn't walk around by yourself at night in Snookyville. Be in a group of 3 or more people. If you're by yourself then go around by moto. I guess I could have gone by moto to Victory Hill or the beach area to have a look.
But after exploring the underwhelming downtown area I wasn't motivated to try. It was probably my fault for not being more adventurous.Snookyville was underwhelming. Maybe I chose the wrong place to stay. Maybe Victory Hill would have been great. Maybe the beach areas were better and not targeted only at backpackers.
I'll never know.
I didn't enjoy my day / night there and I'm unlikely to go back.The positive things I'll say about Snookyville are that my hotel was clean, air-conditioned and cost $20 for the night. I can't complain about that.
One of the first shocks to Americans who travel abroad is how much newer, cleaner and better buses are. America has only given lip service to public transportation. The rest of the world takes it quite seriously.
The bus fare to get there from Phnom Penh was all of $7 for a 5½ hour ride. Strangely the bus company wouldn't / couldn't sell me a return ticket. I figured I was being set up for a rip off on the return journey. When I bought my ticket in Snookyville to go back to Phnom Penh it cost all of $5.50The real problem with Snookyville is the 5½ journey from Phnom Penh.
If I went from Bangkok to Pattaya and had a disappointing experience I could always try again — it's only 1½ hours away. But 5½ hours each way means dedicating a full day by the time you get to and from the bus station. I won't do it again because I don't want to spend a full 2 days with the possibility of being disappointed.How Was My Budget?6 days and 5 nights in Cambodia. A budget of $500; 2x $20 bills I couldn't use so I effectively had $460. How did I do? I booked hotels using Agoda so paid for them on a credit card and therefore outside of the cash budget.
I ate good but not extravagant food, sometimes on the street but mostly in cafes and restaurants.
I'm not a big drinker but went out every night and drank more than I normally would in a year. I bought some shirts and a pair of basketball style sneakers.
I had a road trip to Snookyville. I had one LT and several STs. Visa on arrival was $30; taxis to and from the airport cost $24; I even managed a meal at the airport Burger King before I left. And ended up with $6 change from my $460.
I can't complain and I will go back.Subsequent trips will never be the same as the first one but I enjoyed my visit. And I realize that while I'm old and have lots of experience in Thailand I can still look forward to that nervous excitement of visiting new places because I haven't yet been to Laos, Vietnam or Burma.Oh, happy days.”
Panama
Here is an interesting article about moving to Panama. I personally have some friends who have moved there. They love it there. They are not making a lot of money, but the trade-off in lifestyle more than offsets any other concern. For me, nah, I don’t think that I would want to move there. It is too close to the United States. I would like to keep an ocean between myself and the kooky politics of the USA.
Map of Panama. This is a small nation with plenty of beaches, mountains, and water. It is tropical and full of life and adventure. What is not to love?
Simply by looking at the map, one would assume that that would possess both beautiful tropical beaches, and amazing mountains. It just must be amazing!
To read the article go here. It is titled; “Panama is still the easiest place to obtain residency”.
“Expats here live very well. English is widely spoken, the medical services are excellent, a high standard of living is available at a reasonable cost, and the nightlife is fantastic—from top quality restaurants to more exotic adult adventures. Panama was one of the first countries in the world to establish a program specifically aimed attracting retirees.They promised special discounts and a number of attractive benefits to anyone who could demonstrate a certain level of retirement income. The program worked, and foreigners showed up en masse. (Although many retirees are still waiting for some of those promised special discounts…)”
And…
“Over the next several years, the government established all sorts of immigration programs hoping to attract investors—from forestry to agriculture to finance. (With a whopping 52 ways to obtain residency, it’s clear the residency visa requirements in Panama are incredibly easy.)Then in 2012, they created an even easier way to become a resident: simply letting people in. They called it the Friendly Nations Visa. And it’s just about the easiest way in the world to obtain residency in any country.
Panama City Beach Florida cityscape at night; Shutterstock ID 103240559; Project/Title: AARP; Downloader: Melanie Marin
The list now includes over 40 countries, including the US, Australia, most European countries, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and several Latin American countries. Citizens of any of these countries can obtain residency in Panama extremely easily by merely demonstrating ‘economic activity’ in the country.”
Poland
By my historical roots, I can become a citizen of Poland. My grandparents on my father’s side emigrated from Poland to the United States. You see, Poland has rules enabling relatives of former citizens to repatriate.
Everyone that I have talked to have told me that Krakow, Poland is awesome. I get the impression of a European level college town with friendly people and fine excellent food. Public transportation is cheap as is the finer things in life.
It was something that I have considered, but ultimately chose not to do. Not because I didn’t think it was an awesome place to live, but at the time, the Obama administration was getting too cozy with the EU. (Later, I discovered that it was his love of Brussels, rather than his care or concern for Poland.) I did not want to live in an American “backwater”.
Here is an interesting article written by an American that moved to Poland. It is called “Why living in Poland is like living in Hollywood” and can be found here. Some excerpts;
“Polish people often imagine America as a country where everybody’s rich or at least richer than Poles and more sophisticated – take any TV show where an average family lives in a nice, spacious house and for 16-th birthday kids get their cars.
Now when I am back in Florida I like to take day trips with my wife and daughter. When we were driving through Clay County I told my Polish spouse that it’s pretty nice out there to which she replied :
”Oh Mark please don’t make me move here just to prove how much I love you”.
She said that not because the place is off the beach or it’s a country side, she said that because the place is far from civilization, houses are often mobile and if you don’t have a car there is no way to go anywhere.”
Łódź (Lodz) – capital of Central Poland. This city has a kind of old world feel as well as a kind of European version of London feel to it. Nice, exciting and charming.
And…
“Poland was a socialist country so the country has a large social system built in. There are unemployment benefits and food stamps etc and housing. But this is nothing compared to going to grandma’s in the village and eating fresh food, even if unemployed.
It is a different reality.
You can live in Poland for nothing and people’s expectations are different. My wife was making 500 dollars a month, lived on potatoes, and still had a few dollars to take French lessons. No gadgets or cable TV but reality is different. She did not have a gym membership but walked everywhere and was in better shape than the excesses of the west.”
Gdansk old town – Warszawa. Charming, unique and awesome all words that I would use to describe this city and the people.
How about we start with some delicious Polish Hotdogs. Only they are made with fine Polish sausages. Cooked to perfection. Topped with all sorts of delicious toppings. Yum.
When you think about Polish food most people think of Pierogi. Pierogi are delicious, but there is much much more.
Bigos is a “Hunter’s Stew” that has rich flavoring from the meats and cabbage that are within the dish. Many cooks their Bigos stew for two days. Many Poles will use the largest pot available (can fit a large turkey) and let it simmer for around two days. During this time the house will have a delicious aroma. The color comes out a very dark brown almost black.
Another favorite dish in Poland is Paszteciki. My relatives have all made this. I just cannot remember a holiday when we weren’t eating these during the holidays. They are wonderful little snacks that you can just pop into your mouth as other items are cooking. Pass the Paszteciki!
Below are a few honorable mentions.
Golabki – Cabbage roll stuffed with meat and rice with a red sauce.
Kapuska – Made different ways depending on the season. The one I enjoy has tomatoes and grounded up giblets.
Potato Pancakes – Very good, but have to be careful because of the starch and cholesterol.
Apple Pancakes – I never had apple pancakes like my Mother-in-law makes them here. We are surrounded by apple orchards and have time to make a lot of different apple dishes.
Paczki – Polish Donut. Known for the rose filling. Who knew that roses not only smell great but taste delicious as a dessert.
Delicious polish food. My grandmother, and all my relative had perogries often. While not an everyday meal, it was common enough for me to miss when I left for university. These little puppies are cooked in butter with caramelized onions. Yum.
Shoes off when entering a home – Completely understandable. Your home is your clean sanctuary. You’ve been walking around all day in those shoes… Bathrooms… Office spaces… Dog poo? Take your shoes off and let your feet breath.
Women’s role / Man’s role – There is a clear line in what is expected of both sides. However, where some feminist may find it offensive, many women love it! Sure no problem the woman can clear the dishes off the table and clean and put them away, and the man can go outside and pick up the dog poo, mow the lawn, and vacuum the stairs.
Fast Meal – It is always a good idea to keep bread, cheese, or fruits and veggies on hand to whip up a fast meal for expected and unexpected guest. Along with the meal make sure you have plenty of tea and coffee to offer as well. Don’t be rude offer guest in your home refreshments.
Tipping – Tipping is very popular in the United States. For the most part you’re expected to tip your servers, carpet cleaners, maids, etc. as a show of appreciation for the service given. In Poland and Germany it isn’t normal. The amount on your receipt is what is expected. Giving a tip is appreciated but don’t feel that it is necessary.
Germany
Germany, home of beer and fine German sausages. It is a land with amazing forests, wonderful history, and a climate that is suitable to me. Cars can drive without speed limits, prostitution is legal, and I could spend the rest of my life visiting all the historical world war II historical sites.
It’s a beautiful land with seasons, fine food, and a population that is attentive to their role in society.
Germany is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Depending on where you go, you might find Roman ruins, medieval villages, sparkling new cities, or Baroque city centers. It’s just plain awesome.
Here is a nice article on some lessons that an American expat was exposed to as part of their new life in Germany. Some of them are amusing…
“Especially in the former East, freikörperkultur, or free body culture, is an important part of German identity. Decades of oppression lead to a particular appreciation for the experience of freedom and nudity without a direct relationship to sexuality.
This can sometimes be difficult for Americans to buy, particularly when your coworkers casually invite you to the office’s nude sauna or suggest a naked swim in a nearby lake. Adjusting to this culture without getting weird took some grit, finesse, and more than a few awkward encounters.”
Free body culture. Nudity with friends. I can see how it would take some time getting used to, but then again. Meh. So what?
Well, “Free Body Culture” is very, very taboo in the United States. You could easily be arrested and locked up for sexual deviance. Not only that, but you could easily be put on a Sex Offender registry because you didn’t want to wear pants and underwear. Yikes!
Americans would be arrested for things that people in other nations take for granted as normal behavior.
Germany has many charms. If you don’t mind the “free body culture”, there are many other things to like. Like for instance, the fine food, sausages and delicious beer. But it is more than that. It is…
“Moving to Germany meant an inexorable slowing of the pace of my life.
Particularly in Saxony, there are strict rules about when stores can remain open. Most businesses are closed in the evenings and all day on Sunday. Additionally, Germans benefit from frequent holidays and typically at least a month of paid vacation.
This gave me some anxiety at first, particularly when I forgot to leave work early enough to get groceries or didn’t have time to go to the bank.
Over time, however, I learned to both plan my days and to enjoy the break from chores rather than obsessing over lost time. After a few months, I was occasionally leaving work at 3pm to go watch the football game with friends instead of trying to cram a few more hours of work. I still got as much done as usual, but I felt much happier and less burned out.”
It sounds like a real welcome relief to me. I’ll tell you what.
Saarburg is most beautiful town in of the Trier-Saarburg district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It covers an area of 20.36 km2 (7.86 sq mi). Saarburg is a medieval-themed town located in Germany. Despite the small number of people (around 6500) the city is a peaceful and beautiful place to live. There you have all the necessary things for a nice and comfortable life. In Saarburg has all kinds of schools, good shopping, a strong health care to the St. Francis Hospital etc.Saarburg is the major and largest center in Trier-Luxembourg region. The main feature of the city is beautiful river Saar.
There’s also another blog written by Amanda Schaefer . She is an American expat living in Germany. Her comments can be found here.
“Be a good hausfrau. The sidewalk in front of your house is directly correlated to your social acceptance in the neighborhood. Shovel and salt it before 8am if it snows and make sure it's swept clean of minuscule dirt particles at all other times.
And wash your windows, too.
If you are American, people know it. I don't know how they know; they just do. You can stop wearing Nikes everywhere, throw your elastic-waisted pants in the garbage, and take off your baseball cap but they will still see you coming from a mile away. Inexplicably, after several months of living here you will also be able to distinguish other Americans in a crowded place before hearing them speak.
Water is served in tiny glass bottles with their own special designer cup, typically at room temperature. Don't ask for tap water unless you want to be forever shunned. The good news is that beer is usually either the same price or cheaper than a dainty little bottle of water. This results in guiltless day drinking.
And what about holidays?
Carnival is as exciting as you imagine! It's like Mardis Gras and Halloween on steroids. There are endless parades with intricate floats, everyone wears painstakingly-crafted costumes, and all of the candy thrown from the floats is washed down with beer-- lots and lots of beer.
There isn't a bad place to participate in the Carnival festivities. In fact, you can attend lots of different celebrations because there are so many villages and each has its own parade. Just be sure to use the right salutation: In and around Köln, it's, "Alaaf!" Almost everywhere else it's, "Helau!"”
OK. So it is traditional. Women must keep the home presentable for the neighbors. You have to be a good citizen and an acceptable resident. I am sure that that might ruffle up some pink hair on some militant American feminists out there.
Germany is interesting in other ways as well. Ways, that I am afraid will upset most sensibilities of your average American.
For instance, prostitution is legal and quite accepted in society. It is LEGAL. It is ACCEPTED. It is considered a societal need.
(Damn! Why did my dad decide to move to the USA when he could of just as easily stayed in Japan, or Germany?) So, if you are a man living in Germany, and need to have a little bit of sexual release, you just get up and go to one of the many thousands of establishments that cater to your manly needs.
Let’s talk about this for a while. After all prostitution in the United States get’s a bad rap. Of course, prostitution in the rest of the world doesn’t look anything like the sorry excuses found in the United States. It’s quite different. In Germany, it’s part of society, and everyone tends to visit them from time to time.
Visiting a Chain-Bordello, the FKK
Yes, in America we have chain fast-food restaurants like McDonalds, and KFC. We have chain restaurants like Red Lobster, and Denny’s. We have chain car-washes, car oil-changes, and chain laundry-mats. Well, Germany has chain-bordellos.
Yeah, I have a number 2 doggie-style with extra BJ, please.
This is one of those places that every guy really needs to see to believe before they die. To quote a blogger; “Having sex with prostitutes at FKK Oase in Frankfurt needs to be added to your bucket list right now.”
Many guys probably have no idea what an FKK is, so I will break that down first.
Not all FKK’s are created equal, but calling them a lavish brothel might be the best way to sum them up. I would say that this is certainly the best way to describe it. It is like going to a Roman villa filled with all sorts of beautiful nude girls who are willing to provide you with pleasures on demand. Yikes! Nero, never had it so good! These are places where guys go to live out their fantasies and be pampered in every way possible.
I wonder why I never heard about this before?
Hum, let me check. Oh, yes. Google blocks much of this information. Why am I not surprised? Americans must be protected against foreign ideas and thoughts that might crush the progressive narrative by the ruling oligarchs. Americans must be dumbed down to meet the lowest IQ, and the shabbiest behaviors so as not to offend anyone.
You know, something exactly like this…
Harrison Bergeron is a 1995 cable science fiction television movie film loosely adapted from Kurt Vonnegut’s 1961 short story of the same name. The film takes place in a dystopian future in which the US government mandates total egalitarianism in all things, by having most people (those with high intelligence) attach wearable mind “handicapping” devices to their heads and showing only mind numbing shows on TV.
Harrison Bergeron
The story centers on a high school student named Harrison Bergeron whose brilliance makes him a pariah. He is recruited by a secret organization whose purpose is to operate the functions of society that cannot be handled by the unintelligent.
While he thrives in this environment for a time and even falls in love with the girl who introduced him into the organization, he ultimately pays a personal price and comes to see the true social structure as unethical and immoral, and thus rebels, even if it means making a sacrifice.
In this reality, it is mandated that all people be equal in all things. To this end, the social norm of this society has become egalitarianism.
Citizens strive to be of equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess and social status to all around them. Through a process of selective breeding, mankind is perfecting the perfectly average human being.
What is not accomplished through arranged marriages is made up for through technological means, the most prominent of which are only showing mind numbing shows on TV, and a headband device worn by all citizens which modulates intelligence, dialing up or down a person's IQ in order to arrive at a 'perfect' 100.
Cover your eyes now. Because I am going to describe it for you in reader-land. This knowledge might be harmful to you. It’s probably classified as dangerous “Hate Speech” by the liberals. Knowledge is power. Soak it up. It’s ok.
Take off your stupidity headsets. It’s ok. Do it now.
Now let’s talk about what life is outside the artificial reality that the United States has become…
Contact and address of The FKK Oase FrankfurtAdress: Ober-Erlenbacher Straße 109 - 61381 Friedrichsdorf
Region: Hesse
Country: Germany
GPS: 50.242484, 8.675508
Phone: +49 6007 930551
Site web:FKK Oase
They can be called sauna clubs by some, you can get a massage, go for a swim, or have sex with any of the hundred hot women from around the world that work there. Pricing is different from place to place but generally you pay an entry fee and then pay for sex acts as you go.
As is typical in Germany, everyone walks around near naked or fully naked, including the guys. At some you can have public sex in full view of everyone else, others make you do the action in private rooms.
There are many different FKK establishments. All with different decor and pricing arrangements. For example, let’s talk about FKK Oase in Frankfurt. The following is from a website called a guys night life. Enjoy…
“FKK Oase is located a bit out of the way. You can ask a taxi to take you there or save some euros by taking the S5 train to the Friedrichsdorf station and then getting a taxi from there.When you arrive you pay a 69 euro entrance fee then go to the locker room to take a shower, lock up your clothes, and put on the robe. Guys wear a thin robe here, though some just walk around naked.
FKK in Germany. This is one of their promotional ads. They host nudity and sex for a fee at many scenic locations. Oh, for those of you readers who haven’t grown up past five years of age, cover your eyes because this chick isn’t wearing panties! Whoops! NSFW warning. Heh heh. (Nice Butt, eh?)
The girls generally are fully nude though some will wear sexy lingerie or extremely skimpy bikinis. There are multiple different areas to hang out here, one room has a stripper pole with couches.Then there is a small movie theater that they call the kino where porn is on display. There are many couches and a couple of beds in here, don’t be surprised to see guys getting blowjobs on the couches and live sex shows on the beds.If you want to be the one putting on the show just ask one of the girls around and she will likely be down. There is also a big backyard area with a pool and bar.There are many pool chairs, hammocks, cabanas, and another place for people to have sex on an elevated area. There is a mirror on the ceiling of it so people underneath can look up and watch.This is all done in a Roman theme with statues and the like. You can sit by yourself and take in the scene, move from one area to another, and pick a girl any time you want.”
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Here’s a photo of FKK with some of the girls there, showing their butts. LOL. (PS. If you are an American under the age of 21, you need to self censure. This might burn your retinas, and cause you to behave erratically.)
Promotional image from FKK. Photo credit to FKK. Love all the cute butts. Heh heh.
“As mentioned you pay a 69 euro cover when you enter and then from there everything is done between you and the girl. The standard price is 50 euros and that gets you a bbbj (blowjob with no condom) followed by covered sex.
69 euro = $79 USD
Certain things will cost extra and they won’t come cheap. For instance most girls will ask for an additional 50 euros to cum in their mouth, most won’t do anal sex but if they do you will have to pay a premium for it.
50 euro = $57.30 USD
Many of the girls will be fine with doing things anywhere in the facilities. You can head to the kino and get blown while watching a porn and then move to a bed and be the star of the show if you like. Just make sure to confirm with the girl that she is up for that before you begin.There is no pressure to take a girl, you have already paid the cover so if for some reason you don’t want to have sex that is fine. You also are free to have sex with as many girls as you want and can afford.Threesomes are definitely possible, but you shouldn’t expect too much interaction between the girls. Pretty much anything can be done here for a price.”
How about that?
A bordello treated like a buffet. Outstanding! What’s not to love?
“Looks can be subjective but ya they are pretty hot. They walk around naked all day so you are not going to see many that don’t have very good bodies.Many of the prostitutes are from Eastern Europe and the vast majority of them are white. Every once in awhile you might see an Asian, Latina, or black girl.As far as how many you don’t really need to worry as there will always be plenty to choose from. The girls have even been known to complain that they have too much competition there.During peak hours there might be as many as 150, and even at slow times there should be close to 50. Since they are all in good shape you will have no problems finding one that suits your needs.The sheer number of girls working here make it one of the best FKK’s in Germany. While this isn’t an extremely cheap way to monger it is definitely an experience that any guy would love to try. As many as 150 in shape naked girls around and you can get with any of them at any time."
“Newbie returns from FKK OASE FrankfurtHi All,Finally got to Frankfurt and my first taste of an FKK recently. Got there about 08:30pm and left at 12:30am on a Friday night and this is my take on the night from a newbie perspective.Getting there:As I was staying in Friedrichsdorf, which I believe is the nearest town and train station. I walked down to the Train station and been as nervous as hell I got into a taxi there and as soon as I sat into it the driver turned and said FKK OASE and I was on my way (Did not even have to tell him). I
ts about a five to 10 minute drive and the club is out in the middle of the countryside so not to worry if you find yourself driven along a narrow road with no houses etc on it..What to expect on entering:Once inside the door there is a small reception area and the lady took my money and also put one band on my left arm to say I had paid and another on my right with key to both my lockers (Clothes and Money locker). Was offered a towel only but asked and was also given a robe. Note at reception just five feet to your left through the door it the bar area and my first glance at the girls and boy was I impressed.The Club layout:Using the reception as a certain point. From reception you first need to go to the locker room / changing area. Just enter into the bar area, turn right through the next doorway and on forward down the stairs and into a large modern locker room and find the locker with the key number to match change and back up the stairs, bring your money to your second locker which are in the bar area to the right of the doorway that let from reception.
These lockers are only big enough for your wallet and the other lockers only your clothes so if you had a large bag you might be in trouble. Back at the doorway from reception to your left is a the bar on an L shape and beyond that is the main Room with a dancing poll in the centre and comfy sofas all around with some high chairs and tables.
Enough to seat 40 and to the far right of the room you'll find the KINO again 3 rows of comfy sofas facing onto the large screen showing porn and also on a couple of occasions seen full on BJ action during the night and was offered it a couple of times myself but been shy declined.
The bar / main room area would be the same size as a large pub in Dublin. Back to the door at the reception area and turn right though the doors for the locker area and instead of going down the stairs to your left are the rooms and to your right the Jacuzzi / sauna area which also has rooms to one side.
This basically has a large Jacuzzi maybe holds up to 10 and some deck chairs around it and the sauna rooms to the far right side with the pro massage lady in a room in the corner to the far left. These guys is a legit massage and one of the girls tells me she is quite good. 30 euro apparently. Beyond the the sauna rooms it the entrance to the outdoor area and as it was dark did not see much of this but looks like a large pool with deck chairs all around reports of it been great in the good weather I'm sure are true.The Girls:Now for the most important bit. After putting my wallet away and at this stage to be honest I had been a little blown away by the quality of the girls and I had only gone to and from the locker room yet. Back up at the bar I got a free Fanta then sat down in the main room.
As said many times before girls were all in high heels only a few with stockings. I'd estimate that there were about 50 girls in the club at 8:30 and this dwindled down to about 25 by 12:30. Seemed to be a slow night and this was confirmed by one of the girls.
Of the 50 at least 35 were an 8 or above, another 8 I'd rate as 7 and the others I did not find attractive. High odds indeed. Almost all the girls are slim, with small B / A cup boobs and appear quite tall in the heals and 80%+ Romanian and the majority in the 18 to 25 year old bracket. Of the girls I'll pick out the 2 I found most attractive.1: A blond that I immediately seem on entering the bar. But she left at 09:00 so did not speck to her. She has quite an incredible body, Jennifer Aniston is her prime. I just could not believe what I was seeing and had to stop and stare like an idiot just for a minute she was just that good.2: Julie 18 Year old Romanian, This girl it so sweet and innocent and a drop dead looker to match. 170cm tall teeny body, back hair. Got her in the room for an hour and was very pleased. She talked away and as near as a GFE as your going to get. She but a smile on my face when she said without any hesitation the she was to young for a drink as she might regret what she would do like any other teenager, but I could only see the contradiction given the circumstance with a very large smile.Oh Yes some girls will approach and will take no for an answer if you give it in a polite way and others will sit down or walk about expecting a wink or a node and the'll be over to you in a hurry. Some are sweet talking about where your from and what your doing in Frankfurt and more are full on whispering about the great BJ she'll give you in the KINO and the great fuck you'll have together. Its up to your own taste what you want really.Newbie lessons learned:1: When I go again and I will, I would go about 3pm, and leave at 10:30pm as to get the day and night shift together. After 10pm the crowd both girls and men dwindled abit and this took from the atmosphere I though.2: Once you see a girl you like and want approach quickly as she will get taken or leave as happened above with the blond.3: The space indoors in the club is not quite as large as I though from reports but it still quite big and if there was a large crowd I'm sure it would be very packed.4: You kind of phase out the other gents that are there and anyway everyone kind of minds their own business. And just in case your wondering. All ages / sizes and mostly singe gents with a few small groups. All respectful of the situation and no loud and rowdy types.Conclusion:The best way of describing it would be to close your eyes and picture going to the local pub / bar / disco where the 18 to 25 year old set go and pick out all the attractive girls and have them nude in only their heels and then replace the guys with men of all ages/looks sitting about in robes / towels and that's the nearest picture your going to get without actually been there.Will I go back YES YES YES and I plan to explore other FKK's as well.”
A listing of FKK clubs in Germany, can be found HERE. It’s a very extensive list, my God!
While America has been all caught up with prohibition of drinking alcohol on Sundays, and display of woman’s breasts when breastfeeding, the rest of the world moved on without these silly restrictions. Men can go work, at their leisure, then come home and relax. If the wife is too tired or busy for sex they can go out to a men’s club and get some release. Win – win.
In other nations, men are men, and women are women, and there is no such thing as anything else. I don’t care what the pseudo American intellectuals have to say about the 38 genders. They are only complaining because they were able to obtain funding via political organizations by keeping various narratives alive.
Finally, Let me end this discussion of what awaits you in Germany with this screen capture of a Twitter conversation. You see, in America the progressives are trying to make everyone equal, even though people are not equal at all. The differences are our strengths. Not our similarities.
But, you can’t explain that to the militant millennials.
Silly girl. So you want equality, eh? Image that THE YEAR IS 2081, and everybody is finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. A science fiction story…yes. Trying to be implemented in the Untied States today by progressives in 2018…absolutely YES.
George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.
He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
Go read about this Science Fiction story (and movie) that has become the progressive dream, and is trying to be implemented today. Read HERE.
In short, we don’t want to treat everyone the same, because everyone is different. Some are smarter. Some are stronger. Some are taller. Some are hard-working. Some are lazy. Differences is what should be treasured. Not sameness.
Gaussian IQ spread of different nations. This graph tells us a lot about the differences between people in different nations.
Anyways, continuing on about Germany… Let’s talk taxes…
Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe so for the ambitious I there's a lot of opportunity here. However taxes are high as fuck if you are comparing it to life in the US. I'm from NYC so I am used to paying high taxes but over here is another level. Sales tax of 19% is worked into prices of everything here. The only forgiving things here is that rent is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than in NYC and that's where you end up coming out ahead financially. -6 Years in Germany
Conclusions
We, as Americans, have a very retarded and corrupted view of the world outside the American borders. To us, it seems frightening and dark. We are constantly bombarded with “Save the Children” advertisements, and told that they need our money to support their infrastructure (isn’t that right, Barrack Obama?). The truth is something quite different.
In the movie “Forrest Gump”, there is a saying “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” Well, that is true. But you know what? You can choose the box.
The initiation of sex and relationships vary from culture to culture. In Thailand, for example, the relationships tend to be different than that of the United States. This is true for most of Asia.
Men, I am speaking as a man, need to recognize that we are not chained to the life that we have created. When things become uncomfortable, or untenable, we can change our life. We make a plan, and then execute the plan. These are my thoughts on this matter.
Best Regards.
Take Aways
Depending on your own individual situation, leaving America might be an option worthy of consideration.
There are many nations to choose from. Some have higher taxes, but great food. Some have lower taxes, and pretty girls. Some have great history, art and culture, while others are just fun places to be.
You are getting older with each hour. Spend some time thinking about your life and what you want out of it. It might include going to another area that is different from the United States.
FAQ
Q: What is the best nation to visit? A: I do not know. It depends on the individual. Their money, interests and experiences. For me, I found that I actually found that I enjoyed the Asian nations. The United States is nothing like I grew up in. It is something completely different today.
Were I to live in the Untied States today, my life style would be a pale shadow of what it is currently.
Q: Why do you only think about men, what about women? A: I think about women a lot. But I am not a woman. I can only relate my thoughts and experiences from my own point of view. That includes things that interest me as a man.
Truthfully, I am not interested in how a woman might think if she was in my shoes. In fact, it is impossible for a woman to be in my shoes. Woman do not have the ability to function as a node within my MAJestic role. It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for them. Call it sexist if you may. But that is the truth.
Part of growing up is throwing away our childhood fantasies and becoming an adult. You are placed within your reality, and it is up to you to make the best of it. You are either a success at it, or you fail. It’s pretty cut and dry.
Two Part Post
This post is part one of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
All over the internet you can see advice on what a woman looks for in a man, and what a man looks for in a woman. There are many such articles. Most are subjective and have cultural, regional and ethnic biases. Here is what I, as an American man looks for in a woman regardless as to what her race is, what culture she is from, and her age….
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Introduction
When I was younger I didn’t really know what to look for in a woman. My ideas of beauty and relationships came from popular movies, television and the magazines of the time.
In fact, my uncles made fun of my first girlfriend because she was so very thin and petite. They told me “she’s too thin. Trust me, you want a girl with meat on her bones…“. I didn’t believe them then, but I can totally see the point that they were trying to make. Their wives (my aunties) were all hourglass-shaped with impressive chests.
My father told me once “Look at the girls mother to see what she will be like when she gets older”. Again, I had no clue what he was talking about. Now… well, let’s say that I fully understand the point that he was trying to make. No, it’s not a direct correlation, but there is a genetic component that cannot be ignored.
The List
Over the years I have learned and experienced various things. This has led me to come up with a few conclusions about relationships. Especially my own. When a man, such as myself, thinks about a woman we look at number of key features. These features are important. In fact they are critically important.
Appearance
Sex
Domestic Concern
Companionship
Personality
Self Confidence
Respect
Family Devotion
Spirituality
Shared Values
Of course, there are many other factors that we could include here. But, this is not intended to be an exhaustive study, or some kind of PC narrative. Let’s consider what I, myself, look for in women. This is my list. The things in it are absolutely critical. You take one item out from that list, and there will be no relationship. Period.
But, I’m not other people. So if you want to generate your own list and criteria for comparisons, go straight ahead. I’m not going to stop you. This is my list, and these are my comparisons…
[1] A Woman’s Appearance
A man looks for a woman that he is physically attracted to.
Is this a truth or what? I have read some websites on the internet, obviously from a woman’s perspective, and they don’t even list appearance as a criteria. Yet it is perhaps the most important, and the most common NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. Girls in Zambia Africa will get all dressed up and perfect, as will women in Communist China.
All over the world, women have bodies that scream “look at me”.
Here is a traditional Zambian wedding. Look at how beautiful everyone is. Don’t you just love it? So amazing! Look at those smiles. Look at how they take care of their appearance and the happy attitude.
Appearance is the first thing that a man looks for in a woman. This might sound so trivial in today’s modern progressive narrative, but it is a biologically proven fact. So, if you still want to believe in fantasies, Peter Rabbit, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, you can leave.
Sorry, but it has to be said. The good news is, every man is attracted to a different type of woman and has his own personal tastes. Meaning, I am in no way suggesting a woman has to fit a certain image of ‘beauty’ in order to be considered ‘wife material.’
But, as is true for both men and women, there needs to be a physical attraction between two partners to kick off a relationship, which also plays an important part in holding it together.-The Good Man Project
We men want a woman who we are attracted to.
Attraction has to do with a combination of [1] physical shape, [2] physical appearance, [3] personal grooming, and [4] behavior.
I have seen women who have “rockin’” bodies, who dress like trailer-park trash, and were a total turn off. I have seen women who look good and yet sound like a foul-mouthed sailor when they speak. I have seen women who didn’t know how to walk in high heels and went clunk-clunk-clunk as they walked down the street. Yuck!
The character “Joy” in the television series “My Name is Earl” is a good example of a beautiful girl who is not attractive. I am sure that in person, as an actress, she is really nice. But the person who she plays is rude, brash, unmannered and uncouth. It is not attractive.
This might be surprising, but us guys really like to look at women. I really don’t know why.
It’s not a sexual thing. Oh, I suppose that some assholes like to make cat-calls and holler at the ladies, but for the most of us we are just content to watch the girls come and go. In fact, if the restaurant has a lot of women inside, I am drawn to eating there. It’s a male quirk I guess.
That being said, some things often minor things can really detract from a woman’s appearance. For instance, I have seen beautiful women, who walked and carry themselves well, wearing black high heel shoes with the red under-sole. Only to have a big white price tag sticker on the bottom.
Instead of watching her, and the way she walks, you end up focusing on that stupid price tag on the bottom of her shoe. Talk about distraction away from the image form!
Ladies please keep this in mind. Please take the labels off the clothes when you buy them. It’s terribly distracting. You see a beautiful woman walking down the road with nice dress, beautiful legs and all you can focus on is the white price tag on the bottom of the shoe. Ugh!
Remember, appearance is more than just physical shape. It is also about grooming and attitude. Here’s a Chinese girl dressed in a simple dress. She is clean and well-groomed. Her hair is clean. Her overall appearance is positive and nice. Who wouldn’t want to be with her?
I am not talking about it in a sexual way either. I am saying that she seems so nice. I would just love to take her to a coffee house and share a cheese cake with her. She would be nice to stroll along the boardwalk with. Wouldn’t you like to play in a casino with her? Come on!
In general, men and women are about the same in this regards. A woman wants a man that takes care of his appearance. She wants him to be well groomed, clean, and neat. She wants him to be tidy; to wear clean clothes and have good manners.
I think both men and women are the same in this regard.
Men are the same. We look for a woman that also takes care of their appearance. We like the women in our lives to be well-groomed, clean and tidy. Look at this beauty. Man! What a kind smile. She looks right at you and that mouth is so sweet. What is not to love?
Here is a beautiful American girl. Look at that smile. Look at that amazing body. What a stunner! I tell you what! She has a nice figure, and is clean and well attired. She isn’t wearing a lot of makeup or jewelry. Her attractiveness is her sweetness.
Now, let it be well known that there are a wide range of American female body styles that I personally find quite alluring. This includes tall leggy women, to short chubby cuties. I think that many would be amazed at the things that they do, act, dress, or look like that I find amazingly attractive.
So I am not going to bad-mouth any of the particularly awesome women that live in America. I tell you the truth, there are some American women that think that they aren’t that good looking, that I would die to be with. For instance…
When I lived in Boston, there was a 30-something woman who worked in a brick-a-brack store in Brookline.
She was very curvy, and maybe wore a size 18. She had shaved her hair really short, and wore really red lipstick. Not my type. Yet, I had such the hots for her. OMG! Every-time I tried to talk with her, I would get so flustered. She hadn't a clue how mesmerized I was for her.
It is sort of like how a woman who looks at my shoulders (and arms) and wonders how nice it would be to rest their head there and be held. I too look at women in this way. However, I think more in terms of having my head resting on their chest softly, and their fingers in my hair.
Men and women are more similar than we will admit to in public.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
All this being said, I don’t like to be with a girl that is heavier than I am. It’s a personal preference. I also am not really attracted to a woman who is taller than I am either. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t do anything for me. We all have likes and dislikes. Mine are strong, please do not be offended;
I don’t like to be with a woman that is heavier than I am.
I am uncomfortable with a woman that is taller than I am.
I also am a little skiddish about polydactylism. It’s not that I am revolted if the girl has seven fingers on each hand, but I’m a little freaked out about it.
I feel like this is similar to a woman that doesn’t want a man that is shorter than she is. Or that doesn’t want a man with a bald spot on the top of his head. Or, maybe a man that has a big scraggly beard that is full of crumbs and such. Or, maybe a man that chews chewing tobacco.
Men and women, we all have our preferences.
[2] Having Sex
Honestly, you have to be a fucking moron not to realize that men want sex.
Heck, it’s more that just that. We need it. It is genetically programmed into males and become the focus of everything that we do. From what career we enter, to what cars we drive, to how much money we make. The driving force behind it all is getting sex. Smart women understand this.
Well, that is what we are genetically programmed for. Women are genetically programmed to have babies and to take care of them. This comment, found on Twitter, illustrates how silly some people can be about basic gender roles. It shows their ignorance. It shows that they will forever be destined to live alone or find a beta male to mate with. Sad. Sad. Sad.
Any man who says that he doesn’t need, like or want sex, is either lying or homosexual. It is never the truth because sexual needs, and preferences are genetically encoded by the male chromosome. If you do not understand this, study biology 101.
What? You think that the woman’s “biological clock” is imaginary? It’s a well-known fact of life that transcends society and national boundaries.
Men and males have the same thing. Except is is called “the need to reproduce”.
The Loony Tunes character “Pepe Le Pew” is based on the raw instincts that all males have. When we were children and watched the cartoons we knew instinctively what what going on. Yet today in the SJW saturated American culture, we are supposed to ignore the basic facts of life and accept a reality of non-genders. Nonsense!
This is how it works. Once we find an attractive woman that raises our interest, the very next thing we wonder about is having sex with her.
That is the way it is, and no SJW rewriting of culture is going to change the biology of males. In a way we are just like dogs and are led about by our “pecker” all the time. Smart women know this. Smarter women use it, and profit from it in numerous ways.
Different people have different things that get them aroused sexually. I like to believe that most men prefer the female body in it’s various forms and shapes. Sometimes they like, in my view, some rather strange manifestations in interest.
Online porn is not a multi-billion industry for nothing.
Prostitution still exists because men are men, no matter how hard society, religion and zealots try to stamp it out. Men are males with fundamental male interests and needs.
The sexual desires that men have vary from individual to individual. Some men really love oral sex, others are “meh”. Some men must have anal sex, while other go “yech!”. Every man is different.
That being said, sex is an individual experience. What might be fantastic for one fellow, might be terribly boring for another. That is why there are fetishes.
Some men like big boobs, others like big asses, and still others like big feet. Some men are mesmerized by a nice set of legs, while others like strange and unusual sexual positions. And yes, some men really like huge women, and others like small tiny ladies. Everyone is different.
Now, isn’t this the saddest expression that you have ever seen? A man NEEDS sex. If he is married, he expects sex from his wife, and when he decides to marry her, it was an expectation that he had. For her to be so ignorant of his needs, and so very selfish about their relationship shows that he needs to leave her ASAP.
It doesn’t JUST vary from person to person, but from culture to culture.
Oh, and by the way, women like sex just as much as men do. It’s just cultural in how it manifests. For example, here is a cartoon discussing relationships between and man and woman in Thailand. LOL.
The initiation of sex and relationships vary from culture to culture. In Thailand, for example, the relationships tend to be different than that of the United States. This is true for most of Asia.
[3] Domestic Care & Concern
Here is where I sound like an old foggy-head man. However, a woman who is control of her home, tends to be in control of her life.
A woman who is in control of her home is in control of her life.
When I see that she takes care of her clothes, makes sure that the house is well run, ordered and that she knows how to cook, I start to get really interested in her. You see, in my mind, a woman who is in control of her life, would also be able to take control of my life as well.
Men will give their LIFE, their MONEY, and their very BEING to a woman deserving of it.
I once went on a date with a woman. She was nice, and attractive. To get ready for the date, I of course was presentable and clean, and I made sure that the car was washed and detailed. I picked her up. I then opened the door for her and buckled her in. (This was America, I'd never do it in China.) And we went off.
During the drive she pulled out some chewing gum and was chewing it. You know, for a pleasant tasting mouth. But, you know, she did something disturbing to me. She threw the chewing gum wrapper on my nice newly cleaned floor...
Later, after dinner, she couldn't find her lipstick, and emptied her purse on the table, and had to sort through old scraps of paper, receipts and brick-a-bract. The date ended, and we went our separate ways.
We had fun, but I never wanted to be back with her again. You know, she probably doesn't understand why.
Men need a companion that they can turn to, rely upon, and have a family with. This means responsibility. We need a good strong willed woman without baggage and problems. Seriously, isn’t that what women look for also?
Now, of course, most modern and "liberated" women don't think like this in the Untied States. They are "independent". They can get and have their own careers, and live their own lives. Sure they can. And, be childless and unmarried into their 40's.
The cost of being a "liberated" American female is quite steep.
It is not reality.
It is an artificially constructed narrative to seduce people into certain set behaviors. If you want to see what works for couples, then look at how families are set up in Africa. Look at how families are run in Poland. Look at how families exist in China. Five thousand years of experience won’t lie.
The 1998 movie pleasantville depicted a sort of revisionist narrative of what might happen if a modern person were to step back into time and life life as it used to be in the 1960’s. Contrary to the popular narrative, there is nothing wrong with traditional marriage and a man giving everything to his wife. In return, the wife becomes domestic and cares for him, their children, their home and their finances. She makes sure that the man can work, be relaxed and strive to improve their life. That is the traditional method, and that is what many men search for.
A traditional life WORKS. Most men WANT a traditional long-term relationship. They will give everything for it.
I fear many men, especially those afraid "to make the leap" in marriage are not convinced or ready to allow a woman to take over part or all of his life.
For a man, this is a BIG commitment.
He is not only letting the woman into his life, but he is giving her access forever to all that he earns. He is allowing her to dictate and instruct him on behavior, dress, and recreation. If the man is truly in love, and if he believes that this woman can take on that domestic role; she will GET EVERYTHING he can offer.
A man who gives everything to his wife will never leave her. For she literally BECOMES everything to him. So, have you ever wondered why divorce was so rare prior to the 1970’s? Divorce became commonplace when traditional roles fell from popularity. So ladies, if you want a man that will be YOURS… forever and would never abandon you, then you should make a reappraisal of your value system. You won’t get it on a progressive ideology. You will ONLY get it with a Conservative Traditional ideology.
When a man gets married, he should be ready to share his life. This often means letting your wife take over portions of it so you no longer have to. A good, and strong, woman will be able to manage the home. If she can manage the home, she can help the man become a success.
We have a saying that goes something a little like this; “Behind every successful man is a strong woman.”
As I get older, I see how true this is. My friends who are all very successful, all have strong and well-organized wives. They all also have relinquished some things to the wife in exchange for her domestic support. This includes [1] all of the finances. [2] What he eats. [3] How he dresses. [4] His exercises, and [5] how they relate to family matters.
Oh, and please forget that nonsense Hollywood narrative of what a traditional conservative woman is. (Where a traditional woman wears Amish style hats, and lives a life right out of the “The Handmaids Tale”.) That is propaganda. Do you, yes YOU, personally know anyone that is really like this? You don’t. That’s my point. It is an artificial narrative. It’s all Bull Shit.
Today, a conservative wife might have a body covered in tattoos, ear and nose rings and purple hair. She will wear leggings, take selfies on the smart-phone, and have multiple university degrees. My Lord, it isn’t about appearances. It’s about what is inside.
That is true. It is about what is inside. It is the light that resides inside the woman’s body that that special man can see and can appreciate. yes it is. It is all about the energy that lies inside…
Chinese women, as well as African, Polish, Russian, and Indian women don’t sit around watching the boob-tube, or play games on the cell-phone all day long. They do what ever is necessary to make THEIR household a success.
The manage the fiances.
They budget the household.
They allocate resources to jointly improve their standard of living.
They make sure everyone is eating well and healthy.
They are a model for their community and familial relations.
They make sure that the husband has everything he needs.
They push and help the husband grow as a provider.
They instruct the husband on how to behave, and act.
They make sure that the husband is presentable and carries himself well.
While they do occasionally play games, take selfies and have fun, their primary role is as a family manager. Traditional women are like full-on lionesses.
Over the years, in America, this has become treated like some kind of joke on contemporary television, on collage campuses, and in female magazines. That is a real shame. Because when both the husband and the wife work together for their family anything is possible. I tell you the truth. This is a fact. All of my friends that are successful work hand-in-hand with their wives in this manner.
Their wives take care of them.
They (the wives) set the pace, they control the family fiances. They establish the diet. They determine where to live. They set the goals. They establish the direction. The man in turn, give his everything to his wife in the complete 100% loyal trust that she will get both of them where they both want to be. For if you really do this, anything is possible.
[4] Companionship
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if this woman would be THE woman who I can devote my time with.
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if we could talk about really deep and interesting subjects. I wonder if they would be willing to share in my hobbies. I look for companions.
This is true for most men.
Spend time, meaningful and precious time, with those you love. Make your time quality time. Buy an ice cream cone with your retired father. Take you mother out of a morning breakfast. Call up one of your friends and go to the beach or hike in a local park. Spend time together. Companionship.
Now, most women are confused with what this means. They search for romance. They could care less about companionship. This is sad, because romance comes from companionship.
Romance is spawned from companionship.
My wife and I took a trip to Thailand, and while on a drinking binge, the taxi driver drove us to the middle of no where and abandoned us there. We had to struggle and make our way back to the hotel. That bungle was an adventure, but my wife well remembers the rural village BBQ meal as the dawn broke through the clouds, and the orange light that shined on our toes in the sand. Romantic times are unplanned. They come from companionship.
Every man that I know (with cultural differences, of course) looks for a companion. We feel empty inside without a companion; a special friend that we can share our life with. This is so very important. Forget the James Dean Rebel narrative. All men need a special lady in his life. This lady is a person that he is very comfortable with and one that he wants to obtain experiences and adventures with.
The idea that men are worthless and useless, especially white traditional Americans, is a progressive narrative. It has been around since the late 1970’s, but has really picked up speed during the Bill Clinton years, and completely got out of hand during the Obama years. This narrative has been promoted in the American media and software for quite some time. Check out this screen capture;
This is a screen capture of a comment train taken on 16SEP18. Have your eyes open, you can easily see how true this is. Do not fall for the progressive narrative. It is a lie. Go ahead do a Google Image Search for “white women with white men”. Go ahead. The image result is completely out of touch with the racial demographics of the nations. It does not match. This disconnect strongly implicates a propagandized narrative.
[5] A Woman’s Personality
Another thing that guys look for in a woman is personality. We are attracted to kindness, softness, sweetness, and compassion.
This is such a true statement that I feel that I need to repeat it. We are attracted to kindness. We are attracted to softness. We are attracted to sweetness. We are attracted to compassion.
When I come across a particularly militant American woman, I am immediately repelled. Especially when that person wants to lecture me on “white privilege” or some kind of populist nonsense that other weaker men accept. Don’t be a ugly bullyish brute of a woman. It’s not becoming.
Become the ideal. Your life is within your hands.
Look at this pretty American girl. I have to admit that I have a thing for short frilly dresses. This is true whether they are black, or colorful. There is something really attractive about them. Man, she does look great in polka-dots. Wouldn’t you just love to go out on the town and have a cup of coffee and a cheese cake with this woman? I would buy her a grinder (subway sandwich) and a coke any day of the year!
To be honest, when I meet a woman and I get to know them, I am looking for companionship. I look for kindness. I look for care. I wonder how they treat animals, and the waitress. I watch how they behave around others, and what they think about things.
When I meet a new woman, I wonder if they would like to accompany me for dinner, dancing, and any of the hobbies that I love to partake in. Since I love wine, a non-drinker and myself might not fit together well. Since I love animals, when I am talking to a woman, I wonder if they would also be part of my life with dogs and cats. Since I love tomatoes, bacon, and gardens I wonder what their thoughts are on these subjects.
The personality that a woman has eventually dominates a man’s interest. In other words, while a man is firstly attracted to a woman’s look, and sexual appeal, it is her personality that will keep him by her side forever.
Never forget this. A kind personality will be the glue when the stresses of life become too unbearable.
[6] Self Confidence
One of the most important traits for both men and women is self-confidence. This is something that is hard to describe, but is fundamental to success in life.
The truth is that I am not at all handsome, but women are interested in spending time with me. When I ask them why, they tell me that it is for other reasons. They just chuckle, and smile. They say I’m being silly. Sometimes they push me on my chest and say “oh, you know why!“.
I chalk up the reasons to being positive, happy, interesting and having good self-confidence.
Because that is exactly what turns me on in a woman.
When I take a woman out, I want to be able to talk about things. I want to be able to talk about tomato plants, favorite foods, dogs and cats, and thoughts about life. I want to be with a person that isn’t so fucking sensitive that I am afraid of being who I am. I want to be accepted for me, and if you don’t like it, to Hell with you. The same goes double for women.
I would NEVER tell a woman that she shouldn’t eat dessert because she needed to count her calories. I would never order for a woman unless she specifically asks that I do so. I would never say anything hurtful to her in public, or in private. Any arguments that we might have would be honest, and intentionally scripted to avoid emotional out-lash. As such, I would not tolerate sitting down with a woman who wanted to lecture me on the injustices of the world. No one likes a scold. Really.
No one.
People with confidence typically try to help others. They don’t try to change anyone. This is because they are happy with who they are, and other people do not factor in their personalities. People with low self esteem are the opposite. They feel that they have to control everything around them.
Men and women want to be around people with high self confidence. They will be accepted by them as they are without question.
[7] Respect
I have dated American women who have berated me in public. I have seen them talk bad about me behind my back. I have seen them make jokes about me. I have seen them be rude to me to my face. I have seen them think it was fun making fun of me while I just sat there and took it.
That was years ago. Now I know better. Now I know my place in this world; good or bad, right or wrong. I just don’t tolerate that nonsense like I used to. No more.
Today, now; my tolerance for this nonsense is zero.
Let me explain. Let’s begin with a story about an experience I had while I was working at GM. This story illustrates that different places has different cultures, and failure to understand and adapt to that culture can have serious consequences.
In this case, the story revolves around the public display of a lack of respect of a wife towards her husband.
I once was involved in some business in Brazil. As such, I had to travel back and forth between the United States and Brazil. I was, at that time, working for Delco Electronics (It's who we are), which was (at that time) a division of General Motors. I was involved in a Car computer project (ECM) for CEV, which is a pretty big Automotive company within Brazil.
This event took place in Brazil.
One day, all of the foreigners on staff were invited to a big banquet with other white-collar workers at CEV. We had some pretty important people from GM there. It was held in a big auditorium within a equally impressively large restaurant and hotel complex. Everyone sat at these very large round tables with a nice table layout on a large white tablecloth. Each couple (for the most part, everyone came as a couple) would sit in groups of two at the table. Thus, maybe five to 6 couples would sit at the table.
At a given cue, all the ladies (the wives and girlfriends) got up and went to the buffet to get their man (husbands or boyfriends) dinner. They got up, went to the buffet, selected what their husbands would eat, and returned to the table. They would place the plate in front of their man with respect, and then go up and get their own food.
The men would accept the meal their wife chose for them, and began eating it. They would sit there and eat, while all the ladies were fussing about their food, and making sure that the man's plate was full. They, each one, was particularly careful in what they selected for their man's plate. Some wives selected mostly vegetables, while others made sure that the man had goodly portions of meat.
However, the local section manager, a man who came from Michigan, well his wife refused to go up. He kept on elbowing her. She refused. And everyone at the table noticed. In fact, people at the other tables were noticing as well. They started talking. But she was adamant.
She said things like "you're not my boss", "I'm not doing it, uh uh, absolutely not. No!", and "I don't care what other people think. Do it yourself.".
Eventually, he got up and joined the rest of the ladies at the buffet counter. He was the only man to get up. He was the only man to carry a plate back to the table. He was alone in the big hall that maybe held a few hundred key employees of the company.
All of the key employees, the bosses and the supervisory staff, watched him do this. The President of CEV, the division managers, all the middle level managers, the supervisors, and all the engineers, and their secretaries all witnessed this. They all noticed and ate. Their local conversations at their tables became subdued and quieter.
Meanwhile, his wife sat there smugly and proudly. They ate in silence. The wife, sitting proud and strong. He sat there facing his plate and afraid to look up. This happened in front of everyone, while everyone else in the room kept glancing their way.
The dinner ended. Everyone went home.
The next workday, on Monday, he noticed that his parking space was being used by someone else. (Unless you have worked in GM, you don't know how important this is.) He went into the lobby, and the guards wouldn't look at him, and just waved him in. This was a big change from what he accustomed to.
It continued. His secretary didn't come in. Then, started coming in very late. She would not do anything that he asked. No longer would she make him a morning coffee. No longer would she answer him, or even talk to him.
No one responded to his emails. His work was getting piled up. Nothing was getting done. After a month, it got so bad, and I was sent down to look into the matter, as I held an important role in the joint-venture project. Our Division manager wanted me to look into this issue as it looked like the entire multi-million dollar project might collapse. That's right, millions of dollars of corporate investment was at risk.
So I flew down.
I talked to XXXXX. I talked to his secretary. I talked to the CEV Division Manager. I talked to the rest of the staff.
At first no one would open up. Oh, sure they were friendly to me. They showed me deference. They treated me well. But when it came to the subject about what was going on, everyone shut up. Obviously something was wrong. But no one told me anything.
Eventually, to make a long story short, I went out and started drinking with the CEV workers. That's always a great way to break down barriers and get to the heart of the matter. Of course, GM never approves of drinking, but this was back in the late 1980's and I was in another country and immersed in another culture.
Over some beers, the first person who let me know what was going on was his secretary. She looked at me straight in the eyes. She put out her cigarette. And she said in her broken English, loudly with defiance and pure hate;
"Why? You ask. Why? Because he's a fucking wimp. He's not, NOT, N-O-T a Man. He's castrado!"
Then she spit on the floor. Now granted, most ladies don't go to bars, smoke and spit on the floor. But she had a few beers, and was really agitated.
She wasn't just angry. She wasn't just pissed. She had this kind of deep burning ember of a rage that amazed me when it came out. I thought she was going to tear my throat out. She spoke viciously. She spoke in a way that the words were spit out venomously.
It turned out that in Brazilian culture, the man must be the MAN of the house. It is a very traditional nation and has unspoken social rules. One of which is that the woman must look good for her man. She must do great things for their Man, and for her family.
In Brazil, the Man is the titular head of the family. He controls everything. He is the "face" of the family. He is what everyone sees. However, the wife has full control over what goes on inside the house. She is the driving force that strengthens the man.
The Man is the head of the family, and he must LEAD. If he cannot be a Man; if he cannot act like a Man, and if he cannot control the behavior of his wife and family, then he is a loser.
in Brazil, you do not want to associate with losers. Not in the least. It is like being a leper.
The point in this is that he wasn't just a wimp to his wife. He was a wimp to society. From the secretary's point of view, she went from being a high assistant to an international boss, to the slave of a beggar. No, to someone worse than a beggar. Her status in the company fell right off the cliff.
Not only that, but that was true of everyone who associated with him. It was as if he had a serious contagious illness. no one wanted anything to do with him. No one would even talk to him.
It was like he was a child predator who had aids.
Shortly after that, I returned back to Indiana and talked with the Division Manager at Delco. We had a long and interesting talk. To cut down on all the details, let it be understood that my boss sent him back to the States. His two year stint in Brazil was cut short.
He was only there for four months.
Now, this is important. The thing is, when he returned home, there was no role for him to fill. His old job and position was already filled. He was a high-priced expensive executive with no home. Yes, for a short while they put him on "overhead", but eventually he was told to leave. They gave him a severance package. And that was it.
Years later, I heard that he spent a few years unemployed. He could never go back to GM, and his experience was too specialized. Eventually he took up contract work at a much lower pay grade. I do not know what happened since then, except that I know that he had to give up his free car, and had to sell the house at a loss. I do know that he moved into a small apartment later on. And, well, that's about all I know about him and his situation.
+++
What does this all mean?
A good wife can make a man into a strong leader. He can become important, successful and wealthy. His family would profit and benefit. His life, and the lives of all those around him would improve. A weak or poor wife would do the opposite. A bad woman can destroy the life of the man that she is with. This can be through destruction of his self-esteem (which needs to be maintained for career success) to improperly managing family finances, to everything in between.
Men, choose your wives carefully.
In my little story, a true one at that, Mr. XXXXXX ‘s wife not only destroyed his role (and great career opportunity) in Brazil, but also wiped out his stable career at GM. Unable to find work, he had to settle for a different kind of labor, one without a career, without any kind of advancement. I am sure that his piece-of-shit wife berated him the entire time. Telling him what a loser he was for his life, and not taking responsibility for all the destruction that she herself, wrecked.
People. This is real life. This is not a television show. This is not a movie. This is not all unicorns prancing under a progressive rainbow, where gay people, and LGBT folk are all living in united harmony. This is the real frigging’ deal.
Learn, from my experiences, or don’t.
There is a sizable percentage of Americans who believe that the progressive illusion can actually manifest. They spend their days glued to their electronic media to such a point that they are completely out of touch with reality. People, there is no such thing as unicorns, and rainbows will still have a cantankerous leprechaun guarding that big old pot of gold.
What does this mean?
Different societies have different roles for men and women. This is an important part of culture. When you come from one society where washing your ass with your left hand is acceptable, you might have trouble adapting to a society where you shake everyone’s left hand. Yikes!
Over the years, I have lived in numerous non-American societies where the man is treated very special. I had a girlfriend from Zambia, Africa who would prepare my dinner like I was the Head of State.
She would get dressed up after she cooked my meal, with makeup and attire, and feed me while I sat at the table like a King.
Here’s some fine Zambian food. This is Nshima and beef relish. Doesn’t it look absolutely great. Again, as I have stated before, in the rest of the world you are typically free to drink beer at dinner without having to show your age or an ID. You are also permitted to smoke without fear of arrest.
After making sure that I was well fed, she would clean up afterwards. While I sat there drinking my after dinner coffee.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
I had a girlfriend from Mexico that always made sure that I was well fed, and insisted that I am comfortable in “my” chair. In fact she guarded it so that no one else would be able to use it. She was there for me, how can I say this, on demand (if you catch my drift).
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
My Chinese wife selects the food I eat, the clothes I wear, and the exercise I do. She wants me to be better than everyone else. She makes sure that I am up to it. She is strong like a tiger in this regard.
She treats me like a powerful mob boss. And, when I leave the house, I act that way in public.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
Yet, when I visit the United States, I see women acting just horrible. It is as if there is a war on males in the United States. It is disgusting.
To me, it is actually horrifying, as typically the women doing this look like big white water buffalo’s to me, acting like mean and horrible white-trash. They look like they belong on Jerry Springer, more than walking on the public street.
As someone who is used and accustomed to being treated well by extremely beautiful women, I do not tolerate being treated poorly. This is most especially true for any woman that is not up to par in my (personal) attractiveness scale.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
I am not alone in this. This goes for all Americans who have traveled outside the Untied States. So, in my world, and in my reality, you can either adapt or leave. There is no room for the lowest common denominator.
American women really need to “up their game”.
American men need to stay away from disrespect in all forms.
When both men and women are single, their interests are directed towards other things. The woman wants to be attractive, have fun, and maybe work on a career. A man, working on a career, have fun, and meet girls. Once both get married that all changes. They now have a family and together their family needs both of their attention.
This ability to focus on a family is not something that you learn about on a first date. It is something you discover over time and over numerous dates. The woman discovers just how comfortable the man would be letting her run things. The man discovers whether or not this girl is THE one who can build up a family for him.
It is not only about raising children, working on career goals, a devotion to the elders in the family and a shared sense of adventure. It is also about every aspect of a family. Just how willing is the woman to devote to building up a family, creating a home out of a house and just how important she places a family life in her scale of things.
Here is a transcription of a woman lamenting her decision to forego building a family and instead having a career. Read it and cry.
Every Wednesday, the second hour of my national radio show is the “Male/Female Hour.” A few weeks ago, a woman named Jennifer called in.
For reasons of space, I have somewhat shortened her comments. Every young woman should read them. This is precisely what she said:
“Dennis, I want to get right to it. I’m 50 years old with four college degrees. I was raised by a feminist mother with no father in the home. My mother told me get an education to the maximum level so that you can get out in the world, make a lot of money. And that’s the path I followed. I make adequate money. I don’t make a ton of money. But I do make enough to support my own household.
“I want to tell women in their 20s: Do not follow the path that I followed. You are leading yourself to a life of loneliness. All of your friends will be getting married and having children, and you’re working to compete in the world, and what you’re doing is competing with men.
"Men don’t like competitors. Men want a partner. It took me until my late 40s to realize this.
“And by the time you have your own household with all your own bills, you can’t get off that track, because now you’ve got to make the money to pay your bills. It’s hard to find a partner in your late 40s to date because you also start losing self-confidence about your looks, your body.
"It’s not the same as it was in your 20s.
"You try to do what you can to make your life fulfilling. I have cats and dogs. But it’s lonely when you see your friends having children, going on vacations, planning the lives of their children, and you don’t do anything at night but come home to your cats and dogs. I don’t want other women to do what I have done.”
I asked, “Was it hard for you to make this call?”
She responded: “It was. I want to be anonymous because I don’t want people that I know to really know my true feelings. Because you do act like ‘My career is everything. I love working.’ But it’s a lie on the inside for me. It’s unfortunate. I didn’t realize this until it’s too late. I don’t know if it’s too late. I would like to find somebody to go on vacation with.
“You have other concerns when you get older and you live alone. Who’s going to take you to your medical appointments? If something should happen to you, there’s no other income there to help you. These are things you don’t understand when you’re in your 20s because you don’t think you’ll ever get old and have health problems.
“I’m stuck now because I go to work every day. I smile like I love it, but it’s very painful to not plan a vacation with someone. It’s painful to not have a Thanksgiving dinner with someone. You sit home alone and you do nothing. I avoid my friends now that have children because I have nothing in common with them.
“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Why did you stay single and never have kids?’ There’s answers: Because I was brainwashed by my mother into this. But it’s hard and it’s shameful to tell people, ‘I don’t know. I ran out of time.’
“There’s not a good answer for it except: ‘I was programmed to get into the workforce, compete with men, and make money.’ Supposedly, that would be a fulfilling life. But I was told that by a feminist mother who was divorced, who hated her husband—my father.
“She tried to steer me on what she thought was the right path, but feminism is a lie. That’s what I want women to know.
“I didn’t realize this until late in life. I want to tell women: Find someone in your 20s. That’s when you’re still very cute. That’s when you’re still amiable to working out problems with someone. It’s harder in your 50s, when you’ve lived alone, to compromise with someone, to have someone in your home and every little thing about them annoys you because you’re so used to being alone. It’s hard to undo that, so don’t do what I did. Find someone in your 20s.”
I said, “I’m thinking of transcribing your call and making it a column.”
“Do that, Dennis. I want to help whoever I can,” she said.
-From the Daily Signal.
A man looks for a partner. He searches for someone to make his life COMPLETE. He looks for a life partner. It is biologically programmed into him.
A devoted woman will do whatever it takes to make the family work.
Here’s two micro videos showing hard-working, but poorer girls, supporting their families and building their homes. For in China, the man MUST work, and the woman MUST take care of the family. Many times, that means building of finishing up a home while the man works far away.
A woman does what ever it takes. She is fearless. She is capable. Help her and empower her. You will receive blessings on your life beyond compare.
Let me explain these videos.
Many times a couple will get married in a poor village. The husband would have to accept a job in a far away city, while the wife stays home. Many times the wife would get the paychecks from the working husband and use that money to build their home. This is not at all uncommon.
She would take this money and budget it.
First thing on the agenda would be building and making a house. Sure she might get help from uncles and classmates. However, ultimately, much of the work would be up to her. So many of those houses in rural China were physically made by wives in support of their families.
People! This is what a traditional family looks like.
The man works and the woman stays home and takes care of the family. For young families, the man works like crazy in far away cities and sends the bulk of what he makes to his wife. He, in turn, lives either in small dorms or barracks or, alternatively inside very tiny apartments like this one…
This is how a young married Chinese man lives. He does what ever it takes to help his new wife build up their family. He will work long hours and every day. He will eat what his employer provides, and will sleep in the very smallest of spaces. He will do this for his wife. He will do this for his family. This is what a traditional man is.
All the money he makes goes to his wife.
Maybe he will only make a few hundred yuan ($30). All of it goes to his wife. The Chinese women that I know differ from the American women. A Chinese wife would rather have 100% of what her man makes – even if it is only $30, rather than a small portion, say 5% of what he makes. That’s true even if he makes a million dollars.
I don’t quite understand it. Really. Because the millionaire would give the wife more money than a mere $30. It doesn’t make sense economically nor financially. But, there you have it. That is the way it is.
Chinese traditional women demand 100% from their man.
American progressive women look to men as a resource.
Culturally, Chinese women are very different from American women.
It is not a scene out of progressive liberal propaganda out of the American urban enclave. These are not little waifs that huddle in fear, or scenes out of the Handmaid’s Tale. This is real life. This is how the rest of the world lives. Open up your eyes to the reality.
And for Pete’s sake, get your friggin’ nose out of the propaganda being spoon-fed to you by the American elite.
[9] Spirituality
Look for a spiritual woman. I always look for a woman who understands that the universe is bigger than we understand. I look for a woman who can feel the presence of God.
I am a Catholic, but I am not referring to a religious person. I am referring to a spiritual person. My first wife was a Baptist. My second (the one who retired me) was agnostic, but raised as a Catholic. My current wife is a Buddhist. Find a woman who is spiritual.
Check to see if she is really spiritual. Watch how she treats animals. Watch how he feels about tradition, families. Pay attention to the role that she has in her own family. Just how functional or dysfunctional it is. Pay attention.
[10] Shared Values
Finally, I look for a woman that has the same values as I do. We do not have to agree politically, but the fundamentals must be comparative. If I am going to give her 100% of all my money, I should be able to trust her that she won’t use it on coke, crack, and casino trips.
If I am going to devote my life to one singular woman, I expect her to do the same. If I am planning to have a family, I expect her to want a family as well. If I want to travel and have an adventurous life, then I would expect her to want it as well. Alternatively, if I want to have a quiet sedentary life in a rural cottage, I would expect her to want it as well.
Shared dreams, shared values, and shared life are fundamental to a couple’s success.
Conclusions
We, men and women, can be choosy in who we select to be our mate. It is important because your mate, the person you marry, will have the greatest influence in your quality of life. Therefore, we need to choose wisely.
This is true for both men and women.
I live in friggin’ communist China and the women here are extremely attractive, with long beautiful hair, mesmerizing eyes, tight butts and astounding chests, and are very traditional at home. They take care of their man and their family. When I am with these wonderful ladies they treat me like I am a VIP and I am treated like a God. I cannot stress how wonderful being treated special is. Most especially from an amazingly attractive woman. I mean, it is just amazing.
Conversely, many (but thankfully, not all) the women in “free” America look like they belong on the set of Jerry Springer. Are rude, crass, selfish and treat me like a piece of nothing. The differences between women in China is just astounding. I mean, what the heck happened?
An American woman who runs a business that she proudly calls “Trailer Trash”. I am sure that she is proud of it. How would you like to be married to this chick? How do you think she would treat you when you got home from work? Do you think that she knows how to cook? Would she make a good mother?
For me, and most men would agree, you pick the wife that is suitable for you. Let the rest of the world howl. All that matters is what you decide and the reality that you create.
You can get an ugly, fat, foul-mouthed woman who will constantly make fun of you.
You can be with an attractive, kind, caring and thoughtful woman. She takes care of herself, and will treat you like a king.
You can choose the lady that is most suitable for you. If you cannot find that woman in your town, go to a different town. If you cannot find her there, go else where. Eventually you will find that girl. I promise you.
Finally, here’s a little secret. If you are having trouble, do this. Go to church. Many of the most eligible women attending church. They are God-fearing, traditional women who would make fine, just real fine, wives.
Women in General
There are amazing women all over the world. That includes the United States. It is my belief that the vast bulk of American women are great and kind and wonderful. It is just that the bad ones are so very awful that it makes everyone look bad.
I now live in China. So what I am going to do is post some micro-videos of some attractive and sweet Chinese girls to help illustrate that there is no set “type” of lady that is perfect. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes. Each one is different and each one has their very own personal charms.
Enjoy.
Women come in all sizes and shapes. They come in all kinds of attitudes and personalities. I love every single one. Please, I urge you the reader not to get too hung up on the media narrative of what is attractive, instead find ladies that appeal to your own sensibilities. You might be surprised how refreshing and pleasant it is…
Here’s another gal. Sorry, but I am in China. So this is all that I have to work with. Here’s another Chinese girl. Isn’t she just adorable?
I am a big sucker for a nice smile and feigned shyness…
The point here is that attractiveness comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes. There is no set standard. If I were to specify some idea on what is attractive, I would have to say that it is the sum total of what a particular woman is. For each woman has their own charms that are displayed uniquely.
I, for one happen to like so many different kinds of women. I like different body types. I like different kinds of attitudes, and I enjoy a big healthy smile. Here is a nice Chinese gal with an impressive chest jumping around and having fun…
Each woman has their own personality. This personality can be seen how they move, and the their selection of the music that they play. Personality is one of the key aspects of attractiveness. Be kind. Be happy. Smile a lot. Let your inner being glow.
The point that I am making here is that there is no set formula on what makes a woman attractive to a man. The woman must be strong, be themselves, be kind. Sooner or later the man that fits her personality will come around. It could be you. So, be the best you can be, and look for a mate that is the best that she is. Together you will have a life that will be marvelous.
Take Aways
Men look for a mate that will best match his needs as a man, and who will be fitting for his future family.
Women who cannot fit within his expectations will need to find other men to be with.
These men, the ones that do not have traditional values, will tend to be short-term affairs or long-term relationships that will not conclude in a marriage. That is because the men’s absolute needs are not being met.
This post lists ten needs that a man has.
FAQ
Q: What if men have different needs than what is listed here? A: That is fine. There are all kinds of people and all kinds of men. It is the difference that are important. Not what makes us all the same. Personally, I don’t like going into a Starbucks in NYC and then going into one in Shenzhen. They are all the same. I like to go to a local pizza establishment in NYC and eating a New York style pizza. I also like going into a family restaurant in Shenzhen and eating some delicious dumplings. It is the differences that are important.
Q: So don’t you think that you are full of Misogyny? Aren’t you just defending the Patriarchy? Aren’t you Cisgender? A: I don’t know. Maybe.
If so, what’s wrong with it? What is it YOUR business?
I don’t hate women. I love women. I love my wife. I love my mother and my sisters. I love my girlfriends, and their friends. Besides, what is wrong with a Patriarchy? Can you explain that?
Your assumptions are all terribly faulted, and you discuss them as if they are proven and have merit. They don’t.
Q: What does “check your privilege” mean? A: In 1998, American feminist and anti-racism activist Peggy McIntosh wrote an essay entitled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” In McIntosh’s sense, privilege is a set of special provisions that a person acquires — or doesn’t — because of their identity.
If you are a rich, white, heterosexual man, then you’ll have it easier through life than a working-class, lesbian, woman of color. The exhortation to check your privilege became popular on internet blogs dealing with social justice themes as a reminder that we are not all dealt the same hand in life.
What the real truth is that it is an insult, and veiled threat that says “you had it easy in life”. I personally find it extremely insulting. As the person saying this has absolutely no idea what I had to do to get where I am now.
Q: What does Heteronormative mean? A: Heteronormative was coined by the writer and academic Marina Warner in 1991. It means “a world view which regards gender roles as fixed to biological sex. It treats heterosexuality as the normal and preferred sexual orientation.” Which is pretty much an accepted norm globally.
However the intention is to use distorted group think to redefine the narrative and to use this word as an insult. I am a traditional man, and I think that women are attractive to me. This fact, apparently, makes me “heteronormative”.
No problem. So was George Washington. So was Jesus Christ. So was Gandhi. So was Jimmy Carter. So was Bill Clinton. So was Ronald Reagan. So were both my parents and all of my grandparents.
So, a non-heteronormative person is a societal abnormality.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
Posts about the Changes in America
America is
going through a period of change. Change is good… that is, after it
occurs. Often however, there are large periods of discomfort as the
period of adjustment takes place. Here are some posts that discuss this
issue.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are
reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly
impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal
library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come
and enjoy a read or two as well.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
For eight years, from 1981 until 1989, the United States had one of the greatest Presidents running the nation; Ronald Reagan. Of course, the media hated him. Of course, subsequent politicians and their media sycophants have rewrote the narrative, turning the amazing decade into one of “racism”, inequality, and a trampling of rights. What a crock of bullshit.
It was no such thing.
You can tell simply by looking at pop culture from that time.
If everyone was sad, unhappy, unemployed and suffering, the pop culture would reflect it. Just like pop culture reflected World War II, and the 1950’s. Pop culture is a far superior barometer of the health of a nation than the nonsense spewed out from mainstream media. For if you listen to the mainstream media narrative, the United States today is completely unified and angry against Donald Trump. The media has us believing that Antifa and the BLM are “grassroots” organizations that spring up organically. They try to give the impression that it’s just normal everyday folks that hide behind the black masks. Don’t believe them or their narrative, as it is not an accurate reflection of American society today.
This is my tribute to the decade of Ronald Reagan.
This is my tribute to the years from 1981 until 1989. If you, the reader, DON’T want to hear what actually happened during this time from someone who experienced it, you can leave. You can read the politically correct revised narrative; one that is saturating the history books, and one that is repeatedly proclaimed over and over by the progressive mainstream media. Go ahead. That is your reality. Suck it up. Absorb the bullshit. Read the narrative. Hell, you need boots to traverse the sludge.
I guess that Americans must be friggin’ idiots not to want this kind of “success” to continue. Because, last I heard, the entire policy plank of the liberal progressive elite was in tatters by 2016. Everyone was so happy with the “new” Global-centrist Socialist America that they decided to tear it all up and go with Trump. Go figure. So, yeah. Believe what you want in your reality.
This is mine.
Introduction
If you go on many internet websites, such as history.com, you will see the politics of that time. You will see the big issues that the newspapers printed. You will see what wars the United States were involved in. You will see the various political issues and the various spending initiatives. All of which was true.
Yes. That was the 1980’s, but that was NOT what you personally experienced.
That was what you read about in the papers. That was what you watched on the news. That was what the radio talked about. It was the reality that was TOLD to us. Then, as now, the media are completely out of touch with the vast bulk of America.
Well, it should be clear by now, that everything that comes out of the mainstream media is propaganda designed to manipulate. It was just as true then as it is today. If the news-babe is talking, you pretty much can believe that it is a lie. Any facts and figures coming from a “blue ribbon panel” is nonsense. And, just about any polling data is simply fabricated baloney.
Here is a screenshot taken from a mainstream media website in 2015 that was using polling data to predict the outcome of the 2016 election. They predicted, based on polling data, that the vast bulk of the population would vote for Hillary Clinton. They predicted a landslide win over Donald Trump. The liberal website “The Daily Kos made this prediction in 2015 based on polling data from Democratic pollster Tom Jensen . Their conclusion; Let Donald Trump try to win, it would be the biggest mistake the GOP ever made, and would destroy their party.
So, instead of a nice rehash of what we were told was important, you know, by the oligarchy that runs the propaganda, let’s talk about what it was like on a personal level. Let’s talk about the society and culture under a conservative presidency.
Oh, yeah, real conservatives are a rare breed. Neither of the Bushes were conservatives. They were globalists. They served the global oligarchy.
The last real and honest conservative in office was Ronald Reagan.
Let’s talk about the culture during a successful Republican (Conservative) presidency. It’s not a perfect analogy by any means. However, for those of you who seemingly enjoyed watching these movies, realize that they are a reflection of that time and that place.
Here are some highlights as described by the pop culture (movies) of that time…
Movies during this time
There were so many good movies during this decade. I believe that this was pre-progressive Hollywood. They really hit their stride then.
Not like today, where the case is always diverse, progressive, and female. Hey! How did you like the all-female remake of Ghostbusters? Oceans Eleven? The Rocketeer? Get ready, they plan an all-female remake of Goodfellas next year too. Groan!
The trailer for the new all-female “Ocean’s 11” reboot was unveiled this week. The Hollywood Reporter called it "the capstone 2017 needed." Most regular people called it awful and stupid.What else could it be other than awful and stupid? It’s a reboot of a remake of a remake, which means it already has all the fun and freshness of dried vomit. The feminist twist just gives it an extra touch of preachiness and pandering, like a vomit stain that comes to life and lectures you about the patriarchy.-The Daily Wire
The movies in the 1980’s didn’t have any of this progressive revisionism rammed down our collective throats. They were light-hearted fun and charming. Even the more serious ones. Here’s a trip down memory lane…
Criteria
There were so, so, so many great movies made during this time, that there is no way that I would be able to put them all here. I just added them as my memories permitted. The first one is “Spaced Invaders” because it is really great and really obscure.
Spaced Invaders.
I don’t know how anyone could hate this movie. I honestly and really don’t. It is so funny. It took a unique mind to come up with this story line. It’s not your typical alien movie. These aliens are so stupid and confused. They remind me of Eric Holder, Nancy Pulaski, and Mad Maxine Waters.
Characters so stupid that you wonder how they learned to walk.
I am not at all kidding. Just pay attention to their actions and listen to what they say and how these aliens react to situations. When you transpose a progressive mantle onto them, the movie takes on an entirely new meaning.
After mistaking a Halloween re-broadcast of Orson Welles’ classic radio adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS for a real Martian invasion, a group of moronic Martians shows up on Earth looking to conquer only their plans go awry as they find themselves truly out of their element and in reality all alone. This really is often quite good and funny, with some decent lines to boot. It will most likely appeal to Sci-Fi fans. This has passed the test of time for me as seeing it again recently it proved much better than I expected it to be. Despite a cast made up of no-name stars, this may just be the funniest Martian invasion ever put to film. Interestingly enough, the Martians themselves seem to represent almost every classic Action Hero/Sci-Fi Hero stereotype there is (cool 50s teen, fighter pilot, fearless astronaut, brave soldier and kooky scientist). Fun for the whole family.
Twins.
The whole film is about the brothers and how they get along. De Vito plays the sluggish criminal Vincent who finds it difficult to accept his brother and Arnie plays the very enthusiastic brother Julius who is always willing to do everything he can.
Having two different types of characters allows the tension and excitement of the film to boil up and engages the audience into watching the humor but also the emotional ideas contained. It is very heart warming and will bring a smile to your face as some actions are completely ridiculous in a humorous sense but the ending is also very special for many people. There are many ‘brother’ conventions. De Vito is willing to help his brother into the world and teach him the things he knows as is Arnie.
TWINS, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kelly Preston, Danny DeVito, Chloe Webb, 1988, (c)Universal Pictures
War Games.
Historically-speaking, there are two movies that have shaped public opinion about computers: 2001 and WarGames. With 2001, there is the question of “What happens when an automated computer system makes decisions on its own?” In today’s world of automatic Windows updates and random error messages for no reason, it seems very prophetic. WarGames poses the question of “Who uses the computer and what do they do?” The consequences, as one can easily guess, are enormous. Even when hardware ages, the ethics remain.
Wargames was a movie that was way ahead of its time. No one was making films about hacking into computer systems. The only computers used in movies were on space ships. No home computer has ever really been brought to the big screen. Wargames broke from the normal studio sci fi norm of either Earth being visited by aliens (E.T) or battles of Good and Evil in space (Star Wars, Star Trek). With the raise in hacker crime rate now, and seeing how Dependent we’ve become on computers, Wargames was a movie with it the eye on the future. Imaginative story, great cast (who, despite other reviews, do not phone it in) Wargames is a true gem, as it was recently listed by AFI as one of the top 100 sci fi movies of all time.
WarGames isn’t perfect. There are plenty of logic problems in the script, but it still presents its topic with a naive fascination. What the writers don’t know, they pretend they do. Matthew Broederick is, once again, the nerdy teen with social problems (Ferris Bueller had a different problem, though). Aside from Glory, he won’t be able to shake that image even now in his 40s.
Weird Science.
This is a great movie that contained the hit from the group “Tears for fears” where “Everyone want’s to Rule the World”.
Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behavior
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
Mitch Taylor is one of the youngest students ever accepted to a university known for its programs for geniuses. He partners up with his roommate, science club legend Chris Knight, on a project to develop a high-powered laser. Together with their hyperkinetic friends, they employ their intellects in the pursuit of bigger blasts, practical jokes, and a deeper understanding of what real genius means. When they find out that their professor intends to turn their work over to the military for use as a weapon, they decide to get even
Tears For Fears and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”. This is jet another 1980’s classic . It was also in the movie “Real Genus“, which in itself was a totally classic 1980’s flick.
Let’s talk about it.
It’s interesting to me that Revenge of the Nerds, while still full up of the nostalgia that the 80s lends us, is lately being rewritten as chauvinistic . What was viewed for many years as a bit of harmless fun that waved the banner for nerds everywhere is now being a called a movie full of racism and misogyny, and damages the image of geek culture more than it applauds for it.
Oh, give me a friggin’ break.
Real Genius was loosely (very very very loosely) inspired by actual events that took place when university students were working to crack laser technology. But in Real Genius, this is being done on the fictional Pacific Tech campus, where the students are unknowingly creating that laser for the CIA to use in government sanctioned hits from space. They don’t know this because their odious professor, Dr. Hathaway (played to a tee by William Atherton), obviously isn’t letting them in on the secret.
He’s too busy skimming off the funds that the government is providing to the project, so he can renovate his house.
Mitch Taylor is one of the youngest students ever accepted to a university known for its programs for geniuses. He partners up with his roommate, science club legend Chris Knight, on a project to develop a high-powered laser. Together with their hyperkinetic friends, they employ their intellects in the pursuit of bigger blasts, practical jokes, and a deeper understanding of what real genius means. When they find out that their professor intends to turn their work over to the military for use as a weapon, they decide to get even.
Weird Science.
This is yet another great 1980’s movie. Even when John Hughes makes a mediocre film such as “Weird Science,” the nature of his intent still shines through, to the point where you can’t necessarily fault him for anything except not making a better one.
“Weird Science” serves as the ultimate 1980s high school nerd fantasy, one in which babes see social awkwardness as a turn-on and bullies and extortionist older brothers help themselves to large servings of humble pie. The movie truly doesn’t need to be anything more, even in spite of the shallowness of its characters and general disregard for logic.
Anthony Michael Hall (in his fourth Hughes film in three years) and Ilan Mitchell-Smith star as two losers who determine that if they can’t get girls the “old-fashioned” way that they can use their computer smarts to play Frankenstein and create the ideal woman. After some illegal hacking they pack her with a high IQ (and an appropriate breast size) then hook a doll up to a machine. One crazy storm inside their house later and suddenly there’s Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), who’s every bit as stunning with a type A personality as a nerd could possibly imagine or desire.
Weird Science is the best 80’s comedy that was ever made. I’m saying it. Ghostbusters, Summer Rental, The Great Outdoors, Strange Brew, Gung Ho, Mr. Mom, all of these movies have their place, but none of them can match Weird Science for laughs or pure….eightiesness. Yes eightiesness is a quality. It’s a corny, dated quality but one that is tangible and valued by my fellow eighties loving brethren to this day. Come back with me if you will to a time when Anthony Michael Hall was still fielding calls and Kelly LeBrock was French for sexy. Weird Science has everything that an eighties comedy needs: A least one hot girl, a few actors who are no longer working or who do anything that will come along, plenty of dashing eighties threads, a corny as hell eighties soundtrack,(and Oingo Boingo is as corny and eighties as they get), and plenty of cheap funny jokes.
The Lost Boys.
There are many films about vampires, but one that is almost always remembered with a shy smile on the face is definitely “The Lost Boys”. As one of the best remembered films of the 80s, this movie has become part of pop culture and a defining film for that period.
The movie showcases most of what was cool or hip in that decade.
While its status as “horror classic” has a lot to do with the nostalgic factor, it’s an entertaining film on its own right and its modernization of the vampire myth along with its tongue in cheek humor still make for a charming and funny session of pure mindless entertainment.
“The Lost Boys” is a movie that effectively combines a cool and attractive look with a simple but entertaining plot resulting in a successful and charming film. The story modernizes classic elements of the vampire myth and adapts it to its time with intelligence and definitely tongue in cheek humor. In fact, this self-aware comedy approach is what makes the film enjoyable, and it relies more on fun and laughs than in actual scares. The plot is rather simple, and lacks some character development, but it makes an interesting (although also quite simplistic) analogy between the troubles of youth and becoming a vampire.
Trading Places.
“Trading Places” is a 1983 comedy that sees Murphy teaming up with fellow Saturday Night Live star Dan Ackroyd. It’s a fantastic tale of two men whose fates are manipulated by the unscrupulous Duke brothers, a pair of stock traders who decide to take Winthorpe (Ackroyd), a high-powered executive and Valentine (Murphy), a down and out beggar, and swap their situations.
They do this to see if they can turn Winthorpe to crime and turn Valentine into a successful trader, regardless of how the two men are affected by it. I’m not sure anyone tolerates blacking up in the politically correct Hollywood movies today, but we still love Ackroyd’s brief stint as ‘Lionel Joseph’ a rasta from Jamaica who has a short but glorious meeting with Eddie Murphy’s ‘Nenge Mboko.’
Louis Winthorpe III:Nenge? Nenge Mboko? It is me, Lionel Joseph!Billy Ray Valentine:Lionel? From the African Education Conference?Louis Winthorpe III:Yah, mon, I was Director of Cultural Activities at the Haile Selassie Pavilion.Billy Ray Valentine:I remember the pavilion – we had big fun there!Both:Boo-boo yah, boo-boo yah, boo-boo yah, hah! Boo-boo yah, boo-boo yah, boo-boo yah, hah!Billy Ray Valentine:Oh, memories!
Denholm Elliott’s drunk Irish priest adds to the racist fun. I love how politically incorrect it is.
This is probably one of the funniest films of the 1980’s. It not only is a play on the classic nature vs. nurture theme, but it is also a somewhat comedic commentary on the “greed is good” decade of the 80’s. However, it is also a nice bridging of the generations as it features two of the biggest stars to come from “Saturday Night Live” Eddie Murphy does a fine job as con man Billy Ray and Dan Ackroyd is great as Louis. Jamie Lee Curtis is also wonderful as Ophelia. In fact, it was good to see her do something other than the “scream queen” roles which she became famous for during the early part of her career. She definitely shows the comedic timing that she would display later in her career and would make her one of the finest comedic actresses in film today. However, the one that really steals it for me is Denholm Elliot as Coleman. He delivers a very low key performance that is befitting for that role. This is a real gem.
Dragnet.
When was the last time you watched this movie? Heh heh. Maybe it might be time to dust off the ol’ BetaMAX and pop that puppy in and watch it again.
This film is a scream. It takes everything that the original series did, and does it with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Dan Ackroyd’s deadpan Jack Webb impersonation is a riot, as are the remarks he makes to Hanks’ Pep Streebeck.
A typical example would be after Joe ignores Sylvia Wiss’ advances, and Pep calls him on it. Joe looks him dead in the eye and says,
"Streebeck, there are two things that separate us from the animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we can control our sexual urges. I don't know about you, but don't drag ME into your private HELL!"
That line is so Jack Webb-DRAGNET that I’m surprised it never showed up in the 1960’s version. Like the Austin Powers films, DRAGNET spoofs a cultural icon in such a way as to evoke the original. Ignore the silly plot, and just enjoy the ride.
Dragnet is a satirical version of the famous documentary style police show from the Fifties and the later color version from the sixties. Dan Ackroyd’s dead-on impersonation of the no-nonsense monotone Jack Webb that a generation of Americans grew up remembering is excellent. Like Webb he plays it completely straight or maybe I should say straight man.
Young Sherlock Homes
What if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a story where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson met as adolescents? What if he made it a very suspenseful mystery that explained may of the great sleuth’s character traits and stylistic characteristics?
What if…well, he did not, but screenwriter Chris Columbus, director Barry Levinson, and producer Steven Spielberg do bring us a fine film that does these things called Young Sherlock Holmes. Young Sherlock Holmes is the meeting of fantasy film and classic literature, and it is a meeting that coexists very nicely.
The plot is reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark in that there is a lot of action and adventure, as well as exploration of the cult, which has its meetings in a cavernous place with a replica of a pyramid, where its members wear costumes and practice mummification. There are lots of special effects during the hallucination sequences as well as in other sections.
The great detective meets his future colleague and friend Dr. Watson in a London prep school amidst the mystery of what six men did many years ago in Egypt. Several of the men begin to die in horrible, inexplicable ways, and the young Holmes suspects mischief.
The film is a veritable treasure trove of Sherlock Holmes allusions. The film is fast-paced, fun, fantastical, and creates insights into why Holmes developed emotionally the way he did.
Overboard.
This was a great film. I enjoyed it thoroughly! The casting couldn’t have been better and it was hilarious! The kids were great and made me laugh! Kurt did another excellent job.
All those who are fanatics for edge of your seat thrillers, don’t even comment on this movie, go see Soldier or something, maybe you’ll like that better. “Typical 80’s trash” says the pompous Hollywood critics. Nonsense. Just enjoy the story, I loved it.
Overboard is a wonderful and delightful movie. Every aspect of this story is entertaining. Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Edward Herrmann turn in great performances. But what bolsters this movie is the story about how a vain, selfish and spoiled woman undergoes a major transformation and in the process emerges as truly beautiful, not only physically but spiritually as well. The movie also has its share of amusing scenes, and in many respects it is a farce, but it’s a lot more than that – it is statement about home, family, devotion and love. The movie shows the spiritual emptiness of conspicuous materialism and the shallowness associated with unfettered consumption. This is is not to say that the movie is anti-wealth because it isn’t. Rather, it is an amusing foray into the quirkiness of relationships and how people with seemingly nothing in common can form strong personal bonds.
My Stepmother is an Alien.
Here is an oldie but goodie. This movie is great! It’s got a funny script and an interesting storyline…I don’t know if people were expecting some kind of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” challenger, but you all need to see this movie for what it is…somehow I doubt it was meant to deliver some deep message about society or help you delve into your soul…it’s a comedy that is meant to entertain!
Lighten up, people….
I rate this film as “so bad, it’s kinda good”. It reeks of everything I feel the Eighties was trying to get away from when it became the Nineties, however nostalgia will forever hallow certain themes, in a “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” sort of way. Certainly by today’s standards this movie is very corny and lacks any real depth sought by movie lovers everywhere, but it has a lot of tongue in cheek charm that other movies lack. As a summary, I couldn’t sit down and watch this film with any of my friends, but it would be a perfect companion on a slow evening when I’ve had a few beers and need my mind taken off things.
Top Gun.
How can we ignore this movie? I remember when it first came out. I was in ELF training at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center. We, my wife and I, went to the theater in Ridgecrest on a lovely Friday night. They were playing this movie, and I with my wife sat and watched it. There were other Naval Aviators in the theater, and everyone thought that the movie was outstanding. It was a great time, and afterwards, we went to the local pizza parlor and had a stuffed-crust deep dish with a pitcher of beer.
Top Gun is undoubtedly one of my favorite films, and one of those that has the ability to keep enthralling you even while watching for the tenth time. Director Tony Scott was chosen after the producers saw his work in advertising, and true to their judgement he has produced a visual masterpiece. It looks simply gorgeous, and the live action sequences have never been bettered. If there is one flaw in the film it is that it is somewhat shallow, with all of the people behind the film (and Tom Cruise) rather better at making visual spectaculars than an engaging story.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
This movie exemplified what the 1980’s was. It was fun, positive and upbeat. People, for the most part, were optimistic. It was a big change from the doom and gloom of the Jimmy Carter years.
Remember that time? President Carter would hold these “fireside chats” and tell Americans that we have to accept a new reality, one where we are not as good as other nations. We, as Americans need to do with less. We need to stop dreaming. We, need to pay more, and more, and yet more taxes. It is to atone to our sins of the past (whatever the fuck they were…).
Yes. I remember that time.
I well remember this movie. I remember his sister, the crazed principal, and his secretary with the big bee-hive hairdo. I remember his carefree attitude, and who can forget the fantastic parade scene? Honestly!
John Hughes was believed to be THE scribe for teen angst.
He wrote eloquently of it in "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink". And with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", he creates a person and a time in life that just about anyone who's ever been a teenager can relate to.
Who hasn't known someone like Ferris Bueller (Broderick)? Someone who always has a plan, someone who made loafing off an art form, someone who could fall in a barrel of you-know-what and come out smelling like a rose?
-Mister-6
High school student Ferris Bueller wants a day off from school and he’s developed an incredibly sophisticated plan to pull it off. He talks his friend Cameron into taking his father’s prized Ferrari and with his girlfriend Sloane head into Chicago for the day. While they are taking in what the city has to offer school principal Ed Rooney is convinced that Ferris is, not for the first time, playing hooky for the day and is hell bent to catch him out. Ferris has anticipated that, much to Rooney’s chagrin.
Doctor Detroit.
With the democrats constantly harping that the 1980’s were a travesty with Conservatives running things, the popular culture did not reflect that at all. People listened to music that they could relate to.
They watched movies that they found happy, light and funny. The movie “Doctor Detroit” is one such movie. That is what they could relate to. Just like today, under Obama, people watched zombie survival movies. It’s all a reflection of the times.
“Doctor Detroit” ranks in my top five comedy films ever. It is not so much an “intelligent” comedy, as seems to the trend recently. But it is definitely good old ’80s fun. This really just a fun, silly movie which will give you a 90-minute shot of escapism. It is worth seeing if for no other reason than the costume that Aykroyd dons as he becomes “Dr. Detroit.”
Airplane.
Yuppur, if everyone was so miserable, then why did they enjoy so many absolutely silly comedies? The liberal narrative just falls apart.
This is still one of funniest spoof movies ever made, Airplane is one of the first and one of the best around. Spoof movies definitely have there place in everyone’s collection, but this is probably the best you’ll ever see in the genre, if you have never seen it and you fancy a laugh, I can’t recommend a better film.
“Airplane!” is, was and always shall be the master of spoof movies. It is single-handedly responsible for literally inventing a sub-genre of comedy. It is the ultimate Silly Movie. A satire of the disaster movies of the 1970s, particularly the “Airport” series, nothing makes sense and it doesn’t need to. There’s no real plot. Just laughs – and plenty of ’em.
Caddyshack.
This is a classic. When the world seems to be spinning out of control, I just download this torrent and get a smile on my face. What’s not to love?
Rodney Dangerfield is just like Trump in Washington DC. It’s friggin’ awesome. (Which is something that even Rush Limbaugh noted.)
You know another way to look at Trump? How about the movie Caddyshack? Here you have these phony club members led by Ted Baxter, and he's running around. They've got this little country club and everybody in it thinks they're the best of the best in town.Rodney Dangerfield decides to join and gets in and blows the club up. He gets this gigantic golf cart, drives it on the greens, blows a big horn, has a gigantic golf bag. The leaders of the country club are beside themselves. They try to kick the guy out, and they can't. They lose every effort against him. That's Trump: Rodney Dangerfield in the Caddyshack, and the media thinks he's Governor William Le Petomane in Blazing Saddles.They haven't the slightest idea who the guy is.-Rush Limbaugh
Some of the greatest comedic actors of that era, namely Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Chevy Chase, are firmly on their A Game here, and are absolutely sublime in this film. And with the help of the great Harold Ramis behind the camera, they raise these characters that should’ve been easily forgotten to some of the most quoted in the history of comedy. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. This film is not for everyone. If you aren’t tickled by these performances, then there’s very little to hold your interest. And I get that. But that’s the way comedy works. It either hits you or it doesn’t. And this film still makes me laugh out loud every single time. And I imagine that it probably always will.
Better off Dead.
John Cusack was one of my favorite actors during the 1980’s. He had many films, especially the young romantic comedies. I loved them all. One of my favorite memories is the scene with the newspaper boy that keeps on wanting to get paid.
Lane Myer: Johnny...
Johnny: Four weeks, twenty papers, that's two dollars. Plus tip.
Lane Myer: Gee Johnny, I don't have a dime.
Johnny: Didn't ask for a dime. Two dollars.
Lane Myer: Well... it's funny see... my mom, had to leave early to take my brother to school and my dad to work cuz...
Johnny: ...two dollars... cash.
Lane Myer: See... the problem here is that... my little brother, this morning, got his arm caught in the microwave, and uh... my grandmother dropped acid and she freaked out, and hijacked a school bus full of... penguins, so it's kind of a family crisis... so come back later? Great.
A look of the movies that he participated in and the years make a great statement that it would seem that his movies were a firm fixture and part of the Reagan years.
Who hasn’t watched this? I have versions of this movie on BetaMAX, VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD. I remember the first time I saw this move, like Top Gun, on a Friday night in Ridgecrest after ELF training at China Lake NWC. Sit down and watch it again. It’s great!
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents and becomes his mother’s romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean, who helps Marty repair history and return to 1985.
The Princess Bride.
Of course, this is such a classic that I am afraid to list it here. This is one of those rare films that gets better each time you watch it. With something for everyone, The Princess Bride combines romance, action, adventure and parody to create the perfect movie.
I’m not exactly sure what exactly it is that makes The Princess Bride such a spectacular film. Or, at the very least, I just can’t pinpoint a single characteristic about it that really rises above all others as the main reason that no one should miss it. Indeed, it has a title that should prove to be remarkably uninteresting to the typical action adventure fan (okay, MALE action adventure fan), but even the most die-hard Die Hard fan would love this film. It is extremely important not to judge this film just because it has such a flowery and dangerously (at the risk of sounding shallow) girly name, because it is full of wonderful adventure and even some good killing and violence. Does this belong in this kind of romantic comedy? Absolutely! The cover box of the film looks like that of a cheesy romance novel, but the film is truly great from start to finish. And, indeed, the film is very aware of the superficial impression that it leaves, and it even presents it directly through Fred Savage’s initial response to his grandfather reading him the story. But as the film goes on, we begin to have the same reaction that Fred has. We can’t get enough.
The plot is rich, with adult innuendos the kids will miss all together and levels of wit to entertain the whole family. The dialogue is full of very funny catch phrases- many of which are still part of my repertoire more than a decade after I first saw the movie. If you like dry humor and fast wit, The Princess Bride will make your day.
Revenge of the Nerds.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984) was a surprise hit. The film follows the adventures of two “nerds” as they go to college and try to join a fraternity. Oh the trials and tribulations they go through. Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards are the two “nerds”who do everything they can to try and fit in with the rest of the college crowd.
What made Revenge work is that it didn’t try to pretend to be something that it wasn’t. This was an exploitative sex-fest and it worked well. What it also had was a funny script and one that we could all relate to. I mean, who hasn’t felt left out or relegated to the side lines while someone else gets all the glory? Besides being extremely funny, this film touched on something that we all can relate to.
This one is the first and best of the series. They should have left well enough alone. But since this was made during the 80’s, a mandatory sequel was made. I recommend this movie. It’s entertaining and worth watching.
Fletch.
Yet another forgotten gem. What really makes the movie is both Fletch’s imagination, his flair for developing different characters, and especially his speed talking. examples include “I love your body Larry (Geena Davis)” while on the phone in front of a hotel clerk, “Nugent, Ted Nugent” when asked by Alan what his name was, “What kind of a name is Poon anyways?” asks Mr. Boyd, to which Fletch’s reply is, “Comanche Indian”.
This movie totally rocks and you will love seeing it AGAIN and AGAIN!!! It is so much better than jay and silent bob strike back, you’ll be laughing for hours! enjoy!
Class! just pure class, nothing long winded just short and sweet, made at a time when chase was top of his class with others like Steve Martin, as for the film its a good story with many many jokes most of which you will have to see the film again to catch as some as they are very fast such as name changes he comes up with, it still stands up well today even if some jokes are lost on people to young to remember certain peoples names, its a shame people like chase don’t get the films that made them so big in the 80s but times and tastes change.
The Goonies.
Here is just another fun movie. It’s now a cult movie, and over the years the house in the movie has had countless visitors to it wanting to relive the movie in their own way. I had this movie on both BetaMAX and LaserDisc, and when the production of the movies in this format dried up, I was left with these classics to watch on rainy days.
The Goonies was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg. A band of kids who live in the “Goon Docks” neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from demolition, and, in doing so, discover an old Spanish map that leads them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the entire adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals, who also want the treasure for themselves.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
This is classic. He and Alex Winter (an indie film dynamo) play Bill and Ted, a couple of 80’s California dudes who want to start their own rock band (Wyld Stallyons). However, both are flunking in high school and will be expelled unless they get an A+ in history.
To make matters worse, Ted will be sent to the military by his father, therefore squashing their dreams of rock stardom.
Enter Rufus (George Carlin), a man from the future who plays Clarence to the boys George (shades of It’s A Wonderful Life) who gives them a telephone booth. With it, they decide to use it to collect great historical figures and bring them to San Dimas, California to show them how mankind has evolved.
Bill and Ted are truly likeable boneheads and both Reeves and Winter deliver fine performances. Carlin is funny in his appearances, showing that he doesn’t need trash-talk to be entertaining. The dialogue is truly amusing, probably because no one talks like that any more. The only weakness is that it’s an 80’s film, so if you didn’t grow up in that era, you might not understand why there’s music playing throughout the film, or why everyone looks and dresses so weird (yes, that’s how everyone looked in the 1980’s).
Who’s Harry Crumb?
This is a forgotten jewel. John Candy’s best film, by far. Granted, he’s been in such classics like Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Little Shop of Horrors, but this is a film where he had to completely stand alone as THE MAN. Campy, fun and entertaining, this film is a great find for anyone who loves old-school comedies.
Harry’s asinine comments make him look like a real ass but he isn’t. Once you get that, it’s easy to get into the humor. That’s John Candy’s genius; his ability to humanize a variety of unlikely or impossible characters and make us love them even if we don’t believe them. this is party because of the expressiveness of his face but also because of his indefinable comic spark.
Volunteers.
Before they started winning Oscars, struggling actors such as Tom Hanks and Robin Williams used to be… SURPRISE!! funny! volunteers is a great example of a movie that refuses to take its leading actors seriously and is all the better for it. this is not a “star vehicle” but is rather an irreverent tongue-in-cheek romp. it takes its cues from Saturday night live, SCTV, Monty Python, and cheesy off-broadway one-act plays.
In return, it is spoofed by one particular Hollywood blockbuster to follow, Austin Powers Goldmember. Mike Myers must have been as impressed with the “reading the subtitles” joke, as well as the “Asian guy on the toilet/being chased by sumo wrestler” schtick. but rather than beat the jokes to death, volunteers assumes we are smart enough to catch them on the fly.
“Volunteers” successfully spoofs more classic films than any other – from Casablanca, through Bridge over the River Kwai, to Lawrence of Arabia, they’re all there if you’re watching carefully enough. Volunteers is a very funny, well written, well acted film. It is so packed with humor it reminds me of the old Mad Magazines with the jokes written in the margins. Some of the humor is rather subtle and the dialogue rolls right over it. If you’re not paying attention, you might miss it.
Back to School.
Old Rodney Dangerfield never got the level of respect that he deserved. (Snicker…)
A funny post-Animal House college film with a pretty distinguished cast. In addition to Dangerfield, who is terrific as usual, we also get to see Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Ned Beatty, and an introduction to the brilliance of Robert Downey Jr. who is unforgettable as Derek Lutz.
Although the movie is silly, lacking any convincing realism or plot, it is nonetheless wonderful fun…especially if you are a Dangerfield fan. His rendition of “Twist and Shout” is a classic. And the scene at registration where his chauffeur Lou, played by the redoubtable Young, is priceless when he holds up a sign by the limo with Bruce Springstein’s name on it and all the students rush out to mob the car while Dangerfield, his son, his son’s love interest, and Lutz have the pick of classes.
I love Rodney Dangerfield. Always have. His one-liners, and all-around smartass attitude have made him a living legend and he never fails to crack me up. Back to School is a great example of what he can do and I never get tired of watching it. Keith Gordon is great as his son and Robert Downey Jr. is pretty hysterical as his best bud. The ever-reliable Burt Young is a lot of fun as Dangerfield’s limo-driver/best friend and he does his duty at supplying the laughs.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
This was made during the post-disco, pre-greed era of the 80s that was far too short. I’m surprised to find out this movie is still popular considering it is far from being politically correct. And, boys and girls, that is a very good thing.
I’ll admit, I wouldn’t want my kids to some of the things these high school kids did, but it is a nice reminder how much fun the era was.
It’s a film about a group of kids looking for love, status, or a good buzz. The film was nothing more than that, and it didn’t pretend to be more. In addition, Cameron Crowe’s script made you *care* about what these kids went through as if their individual situations were happening to us (as they may very well have). It’s almost a crime that a sequel was never made, although a mediocre TV series was spawned. Armed with a cast of characters that struck a chord with all of us (primarily because we knew someone in High School who acted just like them), and a soundtrack that reeked of the Mark Goodman-J.J. Jackson era of MTV, this film stands as a perfect portrait of a decade a lot of us say we’d like to forget….shortly before brushing the dust off an old Night Ranger cassette and indulging in a guilty pleasure.
Adventures in Babysitting.
Elizabeth Shue plays Chris Parker who is babysitting one night but due to certain circumstances ends up taking the kids out on the town in order to pick up one of her friends. What follows is all sorts of adventures involving thugs, crooks, thieves, the lot.
The film is totally funny to watch and has some really good scenes in. Two that come to mind involve a fight between two gangs on a train and one involving the god of Thunder Thor (well, not the Thor you would be expecting).
“Adventures in Babysitting” is a movie that I’ll never forget. One of the reasons why this film is so memorable is because of the Chicago locations. For the past 25 years or so there have been lots of good movies shot in and around Chicago (as well as the suburbs) such as “Risky Business”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, and “The Fugitive” just to name a few. But “Adventures in Babysitting” is probably my favorite movie to be made in Chicago. I saw this movie when it first came out in the summer of 1987 (a year after “Ferris Bueller” which “Adventures” bares somewhat of a resemblance to) and while I was watching the film it felt to me like I was part of the adventure. Today, this is still a very entertaining picture, and a lot of fun.
This is an exciting movie which was typical of 1980’s movies.
Boy, I wish they could make movies like that now. The 80’s has got to be the best decade ever for films of all genres and this movie is just one of many great comedy films of that era. Oh and by the way, I think Elizabeth Shue is beautiful and I believe this was her best role.
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
It’s terrible what the liberals did to Pee Wee. I guess you could say that he was “Borked” long before the democrats assaulted picks for the Supreme Court. Because they and the liberal media got away with it without consequence, it paved the way for all subsequent terror and mayhem that they implemented. Sigh.
Surprisingly, this is Tim Burton’s first movie and he did a great job. His unique directing, visual design, and dark comedy just work superbly as a whole. I can never remember being so affected by clowns in hospital smocks.
Let’s not forget Pee Wee as well. He was definitely a character who I enjoyed watching because he was so carefree, happy, and it was hard not to like him. There are so many great scenes in this one like breakfast time, the Alamo, Pee Wee’s nightmares, any scene with Francis “YOU’LL BE SORRY PEE WEE HERMAN!” Buxton, Mickey the con, the Warner Bros lot and so many more.
The characters are great too and from their performances, you can tell they had fun doing this film cause it shows. With a the limited budget, Pee Wee’s wacky nature, and Tim Burton’s imagination, it all adds up to a really entertaining film. Oops, can’t forget Danny Elfman’s great soundtrack which sets the tone rather nicely.
Some people may think that this movie is silly, pointless, and has ridiculous scenes. But I, however, find it to be entertaining, very funny, and a good family movie made back in the 80’s. It has a lot of jokes that are mostly the ones that are funny because they are weird and never seen anywhere else, but it does also have some one-liners that make even the most stern of audiences laugh. What I liked about this movie was that it had a lot of people involved in it. There were also a lot of locations that were shown in this film, even if the places were not the initial location that they intentioned of in the movie.
One Crazy Summer.
I love the atmosphere, the story line, and the black and white portrayals of Rich Country-Club Republicans.
Do you remember the monster suit where the zipper broke? The poor guy was trying to get the darn head off, and the rich millionaire threw his cigar in the mouth. The monster began streaking and demolishing the model community while smoke came out of his mouth! LOL.
Watermarked photo for One Crazy Summer. I love the Nancy and Ronnie Lunch pail and the Generic Elementary School.
Spies Like Us.
Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd were awesome in this film. It reflected the changing politics of the time, and how two nations can get together after a long, long cold war. What a great 1980’s movie.
Spies Like Us is a 1985 American comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, and Donna Dixon. The film is an homage to the famous Road to … film series which starred Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Hope himself makes a cameo in one scene.
Night of the Comet
Cheesy, but enjoyable satire with a big chunk of ’80’s vibe for flavor! Comet eliminates the worlds population, leaving surviving sisters to fend against a group of demented scientists.
Trapped in a hellish copyright limbo for over a decade, Thom Eberhardt’s “Night Of The Comet” is a film whose reputation is due for a serious rehabilitation. Generally–and wrongly–categorized with typical 80s teen horror films, “Comet” is in fact a smart, skillful parody of the low-budget sci-fi horror classics of the 50s, 60s and 70s–and a wry commentary on teen culture in the 1980s as well.
While many peg Night of the Comet as a zombie picture, and granted two or three zombies do show up along the way, this film really has much more in common with the old B sci-fi movies of the 1950s. In fact, one could make a good case that the film is meant to be a comical parody of those old schlock films, after all it does have a nice comic book feel! From any view, this is an entertaining film even with its silly moments. It manages to stir up a few chills along with the laughs.
Hot Dog.
For a while, I worked as a movie theater manager in Corpus Christi Texas. We would get movies and then run them for one or two weeks. This movie “Hot Dog” ran for four weeks and was, in my mind, very typically 1980’s.
“Hot Dog” is a light-hearted comedy and served to inspire me to trek out to California later on that year. While there is no proof, I suspect that the movie “Hot Tub, Time Machine” is somehow a modern day incarnation of this movie.
The Harkin Banks character reminded me of my best friend in university, ol’ Peter. Heck, he’d probably think of me as the hard-drinking clown Dan O’ Callahan. LOL.
Harkin Banks is a young Idaho farm kid who is also an ace at skiing. He is headed to the freestyle skiing championships in Squaw Valley, CA along with runaway Sunny. He meets his adversary in the form of Rudy, a self centered European skier who doesn’t take a liking to Harkin or his new found friends, The Rat Pack, led by veteran Dan O’ Callahan. Harkin has many misadventures with Dan and his buddies, but doesn’t lose focus in his attempt to get the World Cup.
An Officer and a Gentleman.
This movie really seemed to seriously influence everyone during this time. It was almost as if the ideas of the knight in shining armor that would come and rescue the damsel in distress would actually come true.
This was a central theme of many of the movie of the 1980’s; that the childhood fantasies of our childhood could really come true, we just need to see them in a new light.
In the Movie an Officer and and a gentleman, the AOC sticks through the training, and then at the end of the movie through all the hardship shows pure love and faithfulness to his love. He arrives at her factory and literally sweeps her off her feet and carries her away.
Flashdance.
It wasn’t only the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman” that had the knight in shining armor rescue the girl. There were other movies of a similar theme. In Flashdance, a hardworking steel worker gets a big shot at her dream. Oh, don’t ever, ever let anyone steal your dream. It’s a story about hopes, dreams, and obtaining them.
When Flashdance first came out, all the New York, Chicago and LA critics despised the film. They thought it was a flop. That’s how far out of touch the liberal elites were back in the 1980’s. Yet, when the movie was released, it became an instant success.
Everyone in the heartland could relate to it.
In Flashdance you see the only moment that matters. It all builds up. Everyone else is better than you. They are classically trained, and all you are is a steel worker; a welder. The chances of escaping from the mills of Pittsburgh is slim. You could end up like your sister. You have to give it everything that you have.
Risky Business.
This is a great movie about being an entrepreneur. Of course, things don’t always go as you have planned. The underwater 928 is a great case in point. But, what a great movie. Of course, it stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay which made the film even more magical.
I really love the job interview scene at the tail end of the movie. Heh heh.
A suburban Chicago teenager’s parents leave on vacation, and he cuts loose. An unauthorized trip in his father’s Porsche means a sudden need for lots of money, which he raises in a creative way.
The Witches of Eastwick.
This is a great movie, but somehow it’s been kind of forgotten. I love the movie plot, three women, who have “powers”, conjure up a demon. Suddenly all sorts of interesting things happen. Yikes!
John Updike probably panicked when he saw what screenwriter Michael Christoper and director George Miller did to his book…..but this movie is all the BETTER for what they did! Careening wildly between scenes of light fantasy, full-bore horror and extreme gross-outs, this film is wildly imaginative and terrifically entertaining. With Jack Nicholson as the devil himself, things just don’t get any better than that! Actually, the whole cast is very well-chosen and all give great performances. Who can forget the cherry scene…?
Dirty Dancing.
This movie inspired me to take up ballroom dancing. Which, I might add, became a serious love of mine and a significant hobby. It’s a great movie about summer, dancing, and many other things. Of course, the show point is the dancing. This is such a wonderful movie.
Oh, by the way, as great as the acting was with actress Jennifer Grey was, when she had plastic surgery on her nose, she was unable to get any other roles in Hollywood, she became unrecognizable.
This is literally the original “feel good” dance film — which spawned dozens if not hundreds of imitations. The script is perfect. The acting is perfect. The casting is perfect. The direction is perfect. And the music score is to die for. Swayze’s career was unfortunately cut short. Jennifer Grey, who practically made this role a part of her DNA, had a nose job and (the cynics say) lost a lot of later roles because the casting directors were afraid no one would recognize her.
Explorers.
This is a charming little movie that has faded into obscurity. It’s all about a group of boys who start getting messages in their sleep. They listen to their dreams and build a space ship. It’s a fun and wild tale. I well remember this movie as yet again, I watched it the Ridgecrest movie theater after training at the ELF substation at China Lake.
A boy obsessed with 50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. I loved the detail and imagination within this movie – like the one dream that the three boys all share, the sphere they create from their computer, the guard dog they give bubble gum to, the amusement ride seat they turn into their spaceship, with windows made from the fronts of washing-machines and TVs. And our three heroes make a great team. They are all very different in character, yet share that same dream of escape and adventure. Ethan Hawke is the main hero – the one that most viewers will relate to – the average 80’s kid hooked on television, daydreaming during school lessons and a huge crush on the girl next door.
Sixteen Candles.
This is a pure classic, and it is so well known that I would be surprised if anyone hasn’t heard of this movie.
I once taught English to a 16 year old Chinese gal who had a terrible crush on this other boy in her school. She would talk about it (in English with me) and expressed her frustration that no one understands. So I downloaded this movie on a USB and gave it to her. I can’t say that it changed her for the better or the worst, but I will tell you that she really appreciated it.
These are the immortal words spoken by SIXTEEN CANDLES heroine Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald) in the ultimate 80’s teen comedy. This movie has become a classic to those who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, like myself, and I now consider it a “guilty pleasure”. Its a movie we all grew up with. Didn’t we all know a person like ‘Farmer Ted’, or a hot queenie like the blonde he hilariously gets. It was every young freshman’s fantasy. This funny flick is also a relic of the 80’s that is not all that dated.
Coming to America.
What an absolutely laugh out loud comedy. Again, this is yet another of the dreams come true fairy tales. This is a modern day story of the prince comes and rescues Cinderella from a life of drudgery. Only this time Cinderella lives in Queens, and the Prince is from Africa.
I watched this movie with my girlfriend from Zambia. She couldn’t control herself. She was rolling in the chair laughing, as many of the scenes in Africa were really, really exaggerated versions of Zambia.
An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife who he can respect for her intelligence and will. It is the 21st birthday of Prince Akeem of Zamunda and he is to marry a woman he never saw before. Now the prince breaks with tradition and travels to America to look for the love of his life.
The movie is filled with gags and charming and funny situations. It’s a poke in the eye of barbershops, Queens, Black culture, relationships, McDonalds and just about everything else. However, as funny and charming as it is, the end where Cinderella gets married with the prince is most especially pleasing.
The first part of this movie, showing Eddie Murphy’s life as an African prince, is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I loved it. The wedding ceremony alone was so funny, I almost fell out of my chair from laughing so hard. I thought this could be one of the funniest movies of all time. At about the halfway point, though, it stops being a laugh-a-minute riot, and kind of settles down into more of a quiet romance movie. The scene at the basketball game (with the man who worships Murphy) is the last really hilarious thing that happens. After that, it never again reaches the energy of the beginning. This is not really a bad thing, though: it is still enjoyable from start to finish, even during the quiet parts. It has good actors, and it is fun to watch, and that makes it a great movie.
Ghostbusters.
Here we talk about the very first movie. Not the sequel, and most certainly not the progressive politically correct all-woman remake. Yuck!
Like numerous other movies, I first watched this movie in Ridgecrest when I was in ELF training at China Lake. What a fun movie. I remember standing in line to buy the tickets and a son in front of us asks his father if this movie will be too scary for him. The father smiled and said that he didn’t think so. LOL.
What’s that you say? Ghostbusters, one of the most financially successful and over-hyped comedies of the eighties, underrated? Yes. Precisely because it was so over-hyped and made so much money, there has been a stigma attached to this film identifying it as a childish FX piece, when it is nothing of the sort. Most of the lines people remember(“He slimed me,” “OK. So? She’s a dog,” “When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say YES!”) are not its funniest or wittiest lines, which often are missed on first or even second viewing. I laugh every time I observe a gag or a quip that I somehow missed the other 20 times I viewed a scene; “Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head, remember that?” “That would have worked if you hadn’t stopped me”, or, to the driver of a van from a loony bin, “Dropping off or picking up?” Brilliant.
Vacation.
I am not sure, but I think that all the “National Lampoon” Vacation movies were made in the 1980’s. What a great decade! Who can forget this movie. I most especially love the new station wagon. LOL!
The Griswolds are a gene pool of absolute disaster and nothing…NOTHING goes right…ever. The fun begins with Clark being forced to accept a disgusting metallic pea-green family truckster instead of a cool-blue sports model with CB and optional fun pack. It’s literally the most hideous car in the history of automobiles (and that includes the car that Homer Simpson made for his brother Herb).
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
This is the charming comedy when a “mad scientist” accidentally shrinks the kids and they get stuck in the backyard. Not bad, eh? Well, it is if you are the size of an ant. Oh, remember that this was made in the 1980’s.
Today, in the hyper-protective, politically-correct America, there is a parental advisory for this movie (if you can believe it.) Why the friggin’ heck why?
WARNING: Husbands and wives kiss in several scenes! Two teens kiss passionately. The mother makes a reference to a boy being in the dark with her daughter. A boy says he learned to give mouth to mouth resuscitation in "french class". A teen girl talks about a boy she would like to date. A boy asks a girl for a date. A man tells another man that his wife has "plumbing trouble".
-Parents Advisory IMDb
The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Labyrinth
By today’s standards “Labyrinth” may look dated and cheap but there’s something about it that makes it special. David Bowie makes it a stand alone movie in the weird ranking. The man is crazy but his performance is excellent!
Jennifer Connely (being 16 at the time) delivers a solid and tender performance. She was very, very cute and her performance totally gained the audience’s love.
This is a classic fantasy film from Jim Henson, in collaboration with George Lucas. There really is a magic about the film and that has helped it last as a firm family favorite all these years. As with many films aimed at younger audiences there are messages that the writers, in this case Henson himself, have tried to convey, such as `be careful what you wish for (as in the heat of the moment we are not always sure what is best for us) and also about not taking things for granted. These lessons not only relate to the major target audience of young children but also teenagers and adults alike. The film also has values and attitudes about growing up, the central character Sarah is in the awkward stage between child and womanhood, the stage of adolescence. She acts like a child in her self importance and possessiveness but she is perhaps starting to grow out of her young imagination. She does not want to, her room full of inanimate companions, dreams and fantasies, she feels are slipping away.
The tale is fantastic and keeps you interested from the beginning to the end. The musical moments are also great! The f/x were great for it’s time and I wonder how they came out with the idea for creating such original characters. The thing that I liked the most about the movie is it’s art direction. The world that is created is taken directly from everyone’s fantasy world idea. Colorful and dark at the same time.
Splash.
This is a seemingly forgotten movie with the great John Candy and a mermaid. It is charming and funny at the same time. It is a shame that it has fallen into obscurity.
This movies, as well as many of the movies of the 1980’s were made long before the social re-engineering of the Bill Clinton presidency. People could smoke in offices, and have beer at lunch. You could talk about porn openly, and no one would bat an eyelash. Ah, the days when Americans had freedom.
Over-achieving little film that was directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks as a young man who finds the woman of his dreams (Daryl Hannah). The only problem: she is really a mermaid. Splash is a 1984 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard, written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, and starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, and Eugene Levy. The film involves a young man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who is secretly a mermaid. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Riders of the Storm (The American Way).
This is a great little movie that kind of got lost over the years. It is a gleefully anarchic one fingered salute by the liberals in Hollywood to Eighties America, especially Ronald Reagan politics.
But, don’t let that scare you. It’s really obvious who the enemies are; the rich and wealthy elite that controls government and media… who are they? Yeah. They are progressive liberals. Not conservatives.
“The American Way” sees Hopper playing the leader of a bunch of technological pirates who continually broadcast anti-establishment anti-Reagan material over mainstream television channels.
Riders of the Storm is a little known film starring Dennis Hopper, featuring him as the captain of an ex-USAF electronic warfare aircraft, now dedicated to filling the airwaves with pirate TV broadcasts. Politics, TV evangelism, the USAF, Transvestisism, public access TV: none can escape the cutting observations of this must see film.
Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Pollard (Doc Tesla) lead a crew of misfit Vietnam veterans highly trained in psychological warfare and armed with a B29 equipped as a flying pirate TV station creating havoc for the broadcast networks and authorities as they fly the country on a crusade to bring radical philosophies and classic audiovisuals to a conservative and media brainwashed viewing public.
On the verge of retirement they are compelled to mount one last campaign to destroy a demographically engineered presidential candidate (who looks to me a lot like a Conservative version of Hillary Clinton) who would see the country brought to war again.
Extensive explorations into concepts of non-violent defiance of authority and pursuit of justice, questioning conventional morality, exposition of criminal activities in the guise of righteousness by righteous people being classed as criminals by a corrupt establishment, existentialist themes, technology and rock music versus violence and force, nature of religious beliefs, political corruption and post Vietnam issues.
Some excellent 60’s and 70’s music in the soundtrack. Not to be missed.
Funny, heartfelt and with a serious bone to pick with the world in general, “The American Way” is something of a lost gem. Hunt it down if you’re in the mood for something different that really taps into what makes Hopper great.
Amazon Women on the Moon
This is a kind of odd-ball movie. It is simply a collection of comedy sketches. “Amazon Women on the Moon” is one of my all-time favorite movies, not because it is perfect, but because it effectively yet respectfully lampoons so many genres, including 50s movies, late-night television of all sorts, and even different styles of literature available throughout a good portion of the 20th century. Find a trend in literature of the 40s and 50s, movies of the 50s and 60s, or television of the 50s through the 70s, and it is somehow made fun of in this movie.
Boy, do i love this movie! I’m not saying it didn’t have any flaws. Id say about 80% of it was very funny. The movie itself is built around a 50’s b-movie “Amazon women on the moon” which has some serious troubles while showing and the jokes are then presented as commercials etc. One of the most memorable moments IMO in this film include: “The blacks without the soul”, “Petmate of the month” and several others.
With a few exceptions, the film is about your typical late night television and the crazy ads that used to permeate the airwaves before all the infomercials started taking over in the 90’s. In this film, they make fun of those crazy ads and programming by doing outrageous spoof ads interspersed with an old 1950’s B movie with a lot of projection problems.
Like Monty Python stuff, this uneven collection of comedy tidbits with several different directors and a huge cast will receive mixed reactions: some will love almost all of it; some will like some parts and loath others; and there will be those who find the whole thing to be sophomoric, humorless idiocy. For me, the best parts were the title skit, an almost too real parody of a ‘fifties space movie, the concluding social disease sketch (you have to have experienced the ‘thirties and ‘forties to get it, though), and some of the commercials, especially the ones by Don (The Man With No Soul) Simmons.
Any couch potato with a good sense of humor and a memory of the 70’s & 80’s television programming should enjoy this one!
Desperately Seeking Susan
In this very clever story, Roberta (Arquette) is a bored housewife with a rich fantasy life who envies a woman named Susan (Madonna). Susan’s boyfriend is always leaving her notes in the personals column about where to meet.
Before long, Roberta is showing up at the meeting places and actually starts stalking Susan. When Susan pays for a pair of boots that she wants with her unique leather jacket, Roberta buys it and starts wearing it.
All this could have been harmless fun except for three things: 1) Susan is a con artist, and she’s stolen Egyptian artifacts she mistook for earrings from a guy in Atlantic City, who ended up dead at the bottom of his hotel; 2) Susan was seen (from the back) wearing her jacket in the hallway of the hotel by a mobster who wants the artifacts; and 3) Roberta is in an accident, and when she wakes up, she has amnesia…
“Desperately Seeking Susan” is the best kind of amusing: pleasant but not so much so that we become immersed in the fact that things aren’t as zany as they could be. The film is smartly amusing, after all, with the comic scenario bettering as it grows increasingly convoluted. Thank God for this little gem of a movie, in all its silliness. It takes me back to a time when everything was still possible, and I thought I knew everything although I really knew nothing. Well, now that I know, not everything but a great deal, I still find this movie really likable. It’s strange that it’s so old, and it still feels quite fresh and exciting. Maybe it’s the New York atmosphere, or the sense of excitement that Madonna brings to every one of her scenes. I think she’s good in this film because she doesn’t yet take herself too seriously and isn’t trying too hard.
This is such a fun movie, with much of the comedy being in the situation rather than in the dialogue. Not only that, it’s totally ’80s, right down to Madonna’s leggings, and brings back a lot of great memories.
Near Dark
I loved this movie when it first came out. It was able to portray a more “realistic” scenario for vampire outlaws. LOL. A young cowboy is literally bitten by a beautiful stranger and ends up joining a band of blood-suckers who roam the American heartland.
Although Near Dark is often over-shadowed by the ultra-hip vampire movie The Lost Boys (1987), Near Dark is a far more juicier treat for horror fans. Eric Red, who also wrote The Hitcher (1986), gives us a seemingly old-fashioned tale of struggle between human nature and savage lust with a nicely spun sense of modernism. Not to mention plenty of touches of dark humor.
This is one of the best vampire flicks I’ve ever seen. These aren’t your standard sharp fang having, flying, cool contact wearing, red cape sporting vampires. Rather these vampires look like nomads, leftovers from a roaming biker gang. They drive around in a trailer that has aluminum foil covering the windows to block out the sunlight. They drink blood. They spit out the bullets you shoot them with. They’re a tad different than your classic vampire but different enough to keep them interesting.
It’s a story that does well with avoiding the obvious clichés of the vampire genre. Director Kathryn Bigelow gives this film terrific style, not only adding scenic beauty but sharply creating plenty of intense action sequences. The entire sequence in the bar has became a favorite among many. Adding even more to the film is the beautiful music score by Tangerine Dream.
The Freshman.
OK, for you purists out there, this movie was released in 1990, but was in production in 1988. So I am including it herein. How many actors could have parodied their most classic roles without falling into caricature? Think about it: while it takes a certain talent to make a performance that elevates a character to a legendary status, overplaying enough to make it comical but not over-the-top is the ultimate proof of acting genius.
Only Marlon Brando could have got away with playing his most iconic character, the Godfather, and make it so damn believable. And it’s this very seriousness in his performance that makes “The Freshman” so delightful and naturally, hilarious.
Clark had no other choice than to say yes, after all, isn’t Vito Corleone, the man who makes offers we can’t refuse? The film’s funniest moments are driven by Sabantini’s aura and Clark’s incapability to control the situation or to say ‘no’. The script finds the perfect tone to show a guy screwed but in a way that inspires our sympathy without feeling antipathy toward Sabatini. And another triumph on the writing department is the way everything seems believable despite all the zany material it employs. Whether it’s a picture of Mussolini in an Italian Social club, an espresso that takes three spoons of sugar, the Mona Lisa painting in Carmine’s house, and a weird traffic involving a Komodo dragon, I wonder why I wanted to believe that the first time I saw it. Maybe I was just a 10-year old kid who just laughed at the gags without looking too much deeper into it. The irony is that after watching ‘The Godfather’ so many times, I believed in Sabatini even more.
Although not revolutionary, what makes “The Freshman” such a classic on its own is that it accomplishes a real miracle by resuscitating Vito Corleone, his name is Carmine Sabatini but the movie can’t fool us: the guy IS Vito Corleone.
As explained in the film, Sabatini’s the one who inspired Vito’s character, in other words, “The Freshman” is so confident over its comical premise, and rightfully so, that it doesn’t even hesitate to insert several references to “The Godfather”.
Yeah, and these are not just gratuitous ‘Godfather’ references thrown away for the sake of it, it’s important to know that it’s not a parallel world where the movie isn’t supposed to exist. On the contrary, not only it does, but whoever sees Carmine Sabatini has the most natural reaction by immediately thinking of Vito Corleone.
The movie, in a way, asks the question, how any of us would react in front of a movie character. How would I if I met my favorite character? I guess, probably like Clark Kellog, Matthew Broderick as a film college student, the titular “Freshman”.
Die Hard.
This movie has a special place in my heart. But, aside from that, this is just a great flick. Period. It is all about the everyday, plain old man, who has (out of necessity) be the hero and do the uncomfortable and the job that no one else wants to do. Hey guy! How’s your friggin’ Christmas this year? Eh?
One could claim that 1988’s “Die Hard” is one of the most influential action movies ever made because it basically revolutionized one of the most copied (but never matched, at least in terms of quality) formulas: a loner, by some unique twist of fate, battles it out with an “x” number of terrorists in an enclosed environment. Willis was a wild card – an unlikely choice for the role of our hero “John McClane” – since he didn’t have any action credits on his resume’ and let’s face it: Bruce Willis just didn’t have the bulging biceps required for a role like this. But that’s the beauty of his performance in this movie: he’s an everyday guy, caught in a not-so-everyday situation. Certainly one of the best known action movies ever, “Die Hard” did receive the scorn of critics upon its 1988 summer release, but the audiences sung a completely different tune.
Rescues that Occurred and their Movies
There were numerous heart-warming events that happened during the 1980’s. Funny how the mainstream media has somehow forgotten these important events. Let’s discuss three of them. The first is the true story of how three trapped whales were freed by joint efforts of the United States, Russia and the local inhabitants of the icy North.
The rescue of the whales.
Operation Breakthrough was an international effort to free three gray whales in 1988. The whales had become trapped in pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow. Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska. The whales’ plight generated media attention that led to the collaboration of multiple governments and organizations to free them. The youngest whale died during the effort and it is unknown if the remaining two whales ultimately survived.
This event was made into a Hollywood movie titled “Big Miracle“. The entire nation, including myself, were riveted to the television screen trying to find out what was going on with the poor trapped whales.
The movie titled “Big Miracle” is a realistic portrayal of an actual rescue event during the 1980’s. In it, both the United States, led by Ronald Reagan and the USSR worked together to free three trapped whales.
The rescue of the geese and their breeding grounds.
In 1986, Bill Lishman started training Canada Geese to follow his ultralight aircraft. As such, he succeeded in leading their migration through his program “Operation Migration.” This event was made into a movie titled “Fly Away Home“. I have to admit that this move is a “tearjerker”. But that is in a good way.
The movie “Fly Away Home” is film rendition of a rescue effort that took place during the 1980’s to save geese and their breeding grounds.
The recovery of huskies abandoned at the South Pole.
Like the other two events, this was also made into a movie. The event itself took place in 1958, but the movie about it was very popular and released in 1983 and was a big hit. This movie was then remade later on. The remade movie was named “Eight Below“.
In the extreme wilderness of Antarctica, three members of a scientific expedition -- Jerry Shepard, his best friend, Cooper and a rugged American geologist -- are forced to leave behind their team of beloved sled dogs due to a sudden accident and perilous weather conditions in Antarctica. During the harsh, Antarctic winter, the dogs must struggle for survival alone in the intense frozen wilderness for more than six months.
-Rotten Tomatoes
The 1958 ill-fated Japanese expedition to Antarctica inspired the 1983 hit film Antarctica, of which Eight Below is a remake. Eight Below adapts the events of the 1958 incident, moved forward to 1993. In the 1958 event, fifteen Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were abandoned when the expedition team was unable to return to the base. When the team returned a year later, two dogs were still alive. Another seven were still chained up and dead, five were unaccounted for, and one died just outside Showa Station.
Huskies and Malemutes look at home in that element because they were bred to work and survive in like conditions. These two near primitives could really do what these actors did and survive. It was refreshing to me to see humans show the same dedication and love for the dogs that dogs give to their human family members every day. It would be hard for actors to really be able to show all that those of us who treasure our dogs would feel if we had to leave them behind but he did a credible job
Conclusions
These are just some vignettes of my snippets of memory from the 1980’s. I present them here as someone who had experienced them first hand. You know, for a time period that was so full of inequality, poverty and racism as the Democrats, and Obama constantly says, the popular media of that time did not reflect it.
Which is WHY the elites and the oligarchy has to rewrite history.
If the decade was truly one as described by the democrats, then the songs would be sadder, the movies darker, and the culture more subdued. Right? Look at the movies and the culture of America under Obama. Look at the movies that were made and the popular television shows.
It was under the Obama presidency where end-of-the-world, and zombie movies really became popular. Why is this? While it is true that there were comedies, and all sort of progressive movies, the most popular movies reflected an interest in war, terror, and destruction. It reflected Obama’s America.
I am firmly convinced that Americans have been the most propagandized people in all of history. It doesn’t matter what the subject is; whether it is life in China to history three decades ago, the narrative has constantly been directed towards certain targets. The “goal posts” have constantly been moving. All to keep Americans ignorant, fearful and suspicious.
In short, the mainstream American media has spent the last fifty years trying to separate, divide and isolate Americans from each other. That is because, unified we are a serious threat to those who control the nation.
When your children look back at the presidency of Barrack Obama, a socialist democrat, what will they read and see? The history books will talk glowingly about his “many” successes, and repeatedly state how everyone was happy and dancing around with unicorns under rainbows…
The liberal progressive dream. That if the world is ruled by one world government that we would all function in love and warmth because our leaders would care for us. They would hand us presents, and care for us. They would give us free food, free medicine, free housing, free education. They would be our overlords and we would worship them for the paltry scraps that they would provide to us.
Eh?
Well, maybe a look at the culture at that time will tell you all that you need to know about what life was under his sphere of influence…
Screen shot of “popular movies from 2008 to 2016”. This is what culture was like under Obama. We see horror, zombies, police, drugs, mutations, and worlds being threatened with extinction.
Take Aways
History can be described by facts, numbers, charts and data.
However, the best measure of a period of time is how you felt living it.
The Obama rewritten narrative of the 1980’s does not resemble what it was like by those who experienced it.
I argue that to understand a period of time, you need to delve into the culture.
The culture of the 1980’s was strange and unusual compared to today.
A look at the movies of the 1980’s can illustrate what it was like living during that time period.
FAQ
Q: What is the purpose of this post?
A: I see many people who have not lived in the 1980’s try to tell me that it was a horrible and terrible time. They do so because that is what they were taught. Yet, these very same people also tell me that they love the movies and the people during that time. They wish that they could be cruising in a GTO and living the life that they can only dream of.
They wish that the movies of today would be of the same caliber as the movies of today. Their disconnect from the awareness that culture tracks reality is disturbing. They go hand-in-hand. A culture always is a reflection of the people in society.
Q: Is this a complete list of movies?
A: No, not by a long shot. Many movies are left off, but I really don’t have all day. Here are just a handful of movies that are reflective of this time. Honorable mentions include…
Brainstorm (1983)
Dead Heat (I love the animated butcher shop. LOL)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
My Best Friend is a Vampire
Lean on Me.
Blade Runner.
The Terminator
The Breakfast Club
Platoon
Blue Velvet
Full Metal Jacket
The karate Kid
Earth Girls Are Easy
The Burbs
Red Dawn
Big Trouble in Little China
Aliens
They Live
Predator
American Werewolf in London
The Blues Brothers
Gremlins
The Money Pit
Beetlejuice
Howard the Duck
Raising Arizona
The Neverending Story
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
Ernest goes to camp
The Last Starfighter
The Blues Brothers
Brazil
Strange Brew
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
This is a walk down “memory lane” as I relate what it was like growing up as a young boy in the early 1970’s. I was in my early teenage years. I went to school, watched a lot of television, and played with my friends. Enjoy…
Introduction
As strange as it seems, there is very little on the internet about what it was like growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It’s almost as if it was scrubbed from existence. In it’s place we now have the Obama narrative of a racist nation and terrible injustices. That narrative has nothing to do with reality. It is a scripted lie intended to manipulate people into believing something that just isn’t true.
Here, in my own little way, I would like to relate some stories of what it was like for me growing up as a kid. For “shits and giggles” I have chosen the year of 1971. It was the last year that I had as a kid before I had to go out and work at 14 in the coal mines.
This narrative takes place in Western Pennsylvania. We lived in a small town about a two hour drive from Pittsburgh. It was a hilly and tree shaded world, with railroad spur lines that snaked in and out of the hills and crossed over viaducts and into tunnels. I well knew those lines as I would often walk along them with my friends on hikes and adventures.
The Allegheny mountains are very beautiful. I miss the beauty of them in the fall, and the joys of canoeing on the river and fishing in the streams.
Visiting my Aunties
Many weekends my parents would drive into Pittsburgh to visit my relatives. Both were from Pittsburgh, though from different areas. We would take turns visiting the families. In the morning we would visit my father’s family, and in the afternoon we would visit my mother’s family.
A evening scene from Polish Hill. Polish Hill is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a community that was founded by Polish immigrants that went to Pittsburgh to find work in the Steel Mills there.
Often times, there would be other relatives that would come and say hi. I would see my grandparent’s brothers and sisters, my great aunts and uncles, if you will. And I might be persuaded to go with them to their homes. For some reason, the homes always smelled like bacon and cabbage.
There was always a pot of coffee on the stove. If it was cold they would either reheat it or make a fresh pot. The coffee pot was a percolator design. The water would start to boil and would be forced up through a metal straw into a container that held coffee grounds. You could control how strong the coffee was by the amount of ground in the upper container and how long your brewed the coffee. There was this glass bubble on the top of the coffee pot that you could watch to tell if the coffee was ready or not.
This is a very common way of making coffee in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Every family seemingly had a percolator. This particular picture is very similar to the one that we used at home.
They would almost invariably offer me a cup of coffee and a bowl of what ever is cooking on the stove. There was something always cooking. Sometimes it was spaghetti sauce, sometimes it was chili. Sometimes it was “pigs in a blanket” (pork wrapped up in cabbage). Sometimes it was chicken soup. I could always eat my fill when I visited my aunties.
Of course, every single relative had this painting of “the last supper” on the wall in the kitchen / dining room.
During my childhood every family had a painting of the Last Supper on their wall. My relatives all had it hanging in the kitchen, but many of my friends had it in the living rooms or the dining room instead.
Everyone also pretty much listened to the same radio station as well. Each kitchen had this little plastic radio (of vintage electronic tubes) that was perpetually tuned to the AM radio station KDKA. Popular Music would often be heard while we were visiting.
Pop Songs
While I was pretty much listening to Jefro Tull, Traffic and other rock groups, my relatives and classmates enjoyed the popular music of the time. In 1971 we were listening to the following. Notable songs are highlighted in BOLD.
Three Dog Night
Joy To The World
Rod Stewart
Maggie May / (Find A) Reason To Believe
Carole King
It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move
Osmonds
One Bad Apple
Bee Gees
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
Raiders
Indian Reservation
Donny Osmond
Go Away Little Girl
John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Temptations
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
Dawn
Knock Three Times
Janis Joplin
Me And Bobby McGee
Al Green
Tired Of Being Alone
Honey Cone
Want Ads
Undisputed Truth
Smiling Faces Sometimes
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Treat Her Like A Lady
Rolling Stones
Brown Sugar
James Taylor
You’ve Got A Friend
Jean Knight
Mr. Big Stuff
Lee Michaels
Do You Know What I Mean
Joan Baez
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On
Paul and Linda McCartney
Tom Jones
Bill Withers
Ain’t No Sunshine
Five Man Electrical Band
Signs
Tom Jones
She’s A Lady
Free Movement
I Found Someone Of My Own
Murray Head and The Trinidad Singers
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jerry Reed
Amos Moses
Grass Roots
Temptation Eyes
Carpenters
Superstar
George Harrison
My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity
Donny Osmond
Sweet And Innocent
Ocean
Put Your Hand In The Hand
Daddy Dewdrop
Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)
Carpenters
For All We Know
Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind
Sammi Smith
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Carpenters
Rainy Days And Mondays
Cher
Gypsy, Tramps And Thieves
Jackson 5
Never Can Say Goodbye
Lynn Anderson
Rose Garden
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Don’t Pull Your Love
Ringo Starr
It Don’t Come Easy
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Mr. Bojangles
Fuzz
I Love You For All Seasons
Dramatics
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
Carly Simon
That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
Stevie Wonder
If You Really Love Me
Aretha Franklin
Spanish Harlem
Helen Reddy
I Don’t Know How To Love Him
Osmonds
Yo-yo
Aretha Franklin
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Partridge Family
Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted
Tommy James
Draggin’ The Line
Ike and Tina Turner
Proud Mary
Chicago
Beginnings / Color My World
Bells
Stay Awhile
Stampeders
Sweet City Woman
Lobo
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo
Paul McCartney
Another Day / Oh Woman, Oh Why
Bread
If
Marvin Gaye
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Brewer and Shipley
One Toke Over The Line
8th Day
She’s Not Just Another Woman
Freda Payne
Bring The Boys Home
Rare Earth
I Just Want To Celebrate
Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
Never Ending Song Of Love
Freddy Hart
Easy Loving
Three Dog Night
Liar
Honey Cone
Stick-up
Mac and Katie Kissoon
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
Andy Williams
Love Story (Where Do I Begin)
Cat Stevens
Wild World
Jerry Reed
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
Beginning Of The End
Funky Nassau
Olivia Newton-John
If Not For You
King Floyd
Groove Me
Bobby Goldsboro
Watching Scotty Grow
Matthews’ Southern Comfort
Woodstock
Judy Collins
Amazing Grace
Dave Edmunds
I Hear You Knocking
Bee Gees
Lonely Days
Fortunes
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again
Who
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Denise Lasalle
Trapped By A Thing Called Love
Jackson 5
Mama’s Pearl
Buoys
Timothy
Partridge Family
I Woke Up In Love This Morning
Isaac Hayes
Theme From “Shaft”
Gladys Knight and The Pips
If I Were Your Woman
Neil Diamond
I Am..I Said
Paul Stookey
Wedding Song (There Is Love)
Wilson Pickett
Don’t Knock My Love, Pt. 1
Doors
Love Her Madly
Richie Havens
Here Comes The Sun
Wadsworth Mansion
Sweet Mary
Brenda and The Tabulations
Right On The Tip Of My Tongue
Fifth Dimension
One Less Bell To Answer
Doors
Riders On The Storm
Perry Como
It’s Impossible
The song “Maggie May” was played to death, and radio stations in central Indiana were still playing that song long into the 1990’s. Ugh!
Donny Osmond was terribly popular with my sister and all of her girl friends at the time. Her bedroom was covered in pictures of Donny, and she had her class room textbooks covered in “lunch paper” covers decorated with Donny Osmond related praises.
I first heard “The night they drove ol’ Dixie down” when I was riding with my dad in our car. He was involved in technical sales at the time. I would wait in the car and listen to the radio while reading the “Last Whole Earth Catalog“.
The Last Whole Earth Catalog was a cultural landmark in the 1970’s. Kevin Kelly, who was editor-in-chief at Whole Earth was looking at an old Whole Earth Catalog came to the realization that it was a 1970s version of a blog.
Tom Jones was very popular with my mother and the mothers of my friends. He had a kind of sex appeal that really appealed to them.
Jesus Christ Superstarhit my generation hard. I cannot express how big an impact this movie made at my church and at my school. It seemed like every family had the album. I went and saw the play and it was really moving.
I saw Jerry Reed sing “Amos Moses” on “Laugh In” or “Sonny and Cher” I don’t remember which. Both were shows that hosted a mixture of singing, dancing and comedy routines that were quite popular in the day.
The song “Gypsy, Tramps And Thieves” was a big hit by Cher. Most people have forgotten about her today. You hear some blurb on the news every now and then, but she was a big thing back in the day. She was super popular.
The song “Don’t Pull Your Love” was very popular and got a substantial amount of airtime. You probably couldn’t get by a day without hearing that song at least once. Other heavily air-played songs included “Mr. Bojangles“.
Everyone in my school watched the Partridge Family . This was a television show about a family that toured schools all over the country and sang at them. Well, they also had a number of hits, as well as a had a following of fans.
How can one talk about the 1960’s and 1970’s without mentioning the television show The Partridge Family?
The idea and concept of freedom to explore, of adventure and travel was very popular. The ideals of the 1960’s were fading away, and the 1970’s was a time where people wanted to just go forth and explore the world. The song “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” was representative of this dream.
If there is one iconic song from that year (heck, for that decade), it is “One Toke Over The Line“. Everyone was listening to it, and everyone related to it. Even my mother who would make the “sigh” and gesture while saying “I guess I’m just one toke over the line…”.
This song “Never Ending Song Of Love” has fallen into obscurity. Yet it reflected the reality of the small town bars and the culture of friendship and love that was indicative of the era.
The song “Riders On The Storm” continued to be popular with me and my classmates long into our college years.
Barbershop
Next to my Father’s parents house was a barbershop. The shop was run by an old man, probably in his 90’s. He lived upstairs above the shop. The barbershop itself was a museum and probably hadn’t changed since the 1940’s.
A barbershop was a place and refuge for men to be men. We could talk about things that interested us , we could talk about sports, girls and life. All barbershops were smoker-friendly places where men could be themselves, free of political correctness and progressive rules.
My father would take me to the barber there and I would get a haircut. I really didn’t want to go because at that time, long hair was fashionable. I would go there and then pout the rest of the day. But, I’ll tell you what, those trips to the barbershop were some of the best memories that I have.
The barbershop was a “men’s only” establishment. On the tables were magazines about hunting, guns and adventure. On the walls were pictures of deer and ducks. There was a full length mirror on the wall that faced two very huge and ornate barber chairs. The barber wore an apron and wore his hair in a style that probably went obsolete in the 1950’s.
When we went to the barbershop we would read the men’s adventure magazines that would lie there, as well as the Playboy magazines that would be interspersed with the newspapers and the standing ashtrays.
The chairs were big and comfortable. He would often have friends hang out while he worked. They would sit there smoking cigarettes and watching him cut hair. A small radio would be on and often it would be tuned to a baseball or football game.
The place had it’s own kind of unique smell to it. It was a cross between aftershave and and old house. The barber lived alone as his wife passed on a decade earlier. He just ran the shop until he died. After he passed on, the place was boarded up and then demolished.
Hiking in the Woods
At that time in my life I spent a lot of time hiking in the woods. I would often ride my bike all over town and up and down the back roads and railroad spur lines. In the Spring the air would be fresh with the smells of lush forest canopy. In the Fall, it would be a time of warm “Indian Summers” with red and yellow leaves that would blow in the light breezes.
I lived in a small town in Pennsylvania. The hills all around us were wooded and access to them was via back roads and rail lines. As a boy, I would spend a lot of time walking on these tracks and exploring the world around me.
I rode a gold Schwinn “banana seat” bike with “high bars” and a “drag strip” (non-tread) rear tire. Every one of my friends owned a bicycle. My sister had one with a white plastic basket in the front. My bike had these long streamers of plastic that plugged into the handles. I eventually tore those things off. But I would put a card (from a deck of cards) and attach it to the bicycle with a wooden clothes pin. That way my bicycle would make some “cool” sounds when I rode fast. It had a huge red circular red reflector on the back, right under the white “banana seat”. Like the GTO I would later drive when I was in High School, the bicycle was an orange color.
We would all ride bicycles when we grew up. Which is different than kids today. Instead, today their parents drive them from event to event, instead of expecting them to get there on their own. A 1970s childhood. (Image Source)
My bike was a personal selection. When my father took me to a store to pick it out, I chose a really simple and rugged model. There were no front or rear brakes on the handlebars. To brake, you would just use the pedals. There also weren’t any gears. There was one gear only. It came with a rear view mirror, that soon broke off, and that was about it. My friends all had more complicated bicycles, and over the years, they were perpetually repairing their bikes and trying to fix them. For me, I never had that problem.
Television Shows
At that time the only television channels that we could watch were CBS, NBC, and ABC. We also had “channel 13” which was a government channel. All of our news, and our entertainment came from these three sources. Since we never had the kind of selection that we have today, we didn’t find anything wrong with it. It was normal for us.
Here is the complete television selection for Friday night viewing in 1971. It is pretty sparse isn’t it. This is where all American got their news and found out about the world around them.
As sparse as the selection was, we were perpetually glued to the television set. There was usually a movie a night. They were often a few years old, after being shown in the movie theaters. If the movie wasn’t shown in the theaters it would be called a “World Premiere Movie”.
Television was rather primitive.
While we did have a color television, we still needed to walk across the room to change the channel. Imagine that! Remote controls were not available until the mid-1970’s. On top of it were “rabbit ears” until we were able to subscribe to cable in the late 1970’s. My grandmother had her “rabbit ears” with aluminum foil wrapped around it. She said that it improved her reception. Maybe it did. I don’t know, her reception really sucked, so it must have been really, really terrible.
I would watch the news reluctantly. For me it was pretty boring.
However, I did follow the news about space. You couldn’t miss it. Everyone was talking about space, and the moon. That is all you heard about as a child of the 1960’s. The television shows also helped to maintain this theme.
As the news that played on the radio concerned our exploration of space and the Vietnam War. Of course I didn’t know what was going on. It was a takeover of the United States government by dark forces embedded deep inside the United States government. When JFK was shot, my father insisted that I watch the television. He kept telling me that this was the most important thing to happen to the United States since the Civil War. He was a lifelong Democrat and he had real concerns that there was more to the story than what the government was saying. Later, after he died and President Trump released the transcripts, it turned out that my father was right after all.
The “Deep State” murdered our President.
“This fucker, johnson should be dug up and pissed on, and torn apart. Every modern ill can be traced to him.”
-sowhat1929
On Sunday we watched Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom”, and “The FBI” (Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr) after the Walt Disney hour. If I wasn’t watching television, I was building plastic scale models, or experimenting on my Gilbert chemistry (and electrical) sets.
The A. C. Gilbert Company was an American toy company, once one of the largest toy companies in the world. It is best known for introducing the Erector Set to the marketplace. A chemistry set is an educational toy allowing the user (typically a teenager) to perform simple chemistry experiments.During the Bill Clinton presidency (D) all sales of chemistry, electronics, and mechanical kits were put under investigation as possible routes for “home grown” terroristic activities, and were subsequently suppressed, if not outright banned. Over the Bush years (R), they resurfaced and eked out a small living. However, by 2017 most hobby kit suppliers went out of business. Ramsey electronics, Heithkit electronics RIP.
At that time in my life, I like the rest of my classmates, watched shows like the Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. These shows were about “us”. It was how we interacted with each other, and our families and our communities. This all began to change when the television media decided to change their programming towards minorities in urban areas. Television began a slow phase away from white families living in suburbia and began to concentrate on poor urban minorities.
The Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. Considered one of the last of the old-style family sitcoms, the series aired for five seasons and, after its cancellation in 1974, went into syndication in September 1975. While the series was never a critical or ratings success during its original run, it has since become a popular staple in syndication, especially among children and teenaged viewers.
“The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the 1970–71 television season. In addition to rural themed shows, the purge also eliminated several high rating variety shows that had been on CBS since their beginning of television broadcasting. One of the earliest efforts at channel drift, CBS in particular saw a dramatic change in direction with the shift, moving away from shows with rural themes and toward ones with supposedly more appeal to urban audiences.”-Wikipedia
The shows we watched were funnier than what you see on television today. And, maybe, just maybe a little more innocent. “The Bob Newhart Show” was typical. The humor involved day to day situations and NEVER mentioned race (compare that to today), and had a real twisted surrealistic sense of humor. Consider “Mary Hartman. Mary Hartman”, or “Green Acres”. You can find out more here.
Iconic characters from the Bob Newhart show that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Hi! I am Larry, and this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl. (Image Source.)
Ah, you’ve got to hear about the three yokel brothers in the (very surrealistic) 80’s “The Bob Newhart show”. I loved these guys. They might have been the highlight of the show. Heck, they could have had their own show (hint. Hint.)
“…discovering that a witch is buried in the basement of their Vermont inn. They want to find out who she was, but they also want her 300-year-old grave dug up and removed.
The silly-from-next-door tells him he knows some guys who`ll do anything for a buck.Next thing, three goofy-looking, backwoods brothers from the genetically weak side of Vermont show up. “Oh, Lord!” says Bob, getting a whiff. Larry--the only brother who ever talks--hands Bob their card.“We`ll do anything for a buck,” it says.”- Larry, Darryl And Darryl Are `Newhart` Hits
They were quite good hearted, and obviously lived a strange, strange life. Afterall, clubbed weasel was their idea of good eatin’. Larry’s totally deadpan delivery of some very bizarre lines was always a highlight of any Newhart episode. “We went to the bakery ’cause they were advertising ‘bear claws’, but it turned out to just be a come-on.”
Ah. Good times. Good times.
Movies and television portrayed westerns (with “white men” taming the wilderness), war adventures (mostly involving world war II fighting the evil Nazi army), space exploration (such as Lost in Space, Star Trek, Fireball XL-5, Thunderbirds are Go and Land of the Giants), and Spy Adventures (against the Soviet Union or against fictional organizations such as T.H.R.U.S.H.).
Scale Models
One of my favorite hobbies was the building of plastic models. These were often of ships, airplanes and military hardware. I made a few models of cars, but my favorites were of military tanks and figurines.
I had a desk in my bedroom. It was an old desk inherited from my father with four drawers. I used a fold-up “card table” chair to sit at it with. On it was a 1940’s style desk lamp that my parents must have pulled out of the garbage at some time. I had books on the desk, a “multiband” radio where I could listen to FM radio, and a pencil holder made out of a decorated metal coffee cup tin.
At that desk, I would assemble, build and paint my models. It was an enjoyable pursuit. The desk faced the window in the bedroom, and I would often have the windows open, but the shade drawn down about half way. The shades were in the old 1960’s style and were meant to last. They had this kind of “life preserver” style ring hanging on a string that you could pull down to raise or lower the shade.
I needed the fresh air, as the odor from the glue was toxic and would tend to get me all flustered when I used it. I remember once, that my sister was watching her television show and they were really pushing the Rigley Chewing Gum-gum-gum… Rigley chewing gum-gum-gum commercial. It must have been running every ten minutes. I was about going out of my mind with the combination of the toxic glue odor and the subliminal programming of the chewing gum. Ugh!
I would build the models and paint them. Then, I would carefully hang them from the ceiling. My room was filled with models of various sizes and shapes.
The airplanes I would hang from the ceiling with string. I would display my collection of tanks and military equipment on shelves alongside my collection of centuries-old bottles. (I was an avoid junk collector and was always on the lookout for discarded bottles that I would collect from ancient trash dumps in the nearby forests.)
I collected Tamiya 1/35 scale military hardware models. I had quite a collection of German vehicles and tanks. At that time, the Japanese model maker Tamiya made the best quality models. They had an innovative introduction process that added new model to the collection every few months.
This is a model of the German Tiger I tank. I had numerous models of this massive beast in various scales. I even had one so complete that the interior was all detailed.
Alas, when I graduated from university I discovered that my mother had thrown away all of my models. She didn’t want all the clutter in the house. I guess one person’s treasure is another person’s trash.
Science Fiction
I started reading Science Fiction avidly. With one of the first books being the “Mad Scientist Club”.
The Mad Scientist Club is a series of stories (and books) written in the 1960’s which fueled the imagination and adventures of us children in the 1970’s. (The son of the author has a website. You can visit the website HERE.) These stories inspired me. They inspired my dreams and led me down the path towards technical excellence.
The cover from the first book of “The Mad Scientists Club”. This is a classic book for all young children entering their early teens.
The boys in the stories used science to create all sorts of pandemonium and mayhem in their little town. They applied themselves to using science to make devices and gadgets. They played pranks. The books showed how a boy could engineer a device from techniques that they learned in school. They made balloons, talked on ham radios, devised electronics, and they did it all on their very own.
The beauty about all this was that they never asked for help or permission. They took the initiative and did it on their own. They applied themselves.
Indeed, these stories are special. But, don’t take it from me. Read what others have to say.
“This is the best kids book ever.… In a way it saddens me when I re-read it. I don't think our kids today have as much freedom as these did (or my generation). I remember staying out until dark, riding my bike EVERYWHERE, clubhouses on vacant lots...Or maybe it's responsibility. Kids today have freedom but little responsibility. I'm getting off my soapbox now. but this is a cool book and it will make your kids fall in love with science. I imagine the Mythbusters grew up like this- or maybe their dads did!! ”-Holly commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
I am afraid that Holly is correct. American children (and adults) don’t have as much freedom as we all used to. (It’s our fault, you know.) These books are for kids and inspires them to accomplish things through study and action. These books are not about getting a group together and finding a group consensus. It’s not about how to cautiously speak so as not to offend anyone. Nope. It is about getting things done and raising hell in the process.
It’s books like these that inspired many of us to study science and engineering. It certainly affected me. It also affected others. I am not the only one who studied about rockets and space…
“This was simply a great childhood book for any inquisitive kid who likes science, haunted houses, dinosaurs, flying machines, etc. I read this book in about seventh or eighth grade and actually a couple of times since. I believe this book helped me on my career to being a rocket scientist but it also gave me many ideas as I was growing up.Brinley managed to capture the perfect mid-west US town and the guys in the book were great caricatures of fun loving, science minded boys with a bit of good natured mischief up their sleeves. Then Brinley took this setting and boys and produced a series of wonderful stories capturing so many things that so many boys growing up find so intriguing.I bought a copy recently for a nephew and he was enraptured by it. The follow-ups while good never really reached the level of this first book but were fun in their own right. It will always hold a special memory of growing up back in the '60s.”-Robert commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
He’s right you know. The stories certainly inspired me.
I like to think that there is inspiration in stories where you find adventure, freedom and independence. These are things that are absolutely missing in the modern realm of politically correct stories. Which, by the way, is a very important point. By following a “Politically Correct” narrative, you retard the growthof young boys. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, you turn men into pussies.
“We live in more of a pussy generation now, where everybody's become used to saying, "Well, how do we handle it psychologically?" In those days, you just punched the bully back and duked it out. Even if the guy was older and could push you around, at least you were respected for fighting back, and you'd be left alone from then on.”-Clint Eastwood
A parent has a responsibly to PREPARE their children to venture out and grow. They need to go forth and carve a life out of the wilderness. But that is not what is happening today. Instead we have children that never leave the nest. Young men, in the United States, live at home until they are in their 30’s. Instead of investing their time in building, workings, making, and creating, they are too busy looking at cat videos on the Internet while they post their latest latté on Facebook. Boys must be taught to aspire to be Men, not to be a woman’s version of a sensitive man.
Pussies.
No amount of tattoos, unique hair or beard, or cool urban clothing style is going to make you into a Man. It comes from within. Education alone won’t do it. Money and wealth won’t do it. Polite conversation won’t do it. It comes from inside. It comes from deep down inside. It comes from a place that says “you can, and must do what you need to do”. You don’t ask for permission, or consensus. You go out and carve your life out. Alone.
By clutching on to your children like over protective mothers, the children don’t grow up. Physically they might age, but the brain and the emotions are still that of a young child. How else can you explain the SWJ mentality that demands a protective overseer? Which is what they want, you know. They demand to be coddled and taken care of by a big parental government Bernie Sanders style. Because, that is all that they know. They don’t know how to be independent. We don’t teach that anymore.
These books break us out of that mold…
“A gem. Almost unknown; but one of the most hilarious and memorable laugh-out-loud books you could ask for. It's never mentioned by anyone; it's never recommended, placed on book lists or chosen by reading-groups. This just might be because it's a series of books, which represents a 'philosophy-of-parenting’, which has fallen out of favor. That's my suspicion, anyway.I mean, just think about it. These stories are about kids who are unmonitored; who are allowed to just go off on summer afternoons and hang out on their own; and do whatever they want.... because they are trusted by their folks. Today, this is the last thing parents want to hear. No one in today's control-freak, micro-managing America wants to imagine that children can be trusted like this.Books for very young children ('Little Prince' or 'Giving Tree') are in abundance on Goodreads. They're sweet and harmless. There's also a new genre called 'YA' ('young adult'). But guess what? They're all very sanitary, careful, cautious, and timid. Antiseptic. Content-supervised and Content-controlled. They always instruct youngsters on the 'correct' thing to do, the 'sensitive' thing to do, the 'courteous' thing to do...blah blah blah.'Mad Scientists' is different. Instead of caution, the author praises problem-solving, solidarity, daring, and initiative. It's a book written for kids illustrating how NOT to follow the rules. It’s a book, which shows that rules are made to be flouted.These stories are from a time when today's endless complexities and anxieties just weren't around. It’s a book that deals with kids just... having fun. I say, there need to be a LOT MORE books like this.The gang of boys in Brinley's tales are pre-teens; somewhere between 11 and 14. This is a strange interval in a boy's matriculation, when they need to figure out a lot of things about life (and it’s also a time when adults have the least relevant advice to offer). This is the space Brinley plays in: the theme of personal responsibility.Teens NEED to create a few genuine catastrophes in order to learn the weight of 'cause' vs 'effect'. 'Intention' vs 'outcome'. 'Actions' vs 'harm'. They need to learn the ins-and-outs of friendship and loyalty and paying-one's-dues.The 'Mad Scientists Club' (this is the name carved on their clubhouse door) demonstrate these themes grandly. These young scamps are precisely in that age where you learn how to make a mess and how you clean it up afterwards. By yourself!The crazy scenarios which afflict these affable 'troublemakers' reminds us--should remind everyone-- that this process can be fun. Making mistakes and learning from them. The best way --nay, the ONLY way--to shape character.Far cry from today, huh? Yeah. Today, we don't let kids have 'secret clubs', 'hideouts', codewords, or 'mysterious friends'. We don't let them play with equipment or tools. They must not 'wreck' anything of ours. They're certainly not allowed to 'gallivant all over creation' (love that phrase).Modern parents are rule-mongers and control freaks. When our kids want to play, we take them to 'Sesame Place' and we monitor their nutrition and we deck them in flashing sneakers and put them in helmets and on leashes. We place them in soccer, swim class, softball, karate, dance, gymnastics.The result? Modern kids have no idea what real 'freedom' means. We never give it to them. They turn out to be vegetables.But Brinley's kids show the other way it can be done. This boy's club makes their own fun. They don't 'ask for permission' to do stuff--they just do it! They embrace wildness, zaniness, and unpredictability. The outcome? Well, they aren't brought up on charges from the Department of Homeland Security, for the trouble they cause. That's for sure. This is a part of small town-Americana we've let slip away.Just one example: in one of the adventures undertaken by the Mad Scientists, they build their own hot-air balloon (using scraps from a local junkyard) and they enter it in the town's annual homemade hot-air balloon race. With no adult supervision at all. Once aloft, (!!) they engaged in an air-battle with their arch-foes and fire potato-cannons and slingshots back'n'forth in mid-air. Finally, they manage to send the enemy gang's balloon into the lake! Can you stand it? I can't friggin' stand it, can you?This book reminds us that children used to be perfectly capable of taking care of themselves if we let them...if we weren't all scared out of our wits by molesters and semi-automatic weapons and drugs and porn and stalkers and computers, we'd still remember the kind of America found in this hilarious read. It's to our shame that we can't.”-Feliks commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
Let me simply posit this; to all those men (not to intentionally exclude women, but I am a man addressing myself to other men) who have made something of their life. Maybe you are a barber, a motorcycle mechanic, a car salesman, or a cook, isn’t it true? To make it in this world, you need to stretch your neck out. You need to take risks, bend the rules a little. You need to apply yourself.
The cover to the book “The New Adventures of the Mad Scientist Club”. This is the sequel to the first book. It is also good, though personally, I really prefer the first book overall.
Those times when life got tough, did you go and get permission? Did you go and ask for consensus? Did you politely ask for others opinions, or did you just go out and do whatever it took to achieve your goals? Was it easy? Nope, I’ll wager that it was hard, or at least uncomfortable. You might have to make sacrifices. Right? Right???
Part of the need to accomplish these tasks were goals. These goals were like this golden orb that lay there, just out of reach that you needed to obtain. You would work towards those goals. You would keep those goals in mind while you fought and persevered. A goal might be a car. A goal might be the love of your life.
A man is nothing without a goal.
A goal might be something more honorable and important, like saving the world. As everyone can’t be an evil villain like George Soros. Or, a wealthy trillionaire like Bill Gates. Someone needs to wear the mask of a hero…
The Idols
My bedroom was decorated as any boy of my my age would have. It was festooned with models and collections of brick-a-bract and posters on the wall. I had a poster of Farah Faucett on my wall. She was smiling with this amazing smile, and her huge hair. We all had a crush on her. That as well as Loni Anderson and Rachael Welch . Look at her!
How can you not smile?
Farah Faucett was every 1970s boy’s dream. Just about everyone had a poster of her on our wall or doors in our bedrooms. Farah Faucett was every boys’ dream. (Image Source.)
I had numerous posters on my wall. One was the mandatory “black light” poster on velvet. (It glowed under UV light.) One was a picture of Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) performing a guitar solo. (I had super imposed a F-14 on it for combined imagery. After all, space and high-performance aircraft and rock n’ roll was my dream.) One was a Roger Dean poster (anyone remember the group “Yes”?).
Raquel Welch was another popular actress that graced the bedrooms of many a boy during the 1960s and 1970s. (Image Source.)
I became a fan of Loni Anderson in her role in the television sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. I think many of my friends did as well. We loved her and watching her on the show was always a highlight. That and the clueless manager who ran the office.
Loni Anderson played the role of the attractive secretary in the American sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”.
Telephones
There were no cell phones; indeed most phones hung on the wall, and fully 50% of them had dials instead of push buttons. Our home had two phones. One was an old Bakelite black phone from the 1920’s hidden away in the basement. I loved the feeling of it. There was a weight to it that you just couldn’t get during the 1970’s. We also had a “main” phone in the kitchen. It had an extra-long cord. My sister was always “hogging it up”. So one year they bought her a phone for her room. She still spent most of her time on the phone, it’s just that she wasn’t talking in the kitchen all day.
Sunday mornings were very much the same during the 1960s and 1970s. This included the children in PJ’s, the coffee, and the pets. Sunday mornings were stereotypical.(Image Source.)
In the house we wore “house clothes” also known as PJ’s, with a robe. Mother would make sure that there was always a pot of coffee brewing, and us kids would always fight over who would get to read the comics section of the paper first. Of course, our dogs and cats merrily participated in the morning ritual. Picture above is not the ideal, it was the actual.
Global Cooling and the “Green Movement”
We were terrified of the global cooling. Thousands of experts were constantly informing us of the up coming global ice age that would turn Florida into a Siberian wasteland.
In our schools we would go on field trips to clean up the environment. We would go on “collection drives” to collect money for our environment, and we ended up with absolute bushels of money. (Don’t know where it all went, though…) We attended classes on the environment and school rallies to lecture us on the up-coming global cooling that would soon turn the world into a snow cone.
We were terrified!
Every cold day was a sign that the world was plunging into another great ice age. Magazines, the media, and the news all had stories about the coming cold period and the need to raise taxes to save our environment. Experts were paraded on television to teach us the need to raise taxes, and fund more research.
Here’s a selection of some covers from Time Magazine during the 1970’s. The big concern was about “global cooling” and ho that taxes had to be increased to fund studies so as to stop it.
The “Love Canal” fiasco acted as a terrible “kick start” to the “environmental movement”. Americans began to wake up that we had been really abusing our environment. As such, immediate action had to be taken. And thus the government took action in the only way that it knew how…
It set up the EPA, and…
Raised taxes.
Which was the entire purpose of the decade long propaganda push; To [1] increase the size and scope of the government, and [2] to raise more taxes to go to Washington D.C..
“What’s it mean, anyway? Do 97% of #Scientists agree that the climate is changing? Actually, everyone agrees with that – that the Earth’s climate changes over time is why we had an ice age. Well, we had an ice age a long time ago. We did not have one after the #Science people promised an ice age in the 1970s. But shhhh! We’re not supposed to mention that.
Want to know what the proposed solution for the ’70s ice age that never arrived was? Give the liberal elite more money and power. Overpopulation was another big crisis in the ’70s too. It never arrived either. The solution to that was to give the liberal elite more money and power. And when they were warning us about acid rain destroying us in the ’80s? The solution to that crisis was also to give the liberal elite more money and power. The ozone hole? Yep, more of our money and power to the liberal elite. Back in the 1990s, the Al Gores of the world were warning us that we had just 10 years left to save the Earth unless … wait for it … we gave the liberal elite more money and power.
Sense some themes?
Each of these crises all had two things in common. Thing One was that none of these doomsdays ever produced the promised doom. Thing Two was that each was a demand to give the liberal elite more money and power.”
One of the things that I have come to appreciate the most was the family meal that we had when I was growing up as a child. During my early childhood we would hold formal “sit down” meals in the Dining Room. Us children each had our own roles / chores in regards to this. On Sunday we would have the largest and most elaborate meals. Mealtime was the opportunity when we could all talk about our day, our hopes and dreams, and things that interested us.
At the time, I didn’t realize how important it was.
Then, during the 1970’s everything changed. Both of my parents had to work. (You can thank the American Federal Reserve for the decline in the value of the dollar that necessitated the breakup of our families.) A formal family meal was replaced with “help yourself” fix your own meals, out of a pot on the stove, or “make yourself a snack” out of the refrigerator. We would then scrounge something up, and eat it alone watching television.
Communication was via notes on the refrigerator.
Now that I am much older, I can see clearly the value of a family meal as well as a community meal. As such, I now dictatorially enforce an observance of this tradition within my own home.
Fishing with my Father
I will conclude with this little narrative of my experiences in 1971 talking about my father. He used to spend the time and take me and my siblings out to the river to fish. He had a couple of rods and a tackle box that he inherited from his (favorite) uncle. Using it, he taught me how to fish, and how to gut and clean the fish.
While it is a great memory of mine, the best part, and the part that remember most clearly is how he would drive out to the lake or stream, and we would then troop down to the area to fish. He was always on the lookout for isolated and secluded areas to fish in. He yearned for the “perfect spot”. One with deep water and plenty of overhanging limbs and trees that fish can hide in.
Oh, I would go fishing with my friends. They had an assortment of remote cabins, canoes and secret places that always provided us a great deal of pleasure. But, it was the times with my father that mattered the most to me. My friends were always up to something.
I once had a friend who placed plastic sheeting on his garage floor and dumped a dump truck full of soil on it. He, at age 13, had constructed a worm farm, and he somehow had this crazy idea that he would get “filthy rich” selling worms to the local bait and tackle shops. He did actually manage to sell some. I think he might have made $5 or so. Eventually, he gave up the idea and paid some one to haul the dirt away. His dream of instant millions went bust.
I never became an expert at fishing. I was, I guess you could say, an enthusiastic hobbyist. For me, the time with my father fishing were some of the best moments of my life, and moments that I will treasure until I too, will die.
Conclusion
This was just a little narrative that I wrote about what it was like for me in 1971. It’s a far cry from the United States today. The USA today saddens me. Every time I read the news, I get either depressed or angered. There’s not really too much that I can do about the slide into open civil strife that America is plunging towards, all that I can do is take care of myself and think good thoughts.
This includes what it was like growing up as a boy.
Take Aways
Global Cooling was a sham designed to trick Americans into permitting a larger government and giving away more of their money.
There were only four television channels that we American had access to in the early 1970’s.
The family meal is the most important part of having a family. It is important to nurture and cultivate relationships.
Television shows used to focus on American culture instead of bastardized urban minority culture.
My favorite memories of my father was when we were fishing together.
This is how we rolled. We were allowed to experience life in all it’s ugly and beautiful glory. Life is about living.
Posted On Free Republic
This article was posted on Free Republic in the chat section and collected a number of interesting comments. Many of which, I really do need to write about. Particularly what it was like for my sisters at that time, the cars that we drove, and the cultural things going on in society at that time. You can read the comments HERE.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
This story was copyrighted in 1951 by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. Ray Bradbury is one of my personal heroes and his writings greatly influenced me in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.
Introduction
For years I had amassed a well worn, and dusty collection of Ray Bradbury paperbacks that I would pick up and read for pleasure and inspiration. Later, when I left the United States, and moved to China, I had to leave my treasured books behind. Sigh.
It is very difficult to come across Ray Bradbury books in China. When ever I find one, I certainly snatch it up. Cost is no object when it comes to these masterpieces. At one time, I must have had five books containing this story.
I have found this version of the story “Here There be Tygers” on The Mother Earth News, and I have copied it here exactly as found. Credit to the wonderful people at Mother Earth News for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.
Here There Be Tygers by Ray Bradbury
"You have to beat a planet at its own game," said Chatterton." Get in and rip it up, kill its snakes, poison its animals, dam its rivers, sow its fields, depollinate its air, mine it, nail it down, hack away at it, and get the blazes out from under when you have what you want. Otherwise, a planet will fix you good. You can't trust planets. They're bound to be different, bound to be bad, bound to be out to get you, especially this far out, a billion miles from nowhere, so you get them first. Tear their skin off, I say. Drag out the minerals and run away before the nightmare world explodes in your face. That's the way to treat them."
The rocket ship sank down toward planet 7 of star system 84. They had traveled millions upon millions of miles; Earth was far away, her system and her sun forgotten, her system settled and investigated and profited on, and other systems rummaged through and milked and tidied tip, and now the rockets of these tiny men from an impossibly remote planet were probing out to far universes. In a few months, a few years, they could travel anywhere, for the speed of their rocket was the speed of a god, and now for the ten-thousandth time one of the rockets of the far-circling hunt was feathering down toward an alien world.
"No," said Captain Forester."I have too much respect for other worlds to treat them the way you want to, Chatterton. It's not my business to rape or ruin anyway, thank God. I'm glad I'm just a rocket man. You're the anthropologist-mineralogist. Go ahead, do your mining and ripping and scraping. I'll just watch. I'll just go around looking at this new world, whatever it is, however it seems. I like to look. All rocket men are lookers or they wouldn't be rocket men. You like to smell new airs, if you're a rocket man, and see new oceans and islands."
"Take your gun along," said Chatterton. "in my holster," said Forester.
They turned to the port together and saw the green world rising to meet their ship."I wonder what it thinks of us?" said Forester.
"It won't like me" said Chatterton "I'll see to it 'It' won't like me. And I don't care. you know, I'm out for the money. Land us over there, will you. Captain; that looks like rich country if I ever saw it."
It was the freshest green color they had seen since childhood.
Lakes lay like clear blue water droplets through the soft hills; there were no loud highways, signboards or cities. It's a sea of green golf links, thought Forester, which goes on forever. Putting greens, driving greens, you could walk ten thousand miles in any direction and never finish your game. A Sunday planet a croquet-lawn world, where,you could lie on your back, clover in your lips, eyes half shut, smiling at the sky, smelling the grass, drowse through an eternal Sabbath, rousing only on occasion to turn the Sunday paper or crack the red-striped wooden ball through the wicket.
"It ever a planet was a woman, this one is/"
"Woman on the outside, man on the inside," said Chatterton. "All hard underneath, all male iron, copper, uranium, black sod. Don't let the cosmetics fool you."
He walked to the bin where the Earth Drill waited. Its great screw-snout glittered bluely, ready to stab seventy feet deep and suck out corks of earth, deeper still with extensions into the heart of the planet Chatterton winked at it"We'll fix your planet, Forester, but good"
"Yes, I know you will," said Forester, quietly,
The rocket landed.
"It's too green, too peaceful," said Chatterton. "I don't like it" He turned to the captain. "We'll go out with our rifles."
"I give orders. If you don't mind"
"Yes, and my company pays our way with millions of dollars of machinery we must protect; quite an investment."
The air on the new planet 7 in star system 84 was good. The port swung wide. The men filed out into the greenhouse world.
The last man to emerge was Chatterton, gun in hand.
As Chatterton set foot to the green lawn, the earth trembled. The grass shook. The distant forest rumbled, The sky seemed to blink and darken imperceptibly, The men were watching Chatterton when it happened.
"An earthquake!"
Chatterton's face paled. Everyone laughed.
"It doesn't like you, Chatterton!"
"Nonsense!"
The trembling died away at last.
"Well," said Captain Forester." It didn't quake for us, so It must be that it doesn't approve of your philosophy."
"Coincidence," Chatterton smiled weakly, "Come on now, on the double, I want the Drill out here in a half hour for a few samplings."
"Just a moment," Forester stopped laughing. "We've got to clear the area first, be certain there're no hostile people or animals, Besides, it isn't every year you hit a planet like this very nice; can you blame us if we want to have a look at it?"
"All right," Chatterton joined them, "Let's get it over with."
They left a guard at the ship and they walked away over fields and meadows, over small hills and into little valleys. Like a bunch of boys out hiking on the finest day of the best summer in the most beautiful year in history, walking in the croquet weather where, if you listened you could hear the whisper of the wooden ball across grass, the click through the wicket, the gentle undulations of voices, a sudden high drift of women's laughter from some ivy shaded porch, the tinkle of ice in the summer tea pitcher.
"Hey," said Driscoll, one of the younger crewmen, sniffing the air, "I brought a baseball and bat; we'll have a game later. What a diamond!"
The men laughed quietly in the baseball season, in the good quiet wind for tennis, in the weather for bicycling and picking wild grapes.
"How'd you like the job of mowing all this?" asked Driscoll.
The men stopped.
"I knew there was something wrong!" cried Chatterton, "This grass: it's freshly cut!
"Probably a species of dichondra: always short."
Chatterton spat on the green grass and rubbed it in with his boot, "I don't like it, I don't like it. If anything happened to us, no one on Earth would ever know. Silly policy: if a rocket fails to return, we never send a second rocket to check the reason why."
"Natural enough," explained Forester, "We can't waste time on a thousand hostile worlds, fighting futile wars. Each rocket represents years, money, lives. We can't afford to waste two rockets if one rocket proves a planet hostile. We go on to peaceful planets, like this one."
"I often wonder," said Driscoll, "What happened to all those lost expeditions on worlds we'll never try again."
Chatterton eyed the distant forest,"They were shot, stabbed, broiled for dinner, Even as we may be, any minute. It's time we got back to work, Captain!
They stood at the top to a little rise.
"Feel," said Driscoll, his hands and arms out loosely, "Remember how you used to run when you were it kid, and how the wind felt, Like feathers on your arms, You ran and thought any minute you'd fly, but you never quite did."
The men stood remembering, There was a smell of pollen and new rain drying upon a million grass blades.
Driscoll gave a little run. "Feel it, by God, the wind. You know, we never have really flown by ourselves. We have to sit inside tons of metal, away from flying, really. We've never flown like birds fly, to themselves, Wouldn't it be nice to, put your arms out like this —" He extended his arms, "And run." He ran ahead of them, laughing out his idiocy. "And fly!" he cried.
He flew.
Time passed on the silent gold wristwatches of the men standing below, They stared up. And from the sky came a high sound of almost unbelievable laughter.
"Tell him to come down now," whispered Chatterton. "He'll be killed."
Nobody heard. Their faces were raised away front Chatterton: they were stunned and smiling.
At last Driscoll landed at their feet.
"Did you see me?" "I flew!"
They had seen.
"Lets get down, oh, Lord. Lord." Driscoll slapped his knees, chuckling. "I'm a sparrow, I'm a hawk, God bless me. Go on all of you, try it!"
"It's the wind, it picked me up and flew me!" he said, a moment later, gasping, shivering with delight.
"Let's get out of here." Chatterton started turning, slowly in circles, watching the blue sky. "It's a trap, it wants us all to fly in the air. Then it'll drop its all at once and kill us. I'm going back to the ship."
"You'll wait for my order on that," said Forester,
The men were frowning, standing in the warm cool air, while the wind sighed about them. There was a kite sound in the air, a sound of eternal March.
"I asked the wind to fly me." said Driscoll. "And it did!"
Forester waved the others aside. "I'll chance it next. If I'm killed, back to the ship, all of you."
"I'm sorry. I can't allow this, you're the captain," said Chatterton. "We can't risk you." He took out his gun.
"I should have some sort of authority or force here. This game's gone on too long; I'm ordering us back to the ship."
"Holster your gun," said Forester, quietly.
"Stand still you idiot."
Chatterton blinked now at this man, now at that.
"Haven't you felt it'! This world's alive, it has a look to it, it's playing with us, biding its time."
"I'll be the judge of that," said Forester. "You're going back to the ship in a moment, under arrest, if you don't put up that gun."
"If you fools won't come with me, you can die out here. I'm going back, get my samples, and get out."
"Chatterton!"
"Don't try to stop me!"
Chatterton started to run. Then suddenly, he gave a cry.
Everyone shouted and looked up. "There he goes," said Driscoll.
Chatterton was up in the sky.
Night had come on like the closing of a great but gentle eye. Chatterton sat stunned on the side of the hill. The other men sat around him, exhausted and laughing. He would not look at them, he would not look at the sky, he would only feel of the earth, and his arms and his legs and his body, tightening in on himself.
"Oh, wasn't it perfect!" said a man named Koestler.
They had all flown like orioles and eagles and sparrows, and they were all happy.
"Come out of it, Chatterton, it was fun, wasn't it?"' said Koestler.
"It's impossible." Chatterton shut his eyes, tight, tight. "There's only one way for it to do it; it's alive. The air's alive. Like a fist it picked me up. Any minute now, it can kill its all. It's alive."
"All right," said Koestler. "Say it's alive." "And a living thing must have purpose. Suppose the purpose of this world is to make us happy."
As if to add to this, Driscoll came flying up, canteens in each hand. "I found a creek, tested and found pure water, wait'll you try it!"
Forester took a canteen, nudged Chatterton with it, offering a drink. Chetterton shook his head and drew hastily away. He put his hands over his face. "It's the blood of this planet. Living blood. Drink that, put that inside and you put this world inside you to peer out your eyes and listen through your ears. No thanks!"
Forester shrugged and drank.
"Wine!" he said.
"It can't be!"
"It is! Smell it, taste it! A rare white wine!"
"French domestic." Driscoll sipped his.
"Poison," said Chatterton.
They passed the canteens around.
They had idled on through the gentle afternoon, not wanting to do anything to disturb the peace that lay all about them. They were like very young men in the presence of great beauty, of a fine and famous woman, afraid that by some word, some gesture, they might turn her face away, avert her loveliness and her kindly attentions. They had felt the earthquake that had greeted Chatterton, and they did not want earthquake. Let them enjoy this "Day After School Lets Out", this fishing weather. Let them sit under the shade trees or walk on the tender hills, but let them drill no drillings, test no testings, contaminate no contaminations.
They found a small stream which poured into a boiling water pool. Fish, swimming in the cold creek above, fell glittering into the hot spring and floated, minutes later, cooked, to the surface.
Chatterton reluctantly joined the others, eating.
"It'll poison us all. There's always a trick to things like this. I'm sleeping in the rocket tonight. You can sleep out if you want. To quote a map I saw in medieval history: 'Here there be tygers.' Some time tonight when you're sleeping, the tigers and cannibals will show up."
Forester shook his head. "I'll go along with you, this planet is alive. It's a race itself. But it needs us to show off to, to appreciate its beauty. What's the use of a stage full of miracles if there's no audience?"
But Chatterton was busy. He was bent over, being sick.
"I'm poisoned! Poisoned!"
They held his shoulders until the sickness passed. They gave him water. The others were feeling fine.
"Better eat nothing but ship's food from now on," advised Forester. "It'd be safer."
"We're starting work right now." Chatterton swayed, wiping his mouth. "We've wasted a whole day. I'll work alone if I have to. I'll show this infernal place!"
He staggered away toward the rocket.
"He doesn't know when he's well off," murmured Driscoll. "Can't we stop him, Captain?"
"He practically owns the expedition. We don't have to help him, there's a clause in our contract that guarantees refusal to work under dangerous conditions. So . . . do unto this 'Picnic Ground' as you would have it do unto you. No initial-cutting on the trees. Replace the turf on the greens. Clean up your banana peels after you."
Now, below, in the ship there was an immense humming. From the storage port rolled the great shining Drill. Chatterton followed it, calling directions to its robot radio. "This way, here!
"You fool."
"Now!" cried Chatterton.
The Drill plunged its long screw-bore into the green grass. Chatterton waved up at the other men. "Watch this!"
The sky trembled.
The Drill stood in the center of a little sea of grass. For a moment it plunged away, bringing up moist corks of sod which it spat unceremoniously into a shaking analysis bin.
Now the Drill gave a wrenched, metallic squeal like a monster interrupted at its feed. From the soil beneath it slow bluish liquids bubbled up.
Chatterton shouted, "Get back, you fool!"
The Drill lumbered in a prehistoric dance. It shrieked like a mighty train turning on a sharp curve, throwing out red sparks. It was sinking. The black slime gave under it in a dark convulsion.
With a coughing sigh, a series of pants and churnings, the Drill sank into a black scum like an elephant shot and dying, trumpeting, like a mammoth at the end of an age, vanishing limb by ponderous limb into the pit.
"Fool. Fool," said Forester under his breath, fascinated with the scene. "You know what that is, Driscoll? It's tar. The fool machine hit a tar pit!"
"Listen, listen!" cried Chatterton at the Drill, running about on the edge of the oily lake. "This way, over here!"
But like the old tyrants of the earth, the dinosaurs with their tubed and screaming necks, the Drill was plunging and thrashing in the one lake from where there was no returning to bask on the firm and understandable shore.
Chatterton turned to the other men far away. "Do something, someone!"
The Drill was gone.
The tar pit bubbled and gloated, sucking the hidden monster bones. The surface of the pool was silent. A huge bubble, the last, rose, expelled a scent of ancient petroleum, and fell apart.
The men came down and stood on the edge of the little black sea.
Chatterton stopped yelling.
After a long minute of staring into the silent tar pool, Chatterton turned and looked at the hills, blindly, at the green rolling lawns. The distant trees were growing fruit now and dropping it, softly, to the ground.
"I'll show it," he said quietly.
"Take it easy, Chatterton."
"I'll fix it," he said.
"Sit down, have a drink."
"I'll fix it good, I'll show it, it can't do this to me."
Chatterton started off back to the ship.
"Wait a minute now," said Forester.
Chatterton ran. "I know what to do, I know how to fix it!"
"Stop him!" said Forester. He ran, then remembered he could fly. "The A-Bomb's on the ship, if he should get to that . . . ."
The other men had thought of that and were in the air. A small grove of trees stood between the rocket and Chatterton as he ran on the ground, forgetting that he could fly, or afraid to fly, or not allowed to fly, yelling. The crew headed for the rocket to wait for him, the captain with them. They arrived, formed a line, and shut the rocket port. The last they saw of Chatterton he was plunging through the edge of the tiny forest.
The crew stood waiting.
". . . That fool, that crazy guy."
Chatterton didn't come out on the other side of the small woodland.
"He's turned back, waiting for us to relax our guard."
"Go bring him in," said Forester.
Two men flew off.
Now, softly, a great and gentle rain fell upon the green world.
"The final touch," said Driscoll. "We'd never have to build houses here. Notice it's not raining on us. It's raining all around, ahead, behind us. What a world!"
They stood dry in the middle of the blue, cool rain. The sun was setting. The moon, a large one the color of ice, rose over the freshened hills.
"There's only one more thing this world needs."
"Yes," said everyone, thoughtfully, slowly.
"We'll have to go looking," said Driscol. "It's logical, The wind flies us, the trees and streams feed us, everything is alive. Perhaps if we asked for companionship . . . ."
"I've thought a long time, today and other days," said Koestler. "We're all bachelors, been traveling for years, and tired of it. Wouldn't it be nice to settle down somewhere! Here, maybe. On Earth you sweat just to save enough to buy a house, pay taxes; the cities stink. Here, you won't even need a house, with this weather. If it gets monotonous you can ask for rain, clouds, snow, changes. You don't have to work here for anything."
"It'd be boring. We'd go crazy."
"No," Koestler said, smiling. "If life got too soft, all we'd have to do is repeat a few times what Chatterton said: 'Here there be tygers. Listen!'"
Far away, wasn't there the faintest roar of a giant cat, hidden in the twilight forests?
The men shivered.
"A versatile world," said Koestler dryly. "A woman who'll do anything to please her guests, as long as we're kind to her. Chatterton wasn't kind."
"Chatterton. What about him?"
As if to answer this, someone cried from a distance. The two men who had flown off to find Chatterton were waving at the edge of the woods.
Forester, Driscoll, and Koestler flew down alone.
"What's up?"
The men pointed into the forest."Thought you'd want to see this, Captain. It's eerie." One of the men indicated a pathway. "Look here, sir."
The marks of great claws stood on the path, fresh and clear.
"And over here." A few drops of blood. A heavy smell of some feline animal hung in the air.
"Chatterton?"
"I don't think we'll ever find him, Captain."
Faintly, faintly, moving away, now gone in the breathing silence of twilight, came the roar of a tiger.
The men lay on the resilient grass by the rocket and the night was warm. "Reminds me of nights when I was a kid," said Driscoll. "My brother and I waited for the hottest night in July and then we slept on the Court House lawn, counting the stars, talking; it was a great night, the best night of my life." Then he added, "Not counting tonight, of course."
"I keep thinking about Chatterton," said Koestler.
"Don't," said Forester. "We'll sleep a few hours and take off. We can't chance staying here another day. I don't mean the danger that got Chatterton. No. I mean, if we stayed on we'd get to liking this world too much. We'd never want to leave."
A soft wind blew over them.
"I don't want to leave now." Driscoll put his hands behind his head, lying quietly. "And it doesn't want us to leave."
"If we go back to Earth and tell everyone what a lovely planet it is, what then, Captain?' They'll come smashing in here and ruin it."
"No," said Forester idly. "First, this planet wouldn't put up with a full-scale invasion. I don't know what it'd do, but it could probably think of some interesting things. Secondly, I like this planet too much; I respect it. We'll go back to Earth and lie about it. Say it's hostile. Which it would be to the average man, like Chatterton, jumping in here to hurt it. I guess we won't be lying after all."
"Funny thing," said Koestler. "I'm not afraid. Chatterton vanishes, is killed most horribly, perhaps, yet we lie here, no one runs, no one trembles. It's idiotic. Yet it's right. We trust it and it trusts us."
"Did you notice, after you drank just so much of the wine-water, you didn't want more? A world of moderation."
They lay listening to something like the great heart of this earth beating slowly and warmly under their bodies.
Forester thought, I'm thirsty.
A drop of rain splashed on his lips.
He laughed quietly.
I'm lonely, he thought.
Distantly he heard soft, high voices.
He turned his eyes in upon a vision. There was a group of hills from which flowed a clear river, and in the shallows of that river, sending up spray, their faces shimmering, were the beautiful women. They played like children on the shore. And it came to Forester to know about them and their life. They were nomads, roaming the face of this world as was their desire. There were no highways or cities, there were only hills and plains and winds to carry them like white feathers where they wished. As Forester shaped the questions, some invisible answerer whispered the answers. There were no men. These women, alone, produced their race. The men had vanished fifty thousand years ago. And where were these women now? A mile down from the green forest, a mile over on the wine stream by the six white stones, and a third mile to the large river. There, in the shallows, were the women who would make fine wives, and raise beautiful children.
Forester opened his eyes. The other men were sitting up.
"I had a dream."
They had all dreamed.
"A mile flown from the green forest a mile over on the wine stream . . . ."
". . . by the six white stones," said Koestler.
". . . and a third mile to the large river," said Driscoll, sitting there.
Nobody spoke again for at moment. They looked at the silver rocket standing there in the starlight
"Do we walk or fly, Captain?"
Forester said nothing.
Driscoll said, "Captain, let's stay. Let's never go back to Earth. They'll never come and investigate to see what happened to us; they'll think we were destroyed here. What do you say?"
Forester's face was perspiring. His tongue moved again and again on his lips. His hands twitched over his knees. The crew sat waiting.
"It'd be nice," said the captain.
"Sure."
"But . . ." Forester sighed. "We've got our job to do. People invested in our ship. We owe it to them to go back."
Forester got up. The men still sat on the ground, not listening to him.
"It's such a fine, nice, wonderful night," said Koestler.
They stared at the soft hills and the trees and the rivers running off to other horizons.
"Let's get aboard ship," said Forester, with difficulty.
"Captain . . . ."
"Get aboard," he said.
The rocket rose into the sky. Looking back, Forester saw every valley and every tiny lake.
"We should've stayed." said Koestler.
"Yes, I know."
"It's not too late, to turn back."
"I'm afraid it is." Forester made an adjustment on the port telescope. "Look now."
Koestler looked.
The face of the world was changed. Tiger, dinosaurs, mammoths appeared. Volcanoes erupted cyclones and hurricanes tore over the hills in a welter and fury of weather.
"Yes, she was a woman all right," said Forester. "Waiting for visitors for millions of years, preparing herself, making herself beautiful. She put on her best face for us. When Chatterton treated her badly, she warned him a few times, and then, when he tried to ruin her beauty, eliminated him. She wanted to be loved, like every woman, for herself, not for her wealth. So now, after she had offered us everything, we turn our backs. She's the woman scorned. She let us go, yes, but we can never come back. She'll be waiting for us with those . . ." He nodded to the tigers and the cyclones and the boiling seas.
"Captain," said Koestler
"Yes."
"It's a little late to tell you this. But just before we took off, I was in charge of the air lock. I let Driscoll slip away from the ship. He wanted to go. I couldn't refuse him. I'm responsible. He's back there now, on that planet."
They both turned to the viewing port.
After a long while, Forester said. "I'm glad. I'm glad one of us had enough sense to stay."
"But he's dead by now!
"No, that display down there is for us, perhaps a visual hallucination. Under all the tigers and lions and hurricanes, Driscoll is quite safe and alive, because he's her only audience now. Oh, she'll spoil him rotten. He'll lead a wonderful life. He will, while we're slugging it out up and down the system looking for but never finding a planet quite like this again. No. We won't try to go back and rescue Driscoll, I don't think 'she' would let us anyway. Full speed ahead, Koestler, make it full speed."
The rocket leaped forward into greater accelerations.
And just before the planet dwindled away in brightness and mist, Forester imagined that he could see Driscoll very clearly, walking away down from the green forest, whistling quietly, all of the fresh planet around him, a wine creek flowing for him, baked fish lolling in the hot springs, fruit ripening in the midnight trees, and distant forests and lakes waiting for him to happen by. Driscoll walked away across the endless green lawns near the white stones, beyond the forest, to the edge of the large bright river . . . .
Conclusions
Often we are given opportunities that will transform our life. But, out of ignorance, fear, or habit, we ignore the opportunity. It passes us by. Once gone, it is gone forever. We end up regretting our life. We look back with nostalgia for what could have been.
This is the story of mankind and how we have abused the world we live in. This is the story of me, and you, who have passed up wonderful companions, opportunities and adventures, for some trivial reason or the other. This is the story of the bane of our educational system that focuses on goals instead of appreciation of the moments we live.
Appreciate what you have. Be aware of opportunities and take them when they present themselves to you. For only YOU can control your life. This reality is YOURS. Please don’t squander it.
Take Aways
"Here There Be Tygers" is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, originally published in the anthology New Tales of Space and Time in 1951. It was later collected in Bradbury's short story collections R is for Rocket and The Golden Apples of the Sun. It deals with a rocket expedition sent to a planet to see whether or not its natural resources can be harvested for the human race. They discover a paradise which seems to provide for them whatever they desire even as they think of it. They ultimately decide to leave the planet and report that it is hostile and of no benefit to humans.
-Wikipedia
The Wikipedia entry above is a pale reflection of the content of the story.
Cliff Notes should never be used for short stories. Just read the stories yourself and come to your own conclusions.
I hope that this story was as enjoyable for you the reader as it was for myself.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
Here’s a fun exercise. Let’s compare American girls with Chinese girls. Of course the comparisons would be terribly general and horribly biased. It would also be a reflection of my own personal preferences, which are admittedly terribly dated and old fashioned. Anyways, I would like to give my opinions and my impressions on the differences between American and Chinese girls…
Introduction
“...several months ago, I had a Thai short-time(girl) on the back of my Kawasaki, buzzing along. If you are planning on heading to SE Asia, save your life (and others) by learning to handle a motorbike in (the) USA. (It’s) Safer (that way)…Little Ms 39 kg Hottie leans into my ear as we are passing a Burger King and coos "....khun Somchai, where is the KING?" (Ooooh) Once addicted to Asian hotties, sorry American chicks----game over.”- buttmint (reply to) UmbilicalMosqueSweeper Aug 12, 2017 11:05 AM
China is a big country. There are 80+ cultural and racial groups and every one was different. While there were some who were small in stature, most Chinese were rather average and comparable with Americans in size, skin color and statue. (Though they are decidedly not fat at all.) They did not walk around barefoot, but tended to be very cosmopolitan in demeanor and wore the latest fashions and styles.
They were well educated; China is a nation of nerds. (There is no question about that. I was floored when I once saw an eleven-year-old studying differential calculus.) All were very responsible, smart and beautiful. Compared to them, and their families, Americans are poor.
(Chinese have saved money for centuries. They have money to spend, and Americans do not. When you see a Chinese driving a Range Rover, you can guarantee that they bought it in cash. However, an American, nah, he is just making bank payments on “his” car. For Americans, it is just a long-term rental.)
Asian women are beautiful, they take care of themselves, and honor their families. They are very protective of their families and will do everything in their power to maintain their role in the community.
This is quite different from what is seen in the United States. In the United States, since the 1960’s cultural revolution, every woman can be “her own” woman and “do her thing”. This sounds good on the surface, but unfortunately it often times equates into being a fat slob.
Now, don’t get too hot and bothered. It’s the same with men as well. The men also can become to be fat, lazy pigs. It’s what the popular American culture has led everyone toward. Of course, things become quite different when you live for a greater purpose; when you live for your parents, and your spouse and your children. You have a reason and a purpose.
“Women here in the US act like you fucking own them half of everything and then some. If you look at their fat asses, then you should be labeled a harasser and tarred and feathered. Their fat bellies sticking out from underneath shirts that are way too small kills it for me. And these dumb whores think they look great ! Most women here look like some kind of farm animal unless they are in grade school. The double chins, the huge feet from them weighing well over 170lbs, and the fucking attitude is enough to repel any man. I'll take a foreign girl any day of the week.”- I am Groot Top Hat posted on Zero Hedge on Jan 11, 2018 5:49 PM Permalink
Different Culture
Chinese girls come from a different culture than America.
They do not know what “original sin” is; they do not know what guilt is, or shame. They are not afraid to look pretty or to dress cute or provocatively. They think differently. To them one must honor their family and that means the concept of “face”; How one looks. How one acts.
Original sin, also called ancestral sin, is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from the fall of man, stemming from Adam's rebellion in Eden. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred to as a "sin nature", to something as drastic as total depravity or automatic guilt of all humans through collective guilt.
They know that they have a family responsibility to maintain, and that they would do whatever is necessary to honor their parents. Moreover, by the way, becoming a prostitute is not one way to do it.
Here is a lovely Chinese girl in a mall in the winter. The Chinese ladies love these big boots in the winter months. My wife has boots that reach all the ways up to her crotch, with the most common being the ones that go to the knee caps. I think that it is terribly attractive. The dress is pretty typical, being short and showing off the great legs that the Chinese women possess. The Chinese girls just don’t understand why us men would be so excited about these fine leather boots. I don’t know either, but it sure turns me on. I’ll tell you what.
What Chinese Girls are Like
If you want to see, what a Chinese girl looks like watch a K-pop video. Sure, they are (mostly) Korean, but you know what? The bodies, the shapes, the clothing, the makeup and the mannerisms are the same. (They are all Han Chinese, which is the dominant racial characteristic in China today.)
If you want to stick to making broad, sweeping judgments that the Chinese are all flat chested, short, brown skinned, then go to Hong Kong, or Shanghai. They are not. They are decidedly absolutely not.
The typical Chinese girl wears a “B” or a “C” cup bra with a significant percentage of the population wearing larger bras (see below). The typical Chinese girl is neither small, nor fat. They are strong and beautiful. They are independent, versatile, and responsible. They are smart, intelligent and can run circles around most Americans. They are tigers disguised as cute kittens. (At least my wife certainly is. You do not want to get on her bad side. Let me tell you!)
I like Chinese women. After all, I married one.
Underwear brand Triumph has published the percentage ranking of Asian bra sizes in its Lingerie White Paper, which indicates a continuing trend towards larger busts. Sales for its A-cup bras have fallen from 58.6% in 1980 to just 4.1% in 2016 The results for the last two years are tallied below:
A-cup sales (2015): 4.7% A-cup sales (2016): 4.1%
B-cup sales (2015): 19.5% B-cup sales (2016): 19%
C-cup sales (2015): 26.1% C-cup sales (2016): 25.6%
D-cup sales (2015): 24.8% D-cup sales (2016): 25%
E-cup sales (2015): 16.7% E-cup sales (2016): 26.3%
Chinese girls interviewing for a stewardess position with a Chinese airline company. In China, your appearance, and manners are all considered important attributes. You are viewed on your appearance, and ranked appropriately. This differs substantially from how the United States is. Having potential stewardesses wear bikini’s and interview on appearance is illegal in America. It might offend someone. It is discriminatory.
Chinese girls are many things, but as adults appearing as children is a gross oversimplification rooted in ignorance of the worst type; the “Ugly American” type.
Girls in China are quite different from girls in the United States. If I were to make broad sweeping generalizations about Chinese girls, I would say that they are very conservative. They really do not buy into all that woman-career compared to woman-housewife nonsense that you see in the United States.
Typically, they go to school well into their mid-20’s. Yes, you could characterize them as most “book nerds”, then they go work. Typically, girls get married around 25 to 28, and after age 30 they are considered to be “old maids”.
Here is some Asian girls with comparative body fat percentage. It’s an interesting photo.
I find ALL Chinese girls to be special, wonderful and just outstanding. They are lovely, cute, professional, kind, and beautiful.
This includes the world-worn grandmother, to the tottering cleaning lady. There is a certain specialness that words cannot convey, but it is something that has to do with their culture, and how they are raised. They honor their parents. They care about their family. They support their husbands. They keep fit and thin. They work and do what ever is necessary to build their business.
Seriously, what is not to admire?
Here is a Chinese girl in the local 7-11. And yes, you will see many Chinese girls dressing up to go out. This was more or less a pretty common scene in any of the larger cities in China. Note that many Chinese girls, especially in Southern China do not wear panty hose. It’s just far too hot.
Chinese girls know what they want, and they have the skills to go about getting it. This is a true of a statement that I can ever make.
“My Chinese girlfriends, by contrast, seemed to know exactly what they wanted, and made it happen. Two women I knew had "the talk" with their American boyfriends of 5 or more years, and when the men confessed they still weren't sure, broke up with them and within a year were happily pregnant and married to someone else.”-Your Tango
And, the men in their lives appreciate it. They show this appreciation in other ways. Ways that are very strange when viewed from the eyes of an American;
Several years ago, I moved from New York to Beijing. Within a few months of my arrival, I started to notice the differences between Western- and Chinese-style dating.
For one thing, men carried their girlfriends' purses—little fake-Chanel pocketbooks, black leather sling bags, enormous pleather numbers with ruffles and rhinestones and tassles.
No matter how ridiculously girly it looked, it was always slung over a male shoulder, or dangling from his fingers; with the other, he held his girlfriend's hand.
The funniest moments were always when you spotted a guy momentarily alone: maybe waiting for his girlfriend outside a shop, or the women's bathroom. Then what you'd see was a Chinese guy in unassuming clothing—t-shirt, button-down shirt, jeans—holding a frilly bright-pink purse.
-Your Tango
Here is a GREAT video that describes the differences between a girlfriend from the North of China compared to one from the South of China. I laughed so hard watching it!
Here are some pretty Chinese girls dancing to the pop music that is all the craze out here. You can get a general feel for what the Chinese girls are like just by watching the videos…
One thing that I like about Chinese girls is that they are not fat. I really don’t know what has been going on in the United States, but all the American girls are really on the chunky side, with many absolutely and positively fat. When they come here to China, they look like enormous fat pigs or water buffaloes.
Most girls in China look a little like this young lass…
I like that girls come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They can be short, or tall and thin. They can have nice legs, or a nice butt, or a great rack. They can have large eyes that your soul could melt into, or soft skin and really nice enormous manes of hair.
One thing that I really appreciate in China is that many Chinese girls have really nice boobies. You know, as an American, I was under the impression that all Asian girls were flat chested. I guess it is just one of those American stereotypes. You know, some of these gals have some amazing racks let me tell you!
But, you know, it is more than that. There are many, many Chinese girls that like to exercise and keep in shape. Whether it is in the daily dance routines, or going to a gym, everyone seems to exercise.
Here’s a Chinese girl exercising…
American Girls
But what about American girls you might ask?
Well, I also like American girls as well. In fact, there are many, many attractive American girls. What I am disturbed about is that the food in America has been poisoned by GMO’s and selective genetic breeding loaded with hormones and the such. Both American men and women are now much stouter then they were in the past.
That included myself (when I lived in the States).
So, while there are some very attractive American women, they tend to be smaller in number than their counterparts in other nations. With many American women heavier than what they should be.
A recent study revealed that the average American woman wears a size 20W.
The average American woman wears a size 20 wide! WTF? An American woman today weighs as much as a man did in the 1960’s. There is even a Buzzfeed article that thinks that this is a great thing! I disagree. I think that they are smoking too much of that dreaded devil-weed and are very confused.
Seriously. Please understand my point of view. There is nothing appealing with someone being out of shape.
Findings suggest that, contrary to popular assumptions, the average American woman’s (AAW’s) clothing size is larger than anticipated. The AAW wears between a Misses size 16–18, which corresponds to a Women’s Plus size 20W, with greater distinctions found when considering race and ethnicity.
I think that Americans, men and women, should eat fresh food and locally grown vegetables. They should eat more fish and seafood. They should cut down on snacking and fast food. It’s a sacrifice, I know. I know.
Look what I had to cut down on…
Limit fast food to once a month.
No after dinner snacking… ever.
Full breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
No Doritos, potato chips, or deep fried anything.
Here are some women of size 20W. It is now the American average size for a woman… Yikes!
The average American woman now wears a size 20W. This is certainly celebrated in many American websites and posts as avoidance of “fat shaming”. Personally, I think it is disgusting and alarming. Men and women need to keep their BMI within reasonable limits.
What a Man looks for in a Woman…
With all that being said, let’s look at the things that men look for in a woman. After all, it is relationships that drive our passions. From that we can derive comparisons between women from China and women from the United States.
When a man, such as myself, thinks about a woman we look at number of key features;
Appearance
Sex
Domestic Concern
Companionship
Personality
Self Confidence
Of course, there are many other factors that we could include here. But, this is not intended to be an exhaustive study, or some kind of PC narrative. Let’s consider what I, myself, look for in women. This is my list.
Other people might have a different list. Maybe something like this…
Environmentally friendly.
Fashion trendy.
Hip with the latest APPS.
Has many followers on Twitter, or Facebook.
Is wealthy and successful.
Has a huge enormous ass. (Yikes!)
But, I’m not other people. So if you want to generate your own list and criteria for comparisons, go straight ahead. I’m not going to stop you. This is my list, and these are my comparisons…
[1] A Woman’s Appearance
A man looks for a woman that he is physically attracted to.
Sorry, but it has to be said. The good news is, every man is attracted to a different type of woman and has his own personal tastes. Meaning, I am in no way suggesting a woman has to fit a certain image of ‘beauty’ in order to be considered ‘wife material.’
But, as is true for both men and women, there needs to be a physical attraction between two partners to kick off a relationship, which also plays an important part in holding it together.-The Good Man Project
We men want a woman who we are attracted to.
Attraction has to do with a combination of [1] physical shape, [2] physical appearance, and [3] personal grooming. I have seen women who have “rockin'” bodies, who dress like trailer-park trash, and were a total turn off. I have seen women who look good and yet sound like a foul-mouthed sailor when they speak. I have seen women who didn’t know how to walk in high heels and went clunk-clunk-clunk as they walked down the street. Yuck!
I have seen beautiful women, who walked and carry themselves well, wearing black high heel shoes with the red under-sole. Only to have a big white price tag sticker on the bottom. Talk about distraction away from the image form!
Appearance is more than just physical shape. It is also about grooming and attitude.
In general, men and women are about the same in this regards. A woman wants a man that takes care of his appearance. She wants him to be well groomed, clean, and neat.
Men are the same. We look for a woman that also takes care of their appearance. We like the women in our lives to be well-groomed, clean and tidy.
Here is a beautiful American girl. Look at that smile. Look at that amazing body. What a stunner! I tell you what!
There are a wide range of American female body styles that I personally find quite alluring. This includes tall leggy women, to short chubby cuties. I think that many would be amazed at the things that they do, act, dress, or look like that I find amazingly attractive.
So I am not going to bad-mouth any of the particularly awesome women that live in America. I tell you the truth, there are some American women that think that they aren’t that good looking, that I would die to be with.
When I lived in Boston, there was a 30-something woman who worked in a brick-a-brack store in Brookline. She was very curvy, and maybe wore a size 18. She had shaved her hair really short, and wore really red lipstick. Not my type. Yet, I had such the hots for her. OMG! Every-time I tried to talk with her, I would get so flustered. She hadn't a clue how mesmerized I was for her.
It is sort of like how a woman who looks at my shoulders (and arms) and wonders how nice it would be to rest their head there and be held. I too look at women in this way. However, I think more in terms of having my head resting on their chest softly, and their fingers in my hair.
Men and women are more similar than we will admit to in public.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
That being said, I don’t like to be with a girl that is heavier than I am. It’s a personal preference. I also am not really attracted to a woman who is taller than I am either. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t do anything for me.
I also am a little skiddish about polydactylism. It's not that I am revolted if the girl has seven fingers on each hand, but I'm a little freaked out about it.
I feel like this is similar to a girl that doesn’t want a man that is shorter than she is.
[2] Having Sex
Honestly, you have to be a fucking moron not to realize that men want sex.
It is genetically programmed into males and become the focus of everything that we do. From what career we enter, to what cars we drive, to how much money we make. The driving force behind it all is getting sex.
Any man who says that this is not the case is either lying or trying to find favor in order to obtain sex.
The Loony Tunes character “Pepe Le Pew” is based on the raw instincts that all males have. When we were children and watched the cartoons we knew instinctively what what going on. Yet today in the SJW saturated American culture, we are supposed to ignore the basic facts of life and accept a reality of non-genders. Nonsense!
Once we find an attractive woman that raises our interest, the very next thing we wonder about is having sex with her.
That is the way it is, and no SJW rewriting of culture is going to change the biology of males. In a way we are just like dogs and are led about by our “pecker” all the time. Smart women know this. Smarter women use it, and profit from it in numerous ways.
Online porn is not a multi-billion industry for nothing. Prostitution still exists because men are men, no matter how hard society, religion and zealots try to stamp it out. Men are males with fundamental male interests and needs.
The sexual desires that men have vary from individual to individual. Some men really love oral sex, others are “meh”. Some men must have anal sex, while other go “yech!”. Every man is different.
That being said, sex is an individual experience. What might be fantastic for one fellow, might be terribly boring for another. That is why there are fetishes.
Some men like big boobs, others like big asses, and still others like big feet. Some men are mesmerized by a nice set of legs, while others like strange and unusual sexual positions. And yes, some men really like huge women, and others like small tiny ladies. Everyone is different.
[3] Domestic Care & Concern
Here is where I sound like an old foggy-head man. However, a woman who is control of her home, tends to be in control of her life.
A woman who is in control of her home is in control of her life.
When I see that she takes care of her clothes, makes sure that the house is well run, ordered and that she knows how to cook, I start to get really interested in her. You see, in my mind, a woman who is in control of her life, would also be able to take control of my life as well.
Men will give their LIFE, their MONEY, and their very BEING to a woman deserving of it.
I once went on a date with a woman. She was nice, and attractive. To get ready for the date, I of course was presentable and clean, and I made sure that the car was washed and detailed. I picked her up. I then opened the door for her and buckled her in. (This was America, I'd never do it in China.) And we went off.
During the drive she pulled out some chewing gum and was chewing it. You know, for a pleasant tasting mouth. But, you know, she did something disturbing to me. She threw the chewing gum wrapper on my nice new floor...
Later, after dinner, she couldn't find her lipstick, and emptied her purse on the table, and had to sort through old scraps of paper, receipts and brick-a-bract. The date ended, and we went our separate ways. We had fun, but I never wanted to be back with her again. You know, she probably doesn't understand why.
Men need a companion that they can turn to, rely upon, and have a family with. This means responsibility. We need a good strong willed woman without baggage and problems. Seriously, isn’t that what women look for also?
Now, of course, most modern and "liberated" women don't think like this in the Untied States. They are "independent". They can get and have their own careers, and live their own lives. Sure they can. And, be childless and unmarried into their 40's.
The cost of being a "liberated" American female is quite steep.
It is not reality.
It is an artificially constructed narrative to seduce people into certain set behaviors. If you want to see what works for couples, then look at how families are set up in Africa. Look at how families are run in Poland. Look at how families exist in China. Five thousand years of experience won’t lie.
The 1998 movie pleasantville depicted a sort of revisionist narrative of what might happen if a modern person were to step back into time and life life as it used to be in the 1960’s. Contrary to the popular narrative, there is nothing wrong with traditional marriage and a man giving everything to his wife. In return, the wife becomes domestic and cares for him, their children, their home and their finances. She makes sure that the man can work, be relaxed and strive to improve their life. That is the traditional method, and that is what many men search for.
A traditional life WORKS. Most men WANT a traditional long-term relationship. They will give everything for it.
I fear many men, especially those afraid "to make the leap" in marriage are not convinced or ready to allow a woman to take over part or all of his life.
For a man, this is a BIG commitment.
He is not only letting the woman into his life, but he is giving her access forever to all that he earns. He is allowing her to dictate and instruct him on behavior, dress, and recreation. If the man is truly in love, and if he believes that this woman can take on that domestic role; she will GET EVERYTHING he can offer.
A man who gives everything to his wife will never leave her. For she literally BECOMES everything to him. So, have you ever wondered why divorce was so rare prior to the 1970’s? Divorce became commonplace when traditional roles fell from popularity. So ladies, if you want a man that will be YOURS… forever and would never abandon you, then you should make a reappraisal of your value system. You won’t get it on a progressive ideology. You will ONLY get it with a Conservative Traditional ideology.
When a man gets married, he should be ready to share his life. This often means letting your wife take over portions of it so you no longer have to. A good, and strong, woman will be able to manage the home. If she can manage the home, she can help the man become a success.
We have a saying that goes something a little like this; “Behind every successful man is a strong woman.”
As I get older, I see how true this is. My friends who are all very successful, all have strong and well-organized wives. They all also have relinquished some things to the wife in exchange for her domestic support. This includes [1] all of the finances. [2] What he eats. [3] How he dresses. [4] His exercises, and [5] how they relate to family matters.
Oh, and please forget that nonsense Hollywood narrative of what a traditional conservative woman is. (Where a traditional woman wears Amish style hats, and lives a life right out of the “The Handmaids Tale”.) That is propaganda. Today, a conservative wife might have a body covered in tattoos, ear and nose rings and purple hair. It isn’t about appearances.
It is about the energy that lies inside…
Chinese women, as well as African, Polish, Russian, and Indian women don’t sit around watching the boob-tube, or play games on the cell-phone all day long. They do what ever is necessary to make THEIR household a success.
The manage the fiances.
They budget the household.
They allocate resources to jointly improve their standard of living.
They make sure everyone is eating well and healthy.
They are a model for their community and familial relations.
They make sure that the husband has everything he needs.
They push and help the husband grow as a provider.
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if we could talk about really deep and interesting subjects. I wonder if they would be willing to share in my hobbies. I look for companions.
This is true for most men.
Spend time, meaningful and precious time, with those you love. Make your time quality time. Buy an ice cream cone with your retired father. Take you mother out of a morning breakfast. Call up one of your friends and go to the beach or hike in a local park. Spend time together. Companionship.
Now, most women are confused with what this means. They search for romance. They could care less about companionship. This is sad, because romance comes from companionship.
Romance is spawned from companionship.
My wife and I took a trip to Thailand, and while on a drinking binge, the taxi driver drove us to the middle of no where and abandoned us there. We had to struggle and make our way back to the hotel. That bungle was an adventure, but my wife well remembers the rural village BBQ meal as the dawn broke through the clouds, and the orange light that shined on our toes in the sand. Romantic times are unplanned. They come from companionship.
Another thing that guys look for in a woman is personality. We are attracted to kindness, softness, sweetness, and compassion.
When I come across a particularly militant American woman, I am immediately repelled. Especially when that person wants to lecture me on “white privilege” or some kind of populist nonsense that weaker men accept. Don’t be a ugly bullyish brute of a woman. It’s not becoming.
Become the ideal. Your life is within your hands.
Look at this pretty American girl. I have to admit that I have a thing for short frilly dresses. Man, she does look great in polka-dots. Wouldn’t you just love to go out on the town and have a cup of coffee and a cheese cake with this woman?
To be honest, when I meet a woman and I get to know them, I am looking for companionship. I wonder if they would like to accompany me for dinner, dancing, and any of the hobbies that I love to partake in. Since I love wine, a non-drinker and myself might not fit together well. Since I love animals, when I am talking to a woman, I wonder if they would also be part of my life with dogs and cats.
The personality that a woman has eventually dominates a man’s interest. In other words, while a man is firstly attracted to a woman’s look, and sexual appeal, it is her personality that will keep him by her side forever.
[6] Self Confidence
One of the most important traits for both men and women is self-confidence. This is something that is hard to describe, but is fundamental to success in life. the truth is that I am not at all handsome, but women are interested in spending time with me for other reasons. I chalk up the reasons to being positive, happy, interesting and having good self-confidence.
Because that is exactly what turns me on in a woman.
When I take a woman out, I want to be able to talk about things. I want to be able to talk about tomato plants, favorite foods, dogs and cats, and thoughts about life. I want to be with a person that isn’t so fucking sensitive that I am afraid of being who I am. I want to be accepted for me, and if you don’t like it, to Hell with you. The same goes double for women.
I would NEVER tell a woman that she shouldn’t eat dessert because she needed to count her calories. Nor would I tolerate sitting down with a woman who wanted to lecture me on the injustices of the world. No one likes a scold. Really.
No one.
General Comparisons
The thing is that Chinese food is healthier than American food. The culture is also healthier, and everyone likes to dance. Many Chinese like to ride bicycles and walk. There are sidewalks everywhere in China. Thus, many Chinese girls and women are thin and healthy.
Chinese eat healthier food.
Chinese have smaller food portions.
Chinese prefer green tea to soda.
Chinese have opportunities to dance every day.
Culturally, being out of shape is a terrible taboo.
Bike riding is supported and subsidized by the government.
Sidewalks are everywhere.
To elaborate further, being unhealthy is frowned upon. A fat Chinese woman is considered to be someone who is causes her family to lose face. It is not tolerated.
In Chinese culture, eating is seen as a form of affection and commitment to the family, so I always ate every meal, every single kernel of rice in my bowl. But I also felt fat and unfit to be the “perfect” Asian girl, as I compared my body to those of my fellow Asian American girl friends. When we would go out to eat and drink -- a group of petite Asian girls -- I knew I had to work out more and eat less the next day to make up for the amount I ingested with my friends. I’ve spent countless Friday nights in college, feeling completely inadequate because every single Asian girl I met was thin and beautiful with porcelain smooth skin, like Asian girls are supposed to be. I started to wonder if I was the only Asian girl who felt this way.
-XOJane
In America, being a fat woman is considered to be very hip and progressive. It is very much anti-fat-shaming. As such it is promoted as applauded. Also, Americans tend to love piercings, tattoos and all sorts of body adornments.
Typical college-age American girls having a good time during spring break in Corpus Christi Texas. These are typical girls. Covered in Tattoos. They are having a great time, and they have most excellent smile. None of them are fat.
Also Americans tend to have a different lifestyle. We drive everywhere. If our car breaks down, we rent a car rather than walk. Unless you are in a city, there just aren’t any sidewalks. We like to eat fast food. Our food portions are enormous. While American food is certainly tasty, we usually opt for fast and easy food instead of the food that is better for us like oatmeal and fish.
So, we have a situation where Chinese girls tend to be thinner and healthier than American girls. I find that being healthy is enormously attractive.
Comparisons between Chinese and American Girls
Here are my opinions concerning Chinese girls and American girls. Of course it is only my own opinion. You are free to agree or disagree as you choose.
We will start with my first criteria; Appearance.
Appearance
Both American women and Chinese women tend to take care of their appearance. However, culturally, what is attractive differs. In America, having “bronze” or dark skin is considered to be attractive. While in China, having white or pale skin is considered to be attractive.
In China, it is desirable and even necessary to appear healthy and fit. In America it is trendy to be fat and overweight.
While I find that both China and America have attractive ladies, I have discovered that there is a higher percentage of them in China compared to America. This is not determined by the vast numbers of Chinese compared to the much smaller number of American, but rather the percentage of attractive women within society.
Taking the regional and cultural differences aside, and ONLY making a determination based on my personal opinions, I would find the following to be true…
America might have 30% of the women to fit my own biased, and old fashioned, ideas of beauty and attractiveness. While in China, I find a much higher percentage of women, easily over 80%, that I would consider attractive in one way or the other.
Sex
Based upon my own experiences, and only on my experiences, I find that both China and America are about on par with providing enjoyable sexual adventures for the pleasures of the man of the species. While there are individual differences, I think that a man in either America or in China would tend to have reasonably enjoyable sex with their partner.
There are a couple of sexual trends that seem to be promoted in the American media at this time, that are not promoted in China. These include…
Sexual ambiguity.
Female ejaculation / squirting.
Sexual promiscuity.
Role reversal.
Aside from these differences, for me I could care less about the latest in sexual trends going on today. Therefore…
Based on my experience, sex in either the United States or China is about the same. It varies from person to person and relationship to relationship.
Domestic Concern
I am afraid that I am going to have to shock all the readers in Internet-land out there on this consideration. However, the fact is this; the Chinese women are traditional and Conservative. The American women are progressive and liberal.
Chinese women are conservative. American women tend to be liberal.
A Chinese wife (or girlfriend) would wash, starch, iron and fold your clothes. An American wife, highly unlikely.
A Chinese wife would make a meal for her husband, provide him with clean house clothes and slippers when he gets home, and make him a cocktail. An American woman wouldn’t even consider it.
A Chinese wife would make sure that her husband was eating healthy meals, not doing unhealthy things, and would select his clothes and make sure that the man was presentable for work. An American woman would never pick out her husbands clothes, let alone iron, starch, and fold them to lay them out for him to wear when he got out of the shower.
A Chinese wife would shower, get dressed up and put on makeup to make a run to the local grocery store to get some supplies. An American woman, probably would not.
A Chinese wife would budget the household for the month. She would plan and prepare the family meals, even if it was just for two people. An American woman might do this, however, planning a family meal has become a lost art that has disappeared sometime during the Bill Clinton presidency, when Hillary Clinton became the role model for many a young woman.
All, in all, culturally the Chinese woman is far more suitable than an American woman is for a family life.
However, for relationships that are not tied to a family or domestic issues, such as one-night stands, and promiscuous sexual adventures, the American woman is preferred. As her behavior towards a long term mutually-respectable relations can best be considered as disposable.
Companionship
Again, I would say that both American and Chinese women would make fine companions. Though, culturally it would take on different manifestations.
In public, a Chinese wife treats me with great respect. She would never belittle me. She would never, ever… EVER say anything bad about me to anyone. I am her family. I am HER family. I am HER’s. To bad-mouth me is to admit that she is a terrible wife.
Culturally, the wife, the family and the husband loses face if she is not supportive of him. In fact, he could lose his job, or be placed in demeaning and compromising work situations as well. The wife has an important role, and she must make sure that the husband is respected and promoted. Can you imagine the woman in this video saying bad things about her husband…?
Chinese girls are fiercely defensive of their families and their husbands.
In comparison, an American wife has no problem with treating a husband terribly. In fact it is even promoted in the American media and Hollywood. This has manifested with a terrible lack of respect in public, bounding on terrible disrespect of the worst kind. Heck, even the President of the United States allows people to point their finger at him and belittle him in public.
You would NEVER see this in China.
FILE – In this Jan. 25, 2012, file photo, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer points during an intense conversation with President Barack Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, in Mesa, Ariz. In the summer of 2010, race and politics collided when Arizona Republicans passed an immigration law that critics said would lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. Jose Lozano, vice president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, remembers Brewer wagging her finger in the president’s face, which he thought was ugly and hadn’t seen before. “There’s no way that would have ever happened to a white president,” Lozano said. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)
Knowing what I know of today, I can understand why some American husbands beat their wives up when they get home. If they would attack and beat up a male stranger that treats them that way, what makes their closest confidant get a free-pass?
That being said, there are other minor cultural differences…
A Chinese wife would have the husband carry her purse, all the bags of the things that she bought, and tote the dog around in a kennel. While she would walk in the mall in all her glorious beauty. However, the husband would control what they did for the day.
An American wife would bound ahead and do her things without asking the man what he wants to do. She would go to the stores she wants, and if the man comes fine. Otherwise, it’s too bad. In America, the husband has taken on a kind of pet-role. Go. Fetch. Sit. Obey. Roll-over.
Of course, there are exceptions. However, and this is important, culturally how a wife treats her husband differs between China and America.
In China, the husband must be treated with full respect or the family suffers.
In America, treating the husband poorly is an accepted norm.
Thus…
I have discovered that I am treated better, adored more, appreciated, and honored in China. It is at a level of respect that is way, way, WAY beyond anything than I ever experienced in America. Therefore, the Chinese culture greatly favors a relationship consisting of companionship between a man and a woman.
Personality
I am attracted to kindness. When I see a great wide smile, I gravitate towards it. There are kind people all over the world. Just like there are evil people. I personally believe that there is an equal mixture of kind, personable women in both China and America.
I like the fact that many people smile at strangers. You won’t see this in China. In China, people only smile to friends.
I like the fact that many people in America attend church. I think that it helps keep us grounded to a higher purpose. You know, many Chinese are quite religious as well. We NEED religion. We NEED to constantly be reminded of our role and our purpose in this life.
President trump attends church and feels the spirit of God. Of course, this was reported differently. The American mainstream media reported this as protestors marched around and around the church. Whatever, get the attention away from the good. Focus on the trivial. There is nothing more important within this reality that our purpose and our relationship with our maker.
A kind and caring person can be found anywhere. You just need to push aside the differences in culture and look at the person within. I have found that both America and China has people with attractive personalities.
Self Confidence
I am attracted to people with self confidence. This is true for both men and women.
The thing about this, and I do not know why, the women in the United States with good self-confidence are ugly arrogant monsters. While the women in China tend to be lovely and well poised. Ok, here is what I am trying to express. Here is a Chinese woman with high confidence…
Now, for comparison, here is an American woman with high confidence…
Here’s an American woman showing that she has high confidence. She is proud of who she is and accepts her body just as it is. No one is going to tell her how to eat, and what to eat. No one is going to try to sell her hair lotion or shampoo. She is her very own woman. Good for her!
You can find many such pictures where absolutely beautiful women sabotaged their appearance and posted pictures of them with their new self-found self-confidence. I am NOT saying that it is bad. What I am saying is that you do not have to adopt extreme behaviors to be the very best that you are.
I think that it takes high self-confidence to avoid the seduction of tattoos when everyone else is sporting them. It takes high confidence to let your hair grow long and refuse to cut it for any reason. I think that real high confidence is when you do things your way, and not the trendy and popular way.
I think that everyone needs and should have high self-confidence. However, I don't think that we need to destroy our appearance to obtain it. Just because people are suddenly are looking at you and giving you attention does not mean that that they admire and like you. They just might be gawking like people do at animals in a zoo.
Self-confidence alone is not attractive. It is the sum total of all the characteristics that a person has. Self-confidence puts everything together into a nice neat package.
r/K Theory
The trend in America for fat females, and for promiscuity is a valid species survival vector. It occurs when you have creatures living in abundance. In America we have a situation where there is abundance.
Studies on mice, rats and rabbits have affirmed that when there is an unlimited supply of resources, the species take on the behaviors that we witness in the United States today. If you are interested in finding out more about this theory, please go here…
Conclusion
When I first came to China I was floored by the prodigious numbers of attractive, sexy and self-confident women. Not only that, but they were traditional. They believed in marriage. They believed in roles. They believed in the importance of man being a man, and a woman running the family.
China is communist, but here all the people were traditionally American-style conservative. I was amazed and stunned. Then, when I started to live and work in China, I began to understand it better. I saw that modern China follows the free-market values of American style conservatism. We can all thank Mr. Deng for that.
Here in China, when I would try to talk to a woman, they would smile and come up to me. They wouldn’t scow or make some kind of dismissive remark. They looked into my eyes and I had their full attention. I have since come to appreciate women who take care of themselves and honor their family. I fell in love with one and I did go ahead and marry her.
If the woman is from America, and they take care of themselves and honors their family, then you should not let that person escape. They are a prize. They ARE remarkable and ABSOLUTELY deserving of your attention and admiration. Appreciate them. For they are special, unique and deserving of a “knight in white armor”. Don’t let them down.
Take Aways
There are beautiful women all over the world.
In China, beauty is defined by tradition.
In America, beauty is defined by popular culture.
That being said…
A traditional man would find that China would have more beautiful women than in America.
A trendy progressive, liberal man would find that America will have large numbers of attractive women that fits his ideas of perfection.
American Woman in China
Sometimes a picture tells a story. Here is a micro video of an American in China taking selfies on the beach. I will let the reader come to their own conclusions.
FAQ
Q: Which type of woman is more attractive? An American or a Chinese woman?
A: Both have their charms. It really depends on the person who is the observer. For me, with all my crazy old-fashioned old-school ideas about family, and appearance, China is the land of beautiful women. But my ideas are not popular at all.
In America today, Michelle Obama is considered one of the most attractive women in the world. Hillary Clinton is the 6th most attractive woman. So, many people have different ideas about beauty than I have. You, the reader, should never take my tastes and attitudes as your own. You should instead NOT be influenced by my out of style thoughts and opinions.
Q: Is there any female feature that is more important in attractiveness?
A: While I am certainly fond of a nice chest, and sensuous lips, I have to be honest on this. Nothing gets me stunned into stupefied silence than a mixture of kindness and self-confidence. That chick I mentioned earlier from Brookline in Boston, was so tender but strong! Oh, my gosh!
Q: What is wrong about tattoos and piercings?
A: Absolutely nothing. You need to understand, I represent a different generation. In my world, it is typically unusual for a woman to have excessive tattoos and piercings. That does not mean that I am not attracted to women with these decorations, it is just that it falls outside what I have considered to be attractive. I have to be reeducated on this subject.
Q: Is a woman who smokes and drinks attractive?
A: I think so, but according to the typical Chinese culture, it is considered unwomanly if not taboo. In fact, the reader would be surprised at how broadly I consider attractiveness. Which is why I often tell everyone to be the very best that they can be, and stop listening to the advice of others. Attractiveness is a combination of factors. Just be the best you can be, and let who you are shine through.
When the Chinese come and visit the United States, they are often spellbound in shock and amazement. They find that they LOVE, absolutely L-O-V-E the United States. I have many friends who have told me this. Another thing that they have told me is that it was not what they expected.
Here are some of the misconceptions that Chinese have of America…
1. Donald Trump is despised and is going to prison if not executed outright.
Well, this is what you would expect if all you watched was CNN and MSNBC.
In fact, most “Western media” that the Chinese see is the main-steam American media. While most Americans, not all, understand that the American media has a fatally liberal bias, the Chinese are unaware of this. Thus, the impression that they get is that the American media represents the hearts and minds of the American people.
A smiling Donald Trump eating KFC on one of his airplanes. Looks good. I sure could use some mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw as well.
As such, they are astounded that Donald Trump is able to get away with so much!
“1. Donald Trump is despised and is going to prison if not executed outright.”A few months ago I had a chance to talk with an engineering student from India who was visiting the US, and she had much the same impression. She asked me why the American people hadn’t risen up and removed Trump from office since he was so universally despised.
She was genuinely surprised when I told her that Trump was probably the most popular American president since Reagan and would surely be re-elected in 2020.I realized from this conversation how much the Mainstream media’s endless propaganda war on Trump is diminishing America’s prestige globally. People in other countries mistakenly think of America’s news media as being legitimate, and believe what they hear. (Even far-left Americans realize that most of CNN’s reporting is bullsh*t.)
We look like a third-rate banana Republic on the verge of collapse to the rest of the world. I doubt the current Supreme court confirmation hearings are helping matters.
- Junk Silver
They are amazed that he is not being hung from scaffolding or being lynched. They, thus believe that he must be a most capable politician and a supreme businessman; a man not to be trifled with. The reactions that I see from my fellow Chinese friends is a mixture of awe, admiration, and fear.
Just WHO is this man, they muse.
The Chinese believe the main-stream media and are impressed with President Trump for his ability to avoid hanging from a noose.
2. Everything is Free!
After nearly a decade of President Obama being televised giving away free things, most Chinese have the impression that that is what America represents. Free cars. Free cell-phones. Free citizenship. Free meals. Free housing. They do not realize that nothing is free, and ultimately someone must pay a price for it.
Obama has given away more money, more things, and more cash than any other president. The only problem is that it wasn’t his money to give away. It was yours.
Today, when I mention that America used to be the “Land of the Free”, they respond with “What, you no longer get free healthcare, free education, free cell-phones and free housing?” They think that the current President is changing America away from a “Free” nation and moving towards something more practical.
Somehow, and I really do not know how, they believe that the government has an endless supply of money to spend. As such, they think that it was quite magnanimous of President Obama to spend that money on the American people. Now, they are afraid that the money will be spent elsewhere, like on wars.
The way the American government works is a mystery to the Chinese. But, that is ok. It is a mystery to most Americans as well.
3. Americans are Rich.
It goes to think, don’t you agree, that if all Americans are driving nice cars and living in nice houses that Americans MUST be rich. What the Chinese do not realize is that in America everything is rented. Very few people pay in cash to buy a car or a house.
Most Chinese live in an apartment. The apartment is tiny by American standards, so when a Chinese person comes to America, they become amazed at the sizes of the homes, the cars and the portions of food. They think, indeed, America is a rich country full of rich people.
Oh, certainly there are those who are driving older cars that we paid off years ago. That there are those who paid off their thirty year mortgages ten years ago, however, they are a minority. Most Americans pay both a mortgage and a car payment, with a sizable number now paying school loans.
In China, most people pay in cash. They save like crazy, sort of like the Amish, and then spend the money where necessary. While credit is available to the citizens, most maintain a traditional attitude towards frugality and savings. Thus they think that Americans must be the same.
Which is why many Chinese believe that Americans are quite wealthy.
The Chinese believe Americans are very wealthy, because by Chinese standards, you need to be a millionaire to be able to live like an American does.
4. All Americans carry guns and are Armed.
Sometimes when a Chinese person visits America, they come back with all kinds of stories of their adventures. They take pictures, and often ask me what is the story behind the photos. As an American, I think nothing of the images, but then when I think about it, it becomes hilarious.
I chuckle at this one.
Nope, not at all true. But if all you watch is the American main-stream media, of course you would have this impression. From the “debates” on CNN, to the discussions on the Huffington Post, everyone talks about the free access to firearms. Of course, if that is all you have access to, the impression would be of an overly and unfairly armed American populace.
What many Chinese think how Americans have breakfast. It consists of “runny” eggs, buttered toasted bread, some bacon, a cup of coffee and a nice firearm.
This puzzles the Chinese to no end. “Why does Americans need so many guns?” they ask. “The police will protect you”. Well, in China the role of the police is quite sedentary. Most of China consists of hard-working nerds. The police are there to deal with an occasional victim or crime. However, they never police behavior. Not like in America.
Anyways, when asked, I tell them how I miss my P99 and S3. They always ask me about the big caliber Smith and Wesson handguns, and ask if I ever owned a Glock.
I have to disappoint them, but I do tell them that I really enjoyed my old AK-47 clone (that I bought in California before they were banned). And I would get started on a conversation about the joys of black-powder (think Dixie Gun Works) and compound bows. It’s a world that really interests them. I’ll tell you what.
Of course there are many Americans that are offended by this meme. I happen to believe that my breakfast is certainly a little different.
The Chinese are often surprised that Americans don't carry guns everywhere.
5. America is Full of Excitement and Happiness.
By watching shows such as “Friends” the Chinese have come to consider Americans as nice friend and family oriented folk; people who have come to believe that life should be lived to it’s fullest. It’s a nice illusion.
Something happened between 1975 and today. Americans have become less of what they once were. It’s kind of sad. We lost something.
Maybe it’s all the restrictions at the workplace, or the over-reliance on portable media for enjoyment. I don’t know why, but many Americans look forward to mowing the grass and playing on the computer instead of fishing with an ice cold six pack of beer and being with friends. I lament that.
Here is a typical American town. It’s peaceful and quiet. In contrast, all of China is noisy, with people doing all sorts of things with all kinds of flashy lights and signs.
Yet when they come to America, their first impression is quite different. “It is so, so, so very quiet” a friend told me. Businesses close before 9 pm, and residential streets seem abandoned like a post apocalyptic ghost-town.
The Chinese visitor often finds that America is a very quiet and peaceful place. It's a bit of a surprise.
6. Everyone is your Friend.
Just because someone smiles, does not mean that they like you and are your friend. In America, smiling is just a polite way of interaction with strangers. In China, however, smiles are something that is reserved for special people. People, mind you, who have earned their place in your heart.
This is a typical American street on a fine day. Note the proud American flag flying and the what must be a nice crisp day. If you walked into any of these stores, the people would greet you with a smile. To a foreigner, it seems odd, but really comfortable.
When a Chinese person visits the United States, they are overwhelmed at how friendly everyone seems. Everyone smiles, opens up the doors for you, stands out of the way and is helpful. That being said, they are shaken to the core when they try to get into a conversation and practice their English. Aside from a polite minor conversation, most Americans just want to be left alone.
To a Chinese person this is like a best friend turning their back on you.
In America, a smile does not mean someone is your friend. It just means that the person who smiles is polite. In China, people normally do NOT smile. If they do, you know that they are a friend. Smiles are reserved for people who have a place in your heart.
The Chinese are often very comfortable in the United States, but find that making "real" friends is often very difficult to do.
7. Everything is Fair and Just.
Well, isn’t that what America stands for?
Ah, yes. The rule of law. But hey, when there are two standards of law; one for the super rich, and one for the rest of us, it isn’t fair. In fact, it is more than that. It is not a rule of law. It is a rule by favoritism, and there isn’t any real laws.
The Chinese understand this instinctively.
However, they are surprised that it exists in America. As they have been taught, and under the impression, that America was immune from this kind of judicial corruption. As a Chinese friend once told me, a nation that has two sets of laws; one for the powerful and one for the rest of us, is not a nation of law. It is a dictatorship.
Lock her up by Ben Garrison at Grr Graphics. All credit to the artist. Hillary Clinton sure has managed to get away with a lot. This is a characteristic of a third world banana republic. It is not the characteristic of a functioning Republic.
The Chinese are often surprised that America works the same way as China often does. It's the "golden rule"; the one with all the gold makes all the rules.
8. The Government works for the People.
America was set up as a place where the government serves the people. This is part of American history. As such, it is taught that way. Even in China.
Now it does not work that way. Now, in America it is not taught that way in schools either. However, it is still taught that way in China.
A casual visitor to the United States thinks nothing of this. It is until they are pulled over by a police car for a minor infraction, stopped at a check point for “inspection”, or told to hand over their cell phone for scanning. These things are unheard of in China. And, thus, are a real big shock to a Chinese citizen.
In America the police have been weaponized into a military force. This can come as a shock to the Chinese who see the police as the “keepers of order and stability”. Not as a militarized force that is used to enforce laws.
Other shocks include;
Open container laws
Paying for internet access
Taxes on everything
Money that is always complicated ($9.98 instead of $10)
Huge portions of food
Lack of public transportation (or insufficiency of)
In China the police are used in much the same way as they are used in America. However there is a great divergence in philosophy behind their use. In China, the police are used to go after criminals who create victims. In the Untied States, the police are used to enforce behavior.
Chinese police arresting a criminal. The job of the Chinese police is to maintain the peace and harmony of an enormous society. Their most active role is to pursue and catch criminals who have hurt others and created victims. You can see some of the police cars in the background.
By the way, here is an unobstructed view of the police cars used in the arrest above. Pretty cool huh? Quite different from the military-grade hardware used by the American police…
This is a Chinese police car. The Chinese have all sorts of vehicles that are used to perform their duties. This varies from Segways, to cars and vans. In a pinch, the Chinese do have SWAT teams that are used very sparingly. They also often use these vehicles to patrol and interact with the people.
The Chinese are surprised that America has such a large police and military presence.
9. There is Crime Everywhere.
While the militarized police is a bit of a surprise, the fact that they exist are not. Everyone in China “knows” that America is a land full of crime and corruption.
They know this, of course, from Hollywood. It doesn’t matter if it is white-collar crime like “The Wolf of Wall-street”, or street gangs from any one of a thousand movies. The Chinese tend to believe that America is a dangerous place.
Thus their surprise that they don’t see any crime.
Most of America is very safe. America, is a great place to raise children, contrary to what Hollywood and the mainstream news might lend one to believe. Most of America looks something like this. The exceptions lie in heavy minority communities.
Or course, if they were to visit Chicago, Detroit or Baltimore, their opinion might be quite different. When the Chinese visit, they see how beautiful and clean America is. They see police patrolling in nice new squad cars, and Americans behaving in polite and ordered ways.
They tend to be a little surprised that America is much safer than what they have been led to believe.
10. Everyone Speaks English.
I always get a big laugh out of this. Yet, it is a common misconception.
No, I am not talking about people speaking Spanish in Texas or California. Rather I am talking about what happens when a Chinese person goes into a area where people speak a heavily accented English. Like, for instance Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi.
Here’s a pretty good map of regional American English accents.
"My grandmother said things like, “over yonder,” “rightchere,” (right here), “likeyat,” (like that), and “haint” (spook). Any non-sleeping dog had a “wild hare up its ass,” and if Grandma was angry, she was “some kinda burnt up.” She was prone to redundant modal verbs (“I done told you before”) and a big fan of the circumfix “a-in”–such as an owl “ahootin’ and ahollerin’.” Similar to Barry Hannah and Singleton’s backwoods characters (consider Hannah’s use of “sumbitch” or “You’re all wore out from being nice,”
-Trying to write in a Southern Accent
My favorite story is when some Chinese stopped and asked for directions in Kentucky. The instructions went something like this…
“Yall done drive past wheer dat old tree used to be, hang a left. You’ll recon Auntie Suzie’s house dere. Cruze a few miles til you see the spot whare da town had dat fair last spring, and then swing a right. Be mindful now. There’s that old viaduct. You should be fixin’ to gander it around ten minutes or so later.”
I guess this is why I still say “Youse guys”, LOL. Americans do not speak “standard” English. We all have regional dialects. Some are easy to understand. Some are quite difficult.
The Chinese visitors are often surprised that many Americans speak differently than what they have been taught, and what is shown on television.
Other Posts
This is the second of two part post. You can visit the other post; ” The Top Ten Misconceptions Americans have about China”. It can be found HERE.
Conclusions
The Chinese, when they visit America, come back with tales of adventure and great stories that they tell to their friends. Their overall opinion and picture of America is a positive one. They tell glowing stories of how absolutely beautiful America is and how friendly Americans are.
They come back to China saying “America wasn’t at all what I expected. It was better.”
“America wasn’t at all what I expected. It was better.”
Take Aways
The Chinese believe the main-stream media and are impressed with President Trump for his ability to avoid hanging from a noose.
The way the American government works is a mystery to the Chinese. But, that is ok. It is a mystery to most Americans as well.
The Chinese believe Americans are very wealthy, because by Chinese standards, you need to be a millionaire to be able to live like an American does.
The Chinese are often surprised that Americans don’t carry guns everywhere.
The Chinese visitor often finds that America is a very quiet and peaceful place. It’s a bit of a surprise.
The Chinese are often very comfortable in the United States, but find that making “real” friends is often very difficult to do.
The Chinese are often surprised that America works the same way as China often does. It’s the “golden rule”; the one with all the gold makes all the rules.
The Chinese are surprised that America has such a large police and military presence.
They tend to be a little surprised that America is much safer than what they have been led to believe.
The Chinese visitors are often surprised that many Americans speak differently than what they have been taught, and what is shown on television.
FAQ
Q: What do most Chinese think of America?
A: Most Chinese, that I know of, think favorably of America. The ones that have visited the big cities such as New York, and San Francisco absolutely love it. The ones that have toured America in cars, and have visited the United States rave about how great America is. Their biggest complaint is that their trip wasn’t long enough.
Q: What areas should a Chinese person visit?
A: There are so many places to choose from. But, were I to make a travel plan, I would suggest a trip to the deep south like New Iberia, LA and a visit to the French Quarter in New Orleans. I would suggest a trip to Savanna, GA. I would advise a visit to Boston in the middle of October when all the leaves change. I would suggest a visit to some civil war battlefields.
Q: What can I do to entertain some visitors from China?
A: I would suggest a BBQ with some ice cold beer. Cook chicken and hamburgers and American hot dogs. The Chinese LOVE American hot dogs. It would be a real treat for them. Take them out and shoot some guns. Go swimming and if you have a boat go out and ride about in it. Go fishing, they would absolutely love it. If you have a compound bow, let them try their skill shooting it.
Q: Would the Chinese eat my dog or cat?
A: Heavens! No! Most Chinese love animals, and both dogs and cats have a special place in the hearts of most Chinese. The problem is that if you introduce your dog or cat to them, they might end up spending all the time with them instead of with you. If you dog can play frizbe, then show the Chinese visitor how to throw it and everyone will have a great time.
This is the fifth of a series of post on Chinese cute girls and Chinese culture.
You know, China is a very, very big nation. Many times I am asked what it is like. Honestly, there is so much to say, that I end up going on some tangent or the other. However, one thing that I noticed when talking to other men, is that what they really want to know is what Chinese girls are like…Wow! That is in itself a huge subject. Here I try to compose a series of micro-videos of Chinese girls taking little vignettes of themselves being cute, dancing, eating, and doing girl things. It is in no way comprehensive, but it should give you a general idea of what Chinese girls are like. It will also help you to get a better idea of what China is like as well.
"Popular U.S. media perpetuates constant negative narratives about China: ghost cities, real estate bubbles, pollution, corruption. While many of these problems are real, the predominately negative coverage drowns out the positive elements of life in China and its abundant economic opportunities. In doing so, the media dissuades America’s rising students, as well as business and political leaders, from learning more about the country."
Here is a quote from LinkedIN;
"And the western media aren't particularly helpful in explaining the real China of 2018. They're serving so much bias and prejudice about China, it is nearly impossible for the general public to get in touch with the real China."
Here we look at ten micro-videos…with another few more to illustrate some points…
Shanghai
For starters, we are talking about China. Real, honest-to-goodness, China. We are talking about the “real deal” and not the cardboard “cut out” caricature that is defined by the American media. Here, we will not discuss eating dogs, smog filled cities, and a population of millions that just can’t wait to come to America to live.
That is all fabricated nonsense.
Instead we are going to talk about what China is RIGHT NOW, today. In so doing we are going to have to shatter some terrible misconceptions that many people, especially Americans, have about the place. First of all, it is not a third-world shit hole. It is modern, state of the art, and growing larger every day.
The city of Shanghai…
Chinese cities tend to be NEW. They tend to be WELL TAKEN CARED OF. They also tend to be on the little ultra-modern high-tech side. They all have modern infrastructure, state of the art high-speed internet (that blows American speeds away), and a growing, well-educated, population.
When you move away from the cities, the quality of the buildings, and the overall appearance tends to decrease. Towns will have paved, but dirty, roads. Houses will have internet, plumbing and electricity, but no elevators. People will drive around in older cars, maybe ten year old vehicles.
It’s a lot like America, don’t you think?
Highways
When you leave the city, you will tend to take a high-speed train or airplane. China has the fastest high speed trains in the world, and also has the bulk of them. They tend to be modern, spacious, new and silent. They are a joy to ride.
There are other methods of travel, of course. You might want to take a train, a bus, or your own car and drive. China has a modern and well taken cared for system of highways. All the highways are well maintained. It is a point of pride in China to have the roads pristine, and new. Maybe that is why they tend to plant new trees and gardens all around them.
Some of the roads are spectacular. Consider this in Southern China…
I urge the reader to look for bits of discarded McDonalds and other fast food debris at the side of the road. You won’t find any.
In China, poor people do not get free welfare. Instead, they are given a job. One of which is to plant trees, flowers and pick up trash.
Hotel
Of course, if you are going to drive, you will want to stay in a hotel on the way. Hotels are everywhere in China. They range from one-star nightmares to five-star complexes. In general, the quality of hotels has greatly increased over the years. Today, many hotels are at least a three-star rating. Westerners will not have any trouble sleeping in a three-star hotel.
As always, the hotels are nice and well-taken cared for. In China, it is cultural expedient to have everything look new, clean and pristine. Part of it is pride, but part of it is marketing. No Chinese person wants to stay in a dingy hotel if they can avoid it.
Here’s a pretty lass in a hotel going to her room…
You will notice that the decorations favor white and gold. These are very auspicious colors that the Chinese find especially alluring. It is a sign of prosperity.
Exercise
She looks good doesn’t she? yeah. I most certainly think so. I would not mind at all going out and having a nice dinner, and some wine, with her. Maybe we could walk outside afterwards and enjoy the night air and chat about the glowing stars at night…
Anyways, she takes care of herself. that is for certain. Many Chinese do. There are free exercise venues all over China. Not to mention that many companies require the employees to exercise and dance at the start of each work day. Those who want more exercise can certainly attend a gym. They are everywhere and are great to work out. However, I find that they are not air conditioned. The Chinese do not believe in air conditioning and exercise. The believe the idea is to sweat out the bad qi so that the body can replenish itself.
Here is a gal who has most certainly exercised well. Her body shows it and she is going to the lockers for a shower and a change in clothes. If you want to meet some exceptional Chinese women, maybe you can join a gym.
Notice that the gym equipment is all new, the interior is well decorated, and the floor is a nice rubberized mat. This is very typical and can be seen at any of the gyms that I have been members of.
Speaking of exercise…
One of the tenets of Chinese exercise, maybe unofficial as it is an observation of mine, is that the Chinese like to exercise to music. I used to do so myself, you know. I used to lift weights in my your years, when I was in my twenty’s. I would always listen to music. You concentrate on the music, and it enables you to live and endure.
The Chinese like to incorporate music with exercise. So, for instance, instead of all the school children doing boring sit-ups, push ups and jumping jacks in the morning, they have them dance to prescribed dance routines. Here is a elementary school going through a morning exercise around 7am…
Isn’t it great?
Now, of course, the Chinese parents won’t ever say that this is good enough. The idea is to have your children be better than everyone else. NOT be equal. So the child will be expected to study harder, learn more and have a stronger and better life. Parents, might for instance, have them attend further extracurricular activities outside of the school. Like a dance school for exercise and dance lessons for instance…
I’ll bet those are happy and HEALTHY kids.
Life is what you make it. You take advantage of the opportunities as they are presented to you and you do the best with what you are given. There is no excuse for my American friends to allow their children to lay on a sofa all day, watching Netflix and playing video games. Life is meant to be lived, not plugged into a virtual reality.
Hey Greedy Don’t Fret, What you see is what you get…
Which brings me up to the various line dances and dancing grandma phenomenon that is all over China. The Chinese love to dance. They love to sing. They love to drink. They love to go on dates and have fun together. In many ways, they are just like Americans.
Here we have a line dance of a pretty famous Chinese song. I can’t transcribe the Chinese as it will be meaningless. You can listen to the song, read the lyrics and learn about the singer HERE. You can watch the Music Video HERE.
They are in a public area. You can see a subway station in the background. Notice that a crowd of people are standing around and watching. Welcome to China. This is exactly how it is done, and exactly what happens.
Note that this is in a city center. You can see the various stores and restaurants and mall access points. You can see a McDonald’s. Hummm…
The girl in the blue pants looks like one of the backup dancers and singers from BoA. I wonder if it is her? You can compare HERE. She is the backup girl on the right wearing a black tank-top. Yeah, I know I know, BoA is Japanese. Well, surprise… people travel back and forth between japan and China like people travel back and forth between Dallas and Fort Worth. Not a big deal.
So, yeah… all this nonsense about island dispute between Taiwan, China and Japan is just a lot of hot rhetoric used by the American media to drum up support for a war. It’s just a lot of hot air. It is nonsense.
Dancing outside on the Street
All this dancing gets me thinking. You know, many Chinese like to dance and post a micro-video of them dancing on the internet. That is where I get most of these micro-videos to begin with. Here, we have another dance video of a cute girl in a public area.
She is dancing in a very typical public square. China has thousands of these places. You can see typical Chinese stores and restaurants in the background. Notice that many have English signs as well as signs and menus in Chinese. Just about all Chinese people under the age of twenty can speak English to some degree. After all, you cannot attend university unless you can pass an English proficiency test.
I wonder if America will ever do that? You know, make sure that American students be able to pass a Chinese proficiency test in order to attend UCLA, MIT or Drexel University…
Oh, such a great “knee slapper”! As if…
OK. Here is the video of the girl dancing. She is dancing to one of the most popular dance-songs of the year. I have another post about this craze HERE. And, if you want, you can watch the original Music Video HERE.
Notice that in the background is a father taking his daughter out for a walk. This is just like fathers used to do back in the 1960’s. Also notice the girl taking her dog out for a evening walk. What? She’s not eating it! My word. Someone better had best tell the New York Times or CNN about this strange development!
Rural Kitchen
You know, many people in China live outside of the cities. They own homes and when they are not working they come back to their homes. Often the homes are not as nice as the apartments in the city. They tend to be basic. They have walls, windows, and doors, electricity and running water. However, they tend not to have nice wallpaper, fancy interior lighting or any interior decoration.
Update.
I was later informed that this was not in a rural kitchen, but rather in a test lab in a factory. That "dorm sized" refrigerator is really a heat-soak oven. Sorry.
They remind me of summer cottages that the parent’s of my friends would work on during the weekends. They would live in Pittsburgh, and then on the weekends come to the country and work on their “summer home”. Often it would have a roof and walls, but would still need all kinds of “finishing touches” to make it into a home.
Here we have a pretty country lass dancing in a rural kitchen. She is attractive and just having a good time of it all. You go girl.
The kitchen does not have custom countertops, fine faucets and center “island”. It consists mostly of some shelving with wide open spaces to clean and cook food. The girl is obviously not starving. I am sure that she eats well, but the kitchen is Spartan. She has a big waste garbage can, and a small “dorm sized” refrigerator.
She is young. She is chewing with her mouth open. Yuck!
Girl, no matter what you wear, and no matter how good your makeup is, if you cannot act like a lady, you will never be treated as one. Life is all about confidence, attitude and manners.
Doors and Keys
In China, both the doors and the keys are different than what you get in the Untied States. I know, I have been somewhat involved with the export of doors to America. The American market wants the cheapest quality doors for the most part. The more expensive doors, are available, of course, but they tend to be made in the USA. Large volume exports of cheap interior doors is the norm to America.
Hey, don’t blame the Chinese. They make great quality doors. Many of which go to Europe and Dubai. It’s just that the American market is focused on the cheapest products to sell to Americans in bulk at huge profits.
Door panel types. Here is a general reference of some door panel types that are available. Note that most of them have a fake core of some kind of expandable polystyrene inside. In China the doors are metal. You need a bulldozer to break one in.
It doesn’t have to be that way. However, that is just the way it is. In China, the houses and apartments wouldn’t come near those doors. Image that; flimsy hollow core doors with cheap low-quality laminate. Never happen in China.
The keys are also different as well. The keys in China are made in different ways and techniques. That is because, not so long ago, crime was rampant in China. You need good and strong locks that were difficult to break into. America is different. Most American keys are based on simple flat key blanks that can easily be duplicated.
This girl is dancing in her living room in front of a bedroom door.
The door is heavy gauge steel with very sturdy and hefty hinges. The girl is cute and dancing wearing a cute Chinese outfit that is very popular this year. She is wearing white stockings and small white shoes. She is typical with long dark hair and light, pale skin.
I will say that the style of door that she has is exactly the same style that is in my house right now.
Speaking of doors, here is yet another video of a girl dancing in front of a door…
Another Interior Door
In this example, we have a different girl in a different city. She is dancing in what appears to be her living room. The door looks like a entrance way door. As such, it will have a real wood facing that is laminated on top of a heavy gauge steel foundation. The door will be stout and difficult (if not impossible) to crash through. Which is one of the reasons that criminals in China would rather break through the cement walls to get into a house than to go through the front door.
This is nice looking girl. She is thin and slender with nice legs, a happy smile and great eyes. She has an attractive face with a nice pointy chin.
Note that she is standing on carpet. I am sure that it is not wall-to-wall carpet. That is a rarity in China. The wall is white which is normal here. All in all, this is a pretty typical apartment. The problem is that in this video you cannot see the entire apartment.
With that being said, let’s look at an entire apartment…
A Chinese Apartment
In this video we have a Chinese girl dancing in her apartment. She is dancing from one end to the other and goes from the kitchen / dining area into the living room area. It gives a nice view of what apartments are like in China.
You can see that this is a typical apartment with white walls, a white marble tiled floor (no linoleum here, the Chinese NEVER use it), and heavy gauge metal doors. You can see her furnishings are sparse, but in no way is there any clutter. China is not a consumer nation like the Untied States is.
Conclusion
Everyone likes to look at pretty girls. Even other pretty girls. I, as a man, think that pretty girls liven up our lives and make it more interesting and fun. I would not mind taking any one of these girls out and having a nice meal or playing around in a park or some other place. Having good companionship, great conversation, and enjoying a wonderful meal would be awesome with any of these women.
For instance, I will be willing to bet that this girl would just be wonderful to spend some time with. I would buy her a coffee and a cheesecake any day.
Today it is difficult to see what other places are like, if you are an American. Our news is heavily propagandized.
Those on the liberal side have the impression that China eats dogs, is full of poor waifs that sell their bodies for sex, and is full of dirty smog filled air.
Those on the conservative side, have the impression that China is a great war-mongered beast who wants to take over the Pacific, that they are ruthless businessmen, and want to keep their citizens imprisoned in a communist gulag.
Neither impression is correct. They are both terrible distortions.
China is a huge nation, bigger geographically than the United States, and with an enormous population far larger than America’s. In fact, there are more people in China that speak English than there are Americans in the entire world.
They live life. They work. They study hard. They try to do their best. They have fun. They raise families. They are, in many ways, like “old fashioned” Americans around 1950. While America has moved toward a progressive socialist paradise ruled by an oligarchy, China has moved in a different direction. It has moved toward free-market policies originating out of a central government. China is not at all what we think it is.
This post is my little way to help introduce China to the readership.
Take Aways
Chinese women are attractive.
Many of the buildings in China are new, and have a modern supporting infrastructure.
Chinese people like to dance, sing, and have fun with their friends.
Chinese women DO NOT look like pre-adolescent children. (Here’s a nod to the idiots in Arkansas who were absolutely convinced that Chinese women look like little pre-adolescent girls.)
Here is a scene from the 1960’s era situation comedy called the “Beverly Hillbillies”. I really loved that show. Then, later on, when I went to Arkansas to be retired from MAJestic, I met actual hillbillies. It was painful. Imagine the worst aspects of the movie Idioticracity combined with an evil FBI director trying to “get Trump”. Ugh. Anyways, their understanding of life outside of Little Rock was pathetic. They thought that Memphis, Tennessee was another nation. They were that pathetic.
FAQ
Q: Why do you only have beautiful Chinese girls? What about being more diverse and inclusive? Why do you objectify girls?
A: Well, for one, this article is about attractive Chinese girls. It wouldn’t do to have non-Chinese girls in it. Nor would it be appropriate to have men, homosexuals, fat and ugly girls, children or LGBT creatures in the article.
If you want to purge beauty out of your life, no problem. Go ahead and do it. Just like American beauty pageants are no longer about beauty. Just like American airlines have purged themselves of age and beauty standards. Just like race-cars have purged themselves of attractive women. But you won’t see that in China.
Now here, I like to surround myself with beauty. I like to surround myself with things that I like and I love. That includes dogs, cats, pizza, bacon, tomatoes, friends and of course my loved ones.
Q: Why do you use micro-videos in this post?
A: I think it does a nice job of giving a snapshot of what China is like. Many of the videos have Chinese songs. They all feature beautiful Chinese girls in China doing things that beautiful Chinese girls like to do. Of course, if you would rather go to you-tube, go ahead. You won’t find very many Chinese girls there. You-tube is banned in China because it, like Facebook, Google, and Tumblr, all collect user information and pipe that information directly to the NSA for American government’s use.
Q: Why do you think these girls are beautiful?
A: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What constitutes for beauty in China is different from what is beautiful elsewhere. I chose these videos because I happen to think the girls are cute, beautiful or attractive. Of course, if you disagree with me, you can leave.
Now, you shouldn’t be too upset there are some rocking girls in the United States. You should see them in sweatpants. My Lord!
One thing that I really like about the world is that everyone is different. I really like that. I like that ice cream comes in different flavors. I like that there are all kinds of trucks and cars to select from. I like that there are all kinds of girls, some small and tiny, and some big and voluptuous. I really like that.
This post is a tale of two different ways of solving a problem. The problem is obesity. With high-fat foods commonly available everywhere, there is a strong propensity to everyone to get fat and put on weight. What is a nation going to do about this? Allow their citizens to get fat, and die early?
In America, you make laws to control behavior. So the American solution to obesity is to ban things. Ban super-sized drinks. Ban high-calorie meals in schools. Ban pork in prisons. America is all about control. You tell the people what to do. You make laws to enforce your wishes, and you use the police to assure compliance.
In China, to provide solutions. If everyone is eating high-calorie foods, then you provide them outlets to burn those calories off. What China did, was provide public dance forums. Now, these forums have already existed in one form or the other for years now. What Beijing did was standardize them.
Let’s talk about this…
Introduction
Over the last few decades, groups of grandmothers would gather in the open plazas and open areas and dance. They would pull out a “boom-box” and play music that they would dance to. This was all impromptu, and often you would have competing groups of dancers in the same square with a cacophonous sound that rattles doors, windows and teeth.
For years, these grandmothers would come out and dance. They would do it in the morning and in the evening. In fact, I even have a POST on how rude they often were. For some of them would push out rock-concert speakers and aim it at my house. Ugh!
“The line dancing craze has swept the nation over the past decade, with informal groups of primarily female retirees gathering at dusk and dawn to dance on any spare piece of pavement. Chinese media has estimated that up to 100 million people take part in the activities — known as “square dances,” for the public squares and plazas where many gatherings take place.The loosely associated groups often have a leader who hauls out a boombox blaring pop hits and folk classics. The women work through a handful of dance routines, with grizzled veterans usually taking up positions at the front and beginners tentatively following along in the back rows.”- Matt Sheehan
In 2016, Beijing put their collective foot down and established community guidelines that defined noise levels, music to play, and dances to do.
This was welcomed by the dancing grandmothers as a good thing. After a few months of fits and starts, the program was implemented throughout China.
Only…
Now it was a little different.
Organization
Now, you have a set selection of music to dance to. No longer is the music only fifty year old pop songs. The music is contemporary and upbeat. No longer do random grannies define the dance steps, but they follow defined dance routines set by trained physical therapists and trained professional dancers, designed for most people to exercise to.
Now you have paid organizers who are trained and authorized to lead the dances. Now, you have music that you can dance to, with defined dance steps. Now you have start and end times, and music noise levels that must be adhered to.
But…
But… something happened.
Everyone Started to Dance
What began as a venue for grannies to exercise, soon became a venue where everyone can participate. There are contemporaneous pop songs that are played along traditional favorites. New songs are always added to the mix, and unpopular songs are dropped. The dances are all led by trained instructors (for the most part) and everyone can now participate…
Dance Instructor getting the crew dancing…
Something else started to happen as well. As soon as the instructors started to dance, they would bring their classes (for most of them owned dance schools) and their entire class would dance in public as well…
This action attracted many other things. Suddenly you now have high-school and college aged girls wanting to dance in the venues. After all, these dance venues are in the centers of all the civics areas. Some girls would be walking by the mall, and there is this big group of dancers, and they would put their gear down, and join them. It was all impromptu.
And, it’s not just pretty girls.
You have people of all ages and walks of life… And, yes also people who need to lose a few pounds or two. Now they find it easier to dance along with everyone else, and lose some pounds in the process. It’s a win-win. Beijing figured that if you provide people with options, fun options, they would take advantage of them. In this case, they were right.
Here’s a guy burning off some weight.
What this has done was merged pop culture and pop music with the Chinese dancing forum. It has created it’s own popular venue on it’s own merits. As a result, you can often see and meet attractive Chinese girls dancing and singing along in the public squares together.
Here’s a group of girls. I particularly like these girls. I watch them hypnotically mesmerized by their moves and jiggling bodies.
The dance steps are often simple, but the dancer can add their own flourishes to them. We have dancers that dance as couples and others that prefer the line-dance routines. Here is a group that does a nice spin-and-stomp move…
The dances are organized twice daily. In the morning it is generally from 7am to around 9am. In the evening, it usually starts around 6pm and often lasts to 10pm. If you ever go to a mall, or shopping center you will see these people dancing up a storm. It’s all free.
Typically, you find a space in the back and try your best to follow. Eventually, over time you will get it, and there will be many who will offer to help teach you the steps. This is a great way for a shy boy to meet some attractive girls. Let me tell you what…
In China, many stores and restaurants have their staff line up for a daily briefing, and company dance. It seems strange, but it is true. However, what if your company was right next to one of these plazas? After all, they are always at major shopping and city centers. What about having your staff do a morning dance before work? Wouldn’t that be nice?
And, that is exactly what happened…
They probably all work in front of the beef noodle restaurant that they are dancing in front of. Of course, the company would provide them with an exercise uniform, though the shoes would be their responsibility.
By providing this venue, the Chinese have taken advantage of it and are enjoying every moment of it. The result is that there are no laws to enforce. No behaviors that need to be policed. The people are having fun, and they are exercising and losing weight int he process. It seems to work quite well. Don’t you think?
Here are some girls dancing as a couple. It’s all a sort of free-style within a dance routine.
Here’s some “free style” improvisation. The girls shake their tushes, and the boys do their thrusts. Check it out. In China you can be yourself.
Watch the boy first, you will see him do a thrust, then move your eyes to the girls next to him. They will do a shake of their cute behinds. Ah, you’ve got to love it.
Obviously there are numerous songs that are played with numerous dance routines. I played this same singular song to make a point; all the videos are taken all over China. They were taken on different days, with different people, at different times. Some were at night. Some were in the morning.
The music is the same.
American media reports… or NOT
What amazes me is just how friggin’ out of touch the American media is about all of this. They haven’t a clue about any of this. You would figure that if their job was to report on the news, that something like this would be reported on. Nope.
Instead they are “reporting” on other things. They are not reporting on events. They are providing their opinions of things. They package the opinions of others, and what people think, on what they heard, from others who lie all for a concocted narrative who’s objective is to keep Americans living in fear. Ugh.
With that being said, here is a final micro-video of some dancers. Here they are dancing in a kind of moving forward and sideways motion that looks like a lot of fun. It really does look like fun.
I used to do some country & western line dancing (when I lived in Mississippi) that I had a ball with. This is the same kind of thing.
If you look closely, you can see the young man in the back who is trying to learn from the girls by copying their moves. Good going, son. You will eventually get it. Just concentrate on the foot work like you are doing. It’s all just a matter of time.
Conclusion
The world has an obesity problem. With the advent of fast food, the world has been getting fatter, heavier and unhealthy. This is most prevalent in West with American and Europeans leading the pack. In fact, it is such a problem, that America has written many laws to control the behavior of Americans…
Laws on what you can eat.
Laws on the sizes of food portions.
Taxes on food to discourage eating.
Limitations on the types of food that you can eat.
Restrictions on portion sizes in schools.
In order to enforce these laws, more laws were written, and additional police were hired to enforce these laws.
Meanwhile, in China, they took a different approach. While in American, laws are written to enforce behavior, in China laws are designed to prevent victims. They couldn’t write a law forcing all Chinese to act in certain ways. Their government is not set up like that. All that they could do is provide healthy alternatives to an existing Chinese lifestyle.
So what they did is make it possible for everyone to exercise. They tied pop-music and pop-dance to public square. Now, everyone can dance. You don’t have to. It’s not a law, but it is available to you if you want to take advantage of it.
I think that this is a superior solution to enforcing behavior from a central all-knowing, all-powerful American government.
Take Aways
Obesity is a world-wide problem.
Different nations have different approaches.
In America, behavior is enforced through laws.
In China, solutions are provided to the citizenry.
China has provided an avenue for easy access to fun exercise.
America writes laws and enforces compliance with armed police.
FAQ
Q: Low long has this dancing venue been established? A: The grandmothers have been dancing for decades. In the last five years they have gotten unruly and out of hand. In an effort to regain control, the dance venue was standardized and now provides opportunities for people of all ages to dance. The dances are established with health in mind. The new format was implemented sometime in 2016.
Q: Why doesn’t America provide access to dance, instead of making laws? A: Power. Those elected and in the American government do not want to lose control of any of their power. They want to dictate behavior. They do not want solutions. They want power.
Q: What if you don’t want to dance? A: Then you don’t dance. It is not the duty of the Chinese government to force you to do things or to adopt new behaviors. It is their role to provide solutions. It is up to you, as a citizen, to take advantage of the opportunities or not. In China, citizens are free to live life on their terms. In America, you must obey the law and fit into the prescribed behaviors established by the government.
Q: What if I don’t know how to dance? A: No body know how to dance to the songs. They need to be instructed by the leader. Some learn fast, and some learn slow. If you watch the videos you will see old grandmothers shaking to the music even though they are not as lively as the other dancers. You just need to get up and TRY.
Links about China
Here are
some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader,
might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.
China and America Comparisons
As an
American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United
States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is
the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the
British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal
press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Who
doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what
China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in
China.
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Parks in China
The parks
in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very
mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are
some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem
odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events,
while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
What is China like?
The
purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world,
outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they
might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank
you.
And while
America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources,
and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has
done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and
you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
Summer in Asia
Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…
Some Fun Videos
Here’s a collection of some fun videos taken all over Asia. While
there are many videos taken in China, we also have some taken in
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Japan as well. It’s all in fun.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
One of my favorite “hobbies” is to drink wine. I have developed quite a taste for this simple libation. It makes me relax, feel talkative, and helps me appreciate the food that I eat with it. It is a wonderful, and most excellent, beverage to share with friends and family alike.
That being said, you really need to be careful in what you drink. For, I live in China, and there are all kinds of “fake” products that will tempt you and poison you if you are not careful.
Don’t misunderstand. The Chinese police take making fake wines quite seriously and if you are caught making and selling fake wines the punishment can be severe. It can vary from a few years in jail to “death plus three”.
"Death plus three" is a criminal sentence that means that you are sentenced to death. However, you will live in a hard labor prison for three years where your organs may be harvested as needed by society.
Let’s talk about this for a while and the techniques that I have used to avoid bad and dangerous wines…
Introduction
This post is an elaboration of a response that I gave to a fellow expat who asked how to select wines in China. It was a simple enough question. It went something like this; “How do I choose a wine in China?“.
Well, as a wine drinker, as opposed to a wine connoisseur, I responded in the only way that I knew how. I simply told the lass that you need to be careful. I told her that the high prices for wine in China has led to an environment whereas there can be a sea of fake wines that you must avoid.
She responded;
Oh wow I am completely shocked at this answer! I had no idea some of the wines were fake -- I thought since it's not a heavy liquor, I would be safe!
I did have a headache for about 2 days last weekend and I wondered why... probably bad wine at Coco Park!!
So let’s get started…
China is a nation of drinkers. Unlike the United States where there are prohibitions on behaviors, and various rules and laws making it increasingly difficult to drink and socialize. China has none of that. You are free to socialize and drink and smoke to your heart’s content.
In China you can drink alcohol without restraint.
They do not care if you kill yourself in the process. It is not the business of the government to protect you from yourself. If you are going to drink yourself to death, the government simply says “what ever you want, just don’t hurt anyone else in the process“.
This is quite different from the United States.
In the United States, laws have become tools to enforce behavior. All sorts of things are enforced. From having to wear a seat-belt, to having “child-resistant” caps on medicine bottles. America is a land of policed behavior with severe punishments for non-compliance.
In Pennsylvania, you can only buy your alcohol from a “state store”, or from a licensed Beer Distributor. This is because in Pennsylvania, only the government has the ability to tell you when, where and how much alcohol you can purchase. We don’t have those restrictions in communist China. You can buy it any time, at just about any place, by any one. Even a child.
Of course, all “vices” are restricted. Alcohol, being a vice, is restricted, taxed, and used as a control vector to guarantee mass compliance.
Some of the restrictions that are placed on Americans, in regards to alcohol, are;
Road sobriety check-points, mandatory breathalyzer tests, and road-blocks.
Companies that fire and fine you for being hungover. Such as GM.
HR Set aside rules that require smoking off the property, or drinking during lunch hours.
Insurance plans that penalize social behavior such as drinking.
Requirements for proof of age to purchase.
Laws on “open container carry”.
China doesn’t have any of these restrictions on behavior. It does not force people to behave in a structured manner “for the good of the nation“. Rather it’s laws are similar to British Common Law.
Instead of enforcing behavior, they seek restitution for victims. It is a completely different mind-set.
The history of hard alcohol in China
China has over 5000 years of drinking hard, playing hard and working hard.
That is not going to stop by some progressive busybody with a catchy slogan, a nice song and attractive television personalities. In fact, there were times when Chinese SJW’s tried to do exactly this…
SJW is not about what they talk about. They are following the same formula. It is the overthrow of the status quo by powerful interested people who wish to remain hidden.
These social justice warriors tried to take over. They tied to make a nice progressive utopia where a new way of acting, dress, and behavior were implemented. They did this numerous times in the past. Perhaps you, the reader, have heard of some of the attempts…
Each time, the movement by Social Justice Warriors fell apart. In their wake was left ruin and destruction. The Chinese government would have none of that. It no longer will accept Social Justice Warriors to disrupt social harmony.
Anyone who did not agree with the SJW was denounced publicly. They were humiliated, and tortured. The youth ran the nation into the ground.
Here are some interesting posts on the subject if you wish to explore this venue further…
If the government suspects that you are a SJW, they will come after you. Trying to upset the social order, one that has been perfected for over 5000 years, is considered a serious crime. It is a crime against everything that China and the Chinese people stand for. You are thus considered a criminal of the highest order; a social misfit, with distorted views of your role in society, and a dangerous threat to those around you.
Ask how the SJW’s captured during the “Democracy Movement” have to say about their life today in 2018…
Prisoners in China. No easy life for those whom upset the social harmony. These blokes are considered too dangerous to be set among society. They must be segregated as their ideas of change to a progressive social utopia is a cancer that must be extracted from society. I wonder how they are enjoying their life sentence in prison.
How wine is drunk
The Chinese do not drink wine like people in the West drink wine. They do not sip it, and enjoy the texture and flavor. No. Instead they drink it like they drink traditional 53° white wine; they gulp it down. They drink it down glass, by glass in big gulps.
I of course, only do so as part of business, and other Chinese social occasions. For instance like when I am with family, or with friends. At home, I drink wine like a normal person. I sip it. I taste it. I inhale the aroma and sample the complex textures.
In China, both red wine and baijiu is quaffed down.
Everyone who has every been to China knows about Gan Bei. This is a fundamental part of Chinese culture, and if you are unaware of it, then you really have never visited China nor participated in the culture there.
The key here is an understanding that the Chinese culture places a great deal of importance in your ability to handle yourself when “shit face” drunk. Thus, the taste and aroma of a wine is of far less importance than the ability to get you staggering drunk.
In Chinese culture, Western wines opened up a new avenue to business and social get together’s. Here, instead of drinking 53° white wine we can drink 11° red wine. We can get drunk slower, and thus expand our time together for better fellowship and more time for social bonding.
It’s a win-win.
China opens to the West
China has always been partial to alcohol. It really doesn’t matter what it is. People have been drinking everything from beer to snake wine for many centuries. Long, long before the formation of the United States, Chinese poets were rowing out on lakes and offering drunken toasts to the moon.
Xi kin ping drinking red wine. To be a businessman in China, mandates the ability to be able to drink strong alcohol.
There isn’t any political correctness here. If you are an adult, or a businessman, you drink. It’s pretty simple.
The Chinese have made all kinds of different types of wine and libations to suit their desire for strong alcoholic beverages. They have snake wine, frog wine, and all kinds of exotic herbal beverages that vary in taste and complexity.
Snake wine is very common in China. You can find it almost everywhere that wine is sold. Some of the snakes look frightening inside of the various jars and bottles.
Chinese adapt to Western wine
China has long been a friend to Western alcohol. Whether it was Shanghai in the 1920’s or Hong Kong and Macao, the Chinese love for Western wines and alcohol has continued unabated. When the United States had prohibition and forced everyone to hide their love of alcohol, the Chinese were merrily drinking themselves under the table.
For the most part, the Chinese have had access to alcohol from all over the world for a long time. This includes the leadership of Mr. Mao who implemented hard-core communist progressive laws, rules and behaviors. While the revolutionary zeal was taking hold on university campuses all over the nation, and inspirational slogans were being painted on large flowing red banner, the average Chinese family was happily quaffing down alcohol in spectacular amounts.
For the most part, these moments were “white wine” moments. Or to use a more appropriate term “moonshine”.
The best white wine in China is Moutai. It is pure moonshine and comes in 53%. Ugh!
However, China underwent a drastic change when Mr. Deng started to implement his reforms.
You know, Americans have no idea. Absolutely ZERO idea about what Mr. Deng did. Oh, maybe one in a thousand heard of “Mr. Deng reforms”, but that is a rare person indeed.
What Mr. Deng did was threw out all the social policies, and economic policies of communism. That’s right. He implemented, what could best be termed “American Hard-right Conservative Free-Market” policies. Though you will NEVER hear the left-leaning mainstream American media ever talk about this.
In downtown Shenzhen is a park. It is next to the stock exchange building. There, were every single stock trader, and visitor to Shenzhen can see, is a huge bill board dedicated to that man that revolutionized China and make Shenzhen happen; Mr. Deng. He believed, really believed in the American conservative process and felt that the Chinese communist government should embrace the elements that have worked so well in America for the last two hundred years. Many in Beijing fought him. They wanted a central government controlling the economy. They wanted a central government controlling and dictating the social behaviors of the Chinese citizens. However, Mr. Deng was proven right. Modern China is the direct result of his adoption of conservative American economic and free-market policies.
One of the reasons why China is so successful is simply because of Mr. Deng. Every school child in China knows about the important role that Mr. Deng had. Everyone in China knows this. Though, of course, they don’t call it “American brand of conservatism”. They call it “Communism with Chinese systems”.
A name is just a name.
A demand is created
Here is a typical wine isle in a supermarket. You can go to smaller wine and tobacco stores if that is your preference. i tend to stick to the big grocery stores and only buy wines that I know of, and I can trust from that store. You can never be too careful when buying wine in China.
Once China “opened up” and free-market trade was promoted, a middle class of people suddenly appeared. Under a socialist nation, whether it is socialist-lite or hard-core full-on communist, there are only two classes of people. This is the [1] government ruling class, and [2] the workers that serve them. (Which pretty much explains the mentality of those in the American oligarchy.)
However, under a free-market society, society does not stratify. It blends. There becomes bands of society.It isn’t a homogenized society under a central government where everyone is”equal”. It is a society that is an aggregate of different people, different cultures, and different lifestyles.
Seemingly over-night a middle class appeared in China.
This middle class had an enormous appetite for Western goods. People started to dress better, enjoy the finer things in life, and strive to build up their lives from a socialist utopia where they could never be given the opportunity. For once the government has you in it’s little box, the odds that you will ever leave it, are increasingly remote.
The Chinese saw the opportunity and seized it.
Suddenly a demand for all things “Western” was created. The Chinese wanted to act, dress and be American. They started to copy American clothing, fashions, and ways of doing things. The desire was intense, and everyone wanted to be like Americans.
American chain restaurants opened up in China. The most famous are KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Burger King. The Chinese took to American culture like a starving dog chomps on a steak. For decades, the demand was insatiable.
Which is why outside elements (non-Chinese) started to instigate the “Pro-Democracy” movement. here, Chinese social justice warriors, with financial backing from outside of China, tried to force China to implement “democracy” inside of China. The only thing was, of course, that they did not want democracy, they wanted an authoritarian socialist government with the name of democracy with them in charge.
Ok. Ok, I’m getting off the subject again. But to know China, you need to know what has been going on for the last number of decades or so…
Fake wine flourishes
Ah wine. It is good with everything.
The romance movie “A walk in the clouds” has this grandfather in it that appeals to my sensibilities, now that I am a retired gent. You need to live life to the fullest and appreciate what you have WHILE you have it.
With the middle class, came the desire for red wine. Not only will the Chinese enjoy white wine, but they will also enjoy red wine. And what a demand that it created! The Chinese demand for red wine was off the charts! Everyone was drinking it.
And…
And, with demand came fakes. People started to create fake wine, made out of all kinds of ingredients. They discovered that they could recycle imported bottles, and even have local factories make look-alike bottles. The ability to make a copy of a wine label was child’s-play. They could take the cheapest white wine, mix it with grape juice and sell it under some kind of American, French or Spanish brand and sell it for 1000x the cost to make it.
First off, let me make one thing perfectly clear; China has some most excellent locally produced wines. You can get a nice ChengYu or a GreatWall, both very common throughout China and enjoy a good budget bottle of wine. You can also get wines from smaller independent Chinese wineries that are quite magnificent.
I don’t buy wines by price tag. I look for a good, and real wine. I look for local or well known wines that are difficult to fake. I drink wine for the taste. So, with this being said, I am certainly not a wine connoisseur. Instead, I am a consumer of good real wine.
I like a good real wine. If it tastes good, than that is good enough for me.
Above, a selection of Chinese wines that have received praise from critics and made it into a shopping basket. They include wines from 1421 Winery, Kanaan, Grace Vineyard, Leirenshou and Chateau Nine Peaks.
But, you know, fake wines are a real problem. Here in China, fake goods are everywhere. Oh, yes. It was much worse a few years back. The Corruption Police out of Beijing has really clamped down on all this nonsense. They are going after all the evil doers. They are armed, trained and go after them like the IRS goes after an American taxpayer. They are that ruthless!
The thing is that there are entire communities that share recipes on making fake wines, and a network of distributors that purloin these fake goods to the consumer. This is quite an elaborate organization and consists of all sorts of people doing all sorts of questionable activities.
The police step in
This is a typical wine and booze section of a grocery store. Here we see folk buying their preferred libation in the North in the Winter.
In China, the police have a duty to protect the people. This is different than in the United States where the police have the duty of enforcing behavior.
So instead of arresting a five year old girl for selling lemonade, trying to seize someone’s children because the 11 year old was walking alone from school one day, and fining you for having dangling plastic “horse balls” on the hitch of your pickup truck, the Chinese will devote their time towards making China safe.
They have a long road ahead of them.
I will say this, In the United States we NEVER have to worry about fake wines. We never worry about fake beer, fake cigarettes, and fake cigars. We have come to accept this as normal, without giving the American culture the credit it deserves. People, America is what it is because of the people who live there.
Good or bad, right or wrong. It is the people that determine how a country works.
Huge stockpiles of fake premium spirits and wines are tracked down during a campaign against fakes, Nanning, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 6 November 2011. Nearly 200 mainland cities publicly destroyed tens of millions of fake and substandard goods on 6 November as part of a major publicity drive intended to rein in the country’s booming counterfeiting industry. More than 25 million items were confiscated by police as part of Operation Draw the Sword – a campaign which, according to Xinhua, is also aimed at thwarting the production of imitation designer clothes, fake cosmetics and foodstuffs.
The underground market persists
Like it or not, this ability to make fake wine is a profitable venture. There are many who will happily concoct a few hundred cases of fake wine so that they can buy a new car or two. It’s difficult to eradicate. However, I can honestly say that the situation is much better than it was just five years ago.
Here we have some more fake wine being destroyed. Notice the cases upon cases lining the wall behind the officer.
Back then, you could not tell at all the difference between a fake wine and a real wine. Often most of the wines in a store might be completely fake. That all started to turn around in 2014 by the massive police crackdowns and raids in Dongguang.
Chinese police destroy cases upon cases of wine seized by police on a raid in a warehouse.
The dangers of fake wine
The people who make these fake wines do everything from relabeling cheap local wine to concocting a toxic mixture of factory chemicals, and rat poison. You really don’t want to put any of this nonsense into your body. It could hurt you terribly.
The problem with fake wine is that you don’t know what is in it. Many times the chemicals that are put inside are done so for color, appearance, and to create the illusion that the liquid is real wine. I have heard of all kinds of things being added to the mixture. I have heard of rancid Duran fruit, I have heard of locomotive degreaser, and rubbing alcohol added to the “wine” to give it that rosy glow when sipped. You do not want to put any of these chemicals in your body. You could develop cancer, get a brain tumor or have your dick fall off.
What ever you do, stay away from fake wines.
How to avoid fake wine
Here’s some rules of thumb that I use…
Yellow tail is a fine import and it is real. It is from Australia. You can get it at the “D” supermarket. Prices fluctuate. Expect to pay at least 60 RMB a bottle. Normal prices are 75 RMB a bottle. Of course, I drink by the case, so I am always looking for real wine at decent prices. You can always find 350 RMB bottles of wine, and I think that you are just throwing your money away at that.
Great Wall has a good dry red wine. But there are many fakes out there. Expect to pay from 65 to 75RMB a bottle at a large name supermarket such as ren ren le. It’s the real deal and pretty good as well.
Great Wall is a famous brand of wine in China. As such, you can buy it everywhere. The winery has often purchased small regional farms and sell the local wines under their catch-all name brand. In general, stick to Great Wall bottles that have this appearance. There are many fakes of Great wall out there. I only buy Great Wall wine that comes in either this bottle and appearance of an older and plainer form…
This is what a bottle or REAL “Great Wall” wine looks like. Note the top of the wine. When you remove the cork, you will notice that the cork is plastic synthetic. It is not real cork. Real cork is cheap and it is used in fake wines.
There are different types of wine corks. You can look at the wine cork to determine the overall quality of the wine. In general, the better wines have better corks, with both the plastic corks and the twist-off- tops becoming more popular.
Great wall has many types of wines. They have bought up smaller vineyards, and often sell the cheaper wine under their logo. You have to be careful.
I call this bottle the “old style” appearance of the Great Wall. It is a good basic wine, and I have yet to find a fake version. Typically you can buy it for around 45 yuan, or roughly $7 USD.
You can tell a fake bottle by the following guidelines… If you are sharing a bottle with another, a real bottle will make you feel warm. Two bottles will make you feel good, but not drunk. You will feel drunk on the third bottle. A fake bottle of wine will be quite different.
You will get drunk on the first bottle when you are sharing it. By the second bottle if your partner is sitting up with drool coming out of their mouth it is certainly fake. The next day both of you will have splitting headaches, and really bad fake wine will result in messed up stomach and body for at least a week.
Real wine will NEVER give you a headache the next day even if you drink four bottles yourself. Although, you might “potato head” for the duration of the morning.
If you ever find a bottle of Great Wall with this kind of top, run away. Typically the brand uses a straight sided top. This top style is common on ChengYu, not on Great Wall.
If you buy in quantity, you can get real wine down to 200 RMB/case. Which is around 33 RMB/ bottle. But you will need to drink a few bottles first before you can tell the difference. In china, price has no bearing on the quality of the wine. Only the store’s reputation does.
Ten days ago I paid 71 RMB for a bottle of “Great Wall” that I felt funny about, but I figured that it must of been ok because of the name and the price. I was wrong. It took two days to get rid of the headache.
Fake wines are a REAL problem in China. If you drink like I do, you can really mess up yourself really bad by drinking that poison. Lord only knows what goes in it. I have read stories that they use rubbing alcohol, automobile antifreeze, oven cleaner, and horse tranquilizers to get the desired flavors. They take grape juice, and add the chemicals. and age it in a kind of heated tub in the back of a pig farm, and then bottle it in reused foreign wine bottles. YUCK!
Great Wall wines are known to come in different sizes and shapes. This makes it very difficult to distinguish between real and fake wines. I don’t try. I only stick with the types that I know are good, and do not take a risk with bad wine or fake wine.
Great wall has many types and shapes and sizes. But remember, only go to a good reliable grocery store, and buy the real stuff. Not the fake stuff. This is why most Chinese prefer either Beer or White Wine. You cannot fake either of them, but you can fake red wine.
A “copy cat” fake is a fake wine dressed up to look like a real wine. As most Chinese wines are unknown wines with made up names, labels and points of origin. You can not tell from the bottle shape. You cannot tell from the bottle labels, or seals. You cannot tell from the boxes that the wines come from. The problem is that all of the international wines get their labels, bottles, corks, and boxes out of China. So it is easy for the Chinese to make doubles.
Anyways, I once got some fake “Sharaz” that was Yellow Tail from a good store. So even if you know what you are doing, you can get tricked. You have got to be careful.
Always remember the cork. If the cork is made out of plastic or a synthetic, then it is probably good. If it is a made out of a real cork, then it is a fake. The reason for this is that anyone can by cork. It is cheap and easy to get. Synthetic cooks are expensive, and regulated. There is also a MOQ (minimum order quantity) with is often much larger than the volume of the fake wine batch.
If you want to get a good bottle that won’t cause any of your internal organs to collapse, then stick to beer, JinJiu, or white wine. Beware, some of the fakes are REALLY good and taste quite good. You might not realize it, but there are complete families that trade the secrets of good fake tasting wines. They improve their mixture over time, and some of the best can sell some very good tasting products that can bring them a lot of money. … Provided that only one or two bottles are drunk by non-drinkers.
Some rules of thumb. All wine from bars, or from the Internet are fake. All wines that come from Spain are fake. All wines that are in a store (even a good store) that are “on sale” and they only have one pallet of it (maybe fifty cases) are fake…fake…fake.
Stick to what you know. Stick to known brands, reputable stores and sellers.
Levels of fake
The quality of fake products are stratified.
Level 1 – The best fakes. Real wine from a local producer is placed in expensive bottles and sold as the expensive brand.
Level 2– Awkward nastiness. Real cheap local wine is diluted down with water, and dangerous non-potable alcohol is added to increase the potency of the beverage. This stuff can make you sick, and give you headaches that can last for days.
Level 3 – Horrible shit. Very little real wine is used. Instead a concoction of different local medicines, and liquids are compiled together. This can consist of such things as cantaloupe rinds and liquidized horse feed mixed with cheap denatured alcohol. This stuff will make you physically sick, and can cause you to be hospitalized if you binge drink with it.
Summary
Fake wine takes away from the beauty of life. Some assholes, and they really are assholes, are trying to profit at your expense. Fake wine is a problem.
Keep in mind the most important rule of wine.
The Rule of Wine
Wine should be drank with friends and family alongside some fine delicious food. The most important aspect is happy times together.
Wine should be enjoyed with friends and family. I think a nice song, and maybe a dance is also appropriate. Drink wine while eating food. I like fresh crunchy loaves of bread. I like nice chunks of cheese and a spread of olives, cutup fresh heirloom tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and peppers. Life is too short not to appreciate the better things in life.
And what is better than spending time with your friends and your family? Not too much else, I am afraid.
Wine should be shared. It should be shared with friends and family. It should be enjoyed with good morsels of tasty food. It should we shared with the ones that you love and who holds meaning to you personally.
I think that wine goes great with food. When you are together with friends and family, the wine really makes the times cheerful. Our faces get red and rosy and we talk about our days, our opinions, and our dreams. I especially think that foods with sauces go great with wine. I really enjoy a nice “Italian style” dinner with a few bottles of wine. Oh baby, yes!
I really like to eat garlic bread with my wine. The crunchy bread is awesome with the wine. What I like to do is get some olive oil. Then, I heat the olive oil up, then I dip the bread into the hot olive oil, then i take the olive oil soaked garlic bread into a shallow bowl of Parmesan cheese. The cheese ends up completely covering the soaked bread. It is delicious. You take a nice bite of that tasty crunchiness, and then a nice sip of wine afterwards.
There are all kinds of foods that go well with wine. I like to think that sandwiches go best with an icy cold beer, but there are many, many foods that go well with wine. For instance, How about an Italian Grinder?
Wouldn’t you like to have a nice bite of this sandwich? In Boston these are called “Grinders”. They are just an Italian hoagie. However, I really like mine with some Italian cold cuts, a nice selection of cheese and some drizzled olive oil and spices. Then I like it toasted briefly in a toaster oven. You take a nice bite of this, and then have a sip of nice red wine. Ah, so nice.
Fun Links
Life is far too short not to enjoy it. Wine is not expensive. You can get a decent bottle for $5 USD. I suggest that you get a bottle of wine, and get a cheap pepperoni pizza and call up some friends and have a pizza and wine party. Why not? What is stopping you? Heck, what about your father or mother? What about your brother or sisters? Life is too short not to enjoy it TODAY.
As I get older, I come to appreciate the importance of wine.
Wine is wonderful with food.
Wine is served best when it is served with friends.
Fake wine is a problem in China.
There are precautions that a person can take to avoid fake wine.
Remember the Rule of Wine.
Life should be spent with your friends. They are very important. How good is watching a football game, unless you have your friends nearby? How much fun is going on a hike in the woods unless you have a hiking companion? Friends are important. Make the moments together special… drink wine.
FAQ
Q: Why are there so many fake products in China? A: This is because it is profitable. Many of the fake products are quite good and functional. For instance, there are “grades” of a fake product. You can have a fake LV handbag that is made from the same material, and the same suppliers as the real LV. This is a top grade fake. Then you can have a terrible cheap knock off that doesn’t look anything at all like a LV bag. It’s all a matter or degree.
Q: Can you drink a fake bottle of wine and not get sick? A: Yes. There are many fakes that are just simply local wines repackaged into expensive bottles, expensive labels and expensive price tags. The buyer is thus cheated. He is paying steak prices for dogfood.
Q: What is the Rule of Wine? A: Wine should be drank with friends and family alongside some fine delicious food. The most important aspect is happy times together.
Q: What if I don’t want to drink wine? A: That is fine too. You can go ahead and call some friend over and do something else. The important thing is to spend time together with people who are meaningful to you. Make a difference and appreciate the time that you all are spending together.
If there were some kind of words of wisdom that I could impart to the reader, or if there was some advice that I could give the reader relative to my experiences and my knowledge, what would it be?
Let me think…
“The most powerful thing that we can be is ourselves. I love what Zachary was saying because that's us. We were always that little kid. We're still that little kid. Right — just aspiring to be something better. Aspiring to be important.”
-Dwayne, The Rock
First off…
Put your phone away. Turn that fucker off. When you come home and throw your keys into a basket, catchall, or other small container, toss your phone in with them. When it’s with you — and in your pocket — the mental clutter of an entire Internets worth of headlines and viral videos can be too much to resist.
No. This is not about the NSA spying on you. Though it does. No. This is not about Google tracking your location. Though it does. No. This is not about privacy or peace, though those are significant issues. No.
Having your phone always next to you is like having a stack of newspapers and magazines on the floor that you have yet to read. Only when you ditch the newspapers because you realize they’re literally old news will the mental space they’re crouching on be freed up.
It’s true. I used to collect all kinds of magazines. If I was too busy to read the articles, I would save the magazines for later. Over time, I never read the articles. No matter how interesting or well written they were. Instead, the stack just got larger and larger. It became a “to do” item on a growing list of “to do” items.
Remember, regardless of the content, if it is not PHYSICALLY part of YOUR life, it is not important to you directly. Those memes don’t call to you if your phone isn’t within reach…
Be who you are. Stop trying to please everyone else. Stop trying to listen to the “experts” who tell you what to eat, how to dress, when to sleep and who to be with. Stop trying to follow the rules that tell you what to say and how to behave. This is your life Darn it!
“Hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”— Henry Ward Beecher
Quick Summary
This is your life. It’s yours.
This is your reality that you exist within. Everyone around you are but very lively and interesting “shadows”. While they might be part of your reality, they are not part of who you are. They are not you.
To really live your life, as GOD intended, you need to live it on YOUR terms.
What about you?
Throughout this blog, I spent a lot of time describing MY own personal experiences. But what does that matter to you; the reader?
How can it possibly matter? What is the significance of all of this? Where does what I have written here lead to? Will you make more money? Will your body be healthier, and your personality improve? Will you find that members of the opposite sex will be drawn to you?
I really do not know. Every person is different.
Everyone who reads this blog reacts differently to it. Some of the comments are completely cruel and uncalled for. Some are just nonsense, maybe generated by a computer algorithm. Others seem to be from a middle school student who cannot spell very well. Honestly, I don’t keep up with the latest texting slang and abbreviations. To me, it reads like gibberish.
I find that most readers only read the first three paragraphs or so and then skims down the the bottom of the page before exiting. Very few ever read the entire article. Those that do, are the ones who derive full benefit of the topic content.
Would you try to understand?
This blog is not what everyone expects.
It is not intended to be set up like a conventional blog, news article, editorial, disclosure or “whistle-blower” statement. There is a completely different purpose behind this blog. If you are here reading this, perhaps you do UNDERSTAND.
I do not expect, at all, to have a following like Robert Greene has with his book the 48 Laws of Power. I would be nice, but it really isn’t necessary. I do not require a following to get my message across. I only need one or two key people.
The 48 Laws of Power has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States and has been translated into 24 languages. Fast Company called the book a "mega cult classic," and The Los Angeles Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power turned Greene into a "cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike."
You have read this blog for reasons unknown. You slugged through it. You persevered. You have reached this point in time, where you now are saying “What the fuck?”. What have you gotten out of this?
Understanding? What kind of understanding is this all about?
Men need to be “awake”
We have to realize that we live in a world that is increasingly confused, uncertain, and paralyzed that is calling out for men of action.
We need to stop thinking and start acting.
Stop looking at the big red button and push it.
Stop planning and take a step forward.
Stop talking about grit and take a hit.
In short, the world needs men. I’m not sure if you’ll answer the call. I do know some will, though, and that’s all we need.
I cannot provide a “one size fits all” kind of manuscript. I cannot describe things for a woman (or for a woman’s point of view), as opposed to that of a man.
Personally, I think preserving a few small differences in the expectations of male/female behavior, simply as symbols of our differences, keeps things fun. Rules and traditions give life texture and meaning, as opposed to living life in an entirely blah postmodern wasteland. Sameness is boring. Differences create attraction.
That being pointed out, all I can do is explain what I know in the context of what I understand.
I tried to be inclusive, but people are far too diverse.
Let your profession be a labor of love. Do what makes you happy and what you are good at. Damn the rest of the world sitting on the sidelines eating popcorn. Take a leading role in your life. Instead of watching the movie, instead of talking about the movie, actually LIVE the movie.
We need a set and clear objective
Integration is the key word here. Each of us has to decide on the end game—is the goal to help people become more positive or a fully functioning, human being? The former is artificial and the latter is messy and nuanced. Choose to see the complexity of human beings, and we will be of greater service to helping ourselves and humanity.
Make a difference in the lives of the people around you. You can do it. Just smile more. Be kinder. Try to be helpful. Take time, and set time to be the best you that you can be.
Everything, and I do mean everything, is all about us and how we live within our reality. It is all about what we do with your life. It is what we do with our time, our friends and our purpose.
This is YOUR reality.
We need to integrate it. We need to integrate it with ourselves and be the person that we were intended to be.
Comparisons
You, the reader have read about my adventures, and perhaps wonder if you may also get this “kind” of opportunity in the future. I can tell the reader this; YES.
Yes. Eventually, depending on your conscious efforts toward sentience construction (in the physical embodiment) you will get this “kind” of opportunity.
The change in mindset will absolutely create a change in thoughts. This change in thinking will completely change your physical life; it will become more adventurous. However, the decision to live this life is a difficult one.
Indeed, the choice to live an adventurous lifestyle is not an easy one. It is very difficult to break free of the monotonous routine of daily life when you have been repeating it for years on end.
You can easily come up with a handful of excuses why you shouldn’t book that weekend whitewater rafting trip, travel to a foreign country, or make an appointment for your first SCUBA lesson. I can’t get off of work, I shouldn’t spend the money, who will watch the kids, etc. There is only one way to break the routine, and that is to just do it. Keep in mind the words of George Mallory, known for attempting the first ascent of Everest;
“What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to live. That is what life means and what life is for.”
Of course it will happen, this is your reality and it is ruled by your thought. If the reader is confused, then please reread the post on reality. But, no, it will not be identical to what I experienced. It will (probably) NOT be in some sort of a top-secret government project. You probably won’t be part of MAJestic.
No, it will not be that obvious.
No, you will not realize what it is until AFTER you have participated in it. However, like it or not, YOU will have this opportunity. (Maybe not in this physical reincarnation, but it will happen to one of your incarnations. Every person goes through a sorting process to settle their sentience configuration vector.)
The easy way…
Finally, and for the record; No, you cannot pay money and buy a ticket or education that will enable this transformation. It will only occur when you are ready. This means emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. Nothing that you can do physically, aside from altering of your thoughts, can enable this transformation.
As the saying goes; “You cannot buy your way into heaven.”
“When I envied a man’s spurs then they were indeed worth coveting.”― Zane Grey
Be a man that your parents would be proud of. Do great things. Be a man that others would emulate. Be good. Be special. Be what you were intended to be. Do it because of who you are. Do not do it our of fear of Hell, fear of the police, or fear of other concerns. Do it simply because it is who you are.
Fundamentals
Stop placing your fate in someone else hands. It’s time to take control of your life. Instead of being the ship, be the captain that controls the ship.
Having a bunch of loose ends in your life is heavy psychological baggage. It’s like an orchestra where everyone’s playing a different piece. The music would be terrible. You have to step in as the conductor and get each instrument on the same page, all working together to create something beautiful.
Be the person in charge of your life.
You are no longer a student; a child. When we were a child our parents taught us. They guided us. When we were students, it was our teachers that guided us. When we got our first job, it was our supervisors that guided us. Later, where we got married, it was our spouse that guided us.
Stop that train of behavior.
You are an adult. Take charge of your life.
First Steps
Start by making a list of the things in your life that you’re not happy with. Pick one of the problems and come up with a concrete plan of action on how you’re going to tackle it.
Unhappy work, job or career.
Unhappy health or appearance.
Unhappy relationships or lack thereof.
Unhappy financial or health situation.
This simply means sitting down with a notebook and not getting back up again until you’ve figured out a solution, a few concrete steps you can take to solve the problem.
And then you follow-through with your plan with absolutely no excuses.
Now…
Now, if there’s really nothing you can do to change the situation, then come up with a way that you can change your reaction to what’s happening.
Change yourself.
Let the rest of the world adapt to the NEW you.
Don’t let other people dictate how you feel. Controlling your emotions and deciding how to feel on your own terms is one of the manliest and most satisfying accomplishments in life.
Second Steps
Once you successfully tackle one problem, your confidence in your problem-solving abilities will increase, your sense of being in control of your life will increase, your resiliency will be continually strengthened, and your confidence will be further enhanced. And the cycle will continue.
Your life is not fixed. It is malleable and it can be whatever you want it to be.
Be like Bronco Billy. Live your dream. You don’t have to be a poor shoe salesman in New York city. You can recreate your life into something that appeals to you. Don’t be afraid. Follow your dream.
Therefore, I can at least provide some basic guidelines (The larger theme here demands ignoring the popular narrative and thinking both independently and unconventionally.) to the reader towards their own personal growth and behavior, Let me take a moment to address these issues…
I strongly urge the reader to accept the sentience that they are inclined towards. Do not try to be what you are not. Your soul determined this physical incarnation. Utilize it. Learn from it.
There are positive and negative aspects in everything. Try to bring out the positive in everything that you do.
Be you. Most importantly; do not take what I have written as a behavioral guide. It was my life, but not your life. It was full of errors and mistakes. Therefore, I urge you to be you. Be who you are; just as you are.
Consider your strengths. Start basing your self-concept on your strengths, not on external things. This isn’t some banal self-esteem affirmation where everyone is special just “because”. Your strengths are the things that truly make you unique and give you something special to offer the world.
You are unique. Allow yourself to feel confident in what you have to offer people. We may never be superheroes in the comic book sense, but you should look at your strengths like your unique “superpowers” that you can use as a force of good in the world.
Do your best in everything. Be kind. Accept others exactly as they are, and don’t try to change or mold them. (Trying to change others is a “service to self” mentality, but more importantly it causes quantum entanglements. You might want to avoid that carefully.)
Accept your belief structure as a fundamental part of who you are and recognize that it is neither good, nor bad. But rather an extension of your very being and essence. That means both the spiritual and political aspects of your being.
To Impart Information
I hope what I wrote in this blog, somehow and at some level, benefited you in some way. It is not my intention to change the reader, but to impart information that I have accumulated over the years.
I wish to distill it into a format for the greatest bulk of the population to enjoy. What the reader and their friends do with the information can only be speculated upon, but I do indeed hope that the end result will be a positive one.
Be who you are and what you are destined to be.
“My prejudice was that the ideal man is a woman in a man’s body. And I learned, no, that’s really not. There are a lot of women out there who really want a manly man, and they want his stoicism,”-Vincent
A lesbian feminist disguised herself as a man for a period of time to see first hand the differences in gender. She wanted to make a case in favor of male privilege and the need for men to change their behavior and act more like women for a just and fairer world.
She was wrong and this amazing article describes her discoveries. Because of her experiences her views about men have changed forever.
“Men are suffering. They have different problems than women have, but they don’t have it better,they need our sympathy. They need our love, and maybe they need each other more than anything else. They need to be together.”
Ironically, Vincent said, it took experiencing life as a man for her to appreciate being a woman. “I really like being a woman. … I like it more now because I think it’s more of a privilege.”
Trying to change the actions and behaviors of others to suit your own ignorance or needs is a selfish action. It is a sure fire sign of “service to self” sentience, however, when the person learns the objective lessons in the folly, then one is well on the road to altering their sentience. Though it might prove painful.
You have Strengths
Embrace your strengths as the arsenal of tools you have to meet life’s challenges. Unlike external things, your strengths can go anywhere and help you in any situation.
Consider what you have…
Energy to start the day.
Resiliency to keep at it, time and time again.
The ability to forge ahead and never give up.
The ability to do your best, while the rest of the world laughs at you.
The ability to endure.
If shit happens… and it will…
If you get divorced, if you are let go from your job, or you are forced to move to a new place, it will be your strengths that will be hanging around your shoulders like a bandoleer.
It will be your skills, your abilities and your raw power of personality.
They are there, ready to be employed to build something new. For you are the Rambo of resiliency.
Humphry Bogart as Dobbs. He was a man who was down on his luck, cheated when we found work, and swindled upon so badly that no one would give him a dime for a cup of coffee.
Exercise your strengths. Use them. The exercise of your strengths are the path to true fulfillment, gratification, satisfaction, and happiness. Find ways to employ your strengths more often in your job, relationships, families, and faith.
The more fulfilled you feel, the stronger you’ll feel as a man, and the easier it will become to take risks and brush off setbacks.
For the Younger Fellas…
You’re only young once. This is the only time in your life where you don’t have any obligations– no mouths to feed, no mortgage to pay, no employees to look after.
You’re free.
Don’t waste your time and freedom indulging in endless leisure activities or posting pictures of your latest dessert on Instagram. This is the time to truly learn… to put your heart and soul into building the knowledge, skills, and character that can set you up for the rest of your life.
An end result
This blog is the end result (I believe) that former President Ronald Reagan intended way back in 1981. This is what he meant when I signed onto MAJestic. This is what he was talking about…
It was a little like this scene from the movie “Top Gun”, except that the office was much, much larger. The commander was not so casual. He was friendly, but businesslike.
Make your life something significant. Make it worthwhile. Make it a positive impact. Try your best, and be the best “you” that you can be. Do not model your life after someone else life. Do not model it after mine. Design your own.
Make yours matter. Make your life count.
Be a GREAT person. I don’t know if the reader has actually seen this episode, but Pam invites the entire office to her art show that she’s been gearing up for for a really long time. Nobody shows up except for Oscar and his partner (and they critique her work, calling her “lacking in courage” among other things, not realizing she is standing right behind them) and then Michael. However, Michael is the only one who tells her she is great just for putting herself out there, and the only one who places value on what she’s done. He points out all the little details she got right and notices absolutely every bit of hard work she put into it. He then treats Pam like the artist she is by not just paying her for her art, but displaying it where literally everyone can see it. It’s one of my favorite episodes.
Start today
Start today. Say out loud “This is NOT how my life will end.”
Begin with kindness. Start slow, and just be yourself.
“…he was an idealist who went after the attainable; a dreamer who was a man among strong men; a man who faced life with superb assurance and who could face death serenely imperturbable. These were my first impressions; which months of companionship only confirmed.”-W. B. Hargrave
Every day, in little tiny ways, just be the best you that you can be. Groom yourself well. Think before you speak. Smile. Sit straight. Radiate. Park your car straighter.
Oh, but you’ve heard it all before… haven’t you?
“Once you declare an idea or person to be your enemy, you give them a room in your mind. Within that room you insert their history, strategies, tactics, strengths, and weaknesses. You dedicate more of your waking hours to understanding how to defeat them. As time passes, items from that room start to leak out into your being, until you look in the mirror and realize that you are not that different from your enemy.”-You become what you fight by RooshV
However, this time, yes this time, listen.
Be a man
Concentrate on yourself, and being the best you that you can possibly be. Don’t worry about everyone else. Do your best. Do more than the “next guy”. Be the one who shows up on time. Make your word your bond. Look people in the eye when you speak with them.
Be a MAN god dammit!
Often it is not what we think we want or what we believe would make our lives meaningful that matter. It is the way and manner by which our adventures unfold through our thoughts and actions. Our soul directs the events that help mold our thoughts. Our thoughts create our realities that in turn result in our physical reactions. When offered a choice, one must be prepared to recognize that it was our thoughts and our soul that led us blindly to that nexus.
Present yourself in a businesslike fashion while on the job. Be kind to those around you. Be good to animals. Water a plant. Refrain from shooting off an angering post or e-mail. Stop reacting. Stop being manipulated by others. Visit your grandparents unexpectedly.
Have some class
Men get angry and resentful when they agree to something that compromises who they are, what they stand for. Men who have developed their “non-negotiable, and unalterable terms”, have no problem cooperating as long as they’re not asked to compromise what’s important, their non-negotiable, unalterable terms.
Be who you are, but work with others to achieve mutual benefit to all.
Your goal should be one of two outcomes in everything that you do. Either [1] put a smile on the face of someone, or [2] be neutral. By adding sun and happiness in the world you enrich the world around you. If you cannot enrich the world, then please be neutral. It will help you in the long run. Trust me. All those “trolls” on the internet, are now finding that their life outside of their computer personality has become shabbier, problematic and tarnished. It is our actions and thoughts that define our reality.
Help Others
Help others. We all have a calling in life. I believe it boils down to one thing: You are here on this planet to help other people. In fact, none of us can exist very long without help from others.
It is our higher calling.
This thought was brought home forcefully in a story that Garret Keizer recounts in his insightful book “Help: The Original Human Dilemma”.
Supposedly in hell the damned sit around a great pot, all hungry, because the spoons they hold are too long to bring the food to their mouths. In heaven, people are sitting around the same pot with the same long spoons, but everyone is full. Why? Because in heaven, people use their long spoons to feed one another. (Thus, my strong urge towards service to other sentience.)
Cultivate your relationships
Take your dad out for coffee. (That was my last memory of my father before he died. We went out for coffee and donuts.)
Buy your mother some flowers. (That will be a wonderful surprise! She would be so very surprised. You know that this is true. Do it. See what happens. It will just MAKE HER DAY. Do it, just “because”. I promise you that it would be a memory that she would treasure.)
Email an old friend and just say hi.
Be Attentive
Just act a little more attentively.
STOP multi-tasking. If you are going to eat, turn off the phone and eat, and talk with your companions. If you are going to play basketball, then play. If you are going to talk to someone on the phone, do not go watching television at the same time.
Multi-tasking is not at all appropriate for men. It is something that women do well, but not men.
Don’t believe me? Try carrying on a very serious conversation with your wife, while you are trying to watch a game on television. She will NOT accept your attempt at multi-tasking. She will demand your full attention.
Do good things
Do good things. Make your life matter. We are what we do every day. Make a difference.
Smile more often.
Slow down when you do things.
Turn off the news.
Take extra care being clean.
Eat better.
Spend time with your friends.
Try to say one nice thing to a person each day.
Do great works
Take what is presented herein and do positive great works with it. I implore you.
“Everything had its own little home, neat and tidy. The white linen handkerchief on the inside pocket. The little mints… A single key on a fob.”
-Nancy Sinatra on the contents of Frank Sinatra’s pockets
Begin with yourself
Begin with yourself. Be you, as unique as you can possibly be. Be comfortable with who you are and live yourself well. Then, once you are comfortable, improve the world that surrounds you.
Please pitch in and do your part to make the world a better place. Don’t rely on someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. As Martin Luther King noted,
“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
In other words, don’t wait around for someone else to fix what ails you, your community or nation. Don’t make demands on other people to “do the heavy lifting”. If you want to feed the poor, don’t demand others pay higher taxes. You go out and you feed them yourself.
Don’t sit on your sofa and demand the government force others to help the needy. Get off your ass and help them yourself. You need to define your sentience. You need to say, loud and clear who you are and what you stand for. Stop being and living a life as a manipulated animal.
Growth is participatory. Or, as Gandhi urged: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
- Maya Angelou
You can be the ONE who makes a difference
Realize that one person can make a difference. That person can be YOU.
I wish that I would have lived up to the expectations of my parents, friends, and family. I wasn’t a hero. I never became rich, popular or successful. I was just an average man, and while my story was unique, I could have done so much more with my life than what I did.
"The best employee engagements programs fail if the CEO doesn't say good morning when he walks to his office."
-Unknown
I urge the reader to become great.
Become GREAT
Follow other great people as role models. Try to live up to their ideals. For me, I consider Bob Ross, or Fred Rogers as role models. Another is Les Brown. They lived life on their terms. Make a difference. Live your life on your own terms. Start NOW.
Bob Ross says, that the secret of doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.
Fred Rogers once said that there were three ways to ultimate success; The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind. In short, please be kind.
After I exited my retirement from MAJestic, I had a nice talk with my father.
He shook his head. “What went wrong”, he lamented. He pulled out a old black and white picture of me and him when I was one years old.
He was holding me up by my two arms. He looked so young, and so proud.
He looked at it and in a slow sad voice… “we had so much hope and promise for you…” and trailed off. (I kept that picture. It is now slowly rotting away in a Newark, N.J. warehouse somewhere. Forever lost.)
A plea for positive change
If we’re going to see any positive change for the human species on this little planet, then we must change our view of what it means to be human and regain a sense of what it means to love one another.
That will mean gaining the courage to stand up for the oppressed. This is true whether it is an American Indian being kicked out of a 7-11, or a white male student being shamed publicly in a university for “White Privilege”.
Take a stand.
In fact, it’s always been the caring individual, the ordinary person doing extraordinary things, who has made a difference in the world. Even Mahatma Gandhi, who eventually galvanized the whole of India, brought the British Empire to its knees, and secured freedom for his people, began as a solitary individual committed to the idea of nonviolent resistance to the British Empire.
You can be there. You can make a difference. You can be the light int he hallway. You can be the spark that adds brightness to a person’s day. You can be important and significant. You, yes you.
You don’t have to start big. Just take the time to care and show concern for those around you. This doesn’t just mean your friends and family. It means strangers as well.
“A while ago I met a guy on a flight. I was NOT having a good day myself but he started telling me how he had lost his job and he was on his way back from an interview. He then started to cry. He said that he really needs a job. They (him and his wife) also had a baby on the way.I listen to how passionate this guy was and how he wanted to get back to work. I asked him tons of questions and he answered them all. After we landed, and got off the plane, he laughed about how he felt like I was interviewing him.I looked at him with a smile and introduced myself as the Sr. Vice- President of Stores for a major retail company. He eyes widen as if he had seen a ghost because he was in retail as well.I hired him right there on the spot in the airport. I paid him more than he was making at his last job.Can I teach you three things? 1. As leaders, you should always look for great talent. 2. Always bring your best game to the table because you never know whom you are talking to. 3. You should never let the fact that you are having a bad day stop you from helping someone else have the best day of their life.
As leaders, the BEST thing that we can do is help people to believe in themselves again! As for me, I just want to leave people in a better place than I found them.”-John Moore
The Critters
Donna Douglas, as Elly May, plays with a chimpanzee dressed up in a little girl’s clothes, 1965. Photo taken from an episode of the tv show ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
As I stated earlier, this is not limited to strangers, and people. It is not limited to family and friends. It is not limited to humans. Consider the neighborhood animals as well.
“Please don’t take your pets for granted.Even if you’re frustrated that your dog has been barking all day or your bird has been screaming for attention, remember you are all they have in this world. Give your fish that extra water change. Give your dog or cat that tummy rub they’ve been begging for. Chop up some fresh fruit as a treat for your rodents or reptiles.
Just spend some time with them. Be compassionate to your animals. They are living creatures that are alive simply because you wish them to be. They may only be a small part in your life, but to them, you are their everything.”-phalaenopfish on Tumblr
We can help the animals. It doesn’t take a lot of money or a lot of time. You just need to go forth and be who you are. You can do this. You really can.
Conclusion
My life is sun setting, it is up to YOU to carry the torch for me;
“Be the bright and shining star for all to see…”
When you see the light your life becomes illuminated. See the light and live life as you were intended to.
Finally, let me close with a very prophetic excerpt from one of my favorite authors.
“The rocket leaped forward into greater accelerations.And just before the planet dwindled away in brightness and mist, Forester imagined that he could see Driscoll very clearly, walking away down from the green forest, whistling quietly, all of the fresh planet around him, a wine creek flowing for him, baked fish lolling in the hot springs, fruit ripening in the midnight trees, and distant forests and lakes waiting for him to happen by.
Driscoll walked away across the endless green lawns near the white stones, beyond the forest, to the edge of the large bright river . . . .”-Ray Bradbury.Here There Be Tygers
Be Yourself
All our life we were told, taught, to conform. If we failed to do so we were punished. But that was only because it was easy on them, and hard on you. You need to unlearn their corruptions.
“When I first got to Hollywood — Hollywood, they didn't know what the hell to do with me. I mean, I was this half-black, half-Samoan and six foot four, 275-pound pro wrestler. You know; I was told at that time, 'Well, you got to be a certain way. You got to drop some weight. You've got to be somebody different. You got to stop working out. Stop doing the things that I love. You got to stop calling yourself The Rock.' What?!”
He continued: “And for years I actually bought into it because you think, 'Oh, that's what I'm supposed to do.' And I was miserable doing that. So I made a choice. And the choice was I wasn't going to conform to Hollywood, Hollywood was going to conform to me. So, Hollywood conformed to me and here I am with all of you getting the Generation Award. Holy s---,” Johnson said as the audience erupted.
In Johnson’s speech, the funnyman and producer explained the importance of self-love and remaining steadfast, being true to who we are as individuals.
-Dwayne The Rock
Being different is our STRENGTH.
It is a great and wonderful thing. We should treasure it, cultivate it, and own it.
Check out these videos of different people. See how absolutely wonderful and UNIQUE each one is.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Do not buy into that progressive liberal nonsense that you need to conform to society for the common good. Hogwash!
You need to be yourself, and be the absolutely best you that you can be. To Hell with the people who think otherwise.
Your VALUE to society is in your own uniqueness.
Take Aways
MAJestic operations taught me the importance of living your reality under your terms.
Often, we are living a programmed behavior established by others.
We will never be happy if we do not follow our own course; our own reality.
Fundamentally, it is something that we define alone, in accordance with our sentience.
Accept who you are.
Be the best YOU that you can be.
Spread the best of you around. Let others get a taste of the best you can offer.
Your reality will grow in size and be far more comfortable…
…when it is defined on your terms.
FAQ
Q: Are you dying? A: No. Heck no. However, please kindly note, my existence is at the pleasure of others. When it is time to exit this reality, I wish to do so with some advisement under record. I don’t want to be a person which much to contribute who suddenly commits suicide with two bullets in the back of my head, or dies in a car crash, or has a cell phone explode near my ear. You never know.
I think we owe it to our friends and to our society, to contribute what we can NOW. Not wait until something happens. The “I will put it off until after the weekend” or some other nonsense. Forget that. Throw it out now. Do it now. Take care of your life NOW. You never know what will happen in your future. Live life NOW.
Q: Is there anything else? A: Of course there is. There is much to say and do. In fact, contrary to what the statists say, our universe and existence is far large, far more expansive and far more interesting than any of their trite solutions to scientific mysteries can define.
For all the geniuses that think they know everything, they have no idea about the building blocks of soul, and how they integrate into a consciousness. They have no idea about the makeup of the various heavens and how they interact with each other, and the mechanisms used. I will write about those things as soon as I get some of the more pressing issues out of the way.
Q: How do you feel about American politics? A: It saddens me. What ever you do, do not allow politics to define who you are. It is all manipulation one way or the other. Do not be manipulated. Define your reality on your own terms. Not on the terms defined by others.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
You know, many of us work for a living. As such, if you have a university degree, the chances are that you migrated to a corporate job in a corporate environment. You probably received a decent salary, a nice (if bland and sterile) working environment, and considered yourself well on the way towards corporate greatness in a solid career.
It’s a nice fantasy. It’s all a big lie.
Most Americans waste their lives working in this environment. They get up and go to work. They deal with traffic, an uncaring boss, and suffer through the various rules that HR implements. They endure mindless and mind-numbing meetings, answer a pile of round-and-round email trains, and fill out form after form.
That’s not a life worth living.
A life worth living is one with purpose, direction, participation and fulfillment. Within the now-popular “corporate model” we have the worst elements of 1920’s-style progressive social-engineering intermixed with 1980’s-austerity. It is a most horrible mixture. Couple that with modern surveillance technology, unified HR standards, and the sterile ideal, you have a nightmare.
Here are some thoughts on corporate life, particularly American corporate life, now that I moved on elsewhere. These thoughts are just general ramblings, and the reader should not get too offended by them. We are all different.
Those of you who own your own companies and who set them up can ignore this post. This is not written for you. This is written precisely for the people who have to work in the “corporate” environment. One that often springs up out of the model you created.
This is a Two-Part Post
This is the second of a two part post. To see the first part, please kindly go HERE.
The 360 Review
Sometime a decade or so ago, the reincarnation of Beelzebub came up with the idea of a HR technique known as a “360 Review“. This is a review of a employee where the employee is presented with all their good and bad together in a yearly review. It is based on the false premise that saying negative things about a person, to their face, will result in positive outcomes.
A Dilbert take on the 360 Review process.
Eventually this policy will fade away into obscurity. Companies that implement this policy tend to have short turnover cycles.
Trust me, no one wants to sit by while people tell them bad things about their life, their work, their dress, their behaviors, and aspects of their personality. In fact, a real MAN should get up, say that they will not tolerate such disrespect and leave.
Imagine sitting down and telling Clint Eastwood all of his bad faults and things that you don’t like about him…
I don’t think that either the actor Clint Eastwood, nor any of the characters that he played in his many movies, would stand for the verbal abuse of a 360 review. It is abuse. Do not think otherwise.
Thoughts affect our reality.
Now, the old saying “Sticks and stones might break my bones, but words will never hurt me“, is quite outdated. It is based on a Newtonian understanding of how the universe works. In the Newtonian reality, all that exists is what you observe. Things and objects follow predictable relationships with other physical things. There is nothing outside of the physical world. Well, surprise! The universe does not obey a Newtonian reality. It obeys a quantum reality.
That’s a wake up call for all you statists out there in internet-land.
In the quantum world, we now have a revised saying; “Sticks and stones will break my bones, and words will hurt me even more.”
Dr. Masaru conducted a very famous test on the power of thought. He placed written words on jars of rice in water. He then placed them all together in an isolated room. The only difference from any of the jars is the words written on the jars. He then, after a period of time, tested the water , froze it, and took photographs of the results. The jars with the negative and hurtful words created the worst shaped crystals, while those with the nicest words had the best shaped crystals. The only difference between the crystals are the thoughts associated with the words on the jars. Since humans are mostly composed of water, what do you think a critical work environment would do to the human body?
In the corporate world you have a false reality that you have to exist within. You obey it, and you take the uncomfortable all for a paycheck. It doesn’t have nor need to be that way. So don’t accept it.
Don’t accept it. Just do not.
If need be, imagine your favorite television character and put on that “face” and role. Because, for what ever it is worth, this kind of behavior done in China is considered the height of “face loss”. It just isn’t done here. So imagine your favorite character, and take on their persona when dealing with this kind of nonsense.
[21] The corporate world is a fantasy. It is a fake reality that is designed to subjugate the worker into behavioral norms that benefit the corporation. There is often no concern to the needs of the worker.
Responsibility with no Authority
Very often, in the corporate world, you will be held accountable for tasks that weren’t even your responsibility in the first place.
There are many different takes on this most common of attributes of a large corporate structure. Yet the basic fact remains, if you are given a responsibility, you need the authority to accomplish the task. It is a sign of poor management when you are given a responsibility with no authority.
In large corporations, you will be given tasks and responsibilities, and maybe a nice title. However, there will often be no authority with the new tasks. The end result will be a middle manager, or two, or three, that will hold up the entire process. One will be busy or on travel, or on vacation. You won’t be able to move forward on your tasks because this lone manager is “sitting on” the approval.
Yet, finally, once the approval is granted, you will be held responsible for the delay in the project and the task. Your supervision and your manager will not accept your excuses, even though they will be true and accurate.
[22] Any company that does not provide responsibility with individual authority is being managedpoorly. The inability to control a task you are assigned is a very stressful event. Stress is generated by things that are beyond our control.
One of the biggest and most significant lessons of working in a big corporation is that you exchange your time for money. You sacrifice your life; your time (your most valuable commodity), and yourself for a handful of paper. That paper is exchanged for baubles to enhance your lifestyle.
Over time, after working in this environment for a few years, we forget things. We start to assume that the purpose of the work that we endure is for the pleasures of collecting baubles.
That urgent need to get the latest iPhone when it first came out.
Upgrade your car with some niceties.
Purchase of that whimsy for your front yard.
Getting a better set of wrenches for the garage.
Buying that software game in the store, because it was on sale.
As nice as these things are, are they really important? I argue that they are not as significant as we tend to believe. America is a consumer-focused nation, and a sizable portion of our money goes into taxes, followed with things we rent (our house, our car – Yes “Rent”, you don’t own anything you are making payments on.), then what is left over is often gobbled up with the purchase of baubles.
It is important, for us to get off that treadmill.
Stop the accumulation of possessions. Only buy what you need. Downsize, and save what money you can. By doing this, we attain control over our options. Work and the salary that we derive from it is no longer so important. We have the ability to be flexible and start being in charge of our life, as opposed to a “slave to the company”.
You work hard for the money. You should put it to good use. Do not waste it on baubles such as the latest iPhone, or a new collar for your dog. Save up the money. Then use it for things that matter to you. Maybe a vacation in a far-away land, dinner with that girl that you have wanted to spend some time with, or maybe do more. You can use the money to save for a business that you want to get started. Don’t squander your assets. Put that money to good use.
Keep in mind that the more things that you possess fixes you into one physical location. It ties you down. Many of the things that you own loses their value quickly, and we tend to either put them in closets, garages or expensive storage units. They are things that no longer have any use to use. Quite the contrary, they force us with the need to earn more to replace them.
[23] The less you own, the more freedom you have. Do not fall into the trap of buying baubles to satiate a need that manifests from the corporate environment.
Do not confuse arrogance with confidence
One of the things that I have noticed in large corporations is that middle and upper management tended to have some very arrogant leaders.
Peter Stzrok, as senior level management of the FBI, is a smug arrogant son of a bitch. What a major asshole. He proudly said that no matter that Hillary lost the election, he would make sure that Donald Trump would get kicked out of the Presidency. Then he would make sure, as he had systems in place, that Hillary Clinton would take over one way or the other.
This is not always true, and indeed, many of the upper management in the smaller companies tended to be well-rounded, stable people with great ability.
However, the point remains that the long-duration corporate environment tends to create monsters. That’s the best way that I can say it. Over time, they rise up through the ranks, they play the political games, and become very astute at it. Over time, maybe they rise up higher and obtain some real genuine perks. I saw this at GM, and there were some amazingly arrogant assholes in leadership positions.
Confidence is what you obtain through successfully navigating through the stresses of life.
Arrogance is what happens when the ego confuses confidence with ability.
The problem arises in the manifestation of arrogance. The coworkers and subordinates all suffer. This can vary in how it manifests. For instance…
I worked at a glass company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the managers would throw chairs, and pots of coffee at you if they were unhappy.
I worked in Shreveport, Louisiana where the management fired the housecleaning staff and brazenly told the white-collar engineering staff that from then on, our Saturdays belonged to the company. Our new job was to clean the offices on Saturday for eight hours for free.
I worked in San Louis Obispo, California where I was told that I shouldn’t go straight home after work. Instead that I was to “stick around” for an hour after I clocked-out to show “support” for the company.
I worked in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where My salary was cut in half, and replaced with a few cartons of old products that they couldn’t sell.
I worked outside of Chicago and I was ordered to change my phone number to something easier for them to remember.
I worked in Kokomo, Indiana and I was told that during the Christmas holiday that I was forbidden to drink any alcoholic beverages at home. If they found out, I would be fired.
I worked in Erie, Pennsylvania where I was ordered to change my personal signature to something that my boss found more to his liking.
I worked in Northern Indiana, at GM, and I was told that my car (a Mazda) was not welcome in the parking lot. So I was told that I should either buy a new car, or park away from the factory and walk to work.
The world might have people who are absolute assholes. There might be people who have poor social skills, and who want to rule the world… (Facebook, Google, or Twitter… anyone) and there are those who are just flush with their success. Remember that is not YOUR problem.
Martin Shkreli, a lightning rod for growing outrage over soaring prescription drug prices,, raised the price for his companies life-saving drug 4000%. He bought the company with money that he made on stocks. Then raised prices an enormous amount. He was arrested by the FBI after a federal investigation involving his former hedge fund and a pharmaceutical company he previously headed.
Eventually, arrogance is always part of a boomerang effect. The universe has a way of evening things out.
[24] Be humble no matter what your success is. Avoid having your ego take over, least you become an arrogant SOB.
Don’t confuse comfort with success
Another thing we tend to confuse is comfort and success.
After fighting hard to land a “decent” job, we are often relieved and happy that the stress is over. We will be able to make our bills, and put some food on the table. Our spouse will stop hounding us to “get a job”, and we can relax somewhat.
The stress of being unemployed is much greater than any stress at a job (with some notable exceptions, that I had the misfortune to be associated with).
Corporate life can be comfortable. It’s only when you start your own business that you realize quite how comfortable you were in that world. Sure, there was a level of stress, there were angry bosses, there were early starts and late finishes; but there was always a pay check.
Some people judge success in a way that can be measured. It is often associated with power, wealth and physical objects. This is the most common means of judging the success of a given person.
After a long, often too long, time looking for a job while unemployed, it is a major relief to be employed. Especially if you are working at a “good” company.
We have a tendency to relax somewhat.
As such, we go to work, day in and day out, and as we stay at the job we begin to associate our comfort at the job as a sign of our success. This is especially true if we have a raise or two in salary, and if we get along with the management. We think that we are comfortable and that comfort is a sure-fire sign of our success.
That is not true.
Not really. Indeed, that is ONLY true is your idea of success is working for someone else in comfort. Most people do not associate success with comfort. (Well, maybe those on Public Welfare might.) Different people define success differently. I, myself, will argue that success is the complete fulfillment of your purpose in this life.
Success if the fulfillment of your God-given purpose.
This can be difficult to ascertain. We weren’t born with an instruction manual. No one told us what our purpose in life was. Indeed, aside from the major religions who associate purpose with some kind of spiritual ideal or goal, most governments define success as total conformity with the laws of the nation where you reside.
What a messed up situation.
Other people judge success in other ways. Perhaps having an attractive wife, a caring and loving family, and being able to provide for them is a definition of success.
Now, the truth be told, you can find out what your spiritual purpose is. All you need to do is look deep inside of you and figure it out through contemplation, and prayer. You figure it out on your own. You might want to employ a hypnotist, or do some “past life regression” to help you in your quest. However, and whatever you believe, please understand that there is only one person who knows what your life purpose it.
That is you.
Is is not your boss at work. It is not your guidance counselor. It is not your psychologist or therapist. Is is not a major public personality on television. It is not someone on government and it is most certainly not your wife. There is only one person who knows what it is, and that is you.
Odds are that it has nothing to do with your work, or your job.
[25] Your success is defined by you, and you alone. It is not something that is associated with work, career, occupation, profession, salary or money in any way. The sooner that we realize this, the sooner we are able to realign the things that matter to us personally within our life.
You MUST have Passion for what you do
It doesn’t matter what industry that you are in. You could be making hooks for the fishing industry, or working at a golf course. What ever you do, you must have a passion for it.
For instance, consider those people who have started their own beer breweries, All of them, every one, have one big piece of advice they are constantly dishing out to would-be beer entrepreneurs. Don’t even think of doing it for the money. Only do it if you really, really want to brew beer for a living.
"All these folks have tales of spending their life savings on makeshift brewing equipment, traveling to a beer sampling event to find it had been canceled, having wayward distributors do nothing to sell their beer then asking for a rebate to pour it down the drain, sleeping on the floor of the brewery to brew overnight and many other confidence-bashing incidents."
It doesn’t matter if you are trying to run your own company, or if you are working in a corporate environment. You must have a passion for what you do. You absolutely must.
You need to do things that matter to your personally. Once we start doing and exchanging our time for objects, it becomes a downward slope into a dark abyss. Do not permit that to happen.
I know, I know, it’s hard getting excited pouring over test spreadsheets and checking the numbers for quality control. But, the truth remains. If you do not have a passion for what you are doing, then eventually you will fail.
I used to have a dog that liked to dig. Man, this dog was a digging machine. He would dig anything up anywhere. I once left him in my mother’s back yard for a weekend. I came back and found the entire yard littered with military-style “fox holes”. It was in his nature.
I tried to break him out of the habit. I kept him indoors, and took him out on the leash. I would let him sleep in the garage. I did everything that I could do, but the first opportunity that he could dig a hole, man he would go to town. He would dig and dig and dig.
My dog has a passion for digging holes.
Yet, here I was trying to stop him. I not only did not share his passion, but I actively tried to suppress it.
Has that ever happened to you? Was there something that you really had a passion for, and others didn’t care, or tried to suppress it? It sucked didn’t it? You bet. That’s life.
[26] Stay away from people, work, industry or anyone or anything that will suppress your passions. For a man without passion is a hollow, empty shadow of a man, indeed.
Time is more important than money
You can always make more money, but you can never make more time.
We waste time constantly. I am not talking about doing things that are unproductive. Because “productivity” is a relative thing. I am specifically talking about using time doing things that are useful and significant to you personally. Time wasters such as long and boring meetings waste your work time AND your personal time.
To some people, fishing is wasting time, as is watching soap operas. To other people, sitting on a porch carving a stick is a waste of time. Time and it’s use varies in importance from person to person. To some, sitting in a long and boring meeting is not a time waster because everything is together talking about work related issues. However, to me, I think it is a waste of time because I would rather be eating a nice sandwich and drinking an ice cold beer.
One of the most common mistakes people make is to look at the money that they make at a company and consider that the MOST important criteria in accepting a job there. They fail to take into account the time lost in commuting to and from the company. They forget to take into account the restrictions on vacation, and holiday time. They fail to take into account the requirements that place impositions on your private and personal time.
This is dangerous.
The most important thing that you have is your time. It is not the money you make. This is never clearer until when you get older. It is by far your most precious resource. And you start to realize how spending your time doing things for other people can actually be a waste.
One company in Pensacola, Florida required that you work every holiday. The pay would be at the normal rate, with no holiday pay.
One company in Waltham, Massachusetts insisted that everyone work on Christmas. The owners were not Christian, and thus felt that any workers can only take the holidays that they recognize in their religion. The result was that you had to work during the holidays at normal pay.
My commute, when I first moved to Fort Wayne Indiana, was three hours to and three hours from work. This was because a new GM factory had moved to the area and no housing was available for miles.
[27] The most valuable thing that you have is time. It is not explicitly money. Never exchange your time for something that does not have value. Value can mean relationships, people, hobbies or anything that matters to you.
All that little stuff is unimportant
We often have a tendency to get so caught up in the trivial. What someone said to us. A parking space that someone else took. A cup of coffee that was cold. A harsh email, or response to a post on the blog. It’s all just unimportant stuff. It’s all meaningless.
We need to take a good look at the world around us. Find meaning in what we do, find meaning in our friends and relationships. We need to connect with nature and see the world as it actually is, and not view it from the prism of a computer monitor.
Most delays and problems in a corporate environment are caused by people. That’s right, people are the weak chain in the schedule. Thus when an emergency comes up with an urgent to do list, it is usually the result of a failure of management. It is their problem, not yours.
One of the things wrong with many people in a corporate environment is the concept of “urgent” and “emergency”. A supervisor or manager sits on a report for three months and the project starts getting late. To correct his incompetence, he declares the situation an “emergency” and an “urgent” task that needs to be resolved.
Nonsense.
HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 30: A cat tries to find dry ground around an apartment complex after it was inundated with water following Hurricane Harvey on August 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi August 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
This cat has had enough! Sometimes you need to identify what is a problem and what isn’t. That is the way life is.
The only emergency that matters is if your child had a broken leg, or if you were suddenly being called to the IRS for a audit on your finances. Emergencies in a corporate environment are often artificial in origin. It is what is caused by piss-poor management. It is not caused by the workers who are jut trying to push their projects to completion.
[28] We need to categorize things in such a way that we only CARE and are influenced by things that actually matter. True and real emergencies are exceedingly rare in a corporate environment. Do not be fooled. One person’s emergency is their and only their problem. Often it’s just a name that is laid over the incompetence of others.
There is no guidebook on how to run your life
I know, I know. There are those that say to follow the Bible and everything will be clear. Others say, follow the United States Constitution and your life would be simple with liberty and freedom. Militant Muslims insist that the Koran has all the answers, while others have other ideas.
Here is a scene from the movie Bedazzled with the devil grants this man six wishes where he can have the life of his dreams. Of course, each reality that he accepts has a catch. So, do you think it might be nice to live the life of a Colombian drug lord, maybe?
When we go into a company they will provide us a handbook on how to act and behave and what rules the company has.
Combined, a man such as myself, will end up with numerous guides that he will try to follow. For me, in fact, I followed the United States Constitution, the Constitution and laws of the state where I lived, the Bible (most especially the New Testament), and the guidebook provided by the company where I worked.
However, I noticed that even though I followed and obeyed these most brilliant of documents, that my life somehow did not match the ideal as portrayed on the main-stream media.
I saw people like Bill Clinton becoming very rich and powerful, openly flaunting both the Bible and the Constitution, without consequence. I saw people getting promoted over me who were (seriously) not nearly as smart or brilliant, but who were promoted based on their relationships with others in the company. I saw absolutely mundane people “gaming the system” and getting away with it.
Another scene from the movie Bedazzled. What life do you want to live? Do you want to be a very popular and successful man living in a New York penthouse? If that is, indeed, your dream perhaps that can manifest. You just need to put your mind to it.
The point of this is that what happens to other people are NOT your concern. We need to stop comparing ourselves with others. We need to develop our interests in ourselves and our lives selfishly.
As such, there is no “manual” that will “be the ticket” to success. Since success is an individual phenomenon, there can be no manual. There can be no guidelines. There is nothing for us to follow. We have to carve our life out on our own.
[29] Our individual success is predicated on our ability to understand our personal needs and translate that into a recipe for living among other people. As such, there will be a long period of trial and error, with the risk of many a dead end. We cannot give up on this effort. Because it is precisely this journey that defines our purpose in this life. (Remember, our reality is created by our thoughts and our purpose is colored by the life lessons we learn.)
TV is a waste of time
If you recall, time is the most important possession that you have. It is not money or any other attributes. So here, consider the various ways that we trivialize this most important of attributes. Let’s talk about the great time wasters of televisions, the internet, and games.
Granted it is a rare company that permits the employees to watch television during work hours. However, just about everyone in America turns on the television set once they get home from walk. Or at least they did. Now, that might be displaced by the internet or some other type of social media device.
Since what you do immediately after work is tied to your labor, let’s talk about it here and now. Television is a mindless device that is used to replace life.
The truth be told, as a child of the 1960’s and 1970’s, I wasted so much of my life spending 6 hours each day watching TV. Following shows that I just “had” to see, in order to “relax”. Today, I regret almost every second of it. The whole world outside was passing me by.
Advertisements during the 1960’s promoted the idea of glamor and excitement within the privacy of your own home. There, in big rich color were the passions and adventures that we all strive for. Just purchase this magical device and all your dreams can come true.
In what way did the show “Laugh In” improve my life? How did the “Flintstones”, “Mayberry RFD”, “Dragnet”, “My Three Sons”, “Star Trek” and “General Hospital” improve my life?
Ugh!
I know, I know, TV was an important part of the 20st century. It was important in bringing communication and news to the masses. It was important. It really was. However, you know, now today it’s terribly wasteful.
Let’s all be truthful with each other. People get biased news through it. They do so from habit, even though much better alternatives are available.
People watch terrible TV shows, and I do mean horribly terrible, they watch nonsense to substitute for living life in a reality that does not favor them. While it, teaches them nothing, it sucks so many hours of their lives away that they are oblivious to the damage. Overall, the people who live their lives vicariously through these artificial media delude themselves into thinking that they don’t have time to pursue real passions in life.
Ah, is that Tiny Tim at the top of the heap for the 1960’s major comedy show “Laugh In”? Ah, so many hours were wasted in wasted in watching this mindless entertainment.
Let’s be honest, media such as the internet, computerized games and television encourage people to be antisocial. They cause people to hide away and cuddle with their media device. Whether it is a smart-phone, a television set, a radio or a computer, people now cuddle with the devices instead of with another person.
so…
[30] Live life in the physical. Do not substitute the electronic for reality. What ever you see or experience in any kind of electronic media is designed to manipulate you. Do not fall for this manipulation.
Limit the use of the internet
Speaking of the television being the great time waster, let’s go next generation and talk about the ruinous internet.
Unlike TVs, the Internet is interactive and allows you to take part and become virtually social. It connects communities all over the world. It connects people together in a kind of fake reality. Here, people can pretend to be others, and carry on as if they are experts in things that they nothing about.
The Internet has evolved into a mechanism that anyone can communicate their feelings, ideas, and thoughts as long as they meet the requirements of those whom control it’s access. Over the years, it has become clear that everyone has an equal voice on the Internet. Yet, the pure truth is that in “real life” most people would not give the “time of day” to many of the people that comment on the internet. They are often not worthy of our time. Thus, the need for a “grey web” was a created. It is a “safe haven” for people to communicate and disseminate ideas and concepts free of disruption and contention.
Having said all this, we need to keep in mind that the internet is even a worse time waster than the television is.
Use the internet for function and purpose. If you decide to use it for pleasure, then do so judiciously. There are many things that are better to do in person than viewing them through the internet. May I suggest…
Play with your cat instead of watching cat-videos.
Go out with your friends and have a pizza together instead of sending pictures of pizza that you ate alone on Facebook.
Pay for a short-time girl and enjoy the moment in person, instead of looking at porn on the internet.
Things are always better in person. Always.
[31] The internet is more dangerous than television because it is interactive. Limit your use of it. When given a choice, opt for doing things in person instead of virtually. It is easy to become addicted to the internet as you can pretend to participate in life instead of actually doing so.
Americans view foreign cultures in a stereotypical manner
Most Americans do not deal with foreigners. Yet, increasingly, the world is a global marketplace. Sooner rather than later, many Americans will find that they are forced to deal with foreign entities, workers and staff as part of their business. I, myself was first exposed to working with Brazilians and Russians back in the late 1980’s, and all through the 1990’s I worked throughout Asia.
Subway in Guangzhou. It’s pretty typical. Most subways in China are state of the art, high-tech and modern.
The world outside of America has really grown in the last four decades. There was a rising middle class, and then a rising upper-middle class. Now, many of the nations in Asia all have a kind of familiarity to each other. They look futuristic and high-tech. Yet Americans are oblivious to this. We tend to think that just because our cities hardly changed that the rest of the world hardly changed either. That is not the case at all.
Shenzhen, China as viewed from the suburb of Futian. I particularly like the synchronized building lighting that is very popular in China.
Yup, this light show is normal. It is an every-night event.
One of the things that I discovered was that Americans, and myself included, had a very two-dimensional view of non-Americans.
Perhaps it was the non-stop barrage of “Save the Children” commercials, or maybe it was the images of Brazilian children foraging for food in these enormous garbage dumps. Maybe it was the onslaught of the images of (so called) child prostitutes that seemed to be everywhere in the UK news, or maybe it was the dated library books that showed 1960’s era images of foreign nations.
In any event, the result has been that Americans have a terribly distorted idea of what the rest of the world looks like. Maybe we think it looks kind of like El Paso, or a poverty stricken section of Jamaica. In any event, it really isn’t that way at all.
Rural China. China has spent billions of dollars upgrading infrastructure and the environment. In America, the moneys that are “earmarked” towards infrastructure and repair are often wholly absorbed in crime and corruption in the forms of brides, siphoning of resources, and fraud. Not to mention, the enormous red tape and regulations that slow everything to a glacial pace. Not so in China. The money goes directly to the projects, with armed Corruption Police making sure that nothing gets siphoned away into some rich cat’s pockets.
Things are quite cheap in rural China. The government has made every effort to preserve history and heritage. Unlike the United States where Civil War statues are being bulldozed for political correctness, the Chinese preserve their history.
Every country in the world is modernizing but this does not mean that they are westernizing or Americanizing. What makes them unique does not have to satisfy your “quaint” tourist-brochure view of them. Leave ignorant stereotypes aside and have an open mind about how modern life is like in that culture.
We need to realize that the world is filled with many people who are just like us. They might speak a different language, and have slightly different cultures, but fundamentally they want to work hard, raise a family and support it. They are really not very interested in the kind of world that is portrayed in the American mainstream news.
The Western city of Shanghai, China…
Next time you read some news from CNN talking about some issue… question it.
Here’s an example;
"Leave Immediately" - CNN Records Chinese Warnings Aboard Naval Flight Near Artificial Islands
Found HERE.
If this news is to be believed, then CNN was [1] provided with a seat on a top secret monitoring aircraft. [2] That they booted an NFO or two, [3] somehow managed to get clearance not only to board the plane, [4] fly in the area in question, [5] listen in on the communication, [6] tape record the conversation, but also permitted to [7] publish the communication.
We are forced to believe that the Chinese Air Controllers spoke [8] American-style English [9] instead of Chinese, and did so in a [10] harsh tone.
All of this stretches the boundaries of credibility. Indeed, the comments on Zero Hedge just shows the disdain that people have for fake war-provocation nonsense from the main-steam American media…
The question has to be asked, why was CNN allowed on a US military aircraft in the first place?
- Keyser
Guangzhou, China. The heart of the Southern industrial region…
[32] The world outside the United States is nothing like we have been led to believe. It benefits those in power to keep Americans dumb, manipulated and complaisant through fear. For us to be successful in our personal life, we need to see things personally, and experience them directly. We should treat all news, and anything that we do not personally experience with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Finally, next time some crappy-assed American news-media is trying to promote conflict or another war, tell them to fuck off. It doesn’t matter if it is Syria, Russia, China, or Iran. The world is not like it is portrayed by the American media. Not in the remotest.
Modern Hong Kong, China…
Take your time
In the United States, I would often be berated to work at break-neck speed to meet these near-impossible (in many cases actually impossible) deadlines. Heck, a boss would promise that we could make a (mold) tool out of P3 hardened steel in three weeks. Three weeks!. That’s a 36 week project if done properly, not including billing costs, delays in getting the material and structuring the work-force.
Many times, I felt like an overheated engine that just finished a marathon race with the engine pinging while it was cooling down. To survive I was prescribed anti-stress medication. The thing is, the human body is not designed to have Adrenalin coursing through your body for months at a time. The “fight or flight” mechanism is a short time event measured in minutes or a few hours. It is not designed for sustained use.
America is a land where you NEED medication just to exist.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in countries that are more “easy going” it’s that they are much better in their pace of life. Brazil, Thailand and Cambodia come to my mind readily. On the other side of the coin are nations like the United States. People and countries that do everything quicker also do it worse. Take it easy and go slowly.
Enjoy every bite of food. Savor it.
You need to savor the food that you eat. Eat the food in bites and taste every morsel. Make sure that you are able to concentrate on the food, and not mindlessly chow down while you are reading the news on the internet. Make sure that you wash the food down with a good and delicious beverage, like maybe a Southern style iced tea, or maybe a nice Corona with a lime wedge. Enjoy the food. Taste the food.
Be mindful. Spend time outside. When the sky is electric blue, and the trees are lush green, take it all in.
When you walk, do it at a purposely slow pace and take in your surroundings. Take your time. relax. Spend time with your loved ones, your friends, and the environment that surrounds you. When they speak to you, listen.
Bacon, especially cooked properly is something that should be enjoyed. I myself, like to eat it alone or as part of a fine sandwich. I would suggest a nice BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) on toasted bread with sweet mayonnaise. Another suggestion is a club sandwich, a turkey club is good as well. Just make sure that you have french fries and cole-slaw with it. Oh, and by the way, make sure that you have properly cold beer to wash this all down. You can’t go wrong with this winning combination.
When you work, do it at YOUR pace. Not at a pace defined by someone else. If you generate a timeline, and they tear it up and cut it in half, make sure that they (and not you) are responsible for any delays. If you know that they will not take on this responsibility, then start looking for another job. For you might be good, but you are not God.
[33] Take your time in doing any task. Go at the speed and the pace that works best for you. If you find that your pace is not suitable by your management, go elsewhere. Life is too short to change your way of doing something to fit the desires of others.
You can’t please everyone
As you get older, you start to realize that there is no way that you can please everyone. In fact, the chances are that there will be very few people that you will be able to please. Everyone will have an opinion. Everyone will have an idea of what you can do to better yourself.
Yeah, everyone has an opinion on how to live your life. They will offer helpful suggestions, and try to teach you lessons,as long as they can profit from it. Don’t believe them. No one else is walking in your shoes. No one else knows what you know and your situation. You must follow your heart and ignore the rest.
If you make a mistake, they will loudly state that you were a fool and that they would have never be put in the situation that you were in. Yeah. Right. That is one of the most common things that is heard in prisons, that the inmates never thought that they would ever go to prison. They felt that they were smarter, better or wiser than others.
Nonsense.
You are you. You have your own experiences, and your own way of doing things. Do things your way and let the rest howl in frustration.
[34] Do what you do for your own purposes. Never try to please anyone else. Do not change your opinion for anyone else either. Be yourself or be a pale shadow of someone else’s image.
Trying to be cool is useless
Trying to be cool is something that we should outgrow in school. It is a mechanism that we use to enter various social communities. In the 1940’s, a “cool” person would eat goldfish. In the 1960’s a “cool” person would drop acid. In the 1970’s a “cool” person would wear a “choke collar”. Today, being cool” means being a metro-sexual, promoting LGBT diversity and eating guacamole on your whole-wheat bagels.
In the corporate environment, being “cool” means that you have decided to be a sheep and not a leader. You decided that you would rather join some clique or club group rather than go your own way. It means that your ego is so fragile that you would rather give up something that is fundamentally part of you to belong to a society of like-minded individuals.
You follow the rules and obey the written and unwritten laws. You are an accepted part of the work community and that is in itself… “cool”.
When you get older, you start to see the folly in all this.
Now, there is a very interesting thing that happens when you are in a corporate environment. With your ego supplanted by the corporate ideal, you need to start to do little things that scream “I am a man, I am not a number!”.
You put special pictures on your desk in specially selected frames. You might start using a colored pen, or pencils. You might purchase a desk mat that identifies your working cubicle as “yours”. You might put a pillow on your chair, or do some other kind of small rebellious action that is small but personally significant.
Whether at work, or at home, be yourself. Do so whether it is “cool” or not. many companies have an unwritten dress code that you are supposed to conform to. A cool person would obey the dress code, but have some kind of rebellious streak that might set them apart. It would be their statement of individuality.
This might mean swapping out the white buttons on a long-sleeved white shirt for colored ones. It might mean wearing sneakers instead of oxfords at work. It might mean wearing a black tie, when everyone in your department is wearing a red one.
Corporate drones are not permitted the luxury of individuality. They are to fit their role and to operate within their narrowly defined work constraints.
If you feel the need to stand out, to act cool, then you should be made aware that something is wrong. Your ego is shouting at you that you no longer belong in the society that you are now a part of. You need to bail. You need to exit it quickly before events proceed beyond your ability to manage them.
[35] Being “cool” is something that adults grow out of. If you ever feel the need to rebel, then that need is a warning sign that you are in a situation where you do not belong. Listen to the alert. Take action.
Make mistakes – and make LOTS of them!
This brilliant work holds a special meaning to me. True and real art evokes the senses and evokes emotion. So when the progressive liberals talk about the “brilliance” of Picasso, I always ask them this simple question; “What emotions do you feel when you see his work?” If they pause in their response, they are just parroting a narrative of sheep that follows the “emperor with no clothes on”. Real art evokes emotion. Anything less than that is not art.
Mistakes are how we learn.
It is well understood that a person who has made no mistakes never made anything. For all the brilliant books and stories that Ray Bradberry wrote, he wrote many, many more that did not become so popular. For all the brilliant paintings that Daniel F. Gerhartz painted, he had painted many, many more lesser works (see the work above).
Everyone makes mistakes. However some mistakes are more serious than others. Never the less, we need to forge forward and do our best regardless of the nay-sayers.
[36] Make mistakes. Keep on moving forward, never back. Do not try to live a mistake-free life. Mistakes happen to those who live life.
Stop thinking so much
You know, we all really have got to stop over-thinking so much. We really do. We all know the story about the person trying to shoot an arrow. It’s [1] Ready, [2] Aim, and [3] Fire. Yet many people don’t follow this advice. They either go…
Ready…. Ready…. Ready…. Ready….
Fire!
Ready… Aim…. Ready…. Aim….
Way.
I think the biggest problem that we need to overcome is the problem that we tend to over-think everything. We think this, and we think that. We wonder what others are thinking about us. We try to conduct an analysis of our particular situation. We think, and we think, and we think some more.
It tends to drive us crazy.
Stop. Just stop this nonsense. Do not over-think anything.
No Way
I personally believe that one of the causes of over-thinking things is when we spend time outside of nature. We are not getting enough fresh air. We are not walking about outside enough. We are not being near the beach, or hiking in the mountains enough. We need to reset ourselves.
We need to get out of the boxes that cause us to generate self-neuroses.
Because that is one of the aspects of over-thinking; neuroses.
[37] Stop thinking too much. To a task, and then forget it. Stop caring what other people think and what they do. Take care of yourself and spend more time outside in nature. It will help you get a handle and put some control over your thought process.
Dance and sing whenever possible
In the United States, it is culturally frowned upon to express yourself with the corporate environment. Everyone has a role within the extents of their job responsibilities. Once they leave the work environment, many can spend their free time involved in the things that matter to them. Often this is a mixture of television, the internet and household chores. Really, not too many Americans spend the time at the pub, brasserie, or KTV to dance and sing.
That is not true in other countries. In fact, it seems like everyone in Asia loves to dance and sing. Some of them are really, really good…
That is really sad.
Which is one thing that I really like about China. When I am out with the other bosses, we go out to the KTV and sing our hearts out, as well as dance the night away. Let me tell you, life is too short not to enjoy life. Stop doing what that old biddy down the street wants you to do.
Come on. Go out, get that cigar that you have been wanting to smoke. Go ahead, ask that girl out. Don’t be afraid and eat that deep-fried Monti Crisco sandwich. If you start to worry about everything, you are living a life in fear. Sing. dance. Drink the wine with both hands and then wipe your mouth with your sleeve.
Come on, if this fella can “beat it”, so can you…
Don’t be afraid what other people think. You can dance. Heck if 95 year old men can dance to Michael Jackson, then so can you. Or maybe you disagree with me. Maybe you think that it is classy to obey those whom you work for, be afraid to show emotion, style or class.
You know, you don’t need to know how to dance to dance. In fact, you can just do jumping jacks, or hop around to the beat. Do sort of a electronic version of “The Grateful Dead” when you dance in public….
Life is too short not to enjoy it.
I took professional dancing lessons, and for a period of time in my life, dancing was a very important part of my life. Still, whenever I get a chance I get up and start to dance. You know, you do not need to be able to dance well to be able to dance. You just follow the music.
Of course, one of the secrets about dance is precision. Really good dancers just have a very good control of some very simple and basic dance moves. They just move these basic moves in a very precise manner….
Now, I cannot sing worth shit, but when there is a chance to sing some country and western music, get out of my way. I am going to sing my heart out. Seriously you all need to stop being so serious. Get a little crazy. have fun.
If you cannot sing, then fake it. Lip sync.
[38] Who cares about what you do for a living, if you are not enjoying yourself? You must be living your life to it’s fullest. Otherwise you are not living. You are existing. Don’t do that.
Do not take anything for granted.
One of the things that you learn as you get older, is that you just cannot count on anything. You just don’t know when the rug will be pulled out from under you, and you will be stranded with your dick in your hand.
Please don’t take anything for granted.
Treasure every single moment you have. If you are in a corporate environment, then know that one day you will be replaced. maybe you are too expensive, maybe your customer decided to leave, maybe someone is bad mouthing you, maybe the company owner has a son-in-law that wants your job. You don’t know. Anything can happen. All that you can control is your thoughts and how you carry yourself.
Do you best. Know that things change. Do everything you can to enjoy the life that you have at that very minute, because life can change in a New York Minute. Don’t be caught off guard. It is a fact of life.
Over the years, the opportunities afforded to American citizens have been evaporating at an alarming rate. We should realize that the opportunities afforded our grandparents are no longer available to our children. We should not take it as a given that there will be opportunities in America for us. Things change, and the trends are alarming.
One day you will lose those that are closest to you. One day you might lose all your possessions, your bank account might end up empty. You might lose your health, become terribly scarred or paralyzed, or even worse. Don’t think it cannot happen to you. Anything is possible in this world. yes, and the bad things can happen just as readily as well as the good things.
[39] Don’t think that the situation that you are in will last forever. Things change. So do not take life for granted. Treasure every moment. Tell those you love how you feel about them. Say nothing bad or harsh, and appreciate the world around you.
Friends and Relationships are important
If there is one thing that I have learned over the years is the importance of a network of friends. If you lived the kind of life that I have, it’s hard to make friends when you have to move to another state every year or so. Eventually you give up and you all just keep to yourselves.
Cultivate your friendships. Enjoy life with them. Spend time together and make a special point to cherish your extended relationships. Scene is from the movie “Hangover II”.
Yet the truth is that you need friends and family. You help them when they need it, and they help you out when you need it. So one of the first priorities that you need to do is establish a network of friends where ever you live. Cultivate them. This network can be associated with church, a hobby, or just random strangers. However, what ever you do, cultivate them. Do not take them for granted. Appreciate them.
[41] You NEED friends. Make friends, cultivate them. Cultivate and stay in contact with your family. No matter what happens at your corporate job, your friends will still be there for you.
Remember what friends are for…
Conclusions
As someone who spent most of his working life trapped with a corporate crucible, I wish to share my biases and thoughts in regards to the culture that has developed in corporate America. In short, it is important to be true to yourself and your purpose in life. If you are not careful, you will exchange your very being for some shiny baubles. So I would advise everyone to be careful.
Take Aways
The more hoops your jump through the get the job, the worse you will be treated.
Value does not equate with money.
You are only as valuable for what you can provide.
Companies operate above the law.
Meetings are a waste of time.
Everyone basically wants the same thing.
Don’t defer your happiness for the future.
You need game.
Efficiency is a lie.
Nobody cares.
Be practical.
There is no such thing as ‘Destiny”.
Desk Jobs will kill your creativity.
Avoid “Echo Chambers”.
Living a good life is the best way to convince people.
Nobody has the answer.
It’s fine to say “I’ve made a mistake”.
You are going to have to work hard.
More money will not solve all your problems.
Respect is earned.
The 360 Review is dangerous.
Responsibility should come with authority.
Possessions own you.
Do not confuse arrogance with confidence.
Don’t confuse comfort with success.
You must have passion.
Time is more important than money.
All that little stuff is unimportant.
There is no guidebook.
Television is a waste of time.
Limit the use of the internet.
Foreign nations are viewed stereotypically.
Take your time.
You cannot please everyone.
Trying to be cool is pointless.
Make mistakes.
Stop thinking so much.
Dance and sing when possible.
Do not take anything for granted.
Friends and family are important.
FAQ (For Parts 1&2)
Q: Do you think that all corporations are the same?
A: No. Not in the least. I think that there are many, many different types of companies, corporations and organizations. However, they all eventually develop their own types of individual social controls. When you work in the environments that surround these social controls you need to adapt. I suggest that the adaptation that we go though can be dangerous and limiting to our overriding purpose in life. Herein are my suggestions to assist in the survival of one’s purpose within the corporate structure.
Q: Why did you write this post in two parts?
A: I find that the trend on the internet has been to migrate posts and articles into two paragraph bite-sized chunks. People today have a short attention span. Yet my posts, by modern internet standards are enormous. Actually, this post could have been easily broken up into 40 blog posts were I to follow the culturally acceptable posting guidelines (and Googles SEO guidelines), but heck, I think higher of my readership than that. I broke it into two posts due to the size limitations on word-press (10,000 words max ). Other than that, the system crawls to a very slow pace.
Q: Were there other things that you could have added to this list?
A: Oh yes. Find love, for instance. Come in early for work, even if no one notices. Oh, and that oldie, but goodie, “Don’t piss off your boss“.
Q: Why are all your embedded videos from China?
A: I live in China, and that is what I have available to me.
You-Tube is an excellent resource, but since it is directly connected to the NSA servers (as is Google and Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr) it is banned, (The Chinese government does not want the American government to have complete files on it’s citizens.) and I would need to use a VPN to access. That’s not a big problem, getting a VPN in China is an easy enough thing to do.
But, you know, there is a bigger selection of choices in China than in the United States. It’s not because China is better, it’s simply because China is much, much, much larger than the United States in population.
In the United States you go into the grocery store, and go into the potato chip aisle. There might be a thousand different bags, of which there are five basic types, another five odd-ball types, and three brands. In China you would have three thousand bags, 300 different types, and 500 brands. The selection in China is much larger given the size of the nation.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
You know, many of us work for a living. As such, if you have a university degree, the chances are that you migrated to a corporate job in a corporate environment. You probably received a decent salary, a nice (if bland and sterile) working environment, and considered yourself well on the way towards corporate greatness in a solid career.
It’s a nice fantasy. It’s all a big lie.
Most Americans waste their lives working in this environment. They get up and go to work. They deal with traffic, an uncaring boss, and suffer through the various rules that HR implements. They endure mindless and mind-numbing meetings, answer a pile of round-and-round email trains, and fill out form after form.
That’s not a life worth living.
A life worth living is one with purpose, direction, participation and fulfillment. Within the now-popular “corporate model” we have the worst elements of 1920’s-style progressive social-engineering intermixed with 1980’s-austerity. It is a most horrible mixture. Couple that with modern surveillance technology, unified HR standards, and the sterile ideal, you have a nightmare on your hands.
Here are some thoughts on corporate life, particularly American corporate life, now that I moved on elsewhere. These thoughts are just general ramblings, and the reader should not get too offended by them. We are all different.
Those of you who own your own companies and who set them up can ignore this post. This is not written for you. This is written precisely for the people who have to work in the “corporate” environment. One that often springs up out of the model you created.
This is a Two-Part Post
This is the first of a two part post. To see the second part, please kindly go HERE.
Anyways, for starters…
The more hoops you jump through to get the job, the worse you will be treated.
To start, I would like to make this astute observation. The companies that treated me the worst during the interview process, also treated me terribly at work as an employee.
Now, I am not talking about the inconvenience of waiting an hour in the lobby, or having to park at the end of a very large parking lot. No. I am talking about a structured interview process that treats you as a commodity instead of a person.
The hiring process in a corporate environment is oven a laborious affair. The candidate must perform and go through many test, hoops and interviews.
These were the companies that gave me ten face-to-face interviews; a marathon interview day, made me take written exams, and required a peer assessment. They all uniformly treated me poorly when they employed me. Do you really need to interview with ten people to be assessed properly? I mean it. Interviewing by committee can be terribly limiting.
The more you need to do to get hired, the worse you will be treated when hired.
I well remember one interview. I arrived at eight in the morning. After HR gave me some documents to fill out and sign, I was whisked off to go through my rounds of interviews. I had fifteen minutes to interview a person, followed by another one, and then another one, and then another one. That day I had been interviewed by ten people before lunch.
Then, I was given a break where I could eat a sandwich and a coke that they gave me, followed by a continuation of another six interviews, a timed test, and a presentation that I had to make in front of some committee. Then, finally, I was scheduled to meet the person who I was supposed to work for, only to find that he was out, and I would have to come back at a later date.
You are often treated as your perceived value is worth.
You should never equate that relief in finally passing battery after battery of tests to be the same as an appreciation of your value. It isn’t. Instead it is an indicator that the company is far too bureaucratic and too lacking in common decently to treat anyone like a human. We are not machines, pets, or clothing articles at Target. We are unique.
Smaller companies, or even large ones, with a single interview made by the lone person who makes the hiring decision will be the one that will treat you decently.
[1] If you must work for a company, make sure that you report to only one person. Be wary of hiring by committee. Be wary of any company that needs to test, evaluate, or investigate you.
Value does not equate with money.
We are often under the impression that if a company pays us a decent chunk of money, that they value us. This is false. Your value comes from what you can do towards the team that you work with. It does not come from a HR policy or budget analysis made by accounting.
Once we learn to separate value from money our life becomes simpler.
When we trade our time and skills for money, we place an “apparent” value on it. Our goal is to keep the value as high as possible over time.
I once had an employee who was stealing from the company. Over a two year period of time he stole a sizable chunk of money right from under our noses. He thought that stealing the money from the company made him richer. In the short term, perhaps it did…
But, do not look at it that way.
Instead of stealing money, he stole someone else’s value. His value did not increase by taking away the value of someone else. It only appeared to be the case.
Once we let him go, his value on the job market was severely handicapped. By trying to reduce the value of others, he ended up reducing his own value and worth.
For us to be happy, we need to separate out “money” and replace it with “value”. Is having a two hour commute with a $150,000/year salary as good as a five minute commute and a $75,000/year salary? Is being expected to be on call 24-7 as good as being able to take a half of day off to see your son play in the local game?
[2] Never, ever, make decisions only on money. The most valuable thing you possess is time. Do not squander it for pieces of paper. Do not confuse your value with a paycheck. They are not the same.
You are only valuable for what you can provide.
Speaking of value…
If you cannot provide a value for your role, then you are useless to the company. Why pay a boy to mow your lawn if you don’t have one? Why buy that great deal on dog food when you don’t have a dog? If you cannot help the company, then there is no need for you to be employed.
In the “old days” employees without an active project would be put on “overhead” to keep them employed until a new contract came through. In those days, it was considered important to keep “knowledge” workers around for the next big project. Not so today. If the work is over, then you are out the door.
This big march to remove employees once their direct usefulness is over was led by Kodak back in the 1980’s. They got rid of most of their knowledge workers and started to rely on cycles of employees that they would hire and fire to meet the market swings…
…perhaps that is why many people today are unaware of how big that company used to be.
To better appreciate the corporate work environment, we need to scale it down to a manageable size. Imagine that you would hire someone to fix your broken front door. Would you keep him employed once he finishes repairing the door? No, of course not.
Think of a guy that you want to fix your broken front door. You look in the classified and you find a guy to do it. You tell him what needs to be done. You watch him fix the door and then you pay him and he leaves. There is no need for him to stick around. Your door is fixed. Nothing else needs to be repaired.
Corporate life is like that too.
The truth is that today, in many a corporate environment, you would be sacked faster than a soggy Doritos chip if you couldn’t contribute to the company bottom line.
Nobody wants to eat a soggy Doritos chip. Though, I would if it was part of a taco salad. I would also eat them if they were in a nice bowl of chili. In fact, I think that I would eat them if I was drinking a frosty cold beer. Now that I think of it, I am not corporate, so of course I would eat Doritos chips. However, soggy Doritos would not go over well in the corporate environment.
You are only as valuable as long as you can produce something. In fact, the rarer of what you provide is, the more valuable you are. This is certainly more applicable for many other fields in life, personal relations, friendships and yes, girls as well.
Your value is tied to what you can produce.
[3] Remember, that our value is what we can produce or the benefit that we can provide to others. Never forget that. If we cause more problems than the benefits we give, then our relationship(s) will end. This is true with both companies and with relationships.
Companies often operate above the law
Many do, but not all.
Do you think that Facebook is playing by the laws? Do you think that Exxon, Kerr-McGee, and Google are? What about the biggest company in your city? How is it that corporations always seem to get away with things?
American corporations have become enormous entities often dwarfing small nations. They can align themselves with other corporations and work together for their combined mutual profit. Often times this is done in deference to the “little guy”.
This is true. Here are three examples;
Don’t follow the law. When I worked at (name deleted) in Boston, they paid me once a month. Yet the law stated otherwise. The law stated that they must pay bi-weekly. When I confronted the HR about this, they were not happy. They said that they would take it under consideration. They made the necessary arrangements and I was fired two weeks later. Naturally, I went to the State government in Boston to resolve the matter. They told me that I was correct, and the company did wrong by firing me. Yet no action was taken either way.
NDA’s are used to keep let-go employees complaisant. One of the things that White Collar professionals sign are NDA agreements. A NDA is a document that restricts the disclosure of confidential information. That is why it is called a Non-Disclosure Agreement. These agreements make it difficult to work at another company or find further work if the company decides to black list you. When it is time to be laid-off or let go, the company will use the NDA and tell you that if you sign it, and not contest their actions, that they will allow the State Government to give you unemployment benefits. This is a very common thing and every company from California to Massachusetts does this.
Patent transfer is a joke. Under the law, if you work on a patent, you get title to the patent, even if you do so under the roof of a company. To get around this, the companies make you sign a “transfer of patent rights” form. The transfer is not complete unless they give you a one dollar amount to show that there was a monetary transfer that took place. Truth be told, I have yet to ever see any individual financial compensation at all from any of my patents.
Now, the reader should not get confused. I am not particularly bad-mouthing any one company. However, we should all be made aware that organizations that have many employees, operate in the millions of dollars and who pay into the State Revenue banks, have capabilities that are larger than what any one of us has individually. We should be aware of this. We should accept this. As it is a fact of life.
[4] We all have a place on the food chain. It’s not fair. It operates within it’s own set of rules and laws, and is separate from us. We need perspective, and we need to keep that in mind.
Meetings typically are a waste of time
One truth is that meetings often are poorly planned and often poorly executed. Meetings between key players in a given project is very important and necessary. For business is based on people relationships and interactions. However, the weekly meetings, and odd-ball meetings that seem to include everyone are often a waste of time that adds to the inefficiency of a given organization.
Meetings should be kept at a minimum, and replaced with face-on-face individual communication.
It’s a typical scene and well known in corporate environments. Businessman speaking before inattentive colleagues at meeting.
In short, learn this. Meetings are a waste of time. Always. Nothing good has ever come out of them, really. Most people aren’t listening, and the ones talking are far away from reality.
[5] Get into the habit of talking to people one on one. Stop having meetings. Talk to people personally, face to face. When you do, give them every attention. Business relationships are based on people. They are not based on spreadsheets and reports.
Everyone everywhere basically wants the same thing
While we all come from different backgrounds and different interests, we are human with basic human needs. We want to be productive. We want to perform a good day’s labor. We want to be appreciated fro our contribution. We want to provide for our families. We want to have some down time to play.
The problem comes in when we go corporate. There, we fit into a role. We become a cog in a machine with other cogs. We all become the same color, the same size, and the same image. When we go corporate, we start to separate our work-life from our personal-life.
That is a great danger.
A nice PPT slide from IBM that captures the significance of this statement. By now, everyone pretty much realizes the importance of a life-work balance. The big problem is that is is difficult to integrate into a traditional corporate business environment.
For a truly happy man is one who can merge his industrious pursuits with that of his interests and family. We become whole. Work and labor is what we do. No one questions it. We work, and then we provide for our family. It is the traditional, time honored, family model that has held up for at least 10,000 years.
When we separate work and labor from family and happiness, we dilute what we can give. We give eight hours to the company. We give four hours to ourselves in prep for the company. The balance is split up between family and survival needs. This model is different from the traditional model.
We can’t give 100% of what we have. We end up in this grey area, this grey zone of not good enough.
The key to success in the corporate world is to be who you are totally. Do this whether you are in a corporate work environment, or if you are running your own company. Do not fall into the trap of segmenting yourself into various roles. In doing so , you dilute who you are.
[6] Do not dilute yourself. When we start separating ourselves into small specialized pieces, we dilute the whole. Don’t do that. Be true to who we are. Give and devote ourselves 100% of who we are.
Deferring your happiness to the future is a terrible idea
I have seen this time and again. In fact, even I have done this myself. I would accept a job “for now” to achieve some monetary gain or advantage, so that later I could… do something else.
When there is an important announcement at your company, does it look something a little like this? Well, if it does, then like it or not, you are in a corporate bubble. If you are not careful, you will have difficulty leaving it. Be careful.
Indeed, this is a terrible truth. Too many people assume that when they have that one thing they can work towards for years then “everything will be alright”. Indeed, there will come a time when you will take up a job just for the money and nothing else.
This is delusional. It is nonsense. It is bullshit.
I think this comes from our educational system. You go to Elementary School to strive to go to High School. You go through High School to go to College or University. You go through University to “Get a Good Job”.
There isn’t an alternative.
After some 14 to 16 years or more of this mind-set it becomes ingrained within your very being. By the time you hit your early productive years, you are firmly fixated in a goal-oriented life. This runs in direct opposition to an integrated life.
Unless you have no money, and no savings and you need money RIGHT THEN and NOW, don’t do it. We are not one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Our life is colorful and dynamic with many, many aspects to it. We cannot take a part of it and set it aside while we nurture other aspects of our life. We just cannot.
When you finally get it, they’ll be something else missing in your life.
We need to think of ourselves as a unified whole. We need to think of balance and happiness. Instead of pulling a piece here and then working on it, and then pulling out a piece there and then working on it.
Really, that is crazy. I fundamentally believe that long-term pure happiness comes being content with what we have, live in the now, all while enjoying the progress and changes we are making.
There is more to life that going to the “next step”. You weren’t born to just pay bills and die. You are a purpose. You are a role. You were granted with who you are. Do not let and allow others to bleach it out from you. Be who you have been meant to be.
Instead of working for a decade to eventually get a vacation in Florida, how about packing up and moving there? Instead of saving and saving for a nice Lamborghini, how about getting a job in a Lamborghini store as a salesperson? Instead of wanting to go out and date that buxom blonde in the office, how about going up and asking her out for coffee?
[7] We need to change the mindset ingrained in us by the educational system. We all need to stop deferring our happiness.
You need game
If you really want to make it in the business world, whether it is a corporate environment, or your own “shoe-string” business, you will need “game”. You will need to “up your game”. You will need to push and strive to be better than your peers or anyone else.
Success does not favor the average or the bland, and mundane. Success favors the unique and exceptional.
Consider Barry White. Many people today haven’t heard of this man. Yet he was a true man, full of confidence, and “game”. Perhaps we all need to tear a page out of the Berry White playbook and emulate him.
We know this. We know that we need to fight to get a job at a company when there are a thousand applicants that we must fight against. We know that we need to be the best. However, what usually happens is that we stop once we have achieved our goal.
Yeah. That’s what happens. Usually, we just stop when we reach our goal. This is because a goal-oriented mindset is one with objectives.
Don’t let that be you.
We must keep on striving to be the best at whatever we do. We need to be the best and stay at it, even when our goals have been obtained. Instead of a goal, we should strive continuously. If we achieve various achievements, good for us. But, that won’t stop us. Instead we will keep on going on.
By having and maintaining “game” we will obtain confidence in the process. Confidence is a powerful tool that can open many doors. Unsurprisingly, people in positions of power often have a great deal of confidence; this means that they can easily recognize when confidence is genuine and when it is posed.
This same advice applies to girls; you are far better off being genuinely confident, thus projecting a natural vibe of superiority that no faking can attain.
[8] Do your best. Smile. Be confident. Be you, and be the best YOU that you can achieve.
Efficiency is a lie
The more efficient you are at your work, the more you will be burdened with it. You work hard, your supervisor will give you more to do. When someone sees you taking a break, they will give you more work to fill in the “gap” in workload.
To many people, a lack of busy-work is a sign of inefficiency. To them, the cure for inefficiency is more work, more responsibilities, and more tasks.
Additionally, there will be others that will try their best to convince you that you are not doing your best, that you are not giving your best to the company, and that you could do better. Is it really the truth, or is it something that they say to get you to alter and change your behavior?
Dr. Masaru conducted a very famous test on the power of thought. He placed written words on jars of water. He then placed them all together in an isolated room. The only difference from any of the jars is the words written on the jars. He then, after a period of time, tested the water , froze it, and took photographs of the results. The jars with the negative and hurtful words created the worst shaped crystals, while those with the nicest words had the best shaped crystals. The only difference between the crystals are the thoughts associated with the words on the jars. Since humans are mostly composed of water, what do you think a critical work environment would do to the human body? What about the words “You are not good enough”?
Forget what others say. Remember that they are not with you 24-7, nor do they know your past and your day to day interactions. No one knows your life better than you do.
So, let’s break this down. Only one to two situations come into play;
They are right, and you are not giving your best.
They are wrong, and you are doing your best.
Depending on the situation, the following is what will happen in a corporate environment.
If you are not giving your best, you risk losing your job. Therefore, you need to up your game and improve. What this means is that you must improve, AND also look like you are improving. That is where corporate politics come into play. It can get uncomfortable.
If you are doing your best, then the perception is out of alignment with reality. You could risk losing your job. Even if you exceed your current known abilities, then you will still need to fight the political battles that will rage around you. In any event things will get uncomfortable.
Thus, this is a catch-22 and a no-win situation. Being in these situations are the bane of the corporate environment.
[9] When the world around you complains, forge on anyways. Listen to what others say under advisement. Remember that your “best” will change from day to day. No one aside from yourself will know what your peak efficiency is. So forge on…
Nobody Cares
I hate to break this to you, the reader. But you know what? Nobody cares about your individual progress in the corporate world. All that matters is what you contribute to the company.
Most of the smiles you get are fake. Most of the platitudes are empty ones.
We must realize that unless you are close to a person… close enough to get shit-faced drunk with them… when your guards are down… and there both of you have to trust each other…
Otherwise, it’s all a lie.
Which is why in China, business meetings are conducted in such a way that “face” is maintained and large quantities of heavy alcohol is consumed in enormous quantities. Business, real productive business, is conducted when the interpersonal barriers are down and weak. My father once told me a saying that his grandfather taught him’ “Never trust a teetotaler.”.
Shared strife… shared experiences… shared understandings… can break down walls and build long lasting friendships. When we try to go corporate, and when we try to be good, we lose the importance of rough-house bonding.
If you don’t have shared experiences, the chances are that you don’t have anything.
[10] We can only trust those whom we have shared events and deeply bonded with. Other than that, it’s all just a facade, a “white wash”, and nonsense.
Be practical.
People seem to have a strange concept of how luck works. I think maybe this is due to the local lottery and the news media announcing yet another multi-million dollar winner. We watch television shows where people are living in mansions, and driving around in expensive cars. Do you remember the television show “Miami Vice”? How can two cops get to drive around in all those expensive cars, live in all those mansions, and meet all those hot chicks?
People seem to think that somehow that their luck will come because “they deserve it”. They want to believe that one day things will eventually fall into place for them. In other words, you are “due” to win the lottery or you will get swept away by prince charming any day now. “You deserve it” (as if others don’t).
This is terrible misunderstanding of how the world actually works.
Do not wait around for luck to materialize. You must put things in place for things to happen. You MUST put things in PLACE for your dreams to manifest.
Don't misunderstand, there are cycles in this world that we live in and a reality that has aspects of auspiciousness, and unfavorable climates. Never the less, nothing is going to manifest unless we plan and do things about it.
Do you want the pretty girls to smile back when you open the door for them? Lose ten pounds, and practice making the happiest and biggest smile that you can think of. Dress well. Have a nice hair style. Be clean…
…opportunities will manifest.
Do you want to get a raise at work? Then play the political game, work harder than everyone else, and be friends with your boss. Start taking credit where credit is do, and come in earliest and leave late. Play the game…
…opportunities will manifest.
Instead of spending time dreaming a a fine sandwich and beer, maybe we should get up off the chair and go make it happen. It’s not that hard to do. However our level of comfort is what often prevents us from doing things.
Do you want to have a turkey sandwich and a ice cold beer while watching the sun set over an ocean, then you need to set yourself up so that materializes. We have the ability to physically manifest change in our life. Go to a store, buy the ingredients. Get some beer and put it in the freezer. Then make it all up and go out to the beach. Don’t put it off… Oh, and by the way, ask that pretty girl that you have been thinking of to join you. I’d bet she’d love it.
[11] Be the master of your life. Do not rely on fate to control your life.
There is no such thing as “Destiny”
In the corporate world, you are expected to accept things as they are presented to you, while in your private world you act within the terms that you have grown accustomed to. Both are lies.
We exist within this reality with the POWER to change it. Never forget that basic fact.
While it is nice to change and cycle through the MWI using external technology, it really isn't all that necessary on a personal level. We have the inherent ability to do so naturally.
We live within a preset and pre-programmed reality. We do not like to believe in fate, and destiny and other “superstitions”. Yet there is some truth to our existence. There is some purpose. There is a reason why YOU are reading this.
As such, we need to accept the fact that while things appear to be fated, pre-ordained, or just destined. That is not the case. We have the ability to make changes to our reality.
Is the life that you live within your company the life that you really thought that you would get after university? Is this the ideal? Do you live for the paychecks, or are the paychecks something that supports your lifestyle. If there is any discomfort in your life, then you do need to change it.
In short, the life you live is like a highway. You are placed in the middle of it, and cars come and go. You can obey the signs and follow the highway. That is the easy way to live your life. However, it is not destined.
I suggest that you do not ride the life that is laid before you. You can change it.
You can drive fast or slow. You can change lanes. You can ride on the curb. You can stop, and even go into reverse, if you wanted to. Heck, you can even go off road, for the “bumpy” experience.
So there is no such thing as destiny. There are only your thoughts and your desires. I suggest that you start following them…
The first step in changing things is to change our thoughts. The second step is to change our actions. The third step is to change our habits.
By making these changes we can change our life.
Your limitations are not set by who you know, where you were born, what genes you have, how much money you have, how old you are right now, what you did before or other things that you can claim are your stamp of failure for life. If you are determined enough, there can be opportunities in life that are totally achievable with minimal cash, regardless of who you are.
[12] We can control our reality to obtain advantage in our life.
Groundskeeper cottage. I found this wonderful image on tumblr. Image that you would work on a huge estate, and you would be provided with this cute little, tight home to live in. How cozy. So I wonder, what’s stopping you? Why not live in a house, or a place, at a job, with a family that you determine? Why do we always seem stuck with the life that those around us decide for us? Why is it? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Desk Jobs will kill your creativity
I’ll bet that you, the reader, were all full of ideas, spunk and optimism when you graduated from university. Weren’t you? Well, what happened? Where are they now? What killed them off?
Here is a still from the genius movie “Joe vs the volcano” starring Tom Hanks. It accurately portrayed the plight of many an office worker who toils in a terrible office work environment, and drinking coffee that is best described as “lumpy”. Not to mention those energy-saving piss-poor lights that serve to illuminate most of our productive hours.
Was it your friends? Your family? The grocer down the street? Your barber? Or, better yet, was it your workplace, and your boss? Has your boss or any of your supervisors ever given you any hope and cheering on for your dreams? Have they? For if they have, then you are a rare and lucky person, indeed.
There is nothing so absolutely mind-numbing than working in a sterile neutral-color cubicle under fluorescent artificial lighting that will sap the life and drain the energy out from you.
Any company that will not install natural lighting in a place that you will work for eight hours a day, just to save a few pennies, is not a company that cares about your well being. Humans are creatures that need, yes need, a healthy environment to work. It amazes me that they will ban smoking and install various dress codes, but they will refuse to install natural lighting for the employees.
Unless you are thriving in this now-standard working environment, you will need to seriously reconsider the career choices that you have made. Or, at least, reconsider your work place environment.
[13] Take seriously the environment that surrounds you. Know that it will affect your thoughts and actions. This influence is dangerous as it can influence your life for better or for worse.
Never change your originality for the sake of others. This is because no one can play your role better than you. So be yourself and be your best.
Avoid “Echo Chambers”
An “echo chamber” is a place, a group of friends, a work environment, a series of websites, a news media that all says the same thing. By staying within that “echo chamber” you get the FALSE impression that everyone around you thinks like you do.
That is false.
Even within an “echo chamber”, your mind will think and operate quite differently from those around you.
We all know examples of “Echo Chambers”.
The main-stream American press.
College universities.
HR polices in a corporate environment.
An NFL football team.
The BLM membership.
The Liberal Narrative
The Conservative Narrative
As much as I tend to believe strongly in traditional conservative values, I find that if you completely close your mind to only those outlets you get a distorted view of reality. I'm not bad-mouthing conservative values and principles. However, we need to understand that many times what we want to hear is repackaged to us as an echo chamber.
This hasn't been so obvious as when I moved to China.
I was expecting enormous crowds. Well, I saw that. I was expecting a kind of dingy world. Well, indeed there are some pretty ugly areas. I was expecting ancient and ruinous infrastructure, millions of blue clad workers riding bicycles, a police and military force everywhere, and hordes of poverty ridden poor from the countryside clamoring to be led into the mega-cities. NOT FUCKING TRUE.
It's not even remotely true.
I was expecting a scene from a "Save the Children" commercial, and instead what I experienced was a futuristic Tokyo.
Trust me. You need to get out of whatever echo chamber you are in now, and look around you. It's a new world, with new rules. Not just in the corporate world, but in life as well. Realize it. learn from it. Get out of the echo chamber. Go out and see for yourself.
You will discover that many of the people are just repeating what they have read and heard from others. Others who have been repeating what they, in turn, have read and heard. From others who are repeating what they have read and heard.
Modern China…
Modern China…
We have to be careful… always. Today in our digital age, it is so easy to be led into a “echo chamber”. Those on university campuses today have a terribly distorted view of what America is like. heck, many of them cannot even name one Right listed in the Bill of Rights. They think that everyone outside of their city is a racist bigot. What amazing ignorance.
Do not fall into the “echo chamber” trap.
What happens is that when you meet someone with a very different belief system to yours, it’s better to get along than to try to “convert” them. This is as true for how the world works as it is for anything else. We tend to want to be part of the herd. We do not want to stand out, or be ostracized. We want to belong.
The social media in America is one huge “echo chamber” that is dominated with progressive liberal socialists. They have made it so that anything other than what they want to hear is withheld. They offer all kinds of excuses, usually the same tired old lame excuses… hate, deplorable, racist, bigot…etc. Yet, the fact is that this is exactly against what America stood and stands for… the freedom to say your peace. Don’t live in the echo chamber.
When someone is sure about something and has believed it for many many years, then you cannot convince them with a few cleverly picked words. We tend to call this person a “close minded” person. But, yet is it really that way? Maybe it’s us that is the close minded one. Indeed, maybe it’s important to acknowledge that maybe we are actually the wrong one in this case.
The world is much more fun with people of varying interests and beliefs.
Spending time exclusively with people who agree with you on everything would never challenge you or allow you to learn so much more. We need challenge. We need exposure to different things. We need to be with others who are different, who are colorful, who have ability, and who are themselves.
The problem with the corporate environment is that conformity is policed. When you reach the boundaries of conformity and step outside them, you will be considered to be undesirable, and termination is only a short and brief paycheck away.
I once had a friend who lived in North Carolina. He told me that the key to happiness is to be unique on your own terms, but hide it from everyone else. You must conform, and not make waves, but in the privacy of your house and your life, you can live the life on your terms.
Now that I am older, I can see some benefit in his advice. Yet, I do not wholly convinced to agree with him. I say, instead, that a real man is himself no matter what and pretends for no one.
[14] Expose yourself to as many different things as possible. Go outside your “echo chamber”. Never take anything said by anyone at face value. Get multiple sources, and make sure they are isolated from each other. Beware of the corporate one-company is one-mind trap.
As an aside, it is well known that you do not want a person who has worked some twenty years in a singular role within a large company. They tend to be too inflexible and too rigid in their thinking process. I wonder why that is?
Living a good life is the best way possible to convince people
Have you ever spent time and time again, just arguing with people? They have their view, and you have yours. They don’t want to hear your view, for some reason. You do not want to hear theirs. You and they are both in a dead lock.
So what?
Enough with the words and enough with the arguing. Just live by example and soon you’ll have people on your side when they see your results. Over time they will come around. They will see your passion, and your earnest belief in who you are.
They will find that their assumptions about you, who you are, the life you live, and your values are not what they thought. They will come around. Don’t argue with them. Show them.
There is no longer a need to convince them of anything. You just be who you are and show them. Eventually they will see that you weren’t so crazy after all.
Now, in the corporate world, there is only one answer. That is the answer that your boss tells you it is. Nothing else matters. Which is, when you think about it, terribly limiting. In China there is a saying…
There are many ways to get to Beijing.
Which of course, means that you can eventually make it to your objective. You need to select the way that is the best one. For some, the quickest and most expensive, might be the best method. For others, the cheap and slow might be best. So, whether you fly, walk, hitch-hike, take a train, or ride a donkey, eventually you will make it to Beijing.
The problem with the corporate culture is that all these various answers and solutions can be withheld from you. Unless you are in the vaulted decision-making process to make these decisions, you will start to rely on the decisions of others. And, that my friends, is a great trap. Be careful.
[15] You need to start living your life on your terms. As such, your success will speak for itself. There will not be any question that you were doing something right. Though others might chalk it up to luck or fate, they will invariably be wrong.
Nobody has the Answer
We have grown accustomed, through school, through society, through the news media, and through the legions of statists, that there is a “perfect” truth. That there is a perfect reality and singular solution. We mistakenly follow them through our 16 years of educational schooling. We are constantly searching for the ideal mate. We are constantly searching for the ideal job. We are constantly searching for the “secrets of the universe”.
It’s all a big lie.
There is no singular answer. No, let me be the first to crush this fantasy; the NWO, one global government is not going to be the solution to all the world’s ill’s. Nope. No way. No how. I know… just, listen I know. I mean I really, REALLY know.
There is no universal truth, at least nothing that we would recognize as such. There are, instead, relative truths that vary from observer to observer. This is quantum mechanics at it’s primeval level.
You have to get a grasp on the reality you live is yours and yours alone. It is not a shared reality. No matter how real that appears to you now.
Stop comparing yourself to others. They look richer. They seem happier. They appear to be smarter. They seem to have more fun. They seem to have all the luck. It’s all illusion. Almost everyone has problems and puts on a brave face in spite of it
Everyone is living their reality. They are living their life, and within that life are collapsed dreams, hardship, hurt, terror, worry, sadness and sacrifice. They all had it. Not only you. Never casually dismiss them as being more fortunate than you are. You do not know their story. So stop comparing yourself.
Which brings me around to the corporate environment. The business and corporate environment is one that that mandates appearance. Some companies permit you to put a picture or two on your desk. Some are even so bold as to allow you a potted plant and a different colored pen to use from time to time. Corporate workers are expected to be drones that work in a state of bland sameness.
We need to be careful of a set cultural, societal, or corporate environment. They expect followers to act as drones for the collective good. Often they will discard you when you are no longer useful, or even worse, they could demand that you do dangerous things for the good of the company. Be careful.
Over time, this attitude affects us. We start to believe it. We spend all day with our coworkers and believe that we are all the same. Then we go home and see the life as portrayed on the television, the internet and the movies. We yearn for that excitement and that closeness. But it’s a fiction. Everything outside of your personal experience is a fiction.
Nothing exists until you PERSONALLY experience it.
[16] There is no singular answer or solution. All there is is an “answer” for YOU and the reality that you live.
It is fine to say “I made a mistake”
We have grown up over the years to be ashamed of making mistakes. Our school would punish us for making mistakes. Our parents would punish us for making mistakes. Indeed, our spouses would punish us for making mistakes.
Hey! Here’s a news flash for you. You are an adult. You are not a child.
You are an adult. You are not a child.
Making mistakes is how we grow. You learn through mistakes. What do you think Hillary Clinton will do next time she wants to set up a hidden secretive computer server to suck up Top Secret emails to give to Pakistan? I’ll bet you that she would do things much differently. Next time, oh at the rate AG Sessions is going yeah there will be a next time, it will be more secretive, better guarded and better protected.
Lock her up by Ben Garrison at Grr Graphics. All credit to the artist. Hillary Clinton sure has managed to get away with a lot. This is a characteristic of a third world banana republic. It is not the characteristic of a functioning Republic.
A true and real person is not afraid to say that they made a mistake. You don’t even need to justify it. You don’t have to come up with reasons. All you need to say, is that you understand that you made a mistake and that you are putting systems in place to prevent that mistake from happening again.
If the other(s), whomever they are, do not accept that, then they can FUCK themselves. Seriously, in business or in your family, you must be a man. You set the standards that you live by. No one else does. Be a man, or be a child. There is no in between.
[17] Be honest with yourself, with those around you, and with your loved ones. You are no longer a child that has to lie and make up falsehoods to avoid confrontation.
At some point you are going to need to work very hard.
I have got to say, after years and years of working hard, finally I was eventually able to secure some senior level positions. Now, let it be told, that although having an senior position is a fantastic way to earn a living, it is really hard work.
Don’t buy into that Hollywood lie. You don’t get into management by drinking coffee at the local restaurant. You cannot automatically drive a Lamborghini by being a police officer, and you won’t become a billionaire by writing some code. The route to success is often paved with hard work.
And… sacrifice.
And… pain with misery.
I do not mean to scare the Dejesus out of anyone, but I really do want to make a point. You need to plan, and devote your time to doing and performing useful labors. Often you will not see any results. Or maybe what you are doing won’t pay for your rent and you will need to do something that you don’t like.
That’s just the way life is. That is the story of your reality.
[18] If you want something, you will need to put in the time to get it. You will have to think about it. You will need to imagine it, and you will need to do real physical work to cause it to manifest.
More money will NEVER solve your problems
Somehow, in America, many people believe that only if they had more money all their problems would go away…
Nope. It doesn’t work that way. Instead, more problems will materialize. Not only that, but the problems will balloon to a level that you are unaccustomed to. The size of the money you have is exponentially proportional to the problems associated with it.
Now, I am not advocating poverty. However, I have to say that many of the things… the baubles and the latest iPhone, and that nice car are not germane to your happiness. Personally, I have done a lot of thinking, and my fondest memories, the ones that I treasure the most, occurred when I really didn’t have much in the way of money.
In fact, what I had at that period in my life was TIME and COMPANIONSHIP.
Spend time, meaningful and precious time, with those you love. Make your time quality time. Buy an ice cream cone with your retired father. Take you mother out of a morning breakfast. Call up one of your friends and go to the beach or hike in a local park. Spend time together.
As long as you are not living in the street or going hungry, then you do not “need” more money. When you spend enough time with people who are actually living on next to nothing, but having a full life, then you will truly understand this. Everything that is wonderful about life doesn’t cost a penny, and the rest is way cheaper than you think it is.
[19] Think about the people that surround you. Think about spending time with them. Take your mind off the need to make money to purchase things. Concentrate on relationships and spending time with those you love. Remember, you can always make more money, but you can never make more time.
Respect is earned, not demanded.
Work is mostly a meritocracy.
Yes there are exceptions, and the higher up you get, the sillier and strange the effects manifest. However, in general, the more you work, the more skills you acquire. The more “war stories” you can elaborate on, and the more money that you can command.
Holding an executive position has levels of respect and even reverence that are intrinsic to it. I am often looked after and praised. But much like in the military you salute the rank and not the man. In the corporate world often time it is very much like this—people care about the position you hold instead of you.
Nothing is truer than in China. Where I am giving a “God Like” status as a vaulted Boss.
Never the less, one false move and you could lose all that respect in a heart-beat. Status and respect, especially in China, is tied to the concept of “Face”. It’s a difficult concept to grasp, but it is an important one.
Face is very visible in the Chinese business environment and plays an important role in inter- and intra-company communication, business negotiations, and the development and maintenance of relationships.
In China, company hierarchy is much more important than in many Western countries. Not only are leaders and managers placed on a higher pedestal, but the distinction between different levels of management is much clearer and more important.
Many Chinese leaders and managers expect respect from their subordinates and in many cases expect to be obeyed without question, no matter the rationality or fairness behind a request.
Not obeying “the will” of a Chinese leader or manager does not give them the perceived necessary prestige they (and others) feel is deserved. Indeed, survival in a Chinese company depends on knowing one’s place, and Face plays a very important role in facilitating that function.
-China Culture Corner
[20] You need to earn your place at the table. You cannot demand it.
This is a Two-Part Post
This is the first of a two part post. To see the second part, please kindly go HERE.
You can tell how much BS is in the American news media when they report as “experts” in China, yet fail to mention even the most basic trends. You go on CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, and the Huffington-Puffington Post and it’s all about Trump, and China tariffs. Article after article is reporting on the troubles about the tariffs. They report all kinds of nonsense. They report as if they are experts. Oh, the world is falling apart! Oh, China has fallen to it’s knees! Oh, my goodness!
Well it isn’t. The world is not falling apart. China is bowing down, and the people are not shuffling back into their state-mandated hovels.
China takes the tariff issue seriously, but they are not killing themselves in mass suicides over it. You do know that exports from China to the United States isn’t as large as Americans think. While the perception is that it is maybe 80% of everything they export, the truth is that it is much smaller than that. Exports to America from China is actually around 11% of all Chinese exports.
You’ve got to be an idiot to believe some of the nonsense that is written in the American mass media. The news that Americans read is all just packaged propaganda used to manipulate. That’s it.
Anyways, let’s talk about what is actually going on in China. Yes. The “real deal”. Don’t you know…
The Dance Craze
If you travel to China, and only spend one week in China, you would be made aware of certain trends and behaviors that are totally absent from the “experts” in the American main-steam media. You might be exposed to state of the art subway systems that look like they came out of a science fiction movie. You might ride in a high-speed train that looks like a rocketship. You might be amazed how everyone uses WeChat to pay for things.
For the last few months, China has been “on fire” with a dance craze that has swept the nation. Bet ya didn’t know that! Did you?
Girls all over China are dancing to this stupid Chinese pop song.
I think that they most especially like the part where he goes all “Tarzan”. and the girls duplicate it by leaning back and shaking their chests out.
Boys, girls, adults, children, and maybe even pet dogs can all dance to this stupid and silly song.
et, it has taken the nation by storm. Really! Who’d figure?
The Chinese youth are going crazy over this song. Who would figure. Eh?
If you cannot see the embedded player, then please go to this link to see a compilation of crazed Chinese fans dancing to this stupid song…
It’s sort of like how the “Gangham Style” video and song took over the United States, and late the world. Only instead of a fat Korean, we have pretty Chinese girls dancing to it…friggin’ everywhere.
Where to Watch
I first became aware of this craze by the 抖音短视频 website. You can get the APP online HERE. It consists of home made mini videos all to Chinese (and some Western) pop music. Imagine a twitter version of movies. Here is a scene from the MV of the music video. It is pretty silly with a bunch of Chinese boys and girls dancing about and giving Tarzan yells.
The funny thing is this; if you just go to any mall in the city and give a Tarzan yell, you will be answered by girls and boys shaking their chests and yelling AH-ya-ya-ah….
Regarding the application, often the movies only last ten seconds or so. All in all, it is a great way to see what China is like, and what the people are like. You see it all. From bedrooms to state parks, to city-scapes to cute girls dancing.I got hooked watching dog and cat videos. You know the Chinese really love their pets.
Later, I became hooked on watching cute Chinese girls doing cute things. Sure beats fat negro American women shaking their enormously fat asses that passes for entertainment in America today.
Anyways, I find it a welcome respite form the non-stop barrage of bullshit narrative from the American mainstream media about China. I get on this APP and within a minute, I can see ten videos made by normal and average Chinese from all over China.
You look at the people. You look at their clothes. You look at the roads and infrastructure. You look at the backgrounds, and the people and what they are doing… It sure beats the nonsense out of silicon valley and Washington D.C.
First Taste
Here is just a sample of the kinds of things that you will see in China today. This is the song that is driving all the girls crazy…
I have been having trouble posting the embedded player for the video. So All that I can post is fan videos. You can watch the video yourself. Here are various direct links;
One of the things that the American media likes to keep secret is how human the Chinese people are. In many, many ways, they are exactly like Americans. At least they really seem to relate to us. They think that the television show “Friends” is real, and they all yearn to become friends with Americans. They like to have fun. They love to fish, play basketball, and just have fun with each other eating and drinking.
The American deep (state) swamp wants to keep everything two dimensional. To them, they picture the world outside of the United States as a ugly dark and frightening place. They make cardboard cutouts of people outside. They make two-dimensional characters of them. It’s easier to control us, if our rulers (owners) keep us living in a dark fear.
But, you know, that’s really not the way it is.
The Chinese love to dance and have a good time. They are just like us. Only on a much grander scale…
The Chinese are just like us. We are both human. We have needs and desires. We feel emotion; sadness and happiness. We fall in love, we raise families and take care of our elders. We work hard, and try to do our best. We like to have fun. Some of us can sing, and some cannot. We we accept everyone anyways. The Chinese are just like us…
They like to pay with their children, and they love their pets. You all probably aren’t aware of that, with the Western oligarchy in full control of the American media. All the Western media ever talks about is how dogs are eaten in some rural villages in the back hills of remote China.
They play this narrative over and over and over and over. It’s all a manufactured lie.
The Chinese love their pets.
In fact some of the largest industries in China are those that cater to pets. In China the pets are treated like little humans. I really mean it. They have dog socks, dog underwear. They have dog sweaters, eyeglasses, back packs and special nutrition dog-food. It is not unusual to have a family spend more money on their dog than on their own children.
China is the largest economy in the world. If the trade issues can be resolved between Donald Trump and Xi Ping, Americans and their counterparts in China can thrive and prosper.
I see a future where the Chinese and Americans both work diligently towards a mutual agreeable goal. Everyone works. Everyone profits. Americans goods are sold to China, and Chinese goods are sold to Americans. Only this time, instead of the corrupt oligarchy benefiting, it will be everyday Americans who benefit. Trust me, the Chinese want this.
I believe Donald Trump wants this. I believe his followers want this. There is only one problem. The deep state, and all their globalist minions; the American media, the corrupt DOJ and FBI, and the rich software billionaires don’t.
The Chinese middle class has been growing over the last four decades. It is not what Americans think at all. Much of that growth has been the direct result of piss-poor trade policies that benefit the wealthiest few in the Untied States.
That era has ended.
Now it is a time when Americans can market our fine (and superior) products to a willing and welcome Chinese market. What are we waiting for? Nothing, just until the oligarchs in the (swamp) Washington D.C. retires or steps out of the way.
They will do EVERYTHING in their ability to stop it. They do not care, and if it take world war III to realize their dreams, they will cause it.
Don’t believe me? Just read their mouth-pieces; the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN.
We are now at a threshold where Americans and Chinese can both profit handsomely by throwing all the evil oligarchs to the wayside. Instead of them getting a trillion dollar profit each year, now it’s time for each American to profit.
The money will flow in copus amounts. We just have to realize who is siphoning the money, and how much they are getting away with. China has a lot to offer Americans.
For instance, consider the synchronized night scapes in all the Chinese cities. You haven’t heard about that have you? Nope, the oligarchs don’t want you to be aware. Just manufacture a cardboard evil villain and demand higher taxes from Americans. It’s the same old playbook. But we Americans have transcended this narrative.
We know better.
Summary
With China not only possessing the bulk of the world population, and the vast bulk of the world’s manufacturing, it is a true shame that American media treats it as some kind of two-dimensional fiction.
Most Americans are unaware of this. Somehow we think that things are still manufactured in Germany, that all those cars with British logos are still make in the UK, and that all the cameras and computers are made in South Korea and Japan.
Nope. They are all made in China.
Surprise! American propaganda leads to keep Americans ignorant and afraid. make no mistake. The purpose of the American main stream media is to keep Americans stupid, ignorant and living in fear. We are told that China is a poor third-world nation. It is one that is filled with barefoot and ignorant workers that reside in mud-hut villages all over China.
That’s the narrative.
It is a complete fabrication. It is nonsense. Sure the rural Chinese aren’t living in McMansions, but their homes aren’t mud huts either. Yes they have electricity, plumbing, indoor water (and water heaters) high-speed internet and paved roads.
In fact, I wish Pennsylvania would take a few lessons from China. They have seemed to get rid of their pothole problems. Pennsylvania is still forming yet another “Blue Ribbon” committee to look into the issue…
I personally believe that once we know the true reality, that we can decide what is best for us and our families. We do not need some “expert” in Washington D.C. telling us what we can do, some “expert” in silicon-valley censoring what we read, and some “expert” in New York city deciding what we can read and watch.
I believe that we can do this by ourselves and alone. The “manufactured reality” out of Washington D.C. and Silicon-Valley has become so outrageous and distorted that it in no way resembles anything even resembling the truth. We need to acknowledge this and embrace it.
For Pete’s Sake, if the “experts” on China are totally oblivious to something as common as a song and a dance that even five-year-olds know, than you should be aware of the disconnect. The disconnect is dangerous.
If we permit it to continue…people will die. Pay attention. Know who is trying to manipulate you and why. Question everything. Stop permitting those in power to take your money, repackage it into a fear-based narrative.
Move forward and think of everyone as your friends who want to work with you so they… and YOU… together can profit. Not some rich oligarch who already has amassed enough trillions of your your money. It’s time to put them to bed and move forward with our lives.
John McClain
Oh, and a special call out for one of the most evil people in Washington D.C. war monger extraordinaire John McClain. Hey guy, having a brain tumor the size of a baseball is no excuse to start World War III. I don’t give a damn what your fucked up rationalizations are. People are people. They are not some numbers that can be erased on a spreadsheet. They have feelings, life, relationships and family. What the Hell is the matter with you?
Sources
Of course, you can go directly to the Chinese video websites and view the dance routines for yourself. There might even be one or two on you-tube. That is, once they get past the censorship army in silicon-valley. American progressive censorship is terrible. It really is… Yeah. Y
ou are not going to find any of this on the sterile American Politically-Correct scrubbed video websites. Hey dudes, maybe you need… NEED to look elsewhere for your video entertainment. There are many, many options.
Don’t accept the bland life that is provided to you. Maybe Alex Jones is banned on Facebook, and You-Tube. No problem. Go elsewhere…
#1. Youku.com 优酷网YouKu
At home, I subscribe to YouKu. I use it for my streaming music needs. If I want to hear a song I like, I do a lyric search and then have YouKu pull it up for me. Like all these sites, they are in Chinese, but you can pretty much navigate by trial and error.
Everything is free to watch. There are only a few embedded ads. There is a very high playback speed, and very little delay.
#2. Tudou.com 土豆网Toudou
Toudou is the second most well-known video website in China. Toudou is where most Chinese people buy their online purchases. You can get everything from makeup to groceries here. The site features personal video sharing services, and also owns many other video channels like movies, dramas, music and so on.
#3. Cntv.cn 中国网络电视台CCTV
This is the government very own video streaming service. It’s sort of a Chinese video version of NPR. It is owned by China Central Television (CCTV), CNTV is the official website of the national TV station. The site hosts many channels and its video channels include live TV, TV drama and documentary. Users can enjoy lots of exclusive video contents on the site.
#4. tv.kankan.com 迅雷看看kankan
Xunlei Kankan is a video-on-demand service. If you are trying to find American movies but are unable to because of paywalls, and money that you have to pay at Netflix, go here. they will be free. Oh, and did I say…free????
The site provides high-quality content including up-to-date Chinese dramas and lots of movies from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the USA.
#5. Tv.sohu.com 搜狐视频sohu
Sohu TV is owned by Sohu company, one of the biggest Internet portals in China. Everyone knows about Sohu. What? You didn’t? Well let me educate you.
The site provides countless video contents such as high quality movies, TV shows, self-produced dramas, variety shows, music TV and cartoons. You might well be surprised in the selection.
#6. Letv.com 乐视网letv
Hailed as China’s Hulu, Letv.com owns more than 100,000 episodes of TV series and more than 5,000 films. This is pretty much where my wife likes to go to watch her soap operas and the American series such as “Two Broke Girls” and “Sopranos”.
#7. Iqiyi.com 爱奇艺qiyi
I used to have a VIP membership for QIYI. It only cost something like 198 RMB for a year ($25). As a VIP you get a very large selection of movies. Their American movie selection is pretty good. It’s sort of like Netflix in that regard, but instead of paying $5 for a movie, you pay $25 for unlimited movies for a year.
It is owned by Baidu, China’s largest search engine. The decision to offer a paid subscription is a direct result of negotiations with Hollywood. You must recall, Hollywood demanded that the Chinese government stop piracy of Western movies.
Thus, Iqiyi describes itself China’s first copyrighted video library covering various contents such as movie, TV drama, variety show, comic and documentary. Its HD & smooth video content is the best of all China’s video sites.
#8. Video.sina.com.cn 新浪视频sina
Here’s where you go if you want to see the latest American movies that are in the theaters, but don’t want to pay for them. It’s owned by Sina, a leading Internet media company serving China. The site provides various video content including latest video news, variety show, movie, drama and so on.
#9. 56.com 56网56.com screen shot
56.com is a leading video-sharing platform in China. Users can post and share their personal videos online. There are many cute videos of dogs and cats here. As well as cute girls sings and dancing. The site hosts more than 80 million online videos.
#10 pptv.com PPTVpip
PPTV is a fantastic online TV provider offering both live streaming and video-on-demand services. Its channels include TV shows, film, drama, sports, news and entertainment and so on.
#11. M1905.com 电影网1905
I must admit that I am not too familiar about this site. However the interface seems easy enough to use and get about with. It’s been in China for a while. Really. M1905.com was founded by China Movie Channel in 2004.
The site hosts more than 6,000 HD copyrighted movies and about 200,000 short videos. M1905 is the most complete and authoritative site about Chinese movies.
#12. V.qq.com 腾讯视频QQ video
I am currently a VIP member of this site. Cost is $25/year (198 RMB). Like all VIP services, you are allowed five members for that service. So we share the membership with friends and relatives. It has a pretty good selection of American movies. For instance, I watched “Hot Tub Time Machine” last week, but the sequel to that movie is not available.
QQ is the largest social media platform in China, and even dwarfs the enormous WeChat. This is the video section of that platform. To give you an idea of how enormous it is, think of Facebook, and then multiply it by one thousand.
QQ video is a channel of qq.com, which is the most popular instant messenger in China and has hundreds of million active users. With huge amount of active users, QQ video quickly and easily became one of the the most visited video sites in China.
#13. 360 Kan 360 视频360
I am not familiar with this website. However, my friends and coworkers really like it. Truthfully, 360kan is a Chinese version of Google / computer checkup application. Functionally, 360kan is actually a video resource navigation website.
Its main function is to list lots of TV and drama links, so users can choose the site with the best watching experiences.
#14. Baidu Video 百度视频 baidu
Everyone knows about Baidu in China. Just like everyone knows of Google int he United States. Baidu is a Chinese version of Google, only it is much, much, much larger… and… it is not censored by rich progressive millennials in California.
If you want to find a movie in China, this is probably your fist stop. Like on Google, you click on the video link to see all the video related search results.
Baidu Video is one of the largest video sharing site in China. It is a channel of Baidu.com, China’s leading search engine. The site features its search function and users can always find their favorite video content on the site.
#15. pps.tv PPSpps PPS provides lots of services such as video search, online video, games and downloads. Its computer client PPS Net TV hosts more than 210 thousand sets of channel programs. It is the most popular Net TV client in China.
Take Aways
The news in America is completely distorted.
So called “experts” on China, in the United States are unaware of the most basic of trends in China.
This disconnect in perception, reporting and reality is dangerous, as it can result in manipulation of mass groups of people and WAR!
The Chinese people admire and relate to Americans. It is a true shame that the American news media would like to disrupt the trade negotiations that Donald Trump is having with Xi Peng.
If Americans and Chinese can work TOGETHER, everyone would benefit profitably. The Chinese WANT to buy American made products. Let’s let them. We can work hard and they can respond.
Over the last few decades, American agreements favored the rich oligarchs at the expense of the American worker. Today, the American media narrative is one that pits national boundaries before cooperation.
FAQ
Q: What is so special about the latest dance craze in China? A: Nothing, really. Fads and fashions come and go. The point of this post and article is just how out of touch the American media is that they are unaware of something that every single person in China knows about. Heck, you could fly in and just stand on a street corner, not talk to anyone and be aware of this. The disconnect is that enormous. China has their own movies, much larger than Hollywood. They have their own music, with followings that dwarf anything out of America. You can see one HERE. The point is that China is a Big, big market that WANTS American products. I argue that we should sell our products to China. We should forget the bullshit narrative promoted out of the American media and do it our way… the American way. Not the way of the wealthy oligarchy. Q: Why don’t you have embedded videos? A: I tried, but word press is changing it’s editor with something else. It’s a little buggy and won’t accept embedded code. Q: Why do you love China? A: China reminds me of American back around 1960. That was before the progressive liberals took control of EVERYTHING, and fucked everything up. Now everyone either want’s to go to war or turn into a communist. Jeeze, not even the Chinese want to be a “communist” nation. But sure as heck the millennial’s in the big American cites want that. Hey the bullshit ran deep. Now America is populated with morons. I can’t stop the shit. What I can do, however, is open the window a little so some fresh air of reality comes in. Life is not that bad, it only appears to be.
Free Republic Posting
This was posted on 5AUG18 on the website Free Republic. It did not go down very well.The thread was pulled. The reason being…
not even close to news. barely chat. quit abusing the BN sidebar
Popularity
Well, Free Republic might have pulled this post, but it was the top post during August 2018 by a long-shot. I guess that FR is out of touch what is popular to the readership.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the
real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British
tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This
is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Just about every article on the internet that discusses KTV’s in China, talk about the “family-friendly” KTV’s. They discuss how they work and what it is like. They talk about the food, and the fun. Well, no one seems to want to talk about the Business KTV’s in China. Which is really, really odd. As you just cannot do business in China without going to one. For goodness gracious, that is one of the most common things that businessmen encounter when doing business in Asia.
This post discusses this side of Chinese industry.
As all my posts, it is politically incorrect. If you are are not ready for it, I would suggest that you leave right now. This post talks about one of the most important aspects of doing business in China – the negotiations over dinner, drink and song. It doesn’t matter if you are in the North of China, the South of China, Vietnam, or Korea, it is all pretty much the same.
Introduction
One of the first things that the Interns ask me when they come to work for me, is “what is it like doing business in China”. To which I must answer, “it is really, really different.” Work is work, and business is business. That being said, in China there is a particular aspect that has a great deal of importance. This is [1] the concept called “face” or “mingzi”. The second most important aspect is [2] friendships.
While, the Chinese boss and businessman would be very happy to take your money and make a part for you. He won’t treat you very special, even if you promise him ten million dollars of business. You will be just another smuck from the West that he is dealing with. You are just a potential client. You have not yet “earned your stripes”.
The key to getting your product or service taken cared for, is to build up a relationship with the factory boss. Heck, we all know this. In fact, in America we have been taught that businesses are based upon relationships. Yet, strange things is, with the current crops of MBA’s that are exiting universities, they seem to think that people are numbers in a ledger, and quite disposable.
Efficiency experts sorting out who to fire and who to retain.
Not so in China.
While in the USA, you might get a visitor from another country, and say good-bye to him at the end of the day. The Chinese will expect to share a meal with you. They will expect a tour of the local surroundings, and some local cuisine. (As would most businessmen from other nations.) When in China, you will be given the “royal treatment”, as the opportunity that you offer the factory is considered valuable.
You would also be expected to smoke, and drink to excess. In China, powerful bosses all can eat, drink and party to excess. The ideal “big boss” in China is a cross between Tony Soprano and Attila the Hun. If you cannot meet their expectations, then any contract that you sign with them will be a weak one.
The ideal "big boss" in China is a cross between Tony Soprano and Attila the Hun. If you cannot meet their expectations, then any contract that you sign with them will be a weak one.
The value, and the relative importance of the “Boss” differs between that of Western companies and companies in the East. In China, the boss is all powerful and all important. His word is absolute.
Your goal is to facilitate a strong contract, and a solid working relationship. Anything less is a waste of your time.
Aside from the factory tour, and discussions over tea and cigarettes (I like to call it “death” by tea and cigarettes.), you will be given a chance to “freshen up” in your hotel room prior to the evening festivities. A driver will take you to your hotel, and you and your aide will be escorted to your room where you can rest (often from jet lag), check your emails, write a report (if you are in a big company), and chill out. I like to use this time to take a shower and a short 90 minute nap. But, that’s just me.
Hotel Pickup
Usually, before the car comes and the girls pick you up (typically the aides and Marketing Manager is female), I tend to go down to the VinGo (a HK version of 7-11) in the lobby and pick up some anti-drunk medicine. In fact, truth be told, you should always have [1] some aspirin or Tylenol, [2] stomach medicine, and [3] some ED medicine if you are over 30. The anti-drunk medicine is a vial of liquid that you drink during dinner, say about thirty minutes before you eat. It helps to neutralize the effects of alcohol in your body so that you won’t get too drunk too fast. It won’t take away from your enjoyment, but it will help you.
After all, you can now expect a solid six to eight hours of hard drinking. So, you need to be prepared. After all, your body will be affected by the alcohol.
That is an entire night of HARD drinking of HARD alcohol.
This means that you will need to take some medicine beforehand. In China, of course, you don’t need prescriptions for most medicines. That’s only in America. The rest of the world expects people to be responsible with their own bodies.
You you can just get the ED medication at the counter. Just write the name on a slip of paper and the chick behind the counter will give it to you. Viagra is around 125 RMB, or around $20/pill. But you can by the local generic version for 200 RMB for 20 pills, or 10 RMB/pill (around $1.25). Cialis is the medicine of choice for us older gentleman. But you will need to pay for it in the full outrageous American price. Figure around 135 RMB/pill.
The girls in China a lovely. That includes all of the Han Chinese throughout Asia. They really know how to keep men happy.
Since the chances are that you will be in the Southern China section, make sure that you change your underwear. It is tropical, and you will need to take multiple showers and use ample deodorant.
Chances are that you will stay in your hotel, unless the factory boss has made other arrangements. Some of the better business KTV’s have rooms upstairs. In any event, make sure that your “wingman” or aide (male or female) fully understands that you will be the one who will give all the face. They must restrain their drinking. They must watch the belongings, and your passport. And, they must keep an eye out so that no problems befall you.
Typically, my aide is an employee. Depending on the situation, I’ve had one of my Chinese engineers (fluent in English) come with me, or my Marketing Manager (female Chinese-born Canadian) who would be with me. Now, you might think that the woman would be all hot and bothered about conducting this kind of business relationship, but that hasn’t been the case at all. In fact, she welcomed it. Heck, you should have seen her the next morning all beaming and happy.
Now, everyone would get their own individual room. And we would all agree on a time to meet. Typically, one person (never myself) gathers everyone up to go down to the lobby and get into the car.
Dinner
You will most likely NOT eat Western food. If they offer it to you, decline. You are in China. You want to make their face as big as possible. Suggest their local delicacy, or a restaurant that cooks the same kind of meals that their home town makes. Let the factory boss select the restaurant.
Now, typically, the driver will either take you back to the factory where you will meet the others for the dinner, or you will drive directly to the restaurant. In almost all cases, there will be a private room reserved in the restaurant. This is a private dining room. It will typically have a nice bathroom, a set of sofa’s and comfortable chairs, a television, and a huge circular table.
Most private rooms in China look a little something like this. They consist of a large central table and comfortable furnishings.
You, as the boss will be led to the room, and offered the “boss seat”. This is a chair that faces the door. You sit down, and everyone else arranges themselves around the table. The seating arrangement is hierarchical, with the various ranks of the individuals placed strategically around the table. The driver of the car(s) will also attend the meal, though they will typically be silent and not participate into any of the discussions.
You will be offered some cigarettes, just like at the factory. As the boss it is your responsibly to accept the cigarettes, or else you will lose face. Oh, yeah, it’s not healthy and all that second-hand smoke nonsense. Well, if you are doing business in China, you will need to adopt local customs. You do not want to lose face. You accept the cigarette. You take a drag. You hold it in. Tilt you head back, and stare up at the ceiling and then exhale the smoke slowly.
You need to adapt to Chinese culture. Do not lose the face of the boss. Else they might serve you dog’s head or something equally disgusting as a way to see how low you can go.
Out of politeness, you will be offered a menu and you can select what to eat. As I typically live in the Guangzhou region, I will choose Guangzhou style food. This is easy to do, as the menu consists of full-color glossy photos of delicious food. Guangzhou food is typically steamed lightly. It is very fresh and very tasty. Now, if you were in Hunan or Sichuan, the food would be very spicy and delicious. That’s a good thing too.
Anyways, as a general rule, you order two dishes more than the number of people at the table. So, if there were six people around the table, including yourself, you would order eight dishes. (Oh, yes, everyone shares the dishes. This is quite different from the West where everyone gets their own meal.)
Being in Guangzhou, you order one thing that walks (pig, beef, mutton), one thing that flies (chicken, duck, goose), and one thing that swims (fish or seafood like shrimp). If there is a near certainty that you will go to a business KTV and you might have an all-night companion, you should make sure to order a nice large plate of oysters. Just make sure that they are fresh. Otherwise, watch out!
In general, once the three main dishes are ordered, I usually like to order vegetables, tofu, and assorted other dishes such as braised pig fat, flat bread, and maybe jellyfish. Let the other (hosting) people make suggestions and nod your head in violent agreement with their selections.
The waitress, or room manager will ask what you want and take your order. You, with your aide, will select the pictures and work out the details. While the picture might say a thousand words, there is typically a discussion of lively banter on what kind of fish, how to cook it, what spices to use, etc. Let them work out the issues.
Then, some condiments will be placed on the table. These might include peanuts infused in vinegar and spices (a personal favorite), some long white bars, that are actually pickled carrots, and some chicken feet. Try them all. It’s all good.
Then comes the tea ritual…
Tea Ritual
China has many different kinds of rituals for tea. By now, you would have experienced the business negotiations over a tea ritual that occurs at the factory in the office. This is a dinner tea ritual. Here, you use tea to wash the cups and plates.
Almost all restaurants in China have their dishes pre-sanitized and bubble wrapped for protection. This is very common, from the farthest point North to the extreme Southern end of China.
Granted, all the cups and plates are pre-sanitized. They are in these clear shrink-wrapped bubbles, that you need to break open to get the dishes out of. I typically use my chopsticks (quaizi) and punch a hole in the sealed plastic. Then tear it open with my hands. The idea is to get all the dishes out of the bubble wrap. Then, once they are out, you pour the scalding hot tea all over the dishes and utensils to clean them.
Once the dishes have been washed, you then pour the (now dirty) tea into a large clear bowl that is provided for exactly that purpose. The bowl will be passed around and then taken away by one of the waitress chicks.
Drinks
Before the food starts to arrive, there will be the decision on what kind of alcohol that you will be drinking. Typically, beer is a drink for lunches. Evenings, especially for a night of hard drinking will have to get started off right. If given the choice, I vote for red wine.
The wine in poured into a large glass carafe. One person, typically an aide of the factory boss will take on this responsible, or at the very least will instruct the waitress to do so.
Everyone who has every been to China knows about Gan Bei. This is a fundamental part of Chinese culture, and if you are unaware of it, then you really have never visited China nor participated in the culture there.
“Red wine” is drunk not like wine is drunk in the West. It is quaffed down in glasses “bottom up style”. (Gan Bei!) Typically, you will need to drink to everyone at the table individually. Then multiple times with your host. You will also be expected to drink with your aides.
There are really three ways of drinking;
Full glass (reserved ONLY for the boss and to cheer an agreement.)
Half a glass (the most common) called “ye ban de ban”.
One fourth a glass (offered about mid way though the meal) called “ye ke”.
Drinking red wine permits you to be able to stand up straight after your meal and be able to walk to the KTV without having to be supported by your aides. This is pretty important to save “face”. Though if everyone is drinking VSOP, XO or that God-forsaken 53 degree “white wine”, you will all need to be carried out.
White Wine (BaiJiu)
In China today Baijiu is drunk almost exclusively at meals, as alcohol is a very important part of Chinese dining culture. Baijiu is served in shot sized glasses and used during toasts to show respect and build relationships.
When toasting, the Baijiu glass of is gripped with both hands, with either one hand on either side, or with one hand/finger on the bottom of the glass. After a Er Guo Tou (二锅头) is a cheap type of Baijiu available every-where-toast the Baijiu is usually consumed in one gulp.
Following a toast, the glass can be turned upside down or tilted forward to display that one has consumed the entire glass, and thus give face to your friend, partner or host.
The best white wine in China is Moutai. It is pure moonshine and comes in 53%. Ugh!
If you do decide to drink VSOP or XO, make sure that it is mixed with green tea, else you will get too drunk too quickly.
One should pay attention not to raise his/her glass higher than those of the respected elders; When two glasses clink, how high people hold their glasses shows hierarchy. When the host toasts you, keep his glass higher. These insights hold true at most dinners with hierarchy, such as corporate dinners with bosses, meals with clients and multi-generation family gatherings.
Personal Note.
Some younger factory bosses or owners will get excited and try to show you respect by trying to slam dunk Gan Bei. Do not fall for it. Aside from trying to make you unable to stand up, it will completely decimate your blood fluid pressure in your nether regions. Which really sucks, if offered full-on hospitality.
Always moderate your drinking. Afew Gan Bei's are fine. Just keep it under thirty in total. In general, the rule should be occasional drinking. Have your second (in command) drink for you.
In many places in China, especially northern China, the drunker a person becomes via being toasted with Baijiu (or other liquors and alcohols) the more Face has been conferred upon them. Therefore, it can be common for visitors to China to be entertained by well-meaning Chinese hosts who are intent on showing them as must respect as possible, by getting them as drunk as possible, on an completely unfamiliar and relatively strong liquor.
Be respectful (jìng jiǔ敬酒)
jìngjiǔ 敬酒 : “respectfully proposing a drink.” People will likely toast you to show their respect and hospitality. As a foreigner, you’re not expected to do likewise, but it will be much appreciated if you do. Once you’ve started, make sure you toast everyone who might outrank you. If the people are many and you’re worried your head might not take it well, you can tick them off in twos and threes; it’s perfectly acceptable.
When someone toasts you, you should immediately stop eating and drinking to accept and toast in response. All people sitting at the same table must stand up, upon the initiative of one of the guests, and toast in succession; Remember, one should never refuse to participate in a toast. If you turn down a drink, your Chinese counterpart may feel like he has lose his face.
If you’re the one offering the toast, you’re putting yourself in an inferior position, which means you have to be the more respectful one. Thus, it’s better if you stand up and empty your cup completely. The other person may remain seated and drink just a bit, but usually they will go out of their way to show you the same respect.
Respect and “Face”
“To me, your “face” is your position and standing in the eyes of others, and it also has to do with the degree of respect you receive. Face can also be saved up over time and used to accomplish things later on. If you drove a fashionable or luxurious car to attend a friend’s party, then the majority of your friends would feel that you had face. Also, if you can achieve something through your personal contacts that others cannot through normal channels, you would also be thought to have face. You can gain face if you are praised by your boss, or if you accomplish a difficult task at work. However, if you greet others warmly at social events, but are met only with indifference, then you would lose face. Questioning someone’s ideas or opinion in a public setting would cause that person to lose face.” – James Tan, Sales Manager, Shanghai
When a client relationship is established in China, the client more often than not receives more Face in the early stages of a relationship from the “seller.” Face must be given to the client to make him or her believe that the seller is worthy of their money and time.
Sometimes giving Face to a contact entails simply words and compliments, though sometimes gifts are required and invitations to dinners, entertainment, or other social events.
To the Chinese there is a natural order in society as well as business, and if one is unwilling or unable to show the proper amount of Face to those that feel they deserve it, then one will likely be judged to not have good character. This has the potential to wreck business deals and sour relationships, so with regard to the issue of Face most Chinese business people tread with care.
Food and Eating
Now, you will need to be a little buzzed when the food is set out. In China they eat everything. So if you are a bit squeamish, you had best be fortified with strong liquor. Fish are presented with all the bones, so you must be careful and eat around them. In the USA the cook guts the fish (fillets it), and throws away the head, tail, and fins. Not so in China. They love that stuff.
The Chinese eat everything. They love the differences in flavors and textures.
Chicken will have everything thrown into one pot. This will include the entire bird from heart to legs, and everything in between. The only thing missing would be the feathers. And you, you as the host will be given the chicken head on a plate.
Cooked chicken head. All ready to eat. Enjoy yourself. Show the boss some respect and pop this sucker in your mouth and suck on it. Just make sure you had some alcoholic beverage first.
For me, I really wow everyone buy sticking the head in my mouth and sucking on it for five or ten minutes, then I spit it out in a napkin. I always get a round of drinks out of it. Personally, I think it helps make me a little strong in the bedroom area, if you know what I mean. There must be some mineral, vitamin or protein that is in the fish head that is good for older men, me thinks.
Try everything.
The single biggest cultural conflict I found was the Western rule that you should finish the food put in front of you with the Chinese rule that a guest should never be left with an empty plate or cup, and should always be urged to eat and drink. At first, I felt that I was in a contest to try to eat and drink everything they gave me, until I realized that it was acceptable for me to politely refuse to eat or drink more.
-What are the biggest cultural shocks when you visit China
The host will make sure that you bowl is filled. Unlike the United States, a full bowl is a sign that you are finished eating. In the States, we couldn’t leave the table until everything was cleaned off our plates. “Waste not, want not” is the saying I believe. Well, that doesn’t go down too well in China. I must have gained fifty pounds before I figured it out.
Make sure that food remains in your bowl.
Oh, yeah, in China it is totally fine to spit things out on your plate. So you eat some fish, you can spit the bones on the plate near you or on the table cloth. Same with the bones, grizzle, and chicken claws.
Finally, the Chinese do not use "fortune cookies". They haven't the foggiest idea what they are. Most think that it is disgusting to have written paper inside a cookie that you eat.
KTV Prep
Eventually, the bottles of wine will be empty. Everyone will be full.
The aide will gather the left over bottles. Any cigars you are smoking will be finished. The aide will call the KTV and make sure that the room is reserved. He will typically get up off from the table and call at the side of the room, or in the hallway. The boss might call the manager of the girls (they operate outside of the club), and make what ever arrangements that he has in mind.
Typically (but not always) the manager of the girls will be an attractive woman in her 30’s. Hard as nails, and no-nonsense. Most have raised up through the ranks to get where they are today. Think Sharon Stone in the movie Casino.
You build relationships with these managers. As such, you get to know them. They manage the girls and they provide promotions and arrangements as necessary.
Sometimes girls want to be with their friends. So they would only work with a client if their friend can participate. I’ve seen this with two girls, and three girl teams. The only thing about this is that you need to make sure that all of the girls are equally playful. No one wants to spend any time with a sour-puss that has some home or family issues. Or even worse, a gal who just stands there stamping her foot anxiously and demands that both girls leave. Yikes!
Sometimes the girl has had a bad run of luck, and hasn’t been selected all week. So the manager would promote the girl. Maybe offer a reduced price, or extra services, or extra-long time, or maybe cart Blanche on the activities involved in.
Sometimes the timing is really bad, as all the girls are at home during holidays, or a number of the most popular girls are sick. The manager would need to make this clear and work out arrangements that might make some of the more unpopular girls more attractive to the client.
Often, the girl might not want to be physical with you. That is fine. That is her choice. The manager will then find a girl that will want to. In general, I would rather be with a girl that is enthusiastic to be with me, than a girl I picked based on appearance. No matter what you might think, the truth is that there will always be some girls that would really want to be with you.
Now, the management fee for the girls is actually quite small. This is something that surprised me. In The United States, I was under the impression that all prostitutes had pimps and the pimp would take the vast bulk of the money the gals made. Not so in China.
Chinese girls for the most part are Han Chinese. This is the same race as the Koreans. In a like way, the Han Chinese and the Koreans are very similar. This picture is a mixture of both Korean and Chinese girls. Can you tell who is who?
The manager is paid by both the girls and the KTV. The payment amount is often quite small. Maybe a few hundred RMB a month (Maybe $30 / month). They make their money in volume, and repeat customers. If you have a troop of one hundred girls, that’s a solid $3,000 USD per month on girls alone. That is un-taxed, and keep in mind that that is actually equivalent to maybe $20,000 / month. Because the cost of living in China is much less than that in the Untied States.
Once, the girls have been introduced to the clients (as discussed later), final payment arrangements will have been established by the KTV and the manager. The money that exchanges hands goes into two batches. There is a direct “tip” that is given to the manager as a “thank you” for their services, and the transaction between the girl and the guy who selects her. In the case of the boss buying the girl, it is handled by his side. The girl gets 100% of that money.
Anyways, more about that later…
Whatever arrangements are made, eventually you will be led (oh yes, boy… you will be led) to the car and then to the KTV.
Typical Chinese KTV hostesses. They wear different outfits, and it is not unusual for them to change in and out of the different outfits all night depending on the client and the situation. I always like the “Gone with the Wind” look where the girls would dress up in these huge flowing dresses, and have their makeup all done up. It’s a real experience, let me tell you.
From that moment on, you will be given “Red Carpet” treatment. You have proven yourself. If you handled yourself well, you out drank the boss, out smoked the co-workers, and ate a chicken’s head and spit it out. You gave the boss great face. Now, it is his turn to repay the favor.
How he will give YOU face.
KTV
The KTV will be lit up like a Casino. You will typically be driven directly to the front door, and an assistant will open the door open for you to exit the car from. It is important that you take your time. Stand straight. Smile, and look around you. The manager of the girls might greet you there. Though, she would make a bee-line to the factory boss first.
You will be led into the lobby. It will be well-attired and look like the inside of a casino or movie theater from the 1920’s. Lining both sides of the lobby, and forming a path would be two lines of girls. One on our left, and one on your right. Big KTV’s might have a couple of hundred girls in the line up, while smaller KTV’s might only have a handful.
Here is a typical lineup of girls in the lobby of a KTV. This is obvious a small-town or rural business KTV. There are only a few girls and the establishment is more hotel than KTV. They girls are all wearing identical dresses and welcome you. Typically they might bow and welcome you to the KTV, while the lead girl might take your arm and lead you to the room chosen for you.
The girls will all be wearing the same style outfit. Typically a dress. It seems like the classier places have the girls wearing long gowns. The girls will all be made up, and smiling. Every time that I go through these kinds of lines, I end up getting a great big grin on my face. The girls see this and start giggling, whispering to themselves, and smiling back.
All are stunning.
Typical KTV girls. Some wear the same kinds of outfits, while others dress for the theme for the day or week. The girls need to purchase all the clothes that they wear. Most KTV’s require them to wear traditional Chinese dresses with a slit up the one leg and one shoulder bare.
Some KTV’s, especially in the smaller towns, cities and rural areas only have a few girls to choose from. You always get a better and bigger selection of girls in the bigger cities. In places like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Beijing there might have 250 to 600 girls to select from. All are stunning.
I only wish that I could have photos to post about this issue.
In fact, the demand for the girls to work is so high, that the KTV’s often have to turn away girls and charge them to work there. That’s absolutely right. They have to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of working there. However, it makes sense when you really think about it.
The girls are considered Hostesses, as they not only entertain their client during the KTV adventure, but they can sing, and dance as well. I have five years semi-professional ballroom dancing experience, and all can follow quite well. Notice the girls. They all have a darker complexion, wider noses, and shorter in statue. They are obviously from the Southern section of China.
The best way for a girl in her 20’s to meet a successful businessman, or middle manager is though a KTV. That way, she can get picked, and if she likes the man, she can stay in contact with him. Often making other arrangements. Many girls date men this way, and often have a group of guys that follow them around and give them money and such. As the guys, just like the girls, want to pick a high-quality mate.
In China, it is critical that the girls get married before they turn 28. They are considered to be non-marriageable after that date. So what the girls tend to do is spend their 20’s looking the best that they can, and doing what they can to attract the most suitable man. Otherwise, their parents will fix them up with a date. While the girl can say no, what usually happens is the girl just gives up and shrugs her shoulders and say “well, he’s good enough”.
To prevent this from happening, many girls work as KTV hostesses if they are in any way attractive.
Attractiveness is a cultural construct. The ideas of what is attractive varies from culture to culture. In China the attractive girls tend to be pale, frail, with big eyes, long black hair and a shape that is known as “fish shaped”. In the states, especially over the last decade or two, the ideas of female attractiveness has migrated towards dark skin, big pouty lips, big breasts and big asses. Which often causes some surprise to the girls who work at the KTV. They ask “why do Americans always pick the ugliest girls”?
Ideas about physical beauty vary from culture to culture. In China, the ideal is pale skin, a calm and pleasant demeanor, long black hair, big eyes, and a pleasant smile. They tend to have a fish shape for a body and walk in a calm purposeful manner.
It’s a cultural thing.
If you read my post about the r/K theory, culture and society migrates biologically towards situations that improve species survival. In the United States, it is a r-society. It is a society where there is abundance. So people act similarly to rabbits. In a K-society, like China it is a land of scarcity. So they tend to be more predatory, like wolves.
That translates into many aspects of society. One of which is conceptions of beauty.
Now, I had best make this clear right off. A hostess doe not necessarily have sex with the clients. No. Instead, they party with them. They play games with them. They drink and dance with them. If there is a mutual interest, the manager can broker a financial payment arrangement that favors the girl.
There is no guarantee that the girl will trade sex for money. In China, the girl controls what will happen. It’s all up to her. The only thing the guy gets to do is pick her out of a line up. Everything else is fully scripted and controlled by the girl.
Whether or not a girl will have sex with a client is a decision made by the girl.
Sometimes she just feels like she wants to have sex. Sometimes she doesn’t, as it might be her period, and in China this is a big no-no. Maybe she isn’t going to have sex because one of her girlfriends in the club is not having sex. Maybe she doesn’t like you. Maybe you stink, or remind her of someone else. Maybe you are too old, too young, too poor, or just too drunk. Maybe your skin color is too dark, or you are Arabic, or you showed a lack of manners. In all cases… she decides what will happen.
In any event, the girl’s manager will know exactly what is going on and will steer more willing and able girls your way if need be.
The KTV rooms are often lavish. They are nice and typically dark so that all kinds of activities and things can occur. The bosses aide will get the thing going by talking to the room manager and arranging for food and drink to be brought forth.
When you enter the KTV, you will typically walk through the gauntlet of girls, totally overwhelmed, and be led to your KTV room. These are nice private rooms with bathroom facilities, food trays and all sorts of drinks. As you go in, you pick a seat and make yourself at home.
Soon enough, they will start bringing the girls in. They will bring them in at 20 a time. They girls will parade in front and form a line. Then upon command they will turn around so that you can see their back. They will then strike a pose. There are numerous poses that they take on. All are very becoming and quite attractive.
Chinese KTV Hostesses waiting in readiness for a line up. Typically they get together and stage themselves in an empty KTV room or in the hallway.
Nothing out of Jerry Springier, and no fat girls waving their enormous spandex tight asses. That is reserved for President Obama’s America. No. Here, the girls are demure, polite and act respectful. After all, day in and day out, they are paraded in front of factory bosses, internet CEO’s, Directors of banks, and other managers of high regard. They want to look their best, and be their best.
Contrary what the news media or the internet might say, China is not a “sex monger” paradise. It just isn’t. China is a nation of hard working nerds. If you want to experience some of the rewards of hard work, labor and study, then come to China. Otherwise and else look elsewhere.
These girls will smell a fake a mile away. You had best be working hard. Show that you know your stuff, and are willing to provide fun and entertainment to your business contacts. China is all about hard work, and relationships. If you are willing to work hard, and have built up a presence in China, and going to a KTV would be your reward.
The Scheme
In general, you can select a person to have a good time with. If you are a guy, this would be a girl. If you are a girl, this would be a guy. You pay them, maybe 300 RMB ($50) and they will play games with you, sing with you, dance with you, and talk with you. This is all over China. It’s common from Bars, to clubs, to hotels to KTV’s. It’s a great way to pass the time, and make some new friends.
The difference is that at a Business KTV, the girls are also willing to spend more (ahem) quality time with you afterwards. They also tend to be more frisky. Heh heh.
All for a price, don’t you know…
Age
The age of the girls differs from most other KTV and bar avenues. Inside a business KTV, the girls are expected to provide a service. That means, that they are forbidden to sit there and play on their cell phone once they are selected. That means that they must play with the client, and monitor his drink intake. It means that they must control the environment so that he has a good time and does not lose any face. Young girls are too inexperienced, or not mature enough for this level of responsibility.
The girls in a business KTV are typically between 22 and 29 years of age. I would guess that the highest percentage of them are around 23 to 25 years old.
The girls that you will encounter as Hostesses in a Business KTV in China will tend to be attractive, and stunning. These girls are really high quality, young and intelligent.
Girl Selection
The most important thing, and the only thing that you have any degree of control over is the selection of the Hostess. Pick the girl that strikes your fancy. If she is in the first line up, so be it. I typically get a girl by the time the third line up enters. I mean, goodness, if you cannot find an attractive girl when 60 attractive females are paraded in front of you, then you are useless.
You can ask the girls to turn around so you can see their backsides.
You can also ask which ones speak any English. Though, for the most part the KTV’s are loud and noisy. So we just use YouDou or WeChat to translate. In any event, you want a girl that you will have fun with.
During the selection process the girls will typically all have a number pinned to their dress. This number is the number of the girl and is used for billing purposes. There will also be variations in color. The color range is usually based on three stages; cheap, middle, and expensive. Maybe yellow, green and red for example. As an American, my tastes do not match those of a Chinese man. So, as a result, a cheap priced girl I might find fantastically alluring, while an expensive priced girl might be too thin or pale for my tastes. In any event, if the boss is paying your way. Price is no object.
The girl will remove the number shortly once she settles down with a client. Generally, she will continue to wear the introductory dress for the first hour or so, then she will live to the locker room and change into her day to day clothes. High-end girls will typically change into a nice party dress, while more “regular” girls will change into street clothes. This might be a sweater and a pair of jeans or something similar.
Often, I have been given the opportunity to select two girls, and even three, to play with. But, you know, I am just a man. I am not a machine.
I am a man. I am not a machine.
Now, this is not the USA. You can play with the girls and you most certainly will. Throughout China, the girls are hand’s on. Meaning that you can pretty much explore their entire body with your drunk roaming hands. Now that pretty much remains the case whether or not you take them to the room upstairs with you.
However, please take note, that a slimy drunk slob is not someone that any of the Hostesses would want to spend any time in the room (or bed) with. So, as a rule, I for the most part remain a gentleman, and only initiate sexual contact when edged on by the other boss, or if presented with that opportunity by the girl herself.
That being said, depending on the time, place, and the situations, sometimes the girls might elect to go semi-nude. They will take off their dress and be with you only wearing their panties. Unlike the United States, the rest of the world doesn’t have the same kind of taboos about woman’s’ breasts that Americans have. So if this is indeed the case, just enjoy and have a good time.
It will be a good time.
About the Girls
The Chinese culture is not the same as American culture is. It is very traditional. Girls expect a traditional man, and they take on traditional roles. In their young years, from around 18 to around thirty, the girls will concentrate on building a career (if that is their preference) and attracting a mate. In today’s society, the female is expected to be married, take care of a family and have a baby.
It sounds so strange to us Americans.
For we have had decades of new progressive values rammed down our collective throats. We have been taught that men and woman (as well as just about all of the other 64 genders) have the same values and interests. We are taught that it is very sexist to be attracted to a pretty girl. We are taught that looking at an attractive girl is the same as raping her. We are taught that men don’t own women, and the highest complement that a woman can have is to be superior to a man in every way possible.
It’s no wonder that America is the way it is today.
Meanwhile the rest of the world has traditional values. Women are taught to be attractive. They want to be attractive. They want to be ladylike, and they yearn to become a mother with a family and a man that supports them. They learn how to budget for a family. They know how to cook, care for sick family members, and do what ever it takes to support the man to earn and make money. For in a traditional society, the man is the bread-winner. The wife tends to the home. She tends to the family, and she tends to her man.
In China, young women do what ever they can to increase their chances for finding “Mr. Right”. Though, in Chinese terms, this doesn’t really equate to heart-felt love. Instead it equates to finding a good strong “family man” who will work hard, support the family, and support her family. In a like way, Chinese men feel the same way. They want to become the strong man in charge of the family. They want to be able to provide for their family. They want to participate in the education and growth of their children.
The ladies spend hours getting ready for work.
Prior to showing up at work, typically around four or five, the ladies will be at a hair salon. They will get their hair all fixed. They will have their nails done, and have a professional makeup artist apply the makeup. There is an entire sub-culture of salons that cater only to the KTV trade in this respect. Once all dressed up, they make their way to the KTV and clock in. There, they go to their lockers and see which dresses and outfits that they are assigned to wear for the day.
In Shenzhen, you can often see these gals in the salons in Louhu village getting ready for the night’s adventures.
Once everything gets settled, the lights might come on so that people can check their phones, and notice where the chargers are. As all girls have the latest in cell phone technology. All rooms are fully Wifi enabled. They will typically get out of their costumes and put on party clothes so that they can be more comfortable with the clients. Here, you can see that the girls have changed out of their formal costumes and are wearing their outside clothes. In this case, mostly short party dresses.
The girls typically share an apartment with another girl or two. If they have a string of men that support them, they might have their own apartment that is provided to them by a love-struck hopeful. It’s not really an issue, as typically the men only visit China once every three or four months. They can rearrange their busy schedule (and trust me, for some gals, it is really busy) and make time for their one man to visit China.
Girl Types
The girls are semi-predictable.
Chinese ladies are very beautiful when they are 22 years old. They know how to take care of themselves, and spend a lot of time to look well and dress properly.
The youngest girls at a Business KTV will be no younger than 21 years old typically. The younger girls, of course, use the money they earn for new clothes, phones, and fashion. They tend to make many blunders. They often lose their phones, get too drunk, and get tangled up with bad people. Somehow they always seem to brush it off adroitly. This means that they might end up trying some drugs, or having their money stolen, or get into a fight with another girl. The younger gals that I know are usually out of the business after one or two years. These girls tend to get pregnant really young, maybe 23 years old. In China having a baby under 28 is considered very young.
Girls in their middle 20’s, say 25 to 27, who have already been doing this for a few years have decided to earn money for their own purposes. They are fully ready to get married and channel all their money into looking good and snagging as many hopeful men as possible.
Here is a selection of “typical” 25 year old girls in China. Also just as beautiful as their younger counterparts. However, at this age, they are much more focuses and motivated in finding a good mate and establishing a good family.
The girls in their middle-20’s, if they have the beauty, they migrate to the cities and go to the very expensive KTV’s. Here they can make enormous amounts of money, as well as meet some very powerful people. Again, the end goal is to get married to a “good man” (by Chinese standards) and have a family by the time they are 28.
Those who are older than this, typically are focused on setting up their own business. For one reason or another, they no longer rely on the objective of having a man provide for their family and children. They believe that they can do it on their own. Their objective is thus different. It is to set up their own business, where they can control the finances, and establish a family. This could be anything from their own hair salon, fashion boutique, or food franchise. I have met a girl who owns a number of famous Western franchises in China. I don’t know about you guys, but it would take me a century to save up to buy a McDonald’s franchise on an engineering salary.
Here is a selection of some Chinese ladies that have reached thirty years of age. The Chinese female form certainly ages well. At this point in time of their life, they have decided to move forward on their life alone, and career, business and other pursuits take precedence over finding a mate.
Most of the managers of the girls fit this last profile.
The parties can get rather crazy. However, mostly I would say that they are pretty stable affairs, with drinking, singling and playing games of dice. The most popular game is a game of five dice in a small red plastic cup. You shake the cup and the person who loses has to drink. There are various games that fit within this framework. All are similar and structured the same way; to get drunk.
When a boss goes to a Business KTV, he can let his hair down, relax and have a good time. He can eat, sing and enjoy the friendship of an attractive female companion. What is not to like?
Other games include burning a tissue holding the dice in a cup, number games, and of course singing. I cannot sing Chinese songs very well, so Duets are out of the question. But I can sing numerous Chinese songs which surprises the ladies. However, all in all, I like to sing American songs.
A little beer is definitely in order (and is usually cheap) so order some Tsing Tao and get to work. In the KTV, it is perfectly fine to start drinking beer. Though I am often entangled with some younger Chinese managers to drink beer until they pass out. I usually have none of that nonsense, and ask my companion to take over for me. I am a boss, I don’t need to prove that I can drink.
Certainly not using beer. It is like water to me.
If you don’t like singing the girls will often sing to you and sometimes they’re pretty good (they get lots of practice). There are various games. I like to play the games with dice, which is a drinking game. One game involves covering a glass with tissue and taking turns burning the tissue to see who will cause a die on the paper to fall. They also really like playing rock paper scissors. (The American version comes from China.)
My preferred American songs include groups such as Aerosmith, and country and western singers. Ah, many a night the ladies would have to endure me singing Oasis’s song “Wonderwall”, and “She ain’t Right”, by Lee Brice. Of course, you must have the girls belt out a tearful love song or two. This is mandatory, and make sure that you fuss over them. It is the closest way that any Chinese lady will express any emotion.
Remember, the KTV environment is a “safe space” where the individual is protected and permitted to let “it all out”. They can be crazy. They can be emotional. They can be and live the fantasy that they want.
At some point a guy or a gal is going to come in with a cart full of goodies… little snacks and stuff like that. It’s cheap by American standards so don’t worry. For us locals, well, we tend to think of it as expensive and pricey.
High end joints will have a cigarette girl wearing a crotch-high cute dress and a little bell-boy pill-box hat. They will have a wooden tray in front with all kinds of cigarettes and cigars (from Cuba no less). I always like to get a cigar, and (since this is China) no one would dare disrespect me (and lose face) by telling me not to smoke it.
Nude and Playful
Sometime during your evening you may also be offered a strip tease show by one or more girls. (Typically, all the girls would participate.) It costs extra, find out how much before you buy. For the longest time I refused these opportunities, as well as two-somes and group-fun. Now, I never refuse. You can keep all that Puritanism and shove it up where the sun don’t shine.
Now, of course, this is not like what you would expect in the United States. No girl will get at a pole and strip off her clothes to the music. Nope. Instead, the girls will just undress right there on the sofa next to you. They will be fully nude except for panties and high heels. There are pretty quick about it too. They just kind of slinky out of their dress and sit there smiling.
Expect a bare minimum of 10-15 minutes of full contact fun. This will include lap dancing and other playful antics. Truthfully, once started, it actually tends to last all night. Hey! No problem.
The policy is “please touch” unlike the in the US where that will get your ass kicked by a steroid abusing meathead bouncer. However, in China it’s ok. And I like it that way. (This is true even if they still have their clothes on. You can roam all over their bodies as you desire. This is China for goodness sakes!)
Of course, you need not get too hot and bothered. Many of the girls will grab your crotch and try to guess the size of your member in length, girth, width and stamina. For instance, you might be with one girl, and another girl will sit on your other side and start feeling your nether regions and adjusting things down there for you. (Personally, I think it is their way to judge how much they can make off you later on…LOL.)
It’s sorta like an appetizer for things later on, or (perhaps) used to entice you to pay up for a “long-time” girl. Anyways, it really doesn’t matter. In a business KTV the boss host will pay for everything. So agree to it.
Parties can be fun
So everybody is well fed, well drunk and you’ve had your fill of beer, karaoke, weird Chinese snacks and strip shows – now what? It’s up to you… usually. Sometimes, depending on the arrangement with the girls manager, the parties can get really fun, as these two videos can attest…
The girls will typically have a good time. Their enjoyment is directed by their manager, who works out what ever arrangement that is proper with the host boss. They will be edged on by the other girls who might inspire playful acts of a sexual nature and other curious events. The basic idea is to get drunk. Lower your inhibitions and have a good time.
As these videos attest, being with a cute gal getting drunk and playing around is a great reward for an ambitious boss.
The KTV is a refuge. It is a controlled environment where a person can become someone else and behave differently. In China, everyone wears a mask. This is a face (mingzi) that defines their role and how they conduct their business. For many bosses they only have two roles; Boss and Family head. Each time, they must exist within that role.
They come home and the wife and the children expect the father to be a traditional father. He will play with the children. He will help them learn. He will support the wife and take care of things that she needs help with. He will do this within the role and the face that he must wear.
Then, he goes to work. He puts on the Boss face. Here there is actions and behaviors that he is culturally restrained to follow. He must maintain that appearance. He must always be calm and collected and stern and in control.
The problem is…
There is never an opportunity for him to let loose and be himself. Never. Never, that is until he goes to a KTV. There, once he is inside the doors, he is in a world where he can be himself. It is a protected world. The doors are closed and sealed. Guards protect the people inside. Female entertainment is provided, and if the KTV is half decent, the girls are vetted to make sure they do not prey on the clients.
In a KTV environment, the boss gets to “let his hair down” which is a very difficult thing to do in the Asian culture. In Western cultures everyone is “doing their own thing”. Not so in Asia. Thus the need for a release value where a hard working alpha male can have a release from the stress of life.
He eats, drinks and is merry. Then he can go upstairs to the hotel room and have a nice long happy ending with the girl that he had selected. Else, she might ride home with him to a different hotel. All of which is under the helpful and watchful eyes of his aides, the girls and KTV managers, and the security guards that are stationed for protection.
THe KTV is a place for fun.
Now who doesn’t like to smoke, drink, sing and dance with pretty girls? It’s a rare person indeed. When I grew up we used to have keg parties in the woods and we always would sing, and carry on. We always loved it when the girls would play with us and have fun. This is universal.
Pricing
Of course everything comes at a price. If you are being given hospitality, you won’t need to pay for anything. However, it is always a good thing to have an idea of what the costs will be like. The days of $50 USD for dinner and all-night sex are long over. Never the less, you should understand that if you are given this kind of hospitality, you are expected to be “worth the investment”.
Renting the room will vary from a few thousand RMB to 20,000 RMB and up.
Just having a pretty girl to be with you and play will vary from 300 RMB to 750 RMB for four hours.
Stripped down playfulness might cost you another 500 to 2000 RMB.
Drinks are usually provided as part of a “meal plan” where beer and drinks are provided with snacks. This will cost from 500 RMB to 7000 RMB.
The girl will run from 600 RMB to 5000 RMB for a “short time” with “one shot”. Multiple shots and longer periods of time (longer than 40 minutes) can be negotiated.
“Long time” girls will be double that.
Thus, it should be understood that the boss could easily spend 60,000 RMB for you to have fun with and provide you hospitality. This is $10,000 USD. Do not take the hospitality lightly, and don’t insult his face in the process.
Singing
All KTV’s have a huge big-screen television that is hooked up to the KTV machine. It is a touch activated screen that you can pick a song out of. The songs are provided along with some kind of cheap video (if the actual MTV video is not available). Ask your English speaking aide to assist you.
The screen to select the KTV songs is a touch activated device. There are different systems in use. But, all use a basic search engine technique and basic controls. You can search by name of song, artist, album, year, gender, theme, emotion, and a host of other criteria. These devices have everything from children’s songs to songs suitable for grandparents.
Typically, I carry in my wallet a list of groups, singers and songs that I can program and search for in the KTV. Else, you would have a dickens of a time trying to think of a song to sing. The environment is noisy and the songs that the other people are all singing are Chinese. So you will have a real hard time thinking of a song.
Once you pick out a song, you can adjust the percentage of the vocals to sing along with. It can be anywhere from 100% (as in listening to the full song) where you just sing along, to 0%, where the only vocals are your own. Personally, I like around 60% that way it doesn’t sound so bad. No one really cares how well you can sing. They just want to see you release emotion. As that is the entire purpose of a KTV in the first place.
The reverb and sound can be adjusted with echo and other effects. I personally don’t like the effect. However, others do. You just go with the flow and use the presets unless someone else says differently.
There are decades of technology behind this. Today, you can connect to the KTV player and sing to songs on your smartphone. You can search the internet, if there aren’t any songs on the local hard drive. You can do all kinds of things. HERE is a link to one manufacturer that makes these devices.
Dancing
Often people get up and start dancing. You know, the Chinese are often nerds, and so the girls and the guys will get us and shake their body to the music. Not me. I took five years of professional ballroom dancing lessons. I can dance.
Which surprises the heck out of the girls.
It’s a happy and welcome surprise. These girls are trained and experienced Hostesses. they can follow my lead in dancing, and it is a real pleasure. We do the foxtrot, the merengue, the waltz, the two step and of course the Rumba and Tango. You know, for a guy like myself, just being able to dance, with a experienced and qualified partner is worth everything.
Now, the ballroom dances are very popular in China. Often huge classes are held outdoors in the empty plazas in front of the malls and such. People dance and learn the movements on their own. But, to dance with a partner is just… magical.
I typically start out rather easy with a two-step or something basic. If they can follow well, then it eventually evolves into a tango. There, I like to get really dramatic, and the girls really get into it as well. It is truly amazing. There is something about booze, sex and dancing that brings out the raw emotion in us all.
Dancing the tango. It’s a dance of battle and wits. Once led properly, the woman can release and let herself go. She becomes the dance. The experience becomes magical.
And for the girls…
Now, you shouldn’t be under the opinion that China is a sexist nation. It’s not. Everyone is equal here. Just like the male Bosses can go to a KTV and pick out an attractive girl to play with, a female boss can go to a KTV and pick out an attractive boy to play with.
For some reason, one that I am unsure of, the KTV boys that service the ladies all dress in white. Everything is white. They tend to be in their twenties to mid thirties. They, just like the ladies have their own network of clients and “favorites”. Often the wealthy female boss would buy expensive presents for the boys. For instance, a Ferrari, or a Lamborghini.
Yes… they are that wealthy.
The men who take on the Host role for the female bosses would all dress in white. They would look something like this. All would be thin, well groomed and attired.
The guys typically defoliate their entire body except for the head so that there isn’t any hair. None have facial hair. They are also impeccably attired and very very clean. They take classes in how to dance, talk and make interesting small talk. Once they are chosen by the female boss, they give her every attention.
There are those who have ended up doing drugs, but for the most part, they try to keep clean and sober. They will drink but really do everything they can so that they will not embarrass their client.
The number of guys to girls ratio is smaller. If the KTV would have maybe 600 girls, it might employ only ten or so guys. The need for guys, while present, is not as great as a demand that exists for the girls. Often the guys would be friends with the girls and there would be many dates and fun times together outside of work. Both hosts and hostesses know how to have a good time so the time together tends to be of high quality.
In many ways these guys are very typical of the male version of the female Hostesses of the KTV’s in China. A well-heeled female boss can expect to have her pick for a companion for the night.
Typically, but not always, the same manager for the girls would manage the boys.
The boys can make much more money than the ladies do. If they find a rich and maybe lonely female boss, they can easily earn a couple of million dollars a year. (Seriously!) The females that hire these men are typically 40 years old and up. Many are millionaires, and some are even billionaires.
The young men who do work in the KTV’s tend to be very popular. They have cultivated their skills, and do everything that they can to be a pleasing and suitable companion to wealthy Chinese clientele.
China does not discriminate between girls and guys. While most KTV’s maintain a contingent of girls, there are those that have a mixtures of girls and guys, and even some that are guys only. The men, typically in their twenties are all handsome, well groomed, (clean) and attractive. They (at least the ones I am familiar with) wear all white. (It’s a Shenzhen thing, I hear.) The situation and selection for them is the same. The only difference is that what a woman finds attractive in a rent-a-boy is different than what a guy finds of interest in a rent-a-girl.
They also tend to be rather torturous with the young men. I have heard stories of the women getting the guy so worked up and horny and not permitting him to ejaculate. And sit there, with their friends, enjoying him suffer. They would make sure that he would take the necessary medicine to get an erection and drive him insane with desire. Then watch him pine away in agony.
I have heard stories of women burning parts of the boys skin with cigarettes and melting hot wax and pouring hot oil on parts of their bodies. Some can be rather cruel. I have no idea why this is so. Maybe they are tying to get back at the male gender for some reason or the other.
I understand that some KTV’s allow the boys to mix up their outfits somewhat. This is only hearsay. The KTV’s that I know of have a strict all-white dress code to prevent confusion. I have heard that some allow certain exceptions to the dress code so as to be on the cutting edge of fashion.
Certain KTV’s permit the boys to accessorize their uniform and costumes somewhat. As in China, the boys do not have the same kinds of freedoms that the girls have when it comes to the working environment and dress codes.
My former Marketing Manager thought that having an attractive man to tend to her every need was a good thing. She really enjoyed the company. I can confirm this two times, let me tell you…
Your Aide / Wingman
A very important part of your visit to a business KTV is to have an aide or wingman to look after you. They will make sure that you are registered into the room, and that your passport will not get lost or misplaced. They will keep an eye out for you and help you out of the KTV room when it is time to go.
Going to the Room
They will help you and the girls into the elevator and you will ride it to your floor. It will be something like this video below. The girls will take the lead and show you where the room is and help you get settled. They will open the door with the card key and place the card in the activation slot.
It will be like this if there are two or more girls with you…
Otherwise, if you are just going with one girl. It might be a little like this..
The girls will file into the room and my aides will collect my gear and keep it safe with him. I will retain my glasses and cell phone. Then we will call it a night.
My aides will then go off to their own individual rooms with their companions. And I will be left alone with the girls. The girls will typically find a outlet to plug and charge their cell phones with. They will check their WeChat, and confirm any last minute messages. Often they will have other guys (fans?) sending them messages that they need to respond to. I just let them take a few minutes to get settled.
Turning In
The girl or girls get settled in. If you are there with three girls, typically two will rest in the other bed and you will be with one girl. Then they will take turns with you. If we are all too drunk it is simply a matter of passing out for five or so hours. Otherwise, showers are used and everyone gets clean.
Don’t trust the bath towels. I don’t care if they are sanitized. You use them everywhere except down in the groin area. Trust me, you don’t want to get the clap or some other serious illness. Use a condom.
Brush your teeth.
Make sure that you take your eye glasses off, or they might get broke while you are romping and playing around.
If you really like the girl, get her WeChat, so that you can get together again in the future.
Sometimes, you just want to decompress for a bit before you engage in any kind of sexual activity. When this happens I like to see where they are from and so I ask all kinds of questions about their hometown and the food that they eat. Often we talk about life and dreams. I’ve had more than a few chats about bitcoin, setting up international trade, and tax/tariff laws in the United States. Honestly I was really impressed with one gal who had a dog grooming business and a massage parlor on the side. She had her act going on.
Some of the girls are quite wild and experienced, but I am just a rather boring old Joe. So we just keep things simple, which in a way is kind of a relief to the girls. Now, keep in mind, that if you are there with multiple girls make sure that they are all EQUALLY engaged, or else the one who has been neglected all night will want to leave – thus spoiling all the fun.
Sometimes the girl will leave behind a trinket or two for you to remember them by. That’s a nice thought, but I just throw them away. If I don’t have their WeChat contact information, I probably won’t ever see them again.
The Next Day
You wake up. Your mouth tastes like a soggy ash-tray. The sink is usually stained from purple colored vomit (wine and dinner debris), and the girls are ready to finish you up for the day. While the girls are waking up, you go to the bathroom. Brush your teeth, get ready, and then go back to bed.
There will always be the “eager beaver” who will want to be first on. So let it be. Just make sure that the other girls get some. At this point, I cannot stress hard enough the importance in controlling your alcohol tolerance and the necessity of being ready for the morning festivities. Reliance on little blue pills will not cut it alone.
Eventually you will all be finished and exhausted, no doubt.
You all say good bye to each other and just lay there while your aides and managers wake up. They will tend to give you a call and then you will meet the boss again for breakfast. I would advise Jiu; congee which is made from rice. It’s a kind of rice porridge out of pork or chicken. Put something warm in your stomach for goodness sakes.
My preferred meal after a long hard night of drinking and fun is to have some nice warm congee. Often, we will eat dumplings and doujung with this as well.
Then get ready for the trip back home…
Crackdowns
Sometime around 2013 and 2014, China really started to crack down on these establishments. Entire cities in DongGuan were affected. Today they exist, but are very quiet. More like American “speakeasy’s” of the 1920’s. It doesn’t really matter though. As long as the boss has the name and card of the manager for the girls, she can direct him to the appropriate KTV venue.
While “Happy endings” for massages are legal, trading sex for money overtly is not. There are various “work-a-rounds”, as not once has sex been eliminated from the needs of the human condition.
A few years back, the business KTV’s were everywhere, public and out in the open. Today, they are found hidden. They went “underground”. Also, industry has matured somewhat. You will not find so many foreigners invited to Business KTV’s as they used to be. Most Business KTV’s tend to be reserved for Chinese businessmen, as America has gotten the reputation (in China) for being Puritanical concerning smoking, drinking, singing, dancing and sex.
As a foreigner, you now need to explain that you would like to sing, and dance with pretty girls. Otherwise, the boss might provide you with Western-style hospitality. Which might be a cup of tea, a cookie and a handshake.
The Myth of the Poor Little Waifs
Many people talk about the poor young girls sold into forced slavery and prostitution. They talk about the terrible stories, and how demeaning it is. They speak as an expert because they have read about these situations. They know all about it, it seems. CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, and the Guardian has told them that this is the case…
"Ever think that these girls are kidnapped and basically sex slaves that most of the money they are making isn’t going to mamma sans, that they are forced into situations where they are sexually abused and raped. Maybe some sit on the streets talking on the phone but that’s the lucky ones. Human trafficking is a huge problem in china. I think your article is really insensitive and quite sexist, not as bad as “women who wear revealing clothes deserved to be raped” but still misses the fact that they might be doing this against there will!" -Wallimo
Wow! How do you know all about this? Have you ever been to China? Do you even have a passport? How do you know that this is actually the case, or are you just regurgitating some bullshit that you read? I would argue the latter, most certainly.
Oh, and they are not called “mamma sans” for Christ’s sake. They are called 女经理, or if you prefer lăobănniáng. What the fuck is “three horse horse”?
I’m in China. I’ve been living here for a long, long time. I do happen to know many of these girls. I mean it. I fucking know them. I talk with them. I eat meals with them. I go to parks with them. I’ve even helped them pick out shoes to wear. They are not some poor abused and misused waif. There might be some, Oh, maybe 0.000000000000001% chance. However, it is the exception and NOT the rule.
"Wallimo, only a very daft person couldn’t tell the difference between a self-interested gold digging KTV hostess and a sex slave.
Everyone is aware of the human rights dilemma in China in the sex trade in particular, but even if you visited the seediest parlors and saunas from Shanghai to Lhasa, you’d probably never come across even one sex slave.
In other words, they are vastly outnumbered by girls who are willing to enter the industry for personal gain, and what’s more, they are typically trafficked into different types of establishments, mostly catering to repeat customers.
We’ve heard that finger-wagging rhetoric so much that most of us just get annoyed when people spout off on those holier-than-thou guilt trips." From Disporia-ChinaSmack
Yeah. Those of us with REAL experiences are tired of the ignorant and their “holier than thou” attitude.
If all you read is from CNN, WaPo, and the Guardian you might be convinced that the world is going to be taken over by sex-dolls, and that sexual slavery runs rampant throughout the world. Who thinks up THIS nonsense? That, and that Donald Trump is a Russian spy, that you will keel over and die from a zombie outbreak of bird flu from Hong Kong, and we are all going to die by global warming.
Personally, I am so sick and tired of being lied to, manipulated, and having my emotions put through the wringer. It’s all nonsense used to control YOU. Don’t fall for it.
Social Justice Warriors, how’s it working out for ya? You getting the needed changes in society to make it as attractive as you desire it to be?
That’s not the truth. None of it is. Not by a long shot.
Parroting what you have been programmed to believe is far below your potential. If you’ve got something good to say and to contribute then I would welcome your contribution. Here are some areas to start off with…
What is the going rate for a short-time in Daliang?
How much does it cost to have the hair done and fingernails done at 5pm in Shenzhen, Louhu?
Where do the girls get the costumes? And who does the alterations?
What is the busiest time in the year for Business KTV’s?
When the girl agrees to a contract at a Business KTV, what is the duration?
What is the best day to work during the week?
Which days are the girls permitted to take off?
Can the KTV provide dorms and a minimum salary, or are there free-lance considerations?
What is the girls locker room like in a Business KTV?
Where a dorm is offered, what are the sleeping arrangements, and how are the meals prepared?
If you are unable to answer any of these FUNDAMENTAL and most basic questions, than you actually know jack-shit about this industry and culture. So do not lecture me on something that you read out of a UK tabloid, or an Op Ed from a liberal American media outlet.
A Very Good Story
I have posted, on this blog, the ramblings of a “pimp” for these girls who work the KTV scene. If you want to read about this some more, then please go HERE.
Opinions of Others
Yeah, I spent the time churning this post out. I took the time to do it. I paid the money to host it. Now you, the lucky reader, can read it. Woo woo.
I have gone on to other blogs and have read the comment sections where people have torn up a guy for relating his experiences. Most of the time, the comments are juvenile with such things as you might expect. “These girls are prostitutes.” And “I would never set foot into a KTV, the music sucks.”,and “They are abused poor waifs”. OK, whatever.
I personally do not want to hear the opinions of someone who have never stepped out of the Untied States and is making judgements based upon their limited understandings of reality. If all you can relate about is the inside of a Bo Jangles, and your idea of hard work is coding software then you have no business being here. This place is not for you.
You don’t belong here.
You all can all go eat your pork rings, drink your expensive Starbucks coffee, and service your 400 pound overweight pink-haired ambiguous-gender friend. You can believe in reptilians taking over the government, the next war the United States will have “for Democracy”, and get ready for the global warming that will melt the ice caps. Good for you. That is your reality.
This is mine.
You want to comment. Good. Remember that here, I am GOD. So remember who you are dealing with. Unless you are kind, and civil I won’t publish anything you say. So it might be best for you to swallow your bile and leave.
The world is filled with ignorant busybodies who want to make the world a perfect place in their own image. The problem is that their image is one that is forged thought the media. And, folks, the media in the United States is controlled by five people. That’s it. Five people control every fucking thing you read. So what you are actually doing is being a puppet for the wealthy who control you, control your thoughts and control your life.
So be it.
Call me all kinds of names. I know quite a bit more about our universe and our reality. So don’t get too hot and bothered with my thoughts, experiences and opinions. For as far as you know, I’m just bound for Hell.
Of course, you don’t have to accept what I have to report. You can just read propaganda from the news media. Here’s a good example, out of the UK (why am I not surprised?) about DongGuang. Read the article.
Inside Dongguan, China's Sin City
Some 10 per cent of Dongguan's population is said to be employed in the world's oldest profession. Tom Phillips reports from China's Sin City.
In the article, they said 10% of the city population was involved in prostitution. Wow. That’s a lot. A lot!
Let’s break that down…
Which means, that if the vast bulk of the prostitutes are female, then nearly 20% of the females in this city region are prostitutes. ( assuming a ratio of 50/50 of men and women.) If you further narrow down prostitution to be females between the ages of 14 and 40, then this article, were it to be believed, means that you would have a near 65% chance of any girl between the ages of 14 and 40, including married women as being full-on prostitutes.
You couldn’t walk down a street without seeing a prostitute in most of the ladies you walk by. You couldn’t have a coffee or tea without sharing a table with one. You couldn’t buy groceries without meeting one. You couldn’t ride a bus without seeing about half the bus as prostitutes.
Think people. Think.
God, what a slimy article, and what slimy photos. Did they even go there? Why did they pick the sleaziest section, with the sleaziest people? Anyways, they have a photo to “prove” sexual slavery of children takes place. Here it is… Look at the pitiful small babies sold into prostitution. Why, they are certainly elementary-school age!
This photo is given as proof that sexual slavery and child prostitution is “rampant” in the industrial capital of Dongguang. Look at these three children. Why they are missing their school classes and won’t be able to perform basic mathematics! How horrible! My Goodness!
Did they give locations, names, and facts?
Any statements that they made, are they backed up with hard information?
For an in-depth article, what details have they provided, such as demographics, industry, times, income data, social concerns, statements from the local police, statistics, and the like?
All of the hard information is all missing. It’s just one of a thousand fluff-pieces designed to change the mass consciousness of the reader toward certain assumptions.
Now for some comparisons. Maybe you don’t like what I wrote. Maybe you think that I am a deplorable ass hole. Maybe you want to clutch on to your most cherished fantasy…
Well then, which article (this [1] blog post, or [2] the UK newspaper article) was more
Informative to you personally?
Which one would better serve you to write a report, or
investigate further issues, or
spiked your interest towards different cultures and ways of life?
Which one gave you a better perception of the reality of what is going on?
Which article is more complete, fulfilling and worthwhile reading?
Which article gave you a more fuller and comprehensive picture?
Which article did you learn something new from?
What are the girls like?
Every trip is different. However, the girls tend to be attractive and high energy. Unlike the stereotypical image of Asians, most gals in China tend to be very curvy, sweet and very attractive. Sort of like these mini-videos can attest to.
Summary
This was a compilation of information that is sorely lacking on the internet; information regarding “Business KTV’s” in China. It is a huge industry, it employs millions, there isn’t one single factory or business boss that hasn’t gone to one. Everyone knows about it. But… But no one ever talks about it. Those that try, are often shouted down by the ignorant and the legions of enraged SJW who want to make the world perfect with unicorns prancing under a rainbow hued sky.
Well, now you know.
You know, knowledge is a good thing. Overall, I think that it is refreshing to hear the truth about things rather than live a lie painted by others. That’s how you grow, experience life, and make decisions upon.
Now while the Business KTV has a degree of prostitution, you should not be blinded by that sole aspect of it. The true and real purpose of a Business KTV is to reward high performing bosses and talent for contributions to the company.
Do you think that Alibaba, and Huawei got to be so big by giving their high performers paperclips and cheap pens with logos?
Is a Business KTV good or bad? I don’t know.
Seriously, the thought that I would be rewarded with a fun night with other bosses really motivates me. That is far superior to the ball-point pen with a logo that said “Success is a way of life” that Magnavox gave me for saving the company five million dollars.
It is also superior to the coupon for a free coffee at Tim Hortons that Pollak gave me for designing, producing, and perfecting the E-ETRESS system.
I personally think that it is far superior to the corporate note pad with the company logo on it that I got out of Delco Electronics for perfecting a remotely programmable SIMM on the ECM modules.
When you work and toil in your corporate job, look at how they reward you.
What motivates you to work harder? Which is the better reward for skipping vacations, working overtime with no monetary benefit, and working weekends? Which is the better reward when you save the company a few million dollars?
I think that the Chinese system is superior.
Important Notes
Never refuse the offer for a dinner or KTV. While the boss might accept and agree to work with you, it will be done so reluctantly with a “clothespin on his nose”. As you have insulted him, his factory / business, and the Chinese culture.
Understand that the arrangements for a dinner, KTV room, and girls have already been arranged days a head of time. To think or expect otherwise is an insult to the boss who places a great deal of time and effort into the meeting with him.
Going to a KTV does not guarantee any kind of sexual encounter. That is up to the participants and the environment. Remember, it is the girl that decides what will happen.
If you are unwilling to do business in China using Chinese industrial norms, then you should expect the consequences. Don’t, for the love of God, be the “Ugly American“.
Take Aways
KTV’s are popular in China.
The business KTV’s cater to bosses. They have their own ways of doing things.
Both women and men can enjoy themselves at a Business KTV.
There is the potential for sexual pleasures at such a KTV, but it is not guaranteed.
Visiting such an establishment can be expensive, thus they are typically only reserved for special occasions and special business relationships.
Female hostesses work at a KTV for various reasons. The most common is to find a mate with a good job and a steady income. You go to where the best likelihood of finding what you are interested in, is.
Male Hosts work at a KTV for their own reasons. I do not know their reasons. It varies from person to person. I do not know what they are.
If you go to a Business KTV, take ED medication, and control your drinking.
The best way to impress a Chinese boss is to drink hard and eat a chicken’s head.
When having sex with a stranger use a condom.
FAQ
Q: How can I find a Business KTV? A: Ask the factory boss in the town that you are doing business with. He will probably be able to point you in the general direction. Else, you can go into a Business Hotel and chat with the manager there and ask where any exciting girls and girl action might take place.
Q: Is a Business KTV the only type of prostitution available in China? A: No. Not by a long shot. In fact, it is a rather small subset of society that caters only to company leadership, management and bosses.
There are other venues such as escorts, and the like that a person can visit and use if all you want to do is to have sex with a girl. If all you want to do is to have sex, you can go to a salon, or pick up a street walker for maybe $25 to $50. It need not be expensive. You go, get the gal, pay the money and get yourself off. It’s far better than reliance on internet images and magazines.
Besides, these gals have families to support. Instead of giving some rich California software king your money to download an x-rated porn movie, give it to the girl’s so her children can eat dinner and her husband can get a new pair of work boots.
Q: What are the types of prostitution in China? A: There are many.
Mistress or Second wife (二奶, èrnăi): She gets a monthly salary in exchange for regular sexual favors. Even if she usually does not offer romance or family life, sometimes she lives with the customer and may wish to marry him.
Packaged girl (包婆, bāopó ): Similar to second wives but only work for limited time, as on business trips. These two upper tiers correspond to the ancient concubine, although the second wife and packaged girl are mostly kept secretly rather than in the household. Only rich men can afford them, therefore these girls are often considered to be linked to corruption.
Female companions (陪女, péinǚ): You can find them everywhere in China: restaurants, karaoke – the (in)famous KTV xiăojie, – bars and clubs. Often, in bars and most typical establishments, they usually stay in a corner playing with their cell phone and drinking some cocktails till a customer arrives. Many of these girls are employed to dance, sing, drink with the customers that pay for a table or, it the case of KTVs, for a room. Some of them will eventually leave with the customers. Business KTV’s is a subset of this class, where the best girls work.
Escorts. These girls are available either to your room, or at their house or at a mutually agreed hotel room. They advertise on the internet, and tend to be moderately expensive. A typical example is this link for Shenzhen massage. The girls are all attractive and speak English.
Escorts can make a good decent salary, and like all industries, rely on repeat customers. Most work hard at it for five to ten years and then retire after they either traveled the world, established a family, or started a business.
Ding dong girls (叮咚小姐, dīngdōng xiăojie): Literally like pressing a door bell “ding dong”. Typically, they go to a hotel that seems to have a lot of customers – single and lonely men. They rent a room there and call the other rooms offering their services, usually a “massage.” Of course. having a massage with a happy ending is legal in China. It used to be that they would knock on your door, or slide a card under your door to offer you some fun services. You can add to this category also the girls that look for customers on QQ (the Chinese MSN) or on the web in general.
Ding Dong Girls cards that were slid under my hotel door when I was staying in Shanghai. You can find these cards all over China.
Hairdressers and masseuses (发廊妹, fàlángmèi): Chinese hair salons and massage parlors are the place to go if you want to get a cheap “happy ending” (usually by masturbation or oral sex), especially the ones full of bored half-naked girls lighted up by pink lights you can find close to a train or subway station.
Typically the girls will be sitting around in the salon waiting for a customer to walk in. Truthfully, there are usually many many girls, often thirty to fifty that occupy one room. Great selection. Low prices and happy endings all around.
The fàlángmèi are often migrants from the countryside and perform contractual work under a proprietress (lăobănniáng) or a pimp (pítiáo) who provide them with housing, clothing and food, as well as a cell phone and monthly subscription. They do not make much more money than a worker, unless they receive tips from the customers.
Street girl (街女, jiēnǚ): The name explains everything. They solicit customers in the halls of the hotels, bars and other entertainment outlets. They may offer petting (shàngbànchăng, first half) or intercourse (xiàbànchăng, second half). Street prostitutes may be accompanied by a lăobănniáng or work on their own. They are those at greatest risk of being apprehended by the police. We also call them “chicken girls” which is the English translation of 街女.
Here is a group of ladies photographed so that their faces remain hidden. You can easily see that they are free of tattoos, piercings, rashes or pockmarks typical of drug abuse, of normal weight – not obese – and pretty normal girls.
Underclass girl (下工棚, xiàgōngpéng): They live in urban slums (such as they are), or the seedier and poorer neighborhoods in the fifth tier towns. They can typically be found at construction sites. They fill a social and sexual void, as the migrant workers usually have left their wives at home, and are paid with food.
Q: Is prostitution rampant in China? A: No. It might seem like that because If you were to compare percentages you would be surprised to find that prostitution, by percentage of the population, is actually very tiny. Remember, China has a huge population. Like any other nation, prostitution will exist. However, China is a very conservative and traditional nation. Prostitution is not considered to be a good thing.
On the whole, if you want to see a prostitute, you should to go Thailand or the Philippines. Not China.
China is NOT a sex monger’s paradise. It is a paradise for hard workers, those who strive and achieve, and people who believe in working together for the common good. If you work hard, study hard and do your best, China will reward you. There are no easy routes in China.
When I see articles saying that China accepts prostitution and that sexual sales and slavery of young children exists, I get mad. That is absolutely not the case. NOT AT ALL. I tell you this two times. China has been very hard on the prostitution industry and many things that are fine and dandy in the West is forbidden in China. Such as unedited R-rated movies, and such. China is a conservative, traditional nation.
Q: What is the best alcohol to drink at a KTV? A: For a business KTV, you will need to drink with the boss. After that event is finished, please heed my advice and chill out. You can drink all the beer you want. Alternatively you can drink severely watered down whiskey. Take it from me, you don’t want to wake up nude with three girls ready to have fun with you, and you are way too drunk to “get it up”. Heed my advice.
Q: Are these girls clean? Do I need to wear a condom? A: Yes the girls are clean, and yes you do need to wear a condom. They work six days a week, most of the year. They typically have three to seven sexual adventures per week with who knows who. You do not want to catch any type of sexually transmitted sickness.
Also keep in mind that while the condom might be good, note that if you have a cut, a bruise, and a pinch from the zipper fly in your jeans, then don’t have sex. Illnesses can be transmitted through sweat and precious bodily fluids just as easily. When in doubt take care and be careful. If need be, cancel and reschedule until you are all healed up down there.
I left the United States. I am now an expat. I strongly believe that I am happier where I am now. I am also healthier and in every way, far better off. By every measure, I am far better off.
I am often asked why I did it.
As most people inside the United States have no idea why I would leave “the land of the free”, and “the best nation on the earth”. They ask me why. They ask me what was my reason for leaving, and why (in God’s name) would I ever even considering leaving the United States for Communist China. As if, I am crazy and have completely lost my mind.
I didn’t just casually leave. I was pushed out. America chewed me up and spit me out. Broken and torn with only the clothes on my back I entered China. Starting from scratch, in my mid-fifties, I started from ground zero; from scratch and built up a life in a land that I couldn’t even speak the language.
I am thriving here.
But it wasn’t easy.
Facebook has long claimed that its mission is to develop social infrastructure and — *gag* — build community. That no longer passes the giggle test. What they really want to do is follow people around the Internet, collect and organize what they learn and sell that information to the highest bidder.
-NY Post
I am not going to go into all the many boring personal details, details that I don’t want to revisit, on why I left. Instead I will cover the most important parts. The final “straw” that “broke the camels back”, and spit me out to a far away land alone and penniless.
Introduction
There are many things good about the United States, and many things that are wrong with it. If you, the reader, are unaware of this, then why bother reading this? Every place has both and good aspects.
Watching FBI agent Peter Strzok battle with Congress, my initial reaction was pure anger.
His repeated, arrogant insistence that he had done nothing wrong despite tons of evidence to the contrary convinced me he deserved immediate firing — if not the firing squad.
Gradually, though, anger gave way to amazement as Strzok grew increasingly combative and condescending. Given his predicament, the sneering and smirking were stupid, and yet he persisted.
Who is this jerk, I wondered, and how in the hell did he get to be a big shot at the FBI? And why are taxpayers still paying for the privilege of his malignant presence on the FBI payroll?
My answers can be summarized in four names: James Comey, Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray. They are chief culprits in the death of public trust in the Department of Justice.
-Michael Goodwin
One of the reasons why I left was because the United Stated has turned into a third-world, banana republic, shithole. It’s true. By every measure it is a 1960’s style Bulgarian police state, with the corruption levels comparable to 1970’s Africa, only with the latest in high technology surveillance technology.
I no longer wanted to live in such a place.
There was no way that I could recover any sort of decent life within this kind of environment. I needed to go to a place where I could thrive and where my skills and abilities were appreciated. Through chance, as an engineer, I went to where the factories were. I went to China where factories sprouted like weeds, and where my talents were needed and respected.
Anyway, a person living in a third world shithole doesn’t realize that it is a shithole. They think it is fantastic. After all that is all that they know. To see just how far the United States has fallen, you really need to step outside of the United States and take a good hard look at your life.
You need to stand outside and peer in.
Here are the characteristics of a “Third World”, or “Banana Republic” nation. See how many of these characteristics define America today. Text extracted from Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog (alternative version on Zero Hedge HERE). Information editing for clarity an personal points. I strongly suggest the reader visit the OfTwoMinds blog for some excellent analysis.
Consider the points. They are all valid.
1. Most assets are concentrated with the elite. Ownership of stocks and other assets is highly concentrated in entrenched elites. Most save money though bank programs.
Americans barely save. Prior to the income tax amendment; 16th amendment, Americans gave 10% to their churches, and saved the rest. Now Americans can hardly scrape by. They need to obtain loans at high interest rates to accomplish or obtain anything.
The average household is disconnected from the stock market and other measures of wealth. Only a thin sliver of households own enough financial/speculative wealth to make an actual difference in their lives. Most barely have any savings.
2. The Infrastructure is poor and falling into disrepair. The infrastructure of the nation used by the many is poorly maintained and costly to operate. This occurs because entrenched elites plunder the funding to pad their payrolls, pensions and sweetheart/insider contracts.
Detroit is a classic example of what happens with wealthy insiders squander the monies needed for investment and infrastructure for their own personal use.
3. The elite have their own systems. The financial/political elites have exclusive access to parallel systems of transport, healthcare, education, etc. The elites avoid trains, subways, lenders, coach-class air transport, standard healthcare and the rest of the decaying, dysfunctional systems they own that extract wealth from the debt-serfs.
The wealthy do not use public transportation. They fly on private jets, and use drivers to cart them around from one mansion to another. They live within gated communities with their own enforcement arms and protection services.
They fly on private aircraft, have their own healthcare and legal services, use their privileges to get their offspring into elite universities and institutions. They have access to elite banking and lending services that are unavailable to their technocrat lackeys and enforcers.
4. Lavish funding for elitist structures. The elites fund lavish monuments to their own glory disguised as “civic or national pride.” These monuments take the form of stadiums, palatial art museums, immense government buildings, etc. Meanwhile the rest of the day-to-day infrastructure decays in various states of dysfunction.
Here is the new IRS Headquarters building in Maryland. It seems rather sinister with all the Masonic icons and symbiology. You can read about it all HERE.
5. There are only two classes in a stratified society. There are two classes that only interact in strictly controlled ways. They are [1] the wealthy, (who live in gated, guarded communities and who rule all the institutions, public and private,) and [2] the debt-serfs. The debt-serfs are divided into well-paid factotums, technocrat lackeys and enforcers who serve the interests of the entrenched elites.
From Chris Murphy 01634 686 515 Most nations of the world are populated by the haves and have nots but few can be seen so graphically than in Mexico. These shocking aerial photos starkly show up the economic divide in some parts of the nation. The gap between the wealthy and the poverty-stricken is very wide in Mexico, but that gap doesnt necessarily translate into physical distance, as this striking ad campaign by photographer Oscar Ruíz and Publicis Mexico boldly illustrates. The campaign, which goes by the name Erase the Differences, was put together to raise awareness, and includes four aerial photographs in all. Each photo shows how close beautiful housing developments are to poverty-stricken areas, and even though the images are not Photoshopped, you would swear that at least a couple of them were composites, but its claimed they are not, reports petapixel.com.The photographs do most of the talking, but in case the point isnt clear, each image is accompanied by a caption that reads: This image has not been modified. Its time to change that.
The debt-serfs are the rest of the populace who own virtually nothing and have zero power. The elites make a PR show of being a commoner only to burnish the absurd illusion that debt-serf votes actually matter. (They don’t.)
Monied elitist Al Gore making a show of being a commoner by holding an axe and wearing a nice red plaid shirt.
6. Cartels and monopolies extract the wealth of the nation for personal gain. Cartels and quasi-monopolies are parasitically extracting the wealth of the nation for their elite owners and managers.
"The forces of tyranny are winning. Our banking, financial, political, and media structures are wracked by corruption and controlled by a “few” insiders for the benefit of themselves and their cronies.
Smedley Butler said war was a racket, but every institution is now a racket, with a corrupt powerful cadre of evil men reaping riches at the expense of the many.
Their rackets are based upon nothing but lies and the continued blissful ignorance of the masses to their flagrant criminal activities."
-Zero Hedge
Rise in the cost of healthcare was exponentially above that of the rest of the economy. Yet, a broken leg is a broken leg. Why does it cost so much more to mend a broken leg today than it did ten years ago.
I think you get the point: every key institution or function is controlled by cartels or quasi-monopolies that serve the interests of the few via parasitic exploitation of the powerless.
7. The elite maintain control through repressive government. The elites use the extreme violence and repressive powers of the government to suppress, marginalize and/or destroy any dissent.
The DHS is well armed with military grade vehicles, and armor. They are trained to fight on American soil. The Obama administration has been setting up the stages for an armed conflict of Americans against Americans.
There are two systems of “law”: one for the elites ($10 million penalties for ripping off the public for $10 billion, no personal liability for outright fraud) and one for the unprotected-unprivileged.
Comic from Ben Garrison on the law and the outrageous crimes of Hillary Clinton and her immunity from the law.
Those who are not members of the elite are often handed “tenners” (10-year prison sentences) for minor drug infractions, renditions or assassinations (all “legal,” of course). There are institutional forces of violence. For instance, to bust down your door on the rumor you’ve got drugs, confiscate your car because we caught you with cash, so you must be a drug dealer, and so on, in sickening profusion.
"Those pulling the strings of our ever-degrading society share many of the same traits – superficially charming, pathologically deceitful, manipulative, accepting no responsibility for their actions, lacking empathy, absence of guilt, no humility, dishonest, treacherous, having a grandiose sense of self-worth, and prone to dangerous destructive risk taking.
These are the people who rise to power when citizens become lazy, disinterested, willfully ignorant, distracted by social media, dumbed down by government run education, and easily led to believe falsehoods peddled by a media doing the bidding of the psychopaths in power."
-Zero Hedge
8. Dysfunctional institutions utilize unlimited power to extract money. Dysfunctional institutions with unlimited power to extract money via junk fees, licensing fees, parking tickets, penalties, late fees, etc., all without recourse.
How’s this for a nice streamlined and efficient government? Nope. It is fraught with inefficiency, redundancy and fraud. There is no way that this can operate in a cost effective manner.
Mess with the extractive, parasitic bureaucracy and you’ll regret it: there’s no recourse other than another layer of well-paid self-serving functionaries that would make Kafka weep. All bureaucracy is a sign that the culture and society is in decline.
Here is the lifecycle of all systems. These systems can be biological, cultural, or social. The presence of a bureaucracy on the life cycle is a serious sign of decline of the culture.
9. A huge army of bureaucrats that siphon money from the system. The well-paid factotums, bureaucrats, technocrat lackeys and enforcers who fatten their own skims and pensions at the expense of the public. Meanwhile they slavishly serve the interests of the entrenched elites and embrace the delusion that they’re “wealthy” and “the system is working great.” These deluded servants of the elites will defend the dysfunctional system because it serves their interests to do so.
Here is a scene from the movie Brazil. Here a world is depicted that resembles the United States in many ways, which is probably why it has a cult following.
The more dysfunctional the institution, the greater their power, so they actively increase the dysfunction at every opportunity.
"Wall Street banking executives, rating agency executives, mortgage lenders, government apparatchiks, corrupt politicians, and captured central bankers wrecked the worldwide financial system in 2008, while conducting the largest control fraud heist in history.
They reaped the riches on the way up and when it inevitably blew up, crushed the life savings of the peasants and should have bankrupted the Wall Street perpetrator institutions, they shifted the losses to taxpayers.
Not one culprit of this earth-shattering fraud went to jail. The Deep State circled the wagons, protected themselves, and used their propaganda media to paint false narratives regarding the causes and perpetrators. Wall Street won. Main Street lost, again."
-Zero Hedge
The USA is definitively a 3rd World nation. Read the list above and then try to argue the USA is not a 3rd World nation. Try arguing against the facts displayed in this chart:
Income inequality from 1980 to 2014. Image from the New York Times. The chart clearly shows a complete reversal of the fortunes and demographics of American citizens in the last four decades.
I know it hurts, but the reality is painfully obvious: the USA is now a 3rd World nation.
The Realization
Living in a Third World nation is not really bad if that is all that you know. However, I was raised in an America that was not only a first-world nation, but was THE preemptive first-world nation hands down. I could see the changes. They we obvious. They were visceral.
Over the years the alarm bells in my head were getting louder and louder. I started to distract myself from them. I relished in the new technologies and software games that were being released. I dealt with my family and tended my tomatoes. Yet, the clamoring progressively got worse and worse…
The people who I talked to were, for the most part, unaware of any negative trends. To them, everything was just fine and rosy. It just seemed that I was absolutely alone in this appraisal. They told me not to get so upset with things. It will be fine, they reassured me.
Personal Issues and Retirement
After spending over 20 years in a corporate, I find that many of those are true.
The pay was excellent, the benefits were excellent, but...that’s where “excellent” ended. I often referred to that job has wearing “golden handcuffs”...hated the job, the commute, etc., but loved the pay.
When I got out of the military at the ripe old age of 22, my Dad wanted to set up a electrical business...there was a building boom on, and I probably could have retired at 45...but, being young and stupid, I thought I had better ideas about how to make a living.
Had I followed his suggestion, and manual work would have been a little harder, at first, but I could have worn jeans and a t-shirt instead of a coat and tie, have the time (and funds) to take nice vacations, and probably have a much nicer home and cars.
I guess we live and learn...albeit too late.
-FR Comment
There is a saying in China. It is called the twelve year curse; the Ben Ming Nian. The idea is that there are non-physical aspects of our reality that are influential on our physical life. These aspects are cyclic and change every twelve years. They occur when you are 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, and if you are fortunate to live beyond that, when you are 84.
The Ben Ming Nian is a difficult time as your are at a point of imbalance in your life. It is considered to be inauspicious or unlucky. People need to take great care of their actions and their emotions.
At the time of my 48th birthday, my Ben Ming Nian reached nuclear levels. My mother died, my beloved pets died, I had a divorce, I was embroiled in sibling disputes of the family property, all of my personal property was confiscated, my vehicles were seized or mysteriously destroyed, I lost my boat, I lost my swimming pool, my bank accounts were drained, and on top of all that, I was retired from MAJestic (with all of what that entails). It was a horrific time. Any one item is considered a significant stressor in the DSM handbook, I had about twenty things going on at the same time.
Like I said, there is no need to enumerate in detail any of these events. Just know that it was a rough time for me…
During this time, I suddenly came to the realization that I had nothing. I lost everything. All my education, experience, patents, friends, relationships, property, possessions and purpose were gone. They were all stolen, destroyed or withheld. Everyone played a role, with the largest roles taken by those closest to me, and the United States Government.
I came to the realization that all that I worked for was naught. I could have skipped school and went fishing all day, got married and stayed working in the coal mines, and I would have been better off. The entire life that I had lived was a lie.
I had blindly followed the promises that we provided to me. I ate them up “lock stock and barrel”.
I was a dupe. I was a fool. I was a smart ignoramus.
I could have been a lazy joe, just eating drinking, and fishing and I would have been far better off than who I had become.
But you know what…
That realization was freeing. I realized that since I no longer had anything holding me back, that I could do anything that I wanted. I was free to do anything, eat anything, be anything, go anywhere.
I had no ties holding me back. Few friends. No possessions aside from the clothes on my back and some personal papers. I moved to a new country to start a new life, with new friends and new experiences. I left the United States and I moved to communist China.
I moved to communist China, of all friggin’ places!
Communist China, contrary to what you might read, is not a third world shithole. Today, it is a modern nation, with more in common with Japan than (say) Mexico. The people are nice, smart, attractive, and hard working. They need talented people like myself.
So I moved there.
According to the American media, China is a dirty smog-filled third world cesspool. When the exact opposite is true. But don’t take my word for it. GO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF.
Sure beats bagging groceries at Cosco or collecting welfare benefits.
In Hindsight
Life is what you make of it.
Life is like a big sea. Sometimes it is calm and clear and serene. Sometimes it is choppy. Sometimes it is a typhoon.
Sometimes you ride the waves in joyous abandon, while at other times you hang on for dear life.
We can see the clouds on the horizon, and it is up to us to prepare for the storm that may, or may not, hit.
The life we live is only lived by one person; yourself. The life other people live, is only experienced by themselves. We might look at them and comment on it one way or the other. But when we do so, we are simply observers on a nice calm island watching other people ride out a storm holding on to dear life on a rickety old raft. We are often too judgemental, as we are living within our own bubble of reality; our own island of comfort.
"The first 45 minutes of Office Space is the most accurate documentary about American corporate life ever filmed."
-FR Comment
We haughtily raise up our head and pronounce, “that would NEVER happen to me. I am too smart. That person is a fool.”
Yah. In fact, ask any prison guard. One of the most common statements made by inmates is how they thought that they would never go to prison. “So, I was driving while drunk. I did it one thousand times before. It was just bad luck that I ran over that mother and infant.” Or, “I was only smoking weed, you know it’s legal in California.”
We cannot judge anyone. We just cannot as we are not experiencing their reality. We can only judge ourselves; our actions and our life.
For me, and my situation, it was best to start off new in a new life. I had grown accustomed to living in a first-world nation. It was what I knew. It was what I expected.
However, it was not what was happening.
http://www.geociti.es/CapitolHill/Senate/1120/article1.htmlI see that in this cutthroat society, based on a "greed is good" philosophy, unlimited profit seeking, selfishness, fraud and greediness for money dominates everywhere. Money is absolutely the bottom line for everything.
In America, the rich are truly rich and the poor are hopelessly poor. In my opinion, the United States today has the most advanced system of private tyranny. Private corporations have enormous power in this country and they take advantage of an apparently legal slave labor, terribly exploiting the working class people. Corporate bosses earn millions while workers struggle to survive without living wages.
From my point of view, the majority of jobs here today are still extremely exploitative. The U.S. minimum wage is ridiculous. Working for $5 an hour is slavery and nothing else. Therefore, poor people and homeless people make up a significant portion of the population in this country.
Millions of hard-working Americans live permanently at the edge of poverty. There is no doubt that economic injustice is the most important issue of today's America.
The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and all the people in the middle are just falling down.
I see that people in this society are secondary to corporate power and profits. Freedom for market dominates over freedom for people. In fact, at least 80 percent of Americans are simply robbed by this exploiting system.
I've noticed how American corporate propaganda always surely emphasizes that in European countries - "welfare states"- people have to pay a much higher taxes.
In fact, taxes in most of Western Europe, even in Scandinavia, are just slightly higher than an average 34 percent of income Americans pay. The main thing is what people receive in return for their taxes. In European social- democracies everybody has a "cradle-to-grave" comfortable feeling of security and care.
Question: What are citizens of this country getting for their tax dollars? Answer: Next to nothing! People's taxes support armament instead of basic human needs here.
America was devolving into a third-world tyrannical dictatorship which more resembled a 1960’s Bulgaria, with elements of a 1970’s banana republic, only with high-technology surveillance and police force. To make matters worse, a non-citizen was elected President. And, he was hell-bent into complete destruction of the United States.
His attitude was “what mine is mine, what yours is mine, and if you don’t like it, Fuck You!”.
So here we have elected this person to take control of the executive branch of the government. Suddenly he becomes a pop hero. He starts breaking all kinds of laws, and with the full backing of the American main-steam media he gets away with it. No one finds it odd, or strange.
He proceeds to initiate a race war. He enacts all kind of progressive initiatives, all in direct defiance of the Constitution, and yet no one does a single thing. The head of the DOJ, and NSA directly lie to Congress. They are discovered as lies, and they are permitted to get away with their lies. They now live in comfortable mansions, free of concern and consequences…
The new America takes root.
The third-world vision for America is embraced and implemented in places such as Baltimore, Detroit, and San Francisco. San Francisco is now literally a shit-hole with public defecation and ease of illegal drugs and illegal immigrants…
The worst elements of a third-world shit-hole is now embraced and has become mainstream. Fat obese black girls wagging their enormous asses has become not only normal but popular. Especially with them putting down men, fathers and good-honest labor. This is the new vision of America. It is the direct opposite of the America that I grew up in.
I know that I cannot change anything. The systems are in place. The powerful run everything and I am just one tiny person trying to find the exit out. They changed a Republic into a Democracy before I was born, and now it is following the natural progression…
The Democracy is now tying to become full-on Socialist. With Communism being the end game.
"According to Marxist doctrine, socialism is a stage of society between capitalism and communism where private ownership and control over property are eliminated."
-Walter Williams
Of course, through a Democracy, they have implemented Socialism. Socialism is being implemented today, in a prelude to full-fledged Communism.
All this, while the masses are led into the cattle cars…
I didn’t want to live in a third world nation. I wanted to live the kind of lifestyle that I grew up in. I knew the futility in fighting forces of many magnitudes larger than my abilities. So, I took a deep breath. I held my nose. I made a deep heart-felt prayer, and made a switch.
So I made a switch.
Conclusion
This is a story about what I did in my situation. This is a story of my reality and my life.
It is not about YOUR life.
You must live your life and make your decisions based upon what you know. You might not do what I have done because your life is quite different from mine. Good for you. I only urge you to take care of your life and your needs selfishly. For no one understands you better than you, yourself.
Do what is best for you, and to heck with everyone else.
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
When we were young, we were taught how to act, and told how to behave. The opinions of our peers decided what we would do, who we would date, and how successful our life could be. For those of us who never left our home town, these demands have become forged as the tightest shackles that bind us to the demands and needs of others.
However, once we leave that environment, we find ourselves in a new place with new friends and a new life. We are thus given and provided the opportunity to reconstruct our life. We are provided with the chance for us to define our life for ourselves. We can break forth through the limits placed on us by others.
Not only is this desirable, but it is often necessary. For true growth, and to be the most that you can be, comes from you defining how you will live, and under which terms that you will define your life.
The 25th Law of power
Law 25Re-Create Yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
The book “The 48 Laws of Power” is a classic work that defines methods and techniques by which a person may obtain power. Power can be defined many ways. It might be money, sex, relationships, ownership, control, or as pure military might.
The book goes into great detail on this subject, providing multiple examples that illustrate each technique.
The 48 Laws of Power is a world famous book that describes numerous techniques for obtaining power. The power can be used for good or bad, it is up to the user.
One of the laws, or techniques, of power is the ability to recreate your life on your terms. This is law #25. Indeed, it is a powerful technique. For unless you have lived a charmed life, humans need to grow and expand beyond themselves. We are like a snake that sheds it’s skin, or a caterpillar who undergoes chrysalis to become a butterfly. We need to constantly strive, adapt and grow. For that is how we obtain experience.
For example motivational speaker Les Brown was classified as developmentally disabled. He was told that the best he could do was to become a janitor or a field laborer. Yet, he refused to believe that. With everyone of his classmates laughing at him, and most teachers shaking their head in sorry distain, we went ahead and forged a new life for himself.
He took on a new role; a better role as a motivational speaker.
Or consider, another radio talk show host; Rush Limbaugh. Always controversial, and bombastic, he was constantly hired and fired from jobs. No one wanted to touch him. We was considered a “wild card” and uncontrollable. Yet, by honing his abilities, and working on his strengths, he preserved and became a very famous and a very rich talk show host.
Often times, we need to move away from the thoughts, ideas, concepts of what other people think of us. Do you want to be treated as a successful businessman and not the class clown? Then you need to move away from your school mates. Do you want to be considered to be a brilliant scientist? Then you need to move away from people who call you a “book worm with no common sense”. Do you want to become a suave and sophisticated “ladies man”? Then, you need to remove yourself from the women who make fun of you and who don’t appreciate you qualities.
Now, you shouldn’t become confused. It is often more than just moving away geographically. You have to learn and hone the skills that you desire. If you want to become a “world renowned doctor”, you will need to study and cultivate your presence globally. If you want to be a “Ladies Man”, you will need to hone your relationship skills, and work on your presentation. If you want to live the life on your terms, you will have to work at it.
Have a Dream
We all need an objective. This is something that we can visualize and conceptualize. It is something that we can embrace as a target and an ideal that we can achieve.
"Bronco Billy McCoy: I've got a special message for you little pardners out there. I want you to finish your oatmeal at breakfast and do as your mom and pa tell you because they know best. Don't ever tell a lie and say your prayers at night before you go to bed. And as our friends south of the border say, 'Adios, amigos.' "
Have a Plan
Without a roadmap we are just lost in the wilderness. We need a plan to follow with a set goal to achieve. So set a goal. Describe the person who you want to be. Go into great detail. List what you want to be and what you don’t want to be.
In the movie “Bronco Billy” all the members of his travelling fair were misfits. They were shoe salesmen, draft dodgers, and losers, who decided to step outside of their world and become something different. Here is a man who wanted to be an Indian chief.
You don’t need to use Microsoft Project to generate a plan, but you do need to take active steps. Get a notebook. It is cheap. Do not rely on your computer or cell phone to do this task. They are full of distractions. Go old school.
One cheap notebook. One pen (or pencil).
That notebook is your roadmap. Title it what ever you want, but in short it should be about one thing and one thing only; who you want to be.
Also note that it is going to be a journey. Right now you are NOT ready to be who you want to be. Some changes will be necessary. Indeed, you will need to change some things. Additionally, you will need to learn some things, and prepare some things as well. You will need to plan it out.
This rule applies to both men and women. It is not gender specific. In the movie “Bronco Billy”, a sad and unhappy, but filthy rich socialite ends up transforming her life into HER idea of what she wants.
For instance, using the “Ladies Man” example above, you will need to read books on how to seduce. You will need to subscribe to websites, forums and feeds with like minded people. You will need to establish goals and a training program. The training program will not only be about learning new things, but it will also be about unlearning old bad habits.
You will need to do daily positive affirmations. These are sentences that you repeat to yourself over and over to undo the programming that you have endured over the years. For instance;
I am calm, cool, and collected.
I am always happy, smart, know what to say.
I am lucky.
I dress right, my hair is perfect, and I know how to handle myself.
Positive affirmations need to be written down, and repeated daily. They work. Let them do their magic.
Work your plan
Once you map out your goal and how to get there; do it. In life, it is better to be 60% ready than wait forever to be 100% ready. You need to learn the basics and then plan on “faking it until you make it”. Close your eyes and make it happen.
Trust me, you won’t die.
"Bronco Billy McCoy: Now look! I don't take kindly to kids playin' hooky from school. I think every kid in America ought to go to school... at least up to the eighth grade.
Young kid: We don't go to school today, Bronco Billy. It's Saturday!
"
You will experience hurtles and problems. So what? That is life. For instance, let’s suppose your dream is to move to Bangkok, Thailand and become a go-go bar owner. It is obtainable, but it will be a lot of work. You might need to break your plan into smaller bite-sized bites and then work those pieces.
Let’s suppose your dream is to become a sheep rancher in New Zealand. It is possible, but you will need to know some basics about sheep herding, and you will need to work on the immigration paperwork.
In the pursuit of our dreams there will be setbacks and troubles. However, they will never end your dream. It will just put it aside for a spell. Do not give up. Never give up. Never, and I do mean NEVER let ANYONE ever steal or take your dream away from you.
No matter what you do, you will need to have a plan that not only covers the physical changes that you need and want to bring about, but also covers the emotional and behavioral ones as well. But you know what? You can do it, because it is in YOUR nature.
You do not need a machine to make the world-line switch. You can do this on your own.
It gets easier over time…
"Lorraine Running Water: Do you understand what Bronco Billy and the wild west show are all about? You can be anything you want. All you have to do is go out and become it! "
The longer you work towards your dream, the easier it becomes. You always become what you think about. But actuating your thoughts with physical and tangible actions you will be able to achieve your dreams, and trust me you will be amazed how successful you will become.
You can achieve your dreams. You only need to have a plan. Keep it simple and direct and work it relentlessly. It is the one thing for you and you alone. Never let anyone steal it away from you.
When I was planning on moving to China, I studied Chinese. I had no one to practice with. I had no one to listen to. So I did it on my own, while the people around me snickered and made fun of me. You will overcome the nay-Sayers and losers. You just follow your dream and stick with your plan.
Don’t let anyone steal that from under you.
Other Sources
In the movie “Bedazzled“, a man who is helplessly in love, signs away his soul for a change to spend life with the girl of his dreams. The devil gives him six opportunities to remake himself (all, of course, with a devilish twist). The point in the movie is that you can remake yourself to obtain objectives, but that there will be a tradeoff in the process.
I won’t go so far as to say that you cannot change because it will have undesirable effects. But, I will say that what ever the image that you want to become… make sure that it is an extension of WHO YOU ARE inside.
Only you can choose who you will be? Scenes are from the movie “Bedazzled”.
Conclusion
"Antoinette Lilly: Are you for real?
Bronco Billy McCoy: I'm who I want to be."
The movie “Bronco Billy” is a full embodiment of the lessons of Law #25 of the “48 Laws of Power”. All of the members within his little band of entertainers were redirecting their lives toward their dreams. While it is only a Hollywood movie, and received moderate praise by the “geniuses” in Hollywood, the lessons are important and valid.
It certainly deserves a second look. Especially today with the way things are in the world today.
Don’t give up.
You can recreate your own life in the form that you want it to be in. If you are tired and exhausted in living the life as it is today, you can exit it. You are not tied to anything. You really aren’t. You can bail.
Set a goal.
Make a Plan.
Follow the Plan.
Implement it.
Live your dream. Do not let anyone stop you.
Be like Bronco Billy. Live your dream. You don’t have to be a poor shoe salesman in New York city. You can recreate your life into something that appeals to you. Don’t be afraid. Follow your dream.
Takeaways
The 25th Law of the 48 Laws of Power suggests that we can create the life that we want to live. We should not accept the life that others want us to live.
This is attainable.
To achieve this dream, we need to set a goal, learn, and work towards that goal.
The movie “Bronco Billy” is all about the 25th Law of Power.
By watching the movie, you get a very good understanding of what the 25th Law of Power is and how it can be applied to your life.
FAQ
Q: Is my dream achievable, even if it sounds crazy or unobtainable?
A: Yes. However, it does need to be realistic. You cannot dream about being a turtle. However, you can dream about being a caretaker for turtles in Bora Bora.
Q: My spouse thinks it is a waste of time to pursue any dreams. What do I do?
A: This is a common problem. You have a choice. You can either enlist your spouse to share in your dream, or you will be forced to follow the dream without them. In any event, if you are forbidden to live your dream… that is not a life, no matter how anyone else tries to rationalize it.
Q: How can I find the time to do all that I need to do to obtain my dream?
A: If you do not find the time, your dream will never materialize.
Q: Where can I find the movie “Bronco Billy”?
A: Try Netflix or any decent torrent site. Torrents are free, and most movies can be downloaded in a few days. Rare movies might take weeks.
Life is too short to be unhappy. It is like a bowl of cold chili. It is up to you to make it the best best life that is possible. You need to set your foot down and take command of your life. Make your dreams happen.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
This post was updated 5JUL19, when I received word that the FDA approved Bremelanotide PT-141 under the name Vylessi. I updated this post, andsubsequently added the name Vylessi to all mention of Bremelanotide PT-141, and added updated histories and commentaries at the end.
We have a tendency to think inside the box. We try to improve what we know. We try to work within the framework of what we have. We actually do need to think "outside the box"...
As a man gets older, your body changes. Your hair starts receding, and starts to fall out. You start to become bald. Your hair turns white. Your teeth start giving you problems, and you start to gain weight. Getting rid of that weight becomes problematic. No longer can exercise alone keep you trim and fit. You have to change your diet as well.
All men eventually start to have erectile disfunction (ED). Usually it seems to start in your early 40’s depending on your stress level, lifestyle, and general health. You can postpone it for a few years, but it will eventually strike. It will.
Typically, erectile disfunction more closely resembles a moderate soft erection. This is due to the blood pressure in the penis. As a man gets older, his ability to create solid rock-hard erections diminishes. Instead, when excited he produces short-lived soft and “spongy” erections, often cycling between a moderate “soft” erection and no erection at all.
This is what it is like to grow old.
Now, you can exercise. You can eat special foods, and you can have a stress-free life that can all significantly reduce these effects. For instance, leeks and eggs, bitter melon and oysters can certainly help the man in the bedroom. It will do wonders, as will a daily glass of red wine…
Viagra entered the world in the 1990’s and revitalized the world of the American male. No longer did older men need to live a sex-less life. All you need do is pop in a “little blue pill” and all your troubles are over.
Of course, there are some tradeoffs.
For one, you need to get a doctors’ prescription. America is just about the ONLY nation that has this bastardized restriction. Everyone can just get the medicine off the shelf just about anywhere. Secondly, you have to pay REAL money for it. In a world where the raw material of Viagra (sildenafil) costs $100 / kg, and where a single dosage of Viagra is 25mg, the price difference is astounding.
You can purchase the raw material for Viagra in China. This is Sildenafil. You have a MOQ, minimum order quantity to content with, which is often at least a gram. Price is around $0.000002 / pill.
It costs ten cents a gram for sildenafil, or ten cents for 1000mg. That’s ten cents for 40 pills. But Big American Pharmacies and their associated industries are charging an insane amount for this pill.
The cost for Viagra oral tablet 25 mg is around $447 for a supply of 6 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.
-Drugs.com
It’s a good thing that I live in China, where I can get a bag of 100 generic pills for under $1.20.
Ah, but I digress…
"Abroad, getting Viagra is no problem as it is readily available over the counter in many countries. In countries I’ve been to, it sells for $1 a pill. Then, it’s party on. No such luck in the police state known as America. Got to have a doctor’s prescription, and it’s pricey. But, it’s worth it for the occasional twosome or threesome when there’s blow involved."
-If you are going to use Cocaine use Viagra
Enter Cialis
While it is certainly convenient, the problem with Viagra is that it tends to give you a headache, and does not mix well with alcohol. Which really sucks as most of us older folk prefer to drink and have fun, often leading up to a sexual romp or two.
You take a Cialis pill on a Friday, and you are good to go up until next Tuesday. That’s four days, boys and girls. OK, well, three days of erection when you want it, and as long lasting as you need it. Four days it begins to sputter out. It’s erection on demand, and they are of high quality and long duration. Perfect for cuddling with that special person in your life. The real problem with this is that it takes around three hours to work, so it doesn’t lend itself to spontaneous sexual encounters.
It is ideal for a married man who wants to spend quality time with his wife.
Cialis is not licensed in China, so the only way you can get it at a pharmacy is to pay “full price”. Which is often 120 RMB/pill, or roughly $20/pill. That in itself pretty much sucks. Salaries in China are far below the salaries in the United States, so when you spend $20, it’s like spending enough to cover a weeks amount of food.
Typical Chinese Pharmacy. The girl behind the counter will typically look up your medicine request on the computer and giver you the option of a local generic Chinese brand or a (cheap) cost version of a Western equivalent.
But then again, you can simply buy the (Tadalafil) powder here. Weigh it out. Mix it up yourself and use it.
I understand that a generic version is available in the UK, which would be a good alternative if you didn’t want to have a closet full of 500,000 Cialis pills lying around after your mix up your own batch. (BTW, India doesn’t really care about these licensed patents, and makes the pills anyways. Licensing and FDA be damned. So you can get great quality Cialis Generic out of India for maybe a fraction of the cost for what you would pay in the USA.)
It’s worth it, you know. You can spend quality time and focus on the time together instead of just one central activity.
As an aside, it does have a shelf life. After I made up a couple of million pills, I had to throw away large garbage bags full of old pills. They had begun to age. As they got older, they started to develop side effects, such as stomach gas, indigestion, headaches, and vision irregularities. So don’t use any Cialis that is over three years old. When I threw them away, there must have been five large green-black bags of pills that were thrown into the dumpster. Such a waste. Such a waste.
Anyways, I would have say that Cialis is the preferred conventional medication for ED, hands down.
Anyways…
The Design Team
Ah, but now for some bad news. What is really sad about it is what happened to all the researchers and developers who invented this product. You want to guess? Come on, what do you think happened to them?
Key team leaders in the ICOS Corporation developed the drug. They conceived it, they developed it and worked on it. However, the FDA has all kinds of testing and qualification hurtles that needed to be overcome. There was no way that the medicine would be approved. They were told this, and they knew that they had to link up with an “insider” or two to get the product approved. So the ICOS Corporation teamed up with Eli Lilly and Company to help get the drug approved through the FDA.
Of course, Eli Lilly is a big company with a lot of pull. They were able to “pull some strings” and get the drug approved.
As soon as they were able, Eli Lilly and Company bought the ICOS Corporation. They did so in 2007. It didn’t come cheap. They bought it for $2.3 billion. As a result, Eli Lilly now owned Cialis. As soon as they acquired the company, they immediately closed the ICOS operations. Thus they ended the joint venture and fired most of ICOS’s approximately 500 employees. Five hundred employees fired. Five. Hundred. Employees. Good Golly!
So…
Now you know [1] why the drug costs so much, and [2] why it sucks to work in corporate America.
You can buy just about any medicine in the world at a Chinese pharmacy. You don’t need a prescription and the costs typically are much cheaper than in the United States. You just write what you are looking for on a slip of paper and give it to the girl behind the counter. No Chinese language skill is necessary.
Enter Levitra
This is an interesting little drug. It is a single dose drug like Viagra, but with a cost comparable to Cialis. It works a little bit differently than either of the two drugs already discussed. However, functionally it is like Viagra except it is made by a different company. You can consider it the Pepsi equivalent to Coke-cola.
I prefer it over Viagra simply because it interacts better with wine. I also like the (ahem) feeling I get when I use it. I feel (somewhat) better “packed” if you know what I mean.
What does it matter?
So now, men can take a pill and get an erection whenever they need it. Depending on where they live the access to this medication may be relatively easy (like in China) or restricted (like in America).
The thing is that life is not two dimensional.
It’s not ONLY about having a nice hard erection, it is about the mood, the feeling, and the emotions that you have when you are engaged in lovemaking. People, we are NOT animals. We have feelings and urges. Just getting hard and going through the motions is fine for a robot, but it is really weak compared to the real thing that you experienced when you were young.
For instance, consider the humble tomato. It was bred to look delicious, and ship safe. With taste being an afterthought. How we have thousands of tomatoes that look like plastic fruit and taste like cardboard. We have turned it into a two-dimensional shadow of what it was.
There are a host of things going on inside our brain when we are engaged in a sexual encounter. We express a litany of emotions, and feelings. We experience different sensations in our bodies. We connect and feel things that we share with our partners.
For both men and women, there are different aspects to a relationship that can be enhanced or (better yet) compensated for, instead just focusing on having an erection.
So…
Maybe we should start to pay attention to these other aspects of our life. Maybe we should consider them as playing an important role in our life. Maybe we should consider the entire aspect of who we are and what we are doing.
Enter PT-141 (Bremelanotide) Vyleesi
Instead of being a PDE5 inhibitor like Viagra and Cialis, consider a melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH). MSH induces lordosis in animal subjects. Or in other words, lordosis is a sign of physical preparation for copulation. It is a hormone that tells the body “get ready, we are going to have sex”.
It is a hormone that puts an animal in “heat”.
It is hardwired in our brains. In animals such as dogs and cats, it tells the female to rise up their butts, and tells males to start thrusting. Now, as man has evolved this hormone has been repressed. We have replaced it with other cultural triggers. Or, in other words, what we visually see that has value has replaced this hormone. The natural lordosis behavior has atrophied in humans.
Not so when you take this drug. This drug reactivates it.
PT-141 Bremelanotide is easily available outside of the United States. You can buy it in many English speaking countries such as Australia and the UK, as well as communist countries such as Communist China and Russia. However, Americans have been FORBIDDEN to have access to this medicine.
This drug was being developed by Palatin Technologies. It showed great promise as it works equally well on both the male and the female sexes. (Though who knows about the other 55 genders that somehow mysteriously popped into existence under the Obama administration.)
It’s not only that men can get a nice sold and hard erection. It is more than that. People who take this also feel differently. People who take it feel young and horny like a sex-crazed 16 year old.
There’s only one problem. The FDA decided to ban it.
The FDA refused to permit Americans to access this drug.
Here is the FDA approval process. It’s pretty tight. In a way it is helpful , but in another way it is counter productive. You need a medicine that works, under specified conditions for 90% of the population. You can NEVER find something that works for 100% of the population. They could have released this medicine as approved with limitations on use, rather than directly banning it completely.
Yes, it was banned in the United States, much to the surprise to all the doctors, scientists, and research participants.
They were shocked, as they should be. This was not just a “so so” drug. The test results were ASTOUNDING, and yet…yet… it was banned.
So, in defiance, the staff who developed this amazing medicines put it ALL out on the internet. That’s right. All of the chemical formulations, all of the test plans, and all of the documentation was uploaded to the Internet.
Just like Keannu Reeves did in the movie “Chain Reaction”.
In the movie “Chain Reaction”, Keanu Reeves played a scientist that had the secret to limitless energy. However, dark powerful forces (namely the “swamp” and Big Business) wanted to stop him, and keep the information to themselves. What he ended up doing was to take all the information and upload it to the cloud so that everyone could have the information for free.
There, for everyone to see, is the amazing test results and the absolutely stunning levels of corruption at the FDA.
They put it all out there. Everything, including the formulation and sequencing information.
Scientists talk among each other. It’s a small world. Sure, maybe the well-paid FDA bureaucrats ($440,000 / year just to say NO!) are oblivious to this fact, and only chat with each other in their mansions and country-clubs, but the real workers, developers and key inventors care about their work and research.
In short order, it became obvious that the FDA was a corrupt organization, and that America had banned this medication because it would compete against Viagra. It also became obvious that this medication was very special. Very… very special.
If Viagra could be compared to a French Fry, PT-141 Vyleesi was a full thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, cranberry dressing, pumpkin pie and soft fresh buttered rolls. There is no comparison. None at all.
Not only that, but now the formula was available for everyone to replicate. As soon as it got out on the Internet, everyone was making it. People could buy it and try it and use it. Everyone, that is, except Americans.
So for the last two decades, this amazing drug has been used all over the world (outside of America) with amazing success, and absolutely ZERO fatalities. (So much for the so called, concerns about possible high blood pressure in a fringe section of the population.)
It has since become a legend. PT-141 Vyleesi is the stuff of dreams…
Pfaus showed me stunning testimonials from human test subjects. “On the five-point scale, I would rate the erection I had as a six,” said one of the 1,300 anonymous testers.
"You get this humming feeling,” said another. “You’re ready to take your pants off and go.”The drug worked equally well on women, who chronicled “an intense arousal” that lasted from six to 72 hours. “I was focused on sex,” said one of the women.
Yes, but what is even more interesting is that this works on both men AND women. So while you might have a raging hard-on, your wife can now feel the same as you at the same time. She can feel like she was a sex-starved girl in the throes of “puppy love”.
Ah! What an amazing age that we live in!
“A dose of PT-141 results, in most cases, in a stirring in the loins in as little as 15 minutes. Women, according to one set of results, feel ‘genital warmth, tingling and throbbing’, not to mention ‘a strong desire to have sex’.”
-Julian Dibbell at ScienceBase
People can buy the PT-141 Vyleesi outside of the United States. And, they have been doing so for around two decades now.
The FDA has no jurisdiction off-shore, and people have taken advantage of this to try different kinds of medications for their own purposes.
You know, you don’t always have to listen to that busybody down the street to do things. So what if the FDA wants to FORCE you to pay outrageous prices for Viagra, and forbids you from using medications that you can get just about anywhere else on the planet.
Every nation has pharmacies. Here is one in China. However, you can go to a pharmacy in Mexico if you don’t want to fly to China. I am sure that it has many of the medications listed herein at a fraction of the cost of American versions.
You can hop on a plane and go to a nation that is freer, and get the medications yourself. I would suggest going to a nation that allows people more freedom than America allows.
“With PT-141 Vyleesi, you feel good, not only sexually aroused,” reported anonymous patient 007, a participant in a Phase 2 trial, “you feel younger and more energetic.”
Said another patient: “It helped the libido. So you have the urge and the desire. . . . You get this humming feeling; you’re ready to take your pants off and go.”
And another: “Twice me and my wife had sex twice in one night. I came in [to work] and I just raved about it: ‘Jesus, guys . . . 58 years old and you don’t do that.’ ”
Tales of pharmaceutically induced sexual prowess among 58-year-olds are common enough in the age of the Little Blue Pill, but they don’t typically involve quite so urgent a repertoire of humming, throbbing, tingling, and double-dipping.
Or as patient 128 put it: “My wife knows. She can tell the difference between Viagra and PT-141 Vyleesi .”
The stories about this drug are amazing. Consider this from TheIronDen;
My buddy said research the stuff and see what the dosing was supposed to be because me made a HUGE mistake and took to much. He took double what we took and I will tell you DAMN!!! DOSING is .10-.20cc NO MORE below is the story.
As many of you know I am a bouncer on the weekends well I was told take this 45 minutes before going to bed, I had read where this could take a few hours to take effect so at midnight we went to the car and took the preloaded insulin pins I brought with me.
Well I felt nothing and the wife didn't either by 3:30 when we got home. I was pissed at her and she didn't know it so watched TV awhile then I slept on the couch, she came in the next morning and woke me up, we went in the room and talked a min, then it was on.
We have never had sex 3 times in 4 hours and she has never orgasmed 3 times in 1 day, we were so tired from sex that we couldn't hardly move and wanted more but our bodies wouldn't let us. bremelanotide Vyleesi is AMAZING, I even wanted it last night, she was in the mood but couldn't as she has other medical problems and the pain in her hip was too much.
What it does:
Men - makes you horny as hell and increases blood flow to the cock making it more sensitive.
Women - floods the vagina with blood making it WAY more sensitive and very aroused.
Of this from a woman who took it with her husband…
3 hours after injection bremelanotide (PT-141) Vyleesi hit like gangbusters.*
We were sitting in the lounge area of a restaurant when my nether regions made themselves known. Increased sensitivity to any movement I made in my seat i.e. shifting or leg crossing.
This was coupled with increased sexual thoughts.
It is difficult not to think in sexual terms when some body parts are demanding your attention! My husband had a difficult time getting up from his chair to even approach the restaurant table. Next time we will time the injections better LOL
There are many, many…. MANY opinions by users, that actually run counter to the decisions made by the FDA.
I have to wonder if the agencies such as the FBI, FCC, FDA and IRS are actually being made to benefit Americans. I just seems like they all have their own agendas and treat American citizens like toilet tissue. It really seems that way. It really, really does.
Heck, if the FDA was around when ice cream cones were first invented, I am sure that they would have banned them.
The same goes for such staples as Coke-cola, bananas (they will need to have a Blue Ribbon Panel study the “banana issue”), and chewing gum. Of course they would have banned chewing gum “for the children”.
Absolute power CORRUPTS absolutely.
When any agency causes more harm then benefit, it should have it’s doors shuttered and the workers discharged. Perhaps these “protected” governmental agencies should start to feel what industry has been like since the 1960’s for us “fly over” folk.
Women state that the sensation given from injecting bremelanotide (PT-141) Vyleesi is like being in heat!
One colleague in particular stated that she didn’t know what was going on…but she had wanted “it” all day long after dosing the night before.
-TheIronDen
User details, dosages and experiences on AllThingsMale
Here’s a quick timeline of events that begins with Palatin Technologies’ submission to the FDA in the United States.
August 30, 2007
Right off the bat, the FDA declined Palatin Technologies’ application for approval of Bremelanotide to treat erectile dysfunction. The reason was there were “concerns” of increased blood pressure in a small percentage of the test subjects. Especially in light that Viagra was approved and it too had test subjects that had increased blood pressure.
...the rejection of Bremelanotide by the FDA is especially puzzling, at least to a "lay person", when seeing posts online (including this one on the Yahoo finance message board for Palatin Technologies) claiming Palatin insiders have told them that only 2% of test subjects experienced a significant increase in blood pressure.
"It was up to 30 for 2 percent (I spoke to Steven W aka investor relations). The avg was 3. Not a medical person but those few people that hit the 30 mark killed brem."
Click here to read about the FDA decision about Bremelanotide
There are all kinds of conspiracies as to why this drug was declined because one or two of the thousands of test subjects had slightly raised blood pressure, when other approvals (with higher percentages of problems identified by test subjects) were approved.
I, such as myself, have speculated that huge companies (like Pfizer for instance) may have strongly influenced the FDAs decision regarding approval of this relatively small company’s competitive product. If you don’t know what I am talking about, watch the movie “Tucker, a man and his dream“.
September 10, 2007
Palatin Technologies and King Pharmaceuticals end their collaboration. Palatin regains full rights to the Bremelanotide program.
September 11, 2007
Competitive Technologies announced they presented Palatin Technologies with a Notice of Termination of the PT-14 technology license agreement. For those not aware, CTT “discovered” the original compound that led to PT-141 (Brem’s initial designation) via the University of Arizona, and licensed Palatin to develop it in 1998.
This issue was resolved on January 22, 2008 with Palatin paying $800,000 to CTT and maintaining the rights to Bremelanotide.
September 28, 2007
Palatin Technologies announced positive results from an at-home Phase 2 trial evaluating bremelanotide for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD).
Post menopausal women "showed statistically significant improvements, compared to baseline and placebo, in desire and arousal success rates, and overall satisfaction at one and two months. In these patients, the FSFI domains of arousal, desire and orgasm were statistically significantly improved compared to placebo at one month. The arousal and orgasm domains were statistically significantly improved compared to placebo at one and two months."
Premenopausal women also "showed statistically significant improvements, compared to baseline, in desire and arousal success rates, and overall satisfaction at one and two months."
May 14, 2008
Palatin Technologies reported it was abandoning Bremelanotide as a sexual dysfunction drug. Instead they intend to resubmit it to the FDA as a treatment for shock due to blood loss.
They are beginning studies for a new compound called PL-6983. This compound works like Bremelanotide but with significantly lower problems related to blood pressure issues. Read Palatin Technologies’ 2008 Objectives plan here.
Then something happened... In 2016, Donald Trump was elected and immediately put businessmen instead of political hacks in charge of the FDA. Three years later...
July 1, 2019
The FDA approved the drug! I am absolutely shocked! As well as pleased. Very, very pleased. Now Americans can finally get what we in the rest of the world has enjoyed for almost two decades now.
It can now be bought in the United States under prescription. It goes by the name Vyleesi. I’m sure that it will be much more expensive for Americans to buy, but it will now be available, and that is a big step towards freedom.
Here is a write up that has been circulating online over the last decade or so. As websites come and go, it behooves us to keep this information alive and available for all the poor sops in America who are FORBIDDEN from using this wonderful product;
What is Bremelanotide (PT-141)?
Bremelanotide (formerly PT-141) is the generic term for a new medication for use in treating sexual dysfunction in men (erectile dysfunction or impotence) as well as sexual dysfunction in women (sexual arousal disorder). It is a synthetic aphrodisiac. Unlike Viagra and other related medications, it does not act upon the vascular system, but directly increases sexual desire.
Originally, the peptide Melanotan II that bremelanotide was developed from was tested as a sunless tanning agent. In initial testing, Melanotan II did induce tanning but additionally caused sexual arousal and spontaneous erections as unexpected side effects in eight out of the ten original male volunteer test subjects. In clinical studies, bremelanotide has been shown to be effective in treating male sexual and erectile dysfunction as well as female sexual dysfunction. It is currently being tested by Palatin Technologies.
Bremelanotide is a cyclic hepta-peptide lactam analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) that activates the melanocortin receptors MC3-R and MC4-R in the central nervous system. It has the amino acid sequence Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-OH or cyclo-[Nle4, Asp5, D-Phe7, Lys10]alpha-MSH-(4-10). PT-141 is a metabolite of Melanotan II that lacks the C-terminal amide function. Its molecular formula is C50H68N14O10 with a molecular weight of 1025.2.
Are these nasal? Oral, Injectable?
Currently the nasal and oral routes have not been made efficient. PT-141 is a sterile injectable made for sub-q injection, like insulin.
What's the dosing schedule...how much do I take?
0.5mg-2mg is the range which people dose. Taking 2-4 hours before game time is ideal. The window of opportunity is very unique.
Say you had a dinner and movie arranged. Taking before dinner may be the best route, however during the climax of the movie may interfere with one of your own…read between the lines there
Is there any reconstituting involved?
Yes and bacteriostatic water is the recommended solvent here.
To mix the vial with bact water, take one syringe (BD Ultrafine II 1cc or 1/3 cc are excellent and I recommend them) and grab your vial of bacteriostatic water. If using a 1 cc syringe (100 units), use the syringe to withdraw 1 full ml (1cc) and inject that into the vial of PT-141 through the rubber.
Be sure to aim the needle towards the glass, so that it will trickle down and not harm the peptide.
Swirl the vial to thoroughly mix and let the peptide dissolve. The key here is to be gentle.
Say you had the vial of PT-141 stored in the freezer, move the vial of PT-141 to fridge for an overnight stay. Then you are ready the next day to reconstitute the same temperature refrigerated bact water with the PT-141 in the most efficient manner. (Just some tricks of the trade here.)
So now you have 100 units (1cc) of bacteriostatic water mixed with 10 mg of PT-141 in your vial ready to go. A 1mg dose would be 10 units or .1ml (.1cc). Make sense? Hope so.
How is it stored?
The lyophilized powder (freeze dried state) can be stored in the freezer or refrigerator. Once reconstituted (mixed with water) it will be good for a month in the refrigerator before it begins to degrade.
Does this help give erections or just put you in the mood?
With PT-141, you feel good, not only sexually aroused, as reported anonymous patient 007, a participant in a Phase 2 trial, you feel younger and more energetic.
The precise mechanisms by which PT-141 does its job remain unclear, but the rough idea is this: Where Viagra acts on the circulatory system, helping blood flow into the penis, PT-141 goes straight to the brain itself. And there it goes to work, switching on the same neural circuitry that lights up when a person actually, you know, wants to.
Basically this takes men back to middle school. You may find yourself in a similar situation as you were in 8th grade science class with the teacher bent over helping the student in front of you. It may be necessary to do a "tuck up" if at the office or especially at the public pool!
This is an “improved” version of PT-141 that doesn’t have any of the “concerns” that the FDA has raised. Of course, no matter how successful the medication is, the FDA will probably ban it’s use anyways. Anyways, this medication is under development currently and the formula is secret. Maybe one day, we can find out more about this medication. However, for now, we will have to wait.
PL-6983 is a synthetic peptide and selective MC4 receptor agonist which is under development by Palatin Technologies for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction. It was developed as a successor to/replacement of bremelanotide (PT-141) due to concerns of the side effect of increased blood pressure seen with the latter in clinical trials. Relative to bremelanotide, PL-6983 produces significantly lower increases in blood pressure in animal models.The drug has reportedly been in pre-clinical development for all medical indications since 2008. Palatin has stated that "We are focusing development efforts on bremelanotide for [female sexual dysfunction], but are continuing evaluation of PL-6983." The chemical structure of PL-6983 has yet to be made public.
-Wikipedia
You do not need to take various medications to enhance your bodies’ desire for sexual intercourse. There are hormones that do this. For example, Oxytocin is a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain and known as the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone”.
In humans, it is believed to be released during hugging, touching, and orgasm in both sexes. Oxytocin is also involved in social recognition and bonding, and may be involved in the formation of trust and generosity.
A researcher at the University of Zurich has stated that women are more susceptible to oxytocin than men, due to enhancing effects of estrogen, so women may show a stronger effect.
If you are an American it would be pretty difficult to obtain. You would have to have your doctor prescribe it for you, and at that, it is heavily regulated and very expensive. Or, you could do what everyone else on the globe does. They buy it from China.
Now, of course, women have different biology than males. Their urges, needs and desires can not often be switched on and off like a light-bulb. Consider Flibanserin. Here is a drug that showed some real promise in helping women reengage their sexual desire.
Addyi has been developed to help women with their sexual needs and desires. Personally I think it is a good thing. I have noticed that when both mean and women are getting their sexual and relationship needs fulfilled, they are often healthier and much happier.
It was developed by a small company called Boehringer Ingelheim, and they submitted it to the FDA for approval. Of course, the FDA halted all approvals, and the development of this product ended.
Well, some “back door” meetings were conducted. Some money changed hands. Then, suddenly the rights to the drug were then transferred to Sprout Pharmaceuticals. What do you know? Suddenly all the roadblocks fell and the FDA approved of the drug in August 2015.
Of course! Only certain companies are permitted to get products approved by the FDA. It’s a small closed club, don’t you know. Hum. I wonder how much money exchanged hands at the FDA. I’ll bet that it was significant.
Some people end up having followers or groupies. Anyone can be a follower. That can include newscasters. I am sure that this gal would do anything that this man asked.
The product was developed as BIMT-17. Current brand name is Addyi.
Flibanserin has been dubbed the “Female Viagra” and “the little pink pill”; however compared to Viagra, flibanserin has a distinctly different mechanism.
The proposed mechanism of action of flibanserin involves regulation of several brain chemicals that may affect sexual desire, although the exact mechanism is not known. Flibanserin is a post-synaptic 5HT1A receptor agonist and 5HT2A receptor antagonist, as noted in FDA briefing documents, and has action in the central nervous system.
The manufacturer states that flibanserin corrects an imbalance of dopamine and norepinephrine (both responsible for sexual excitement), while decreasing levels of serotonin (responsible for sexual satiety / inhibition).
Flibanserin is not a hormonal drug and does not affect blood flow like the class of drugs approved for men with erectile dysfunction.
-Drugs.com
Like all FDA approved medications, there are limitations. The medication has to be taken daily and is costly, about US$800 per month with a prescription.
But no worries. You can buy the materials by the Kg in China, and only end up paying $0.0000002/dose. Of course, you would need to measure the dose out on a scale. So it is not as convenient.
If you want to save money, and not have to worry about self dosing, I would suggest this far cheaper alternative.
Buy a round-trip ticket to China.
Get a five-star hotel room.
Go to a pharmacy, and pay $20 for a three month supply.
Return home.
You won’t need a prescription in China. The Chinese government trusts their citizens to know how to take care of their own bodies.
Contrary to what the American Media says, the Chinese government trusts their people.
What about Kisspeptin
Kisspeptin is a naturally occurring hormone, so it’s present in all men and all women. And it’s mainly found in the brain, especially in the center of the brain in the area called the hypothalamus.
At the moment we know that it works to control other reproductive hormones like testosterone and estrogen using its actions in the hypothalamus. There are receptors for this hormone in the emotional areas of the brain.
In trials, 29 healthy young male volunteers were given an injection containing kisspeptin. They were then shown a variety of images while in an MRI scanner, including sexual and non-sexual romantic pictures of couples bonding. The same men were also administered a placebo during the two-stage controlled study.
Researchers analyzing the brain responses of the men found that after the injection of kisspeptin, when viewing sexual or romantic images of couples, there was increased activity in structures in the brain typically activated by sexual arousal and romance.
The researchers say the findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, show for the first time that the hormone that is vital in all of us to stimulate puberty can also alter the way that our brains behave.
Roll Call
So we have PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra and Cialis that enable the male to have erections. It doesn’t do anything in regards to feelings and emotions. All it does is enable men to perform biologically like they did when they were in their 20’s.
We have melanocyte stimulating hormones (MSH) that induces primeval lordosis in humans. This works on both men and women. The FDA forbids Americans to use this medicine, but it is being used around the world with great and stunning results. This is available in PT-141 and possibly (one day) in PL-6983.
We have normal human hormones such as Kisspeptin and Oxytocin that regulates feelings and emotions leading towards relationships and sexual activities.
Finally, we have “designer medicines” such as Flibanserin (Addyi). Which is a post-synaptic 5HT1A receptor agonist and 5HT2A receptor antagonist for female use.
The Future
The future for Americans is rather bleak, I am afraid.
The House of Representatives voted on Friday to create a new schedule of banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, called “Schedule A,” and to give Attorney General Jeff Sessions broad new powers to criminalize the manufacturing, importation, and sale of substances that are currently unregulated, but not illegal.
The bill is now headed to the Senate, where co-sponsors Dianne Feinstein (D–Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) will likely have little problem whipping votes.
-Michael Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog
Did you know that the natural betel nut is banned in the United States? Do you even know what it is? It is a nut from the betel tree, and people in South East Asia chew it, much like Americans chew birch bark and leaves. It’s not at all popular in the United States, but in Asian expat communities, they do chew this nut.
Well, the FDA banned it. Do you know why?
Was it because it was dangerous? Was it because of “the children”? Was it because it might cause addiction or develop into a desire for other vices? Nope. It was banned because they COULD NOT find anything wrong with it. So to be safe, they banned it until they could find a benefit in chewing it. You know, “better safe than sorry”.
What kind of backwards logic is this? That is America for you. There is absolutely no freedom. Now, if you want to chew a betel nut you need to go to a freer country that allows you this little pleasure.
You need to go to a country that has more freedoms than America allows. You know, like friggin’ communist China!!!!
Summary
As an American, all we know is what we are told. We think that there is only one medication available for men with ED issues. When in reality, there are a host of solutions. It is just that Americans are barred from trying any of these other solutions simply because…
Simply because…
You, know. Because…
But not to worry. These medications are easy to get outside of the United States. They do not need doctors prescriptions or any proof of age or other barriers that one often finds in the United States. You just go to a pharmacy, write the name of the drug on a piece of paper, and they sell it to you directly at the cash register.
As you get older, you start to realize that “someday, I will...” is actually right NOW. There no longer is a “someday“. All you have is the NOW, and nothing else. You have friends who have died, and you truly know how short life actually is. You don’t have the will to wait for “someday…“.
You don’t have the time, or the patience to wait until some well-fed bureaucrat in the American government grants you the right to do things with your own body. You say “piss on this“, and go do it yourself anyways.
Every day that you live could be the last.
That moment that you could spend with your wife, holding and snuggling, while the storm rages outside might be your last. Those bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. don’t care about you at all. They are not sitting at the table with you now. They have no idea what color your socks are, and do not know which side of the bed that you sleep on.
How dare they TELL YOU what to put in YOUR body!
Here are the people who operate the enormous bureaucracy in the United States. You know, the ones that say one things and do the other. John Brennan. James Clapper, and their ilk. You know what they think of YOU and your family, don’t you…?
Freedom actually means something. It is not just a meaningless slogan that you hear on the fourth of July. It means something, gosh darn it!
The freedom to live your life on your terms is what freedom is. And that is why I am in communist China of all places. At least here, I can take whatever medication I please. No over-paid Washington bureaucrat can do anything about it.
Hey! I’m not seeing an opioid crisis over here…
Oh, and by the way! I like well-cooked bacon as well, with sunny-side up eggs! I like “runny” yellows on my eggs. You don’t like it? You can go to hell.
This is MY time and I am living it on MY terms. I strongly recommend that you, the reader, do so as well. You go live YOUR life as YOU see fit.
PT-141 is illegal in the United States, even though it’s qualification trials were acceptable. This is true even though this drug is available world-wide with no reported problems what so ever.
To pass approval in the FDA, there is apparently a need for graft, kick-backs and large American-based company partnerships. Nothing is ever approved on merit alone.
Americans do not need to suffer the extremely high costs of medications in the United States. They can get them outside of the USA at a fraction of the cost (airfare included).
ED medication is often used recreationally by young men who don’t need it. However, there is a real and serious need for men over 40 years old.
The roles of touching, cuddling, holding and passionate embraces are just as important than the sexual act alone.
FAQ
Q: What is PT-141? A:Bremelanotide (tentative brand name Rekynda; former developmental code name PT-141) is a peptide melanocortin receptor agonist which is under development by Palatin Technologies as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction. It works equally effectively on both male and female humans.
Q: Is it available in the United States? A: No. The FDA has banned it.
Q: Why is PT-141 banned in the United States? A: The official reason is because a small subgroup of patients using the medication experienced higher than normal levels of blood pressure. The actual reason is because this is a small non-American organization, and they did not have any connections with large American pharmacy organizations to pay for the vice and graft that the FDA expected.
Q: Is PT-141 safe? A: Yes. Since the product went globally public since 2007, there has not been one fatality or hospitalization when using this medication. NOT ONE.
Q: Other medicines in other nations cheaper than in the USA? A: Oh, my yes.
"$8 per vial in competing developed-world nations and $38,892 in the U.S. That says it all."
-Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog
5JUL19 Update
The FDA approved Bremelanotide PT-141 for sale under the trade name Vyleesi. Amazing!
Dr. Robert Pearl, writing in Forbes last September illustrated the greed exhibited by the industry. He used the CEO of Nostrum Laboratories to make his point. Nostrum recently raised the U.S. price of their antibiotic nitrofurantoin from $474.75 to $2,392. It was developed back in 1953 and should have gone off patent during the Nixon era.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Nirmal Mulye Nostrum chief executive, said “I think it is a moral requirement to…sell the product for the highest price.”
Mr Mulye compared pricing decisions to that of selling “a painting for half a billion dollars”. He was “in this business to make money”. Of course, all businesses are in business to make money. But, none enjoy the monopolistic protections granted to the pharmaceutical industry here in the United States.
Note: a three day supply of nitrofurantoin tablets in Alberta sells for $15 Canadian.
The American system has been allowed to metastasize into an unaffordable monster. Our political leaders have allowed it. It is long past time for Americans to demand that they change it. This is not a matter of right versus left. It is a matter of right versus wrong. It is simply wrong for our government to allow sick Americans to be held hostage to the predatory prices imposed by these government protected monopolies.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
The Chinese have many beliefs. Often, we in the West, don’t understand their beliefs of traditions and dismiss them away as superstition. Yet, they really aren’t grounded in fantasy at all. They follow a belief or an understanding on how the universe works.
Let’s take a look at the Ben Ming Nian, or the twelve-year cycle of change…
Introduction
The Chinese believe that every twelve years, a person has a year of change and readjustment. Often this period can bring about some significant stress and discomfort if the person is not aware of what is going on or understands why this period is important.
This means, obviously, that when a person hits the Ben Ming Nian, that their lives will start to experience some changes. This will occur when they are twelve years old, twenty four years old, thirty six years old, forty eight years old, sixty years old, seventy two years old, and eighty four years old. Those who survive their eighty four year old birthday can look forward to a Ben Ming Nian at ninety six, and one hundred and eight years of age.
The Chinese have various traditions and superstitions in support of minimizing the negative influences of the Ban Ming Nian. Here is a nice red bracelet.
A Time of Bad Luck?
It is easy to dismiss this time as a time of bad luck. However, that is not really accurate. It is a time when you have too much of what you naturally possess.
Think of it like this; imagine that you are like a pot of chilli. You have meat, sauce, salt, peppers and it is a good and decent pot of chilli.
Every year different ingredients are added to the pot. One year, you might have sweet yellow peppers added. Another year, you might have hamburger added. A different year, you might have onions added. However, every Ben Ming Nian, all of the normal ingredients are doubled!
According to the Chinese astrology, the zodiac year is a year of bad luck. Most Chinese people are afraid to spend their birth sign year.
Why is it unlucky? It's said that the people during the Ben Ming Nian are easy to encounter Tai Sui who is the legendary God in charge of people's fortune. Their fortune usually fluctuates during the year. Many bad things such as illness, financial loss, extramarital affair etc. may happen to them.
Some people think it's superstitious to believe this.
In fact, it's not completely bad for people in the zodiac year. It varies greatly from individual to individual. Some people may have good fortune instead of bad luck. But in general, marriage, moving house, travel, starting business…are thought to be worthy of great attention during the year.
-Fortune in Ben Ming Nian
So, continuing on the chilli analogy, consider that on some Ben Ming Nian years, you have too much salt, while on others, you might have too much meat, or too many peppers. Now, too many peppers might make the chilli far too spicy to eat. Thus, it would be a very bad year for the pot of chilli.
Jade and the color red are considered positive and happy influences that can be used to moderate a difficult year. Here is a nice belt for the attractive female.
Not every Ben Ming Nian is bad. Though the raw truth is that things can get choppy and dicey at times. You need to take care and be careful in what you do, say and behave.
In folklore, it is a very popular superstition that people's zodiac year of birth is really unlucky, so it is also called Threshold Years, which means a year with a lot of obstacles in life. Why is Ben Ming Nian considered ominous? It is said that starting from the Chinese New Year of one's year of birth, people will offend 'Tai Sui', a mysterious power or celestial body that could control people's fortune. Impacted by this power, people will suffer either exultation or misery during that year.
-Travel China Guide
Caution
In general, a person is advised to “lie low”. Don’t start anything new or over extend yourself. It is easy to get entangled in troubles and conflicts.
So the best thing that you can do is spend time in nature, don’t get too upset about anything. You need to realize that like it or not, when bad things occur, they are fated. It is beyond your control.
Red and pink under-garments are preferred during the tumultuous Ben Ming Nian year. Traditionally, red is the most common, but pink is now becoming popular with the youthful Chinese ladies.
Theory
Contemporaneously, it is believed that a person is surrounded by a non-physical reality. Within this non-physical are cyclic events and attributes that ebb and flow depending on a host of causes and effects.
This non-physical reality differs from person to person. However, it consists of things that ebb and flow according to synchronized events that are triggered upon birth.
The Chinese have given these various components and their behaviors all sorts of names. They have created a series of “animal characteristics” such as dog, pig, and snake to describe a set of initial non-physical conditions. They have also created a series of names to describe how the non-physical components behave as a group. They go by such names as a “strong earth”, or a “weak wood”. It’s easy for the ignorant to make fun of this entire system. To them, it sounds a lot like a more detailed version of Western astrology.
The Ben Ming Nian is itself classified as a “star”. It is known as the “God of Age” Star (Tai Sui).
Tai Sui doesn't actually exist as a real star! (It roughly corresponds to Jupiter, which takes 11.86 years to orbit earth, and is probably where the idea for the star came from). It's an imaginary star that changes position exactly 30 degrees of direction each year, i.e. orbiting Earth every 12 years exactly.
-China Highlights
It all sounds just a little silly. Right?
Mapping your Situation
According to the Chinese, a person can “map” the non-physical reality influences that they were born with.
To do this, you need to identify the exact moment you were born (within a fifteen minute window). This will tell you the relative positions of the non-physical reality that surrounds you at birth. There are all sorts of people who can help you out in doing this. I would suggest that for casual interest, you go visit a free website and have the initial conditions mapped out for you.
The above is a pretty decent on-line calculator that will set you in motion to follow your traits and attributes. I suggest you use it first.
If you, the reader, find it is useful then you can investigate other related Chinese studies such as Bazi (八字) and Fengshui. To do this, you will need a detailed study of the non-physical realities that surround you. You can go here, for a very detailed and free analysis;
There are some things that really need to be considered before discounting this belief so readily.
There is a non-physical reality that surrounds the physical reality.
Within is non-physical reality are “things”.
These “things” move about in cyclic motion.
These “things” interact with other “things”.
By mapping out the movement of these “things” one can predict the ebb and flow of fortune.
For instance, consider the weather. It changes. One day it is sunny and then on another day it rains. For the football player, if it rains, it is an unlucky day. The poor guy can’t play his beloved football. Yet, for the farmer, it is a lucky or auspicious day. For his crops will grow.
There really isn’t any good or bad luck. Instead what you have is the perception of advantage or auspiciousness, as determined by the movement of the non-physical reality that surrounds us all.
Takeaways
The Chinese believe that there are non-physical influences that can affect the physical reality that surrounds a person.
These influences go by different names.
The influences are mapped by characteristics. These characteristics are given animal traits and names.
The influences operate within relationships that go by terms such as strong, weak, or neutral. They also have characteristics that are defined by elements such as water, wood, earth, fire, etc.
There are also specific influences that operate independently. They are called “stars”. Examples include inauspicious stars ‘Tai Sui’ (太岁), ‘Jian Feng’ (剑锋) and ‘Fu Shi’ (伏尸).
To ward off any negative influences in a Ben Ming Nian year, the Chinese like to wear red, and certain amulets and do positive things to keep from getting sucked down into negativity.
FAQ
Q: What is the Ben Ming Nian? A: It is the zodiac year of one’s birth. It repeats every twelve years. Thus when a person reaches the year where they would turn twelve, it would be their first Ben Ming Nian.
Q: Is the Ben Ming Nian unlucky? A: It is a very popular superstition that people’s zodiac year of birth is really unlucky. Therefore, it is also called a Threshold Year, which means a year with a lot of obstacles in life. Why is Ben Ming Nian considered ominous? It is said that starting from the Chinese New Year of one’s year of birth, people will offend ‘Tai Sui’, a mysterious power or celestial body that could control people’s fortune. Impacted by this power, people will suffer either exultation or misery during that year.
Q: How can one protect themselves during a Ben Ming Nian? A: To cope with the big rise and fall in one’s Ben Ming Nian, it is unwise to make moves in career and life. In the first place, they should avoid starting a new business or making a large-amount investment in case of any economic loss. Traveling far would also incur potential dangers. Moving house and getting married in one’s Ben Ming Nian are all considered ominous. It is quite necessary to keep themselves modest and in a low profile or else their relationships with people around would break up.
Q: Do you believe in the Ben Ming Nian? A: Well, personally the worst year in my life just happened to fall on a Ben Ming Nian. My second worst year fell on a Ben Ming Nian as well. However, all of this might just be a coincidence. Being in China, I take their traditions seriously and follow them.
In many ways, I follow Carl Sagan, who dismissed astrology and superstition as unscientific ways of explaining the world.
But then I think of my mother’s last benmingnian, when cancer snuffed out her life before the end of the year. Or my father’s last benmingnian, when he went to the hospital for a life-threatening condition. Or even my own recent benmingnian, where I battled hardship after hardship, from losing my job to workplace abuse, over and over until the end. None of us wore our red.
It could be coincidence, as Carl Sagan and other scientists might say. But, then again, come my next benmingnian, a little red sure couldn’t hurt.
-The Chinese Zodiac Effect
Q: How do practitioners know how to calculate the “threat analysis” for a Ben Ming Nian? A: Dì Zhī (地支), or Earthly Branches, were the original terms used for the years. These branches are also assigned to the hours of the day, based on solar time. The animals were later added as mnemonics and categorized as either yīn (阴) or yáng (阳).
Ten Celestial Stems (天干—tiān gān) pair with the Earthly Branches for a 60-year calendrical cycle. Then add in an element. These cycle through, but each zodiac also has a fixed element. This fixed element is what determines which sign you’re compatible with.
Q: What are the twelve branches? A: The Twelve Earthly Branches: zi (子), chǒu (丑), yín (寅), Mao (卯), chén (辰), sì (巳), wǔ (午), wèi (未), shēn (申), yǒu (酉), xū (戌), hài (亥).
Q: What are the ten celestial stems? A: The Ten Celestial Stems: jiǎ (甲), yǐ (乙), bǐng (丙), ding (丁), wù (戊), jǐ (己), gēng (庚), xīn (辛), rén (壬), guǐ (癸).
Q: What are the five elements? A: Five elements: water (水—shuǐ), wood (木—mù), fire (火—huǒ), earth (土—tǔ), metal (金—jīn).
Another Opinion
They say a man enters a new chapter in life every twelve years. Mine haven’t been that exact but it’s pretty damn close.
0-12. Childhood. Carefree. Annoying the shit out of your parents. Exploring and learning about your surroundings. Catching frogs and snakes. Skateboarding and riding bicycles. Scraping your knees and banging your forehead on the corner of coffee tables. You learn about stitches and chicken pocks.
12-24. Your nuts drop. You’re growing from a boy to a young man. You want to fuck all the cute girls in class and fight other boys at recess. The teen years are fun. You’re jacking off like a mad man and developing a drinking problem. You’re becoming a young adult. You learn about these green pieces of paper that can buy you nice things. You realize they can also get you women so you try to obtain some of these green pieces of paper for yourself. Hopefully you were raised right and become a productive member of society.
24-36. Young adult. During these years you strike out on your own, figuring out what you want to do in this world while making massive mistakes along the way. You’re optimistic while trying new things but most of them fail. You learn about depression. You contemplate the best way to kill yourself and decide on drop hanging. You pussy out and don’t do it. Instead you go out drinking. While completely hammered you have the brilliant idea that you will say FUCK THIS SHIT, quit your job, sell everything you own and move half way across the globe for a fresh start. Your family laughs and thinks you’re joking. You do it and don’t look back. You mature and become stronger during this process…
This is where I’m at right now. And I think it’s time for the next phase.
36-48. Mastery. Pick something you want to do in life and master it. I’ve tried a lot of things over the years. I’ve dabbled in various odd jobs and started businesses. I’ve chased the get rich quick schemes. I sold drugs, played sports and was even in a rock band. Always dabbling, never mastering. But now it’s time to really focus on something with 100% of my effort and MASTER it. Find my passion. My purpose in life. I’m an adult. No more excuses for juvenile behavior and limited thinking. Time to adopt new productive habits and embrace a healthy lifestyle. Time to evolve into the next stage of development as a man. Change my thought process and also how I spend my time.
Well, it was a choppy year for certain, but I managed to keep everything calm and under control. When issues cropped up, I deferred them. I calmed my self. And dealt with them in a way that was productive. I performed no reactionary actions.
Finally, after one year of this, things were calming down. One more day to go…
So on CNY eve, the day right before the next Chinese years and when I would exit my Ben Ming Nian, I was startled when I heard splashing sounds in my living room.
Guess what happened?
The sewer line was blocked up, and all 24 floors above me were dumping their shit and feces into my apartment. It was a shower of shit. It was pouring out of all the drains in the house and it was gurgling grey-water and feces all over. Little turds were floating in the living room, and toilet paper “ghosts” were wafting all over and sticking to my couches, my books, and everything.
This is on CNY eve, right?
That’s right! No one was around. I had to deal with it myself.
Long story short. …
My Ben Ming Nian literally shit on me and my family. 24 floors of waste resulted in two feet deep of shit. And I spent my CNY cleaning up the mess, shoveling shit and throwing away my furnishings and gear.
Oh…
And the culprit?
Some jackass was flushing complete towels down the commodes. A big wad of six or seven of them ended up blocking the massive sewer pipe under the complex (One that was two feet in diameter). Jackass.
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What happens to our pets when they die? Do they go into a dark nothingness? Do they go to Paradise? Do cats go to Cat Heaven? Does the soul or spirit fly free? Are there others that help them? Will our loved ones be able to remember our times together? These are questions that all pet owners ask when their beloved pal dies. Here, I will try to answer these questions in the only way that I know how. Through my MAJestic entanglements.
I am a pet lover. I love my dogs and my cats. When I was young, we had birds, turtles, rabbits, and hamsters. Although, the truth is that I wasn’t really close to any of the smaller critters. I was only close to my dogs and cats. You know, when you get attached to your pets, you begin to bond in special ways. Dare I say it; spiritual ways.
And, when they pass on, well there are (sometimes) events that point to a life outside of the corporal…
Introduction
When a loved one dies, there is a period of grief.
This is true whether or not it is a human person or a beloved pet. Since most people have no attachment with their spiritual selves, they think that the relationship ends upon death. They believe that we are just the physical and nothing more. Death is a mystery to these people. To them, you are either alive or gone. To them, once you are gone you are forever gone. To them, your grief is a normal psychological condition. It has no other importance at all.
They are very wrong.
Spirit is REAL
There is a very important spiritual component to our being. You can call it religion or quantum physics. These are just names. For the record, there is a soul. It is not only consciousness. We all have it. That includes me. It includes you, the reader.
Our companions on the road of life can take many forms. They don’t need to be humans. They can be dogs, cats, and even turtles. While they share our lives together with us, they influence our feelings, our emotions, and our life. When they pass on, we end up missing them terribly.
It also includes our pets. Yes. Contrary to what certain religions preach, all ambulatory entities possess souls. Though, their souls and their spiritual realities are quite different from ours. They do have spiritual elements to their lives. As such, we can see that they live on and even return back to us in another body!
I have some experiences that prove this.
Religion
What I have to posit herein is what I have personally experienced.
But, beware; it is presented in accordance with my own personal experiences. As such, those experiences necessarily gave me a VERY DIFFERENT point of view compared to everyone else. What I was involved is really, well, strange.
Anyways, that really doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that I present some of the things that I have learned and experienced. The things are wide, diverse and unusual. I have learned about souls, Heaven, and the makeup of our reality.
I know a few things about human heaven, cat heaven, and even dog heaven. I hope others will benefit from it. If you don’t, well you can move on. There are other things out there for you.
Because of that, it will get many people angry.
What is REAL is often Hidden From Us
According to everyone, scientists, experts, government officials, religious leaders, and the mailman down the street, there is nothing but what we see. There are no spirits, no good and no bad. There are no morals. Our life is just what we see and nothing else. As such, there is nothing you the reader need to concern yourself with.
You just keep reading the government approved media. They will tell you all that you need to know. They will label what you are not to read as evil. Just obey. Keep paying your taxes.
The government will take care of you.
As such, if you listen to those people, there is only one reality and we are in the center of it. There are no souls, and no spirits. There is nothing except religions, and unless you follow Mohammed, all religions are bunk anyways. After all, that is what was crammed down our throats for the eight long years under Obama. (Ah, now everybody, don’t get your tail feathers all ruffled up. Obama wasn’t all that bad; it’s just that I never bought into his vision of what America was, and what it now should be.)
They are all wrong.
Don’t be a Fixed and Closed Mind
What I have to say will anger those who demand set nice and scientific answers and mathematical proofs. It will anger those who follow a set and formalized religion or two. It will anger those who disagree with me.
I am sorry, but this is what I know.
I have no desire to spend the time writing something that I don’t believe in. It would be a waste of my time, as well as a waste of your time to read it. It would benefit no one. Therefore, I only write what I know about and what I believe is true.
This particular subject is what I believe it is to be true.
Not a Rehash of Conventional Lore
This is a post for cat lovers who have lost someone that is near and dear to their heart.
Therefore, what is presented here is not a rehash of conventional religious lore. (Someone quotes a passage from the Bible and elaborates on it regarding a specific issue.) Neither is it a new look into the world of quantum physics. (We see this all the time on popular science publications. It’s just a rehash of well-established lore repackaged for commercial distribution.)
It is instead what I have learned though my MAJestic entanglement. (Not my actual mission events, but rather an understanding associated with it.) So, it’s going to sound pretty strange to most people.
To prevent the reader from getting too upset, I would suggest they stop reading and go no further. It will not be comfortable to those with fixed belief systems.
This is a post for cat lovers who have lost someone that is near and dear to their heart.
Now, after all that lengthy background information, let’s get to my illustrative stories.
My first story concerns a cat named “Phelie”. (I use cats because I only had cats during my entanglement. So can only draw my experiences from my relationships with them.) As such, let’s look at this experience of mine…
The story about my cat Phelie
At the time, I was living on the Indiana – Kentucky border along the Ohio River there. I was living with my first wife. We had a place in the valley along the river there. In fact, there was a highway right along the river, and our house was right there next to the highway. (Well, you had to drive down a gravel driveway to get to the road, but it’s really the same thing.)
We lived in a mobile home. (Doesn’t most people in Kentucky?) It wasn’t a “double wide”. It was a 14-foot wide by 60-foot long home built in the middle 1970’s. We lived in a trailer park, and it was really cheap. We only paid $40 a month for park space rent.
For those who are unawares, it was the middle of the summer. And, trust me, along the river in Kentucky was hot and super humid could be unbearable at times.
A Stormy Night
It was around 10:00 in the evening and there was a rainstorm out. This wasn’t just an average rainstorm. It was a torrential downpour. It was raining buckets.
I for one was very happy to be in. Outside the weather was horrible. Thunder and lightning was crashing all around us. It was one of those nights where you were completely glad that you were safe and warm inside.
We had finished eating dinner and the wife was sitting down watching television.
Then suddenly she arched her back. She stared straight ahead. Goose-bump pimples covered her entire arms.
Then she snapped out of it.
My Wife was Called Upon
She looked at me with this expression.
I really don’t know how to describe it. It was part fear, and part worry. Her eyes looked at me imploringly.
She told me. No, I take it back, she ordered me. We absolutely needed to go out. We needed to leave right then and there. We had to get cat food. We just HAD to. She kept saying that we needed to feed the cats. We needed to keep them warm and safe. We needed to help the cats.
I responded. I told her that our cats were fine. They were all around us resting. They were doing cat-typical behavior. They were all there with us “chilling out”.
A Call for Action
She got up off the couch and started running all over the house looking for her shoes. It was like she was electric. She was on fire and it was as if every alarm bell in her soul was going off!
She couldn’t find an umbrella, but she started to go out anyways. I stopped her. I told her that we had plenty of cat food. She didn’t care.
We had to leave THEN and NOW!
Well, we argued for a few minutes. Reluctantly I went and got the car keys and put on my shoes. I knew better than to argue with her. (As do all married men. Sooner or later, you learn that there are some things that you do not question, if you want to have a good and stable life.) If she put her mind to something, that was it!
Off to the Car
We ran out to the car in the rain. I am not going to lie, I was drenched. Just the fifteen second run to the car and everything I wore was soaked through and through. We shut the doors, and turned on the ignition. My wife was leading with me. “Hurry!” she said. I told her that “We’re going. We’re going”.
We pulled out in what must have been the rainstorm of the century. It was like something you would find in Southern Louisiana. It was so fierce. We drove down the gravel road, the windshield wipers furiously trying to keep the window clear. We drove down to the end of the gravel road to the highway.
As we went down the small rainy incline to the highway, the head beam lights fell onto the highway surface. And there, there right in front of us was a dead cat. Right in front of us it lay. Dead. Lifeless with rain pouring down.
A Dead Cat
The reader might not understand, but I am not going to let a dead cat lie right in front of my driveway. Even in the rain. I mean, it was right there. Smack dab in front of us. It blocked our route out.
So, in the rain, I exited the car and went to the cat. Yup. There was no question at all about it. It was dead. The side was crushed and it was absolutely dead. The little guy was off in Cat Heaven. It was still warm, but had been dead for a few minutes at least.
I picked it up.
The car headlights helped me see my way around that storm from Hell. I gingerly picked it up and carried it off to the far end of the road and set it down in some tall grass. Rigor mortis had not yet set in, and the dead cat hung limp in my arms.
I set it down softly and respectfully. “Poor little guy”, I thought.
The poor guy is off on his way to Cat Heaven.
In the Rain
I stood there for a moment, and then sighed and turned back to the car.
The headlights were shining on me in the rain. Mini rivers were forming on both sides of the highway from all the rain. I waited for a car to pass by, and then I splashed through the moving water and then headed back to the car. But…
But…
Before I could open the door, I heard a faint meow. I stopped and listened again. Meow. This time it was still faint, but a little louder. I went to look for it. I just didn’t know where it was coming from.
And I found it.
A tiny kitten had somehow managed to make it to a low shrub at the side of the highway. It backed away from me. It was wet, and cold. It shivered terribly and its little cries were pathetic against the constant drumbeat of the rain.
A Tiny Kitten
It was a wet scrawny little thing.
I grabbed it by its tiny little neck. And, I dragged it out from under the pathetic little shrub. It fit within my wet hand, and I carefully carried it to the car. I handed it to my wife and she put it close to her chest and kept it warm.
Then I went out and looked to see if there were any others. I looked. But, I couldn’t find any.
When I got back into the car, my wife was calm. She was holding the little kitten close and said softly for me to go and see if I could get some milk or something at the store.
The little kitten was traumatized and in bad shape. So we drove to the local store and I bought a small can of condensed milk, and then we drove home.
We cleaned the little guy up.
It was a female grey-striped mainecoon with white mittens who was so young that it was still nursing. So we fed it out of an eyedropper. My wife held it all night. She was no longer hysterical and in worry. It was like a light switch was switched. Now, she was very, very calm. She lay in bed holding it. It was our fate.
Thank You
Now, here is the curious point.
That night, she told me that she felt like a giant mother cat was on top of her and kneading her chest with her paws. Left and right. Left and right. Left and right. Softly and purring.
This was pretty darn strange. What in the world? I have never heard of such a thing. A giant invisible cat? And what’s this smashing her chest? Crazy and strange stuff for certain!
So, I asked her “seriously”. She replied to me matter of factly,”absolutely”.
And, you know what? I believe her.
What happened
Friends have told me that it was just coincidence that we found the kitten at the same time as my wife’s urgent need to get cat food. They say that I am reading too much into this event. They say that I am crazy to believe in things that I cannot see.
I disagree.
Somehow, the mother cat found us. Maybe it was because we already had four cats. Or maybe it was because my wife was a very “sensitive” person. But I do believe that when the mother cat died, it must have been carrying the little kitten across the highway. And, then somehow it “connected” to my wife.
It didn’t connect to me.
Maybe it was because my wife was a female. Or, maybe it tried to connect to me, but I couldn’t sense anything.
Whatever, there was a connection. I actually saw how my wife reacted when the connection was made. I know that this kind of experience is subjective. To those who don’t believe in the reality of the soul, this story is fantastical. Yet it is completely and absolutely true.
As such, it can tell us many things…
What this can tell us
Look at this little story, and it is a true one. It really, really is. It happened exactly as I recalled it. There are a couple of things that we can learn from it.
The mother cat was dead, but it managed to communicate with my wife.
The mother cat was not yet in Cat Heaven when it died.
The communication was not physical. It was spiritual. My wife “felt” a panic. She felt a need to protect and feed the cats. She felt an urgency. She felt pure concern.
The information conveyed was specific. Get food. Feed the cat. Keep the kitten safe. Do it immediately. It is an emergency.
After the kitten was rescued, the mother cat said “thank you” and told my wife to feed the kitten.
All these things can provide us with some important insights…
The consciousness lives on after the physical body dies.
The consciousness cares for the loved ones and leaves messages when necessary.
If you are sensitive or “attuned” to something or a situation, you can be made aware of situations as they develop.
The rest of the story
The reader can rest assured that the kitten grew up to be a beautiful black and grey striped mainecoon. She was always on the small size, but she ended up being the boss of the household. She traveled everywhere we went, and lived a nice ripe old age of sixteen. She was a good cat. When she passed on, it was through old age.
Aside from the first moment we found her, we never had any other contact with the spirit cat.
I do understand the relationship that you can have with your beloved cat. I do understand. I know that it hurts when they are taken from you.
The Lesson about Texie
Here is another story about a cat. As I stated previously, my experiences concern cats.
While Phelie was my “wife’s cat” (if you know what I mean), this cat was “my cat”. He was my little buddy. Here is a story about an incident that I had with him. This story illustrates reincarnation of spirit and how a loved one will always return to their families.
Before we begin, however, we need to talk about an earlier cat; Samantha Panta.
My first cat after marriage
I used to have dogs (Siberian Huskies) and cats while I was growing up. Then during my college years, and my stint in the US Navy and my MAJestic training, I didn’t have any pets.
Eventually, a cat walked into my life.
It was a big fluffy orange and white mainecoon. We named him Samantha Panta, and he was our cat. He would go on walks (Yes, we would go on hikes for hours at a time, and he would walk with us.) with us and do everything with us. We developed a very good and close bond with him.
The Fields of Indiana
At that time, we lived in Indiana.
Now, for those of you who are unaware, Indiana is frightenly hot and humid in the summer and frozen and windy in the winter. Springs are glorious, but you have to endure two to three months of living among fields of mud as far as the eyes can see. Fall is also a very special time. What this means is that the winters are too short to invest in a wood burning stove, and the summers are too short to invest in an air conditioner.
For us, we used central kerosene heating in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer.
At that time, it was the late 1980’s. I was a youngish man in my late 20’s and we were trying hard to save and make a life for ourselves. In order to save, we cut corners. One of the ways that we did it was not to use an air conditioner.
Instead, when the weather got too hot, we would take rides in the car with the air conditioner on. We would ride the back-country roads of North Central Indiana, visiting cemeteries (the only free places to visit) and listening to music.
Of course, that was how we dealt with things at that time. I am sure that the reader is much more intelligent than we were then. So you probably never needed to handle things like we did. We were so silly.
Chillin’ Out in the Countryside
Anyways, often we would ride to a quiet spot and park there with the AC and the radio on. Again, in Indiana there are precious free spots to park and relax. It is all owned by someone. It is all farmland consisting of soybeans and corn as far as the eye can see.
If you wanted shade, you would need to find an isolated cemetery and park under one of the trees there. It sounds boring, but unless you lived there you have no idea how we were able to cope with the heat. Indiana could become like a terrible furnace in the Summer. That’s just the way it was.
Music
Now, we would often listen to cassette tapes while we rode in the car. (This was before CD’s, USB’s and Satellite Radio.) We had a box of them.
Most radio stations in Indiana at that time had been bought up with media mega-corporations. As such, they toned down the music programming to a bland pop 40 or pop 100 on constant rotation. If you don’t mind listening to Rod Stewarts’ “Maggie May” every five or ten minutes or so, it was ok. For me, who preferred more alternative musical tastes, it drove me crazy. So we would order music out of music clubs and listen to the tapes in the car.
Some songs were so-so, but some were notable.
At that time, I happened to like “Tears for Fears”, “Corey Hart” and “Squeeze” among others. Some songs we would sing to, and others we would listen to and it would make us sad. Music in that little car of ours with our little cat was our “special time” together. We rode in a beat-up little white Mazda RX7. It was a two seater and big enough for all three of us. My cat would hang out in the back (on the middle hump) where the AC would blow on him.
A Special Moment
There was one special moment that I would like to do almost every day. I would put the cassette tape of “Baby Love” in the radio player. My little cat Samantha Panta would crawl up on my lap and I would sing to the cat. As I would sing, the cat would close his eyes half shut and purr. It was a loving moment. It was a moment that he and I shared.
(Of course, there were other songs. I used to sing “Fool for my Kitty!”, which was really the Foghat song “Fool for the city” with my own custom lyrics. LOL! I would sing it when I was in a very playful mood. Never the less, the most memorable and loving song was indeed the song “Baby Love”.)
(I didn’t only do this for my various cats. I also do this for my dogs as well. In fact, my dog Shao Pi loves to sing with me. He really does! He will just whimper and bark along with me, I am not at all kidding.)
My cat liked to play when I would make the bed. He could love to get under the sheets when I would make the bed. Such a guy!
Back to Heaven
Unfortunately, my little cat did not live long.
He contracted feline FLV. He started to die. I had no experience with a pet dying and I refused to “put him down”. I just did what I could trying to keep him alive. It took a full really long month for him to die. It was sad and painful. After three short years of life, he finally took one last breath and died. He left us and went to Cat Heaven.
We carried him across the frozen farm fields near our house on an icy January night. It was terribly cold. The ground was rock solid hard. I carried him to a wooded area and set his body under a fallen tree there. We said “good bye” and that was that.
Two Years Later
A couple of years passed.
One spring day, some guys drove up to the house in a convertible. They had a kitten with them, and they were told by someone that I liked cats, and I would take him in.
I was in the yard, and they asked me if I wanted a kitten. They handed the kitten to me. I looked at him. He was maybe two or three months old.
He was a tuxedo cat. This means that he was a black and white shorthair. He had one bad eye that had a full white cataract on it. However, he was very affectionate.
I told the guys that I certainly liked this little guy.
But, I said, I already had a bunch of cats. I just couldn’t take the little guy in. I was sorry, but I had no room. They drove off, and I went inside the house.
Well, he stayed around
Later on, I went out to empty the trash. There was the little kitten. Those stinkers! They left it at the house anyways. Ugh!
So, I took it in, and let me tell you, there was an immediate bonding between both of us. He was my little cat. We named him “Texie”. Why? I don’t know. It fit him. From then on, this cat and I were very close. Maybe you the reader have a close relationship with your dogs or cat, well it was like that. This guy and I were inseparable.
He was my little buddy.
Five Years Later
About five years after first getting Texie, we were living in Shreveport Louisiana. We had relocated from Indiana, to Kentucky, to Mississippi and finally to Shreveport, Louisiana.
I had been upsized, downsized, resized under corporate restructures, company buyouts, hostile takeovers, and just plain bad bosses. Being a design engineer during the 1980’s and the 1990’s was NOT a stable occupation.
I had a new position in Boston, Mass. So I had bought a class “A” motor-home with the hush money the company paid me.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
(For those of you that are unawares, many companies break the law routinely. To get around the laws, they make you sign to NDA’s and other documents that will allow you to get unemployment benefits, and even cash bonuses if you agree to not say anything.)
The company that I worked at in Shreveport gave me a lump sum of $10,000 to keep my mouth shut. This was in the early 1990’s, so the amount might be around $60,000 today. I took it, and used it to purchase a motor-home.
We were sorting through our things. Some things we were just throwing out. Other things we were putting into storage. While other things were going into the motor-home. I was in the motor-home putting stuff away. My little cat Texie was there with me.
Old Music
I had found a box of old cassette tapes that we had put in storage many years earlier. The tape on the box was yellow with age and a layer of dust was on it. Inside were the tapes that we used to listen to when we lived in Northern Indiana. I would say that I hadn’t seen those tapes in at least a few years.
So, of course, I put some of the tapes in and was listening to them.
A Cryout!
I well remember this event. I was in the back of the RV. I was there sorting stuff under one of the beds there. My cat Texie was on the sofa at the kitchen dining table. On the radio was playing a cassette from “Pebbles”. Then the song “Baby Love” came on. The first bars of the song began to play…
As soon as it came on, my little cat goes “MEOW!”
He leaped off the sofa as if it was electric. He ran to the driver’s seat, and got on it. Sitting there, with his two paws holding the rear of the seat, he shook his head and looked at me. “MEOW!” he yelled!
I got up, and asked “What’s up Texie? What do you want?”
He then got on his back on the seat and exposed his belly. He started to purr and coo.
So, I said “What? You want me to hold you?”
He just looked at me with loving eyes. So, I went and picked him up and sat down in the driver’s seat. Then a funny thing happened. He took on the exact same body language of my older cat Samantha Panta. He lay there in my lap. He purred and had the same half-closed eyes as my old cat. I started to sing to him the rest of the song.
His purring got much louder. MUCH louder. His eyes closed and we listened to the rest of the song together.
The Song Ended
When the song ended, he let out a calm sigh. Then he stood up on his rear legs and put both paws around my neck. He then rubbed his face all over mine and gave me a kiss. Then he got down and jumped off my lap. Then, like nothing happened, he walked down the RV kitchen area and exited through the side door.
I just sat there stupefied.
Our cats are always there for us. They do not leave us when they die. They still love us and love brings us all back together.
What this can tell us
Again, this little story is true. People can argue that it is just coincidence. However, I know different. This really happened. From this experience, I have drawn the following conclusions;
The consciousness from my old cat found its way into a new cat.
Consciousness can occupy different bodies yet retain access to all the memories.
It took some time before the new cat came into my life.
The appearance of the old cat and the new cat was very different.
The relationships between me and both cats were similar and very close.
I immediately “felt” a bond with the new cat.
From these conclusions, we can also identify some rules of spirit;
Cats can reincarnate.
If cats can, other creatures can as well.
Reincarnation reappearance occurs when a creature has a close bond with another.
The bond that can result in directed reincarnation can be either good or bad.
If the bond is good, then a good relationship can continue.
If the bond is bad, then a bad relationship will continue to fester until it is resolved.
So, I tell this to the reader; if you have lost a loved one don’t be sad. They will return to you. Or, barring that, you will return to them. It is your love for each other that acts like a big bright signpost that will attract you two back together.
The rest of the story
Texie lived on. He was doing well in Massachusetts. I had to go away for a two-day trip, and left him and two other cats alone at the house. When I returned, I found him there crying loudly. His neck was swollen terribly. His nose was white instead of pink. We took him to the vet first thing on Sunday morning.
The vet told us that his white blood count was zero and they had no idea how he could possibly be alive. They suggested we get blood transfusions, but no hospitals we contacted could help us. As such, we made the difficult decision to put him down. My wife and I held each other and he lay there in the valley between our two chests. We all gave him our goodbyes and we gave him as much love as we could. Then we handled him to the doctor.
Going to Cat Heaven
The doctor said that she had never seen such a loving cat, and really had a difficult time putting him to sleep. Finally it was done. He died and went up to Cat Heaven.
We went into the car. Sad and shocked. You know, we expected to heal him, not to have to put a dying cat down. As we sat there in the car, staring out at the lush greenery of the parking lot, we both suddenly felt a wash of love and care. It was like a pleasant warm towel of love around both of us, then it went away.
Best picture. Indeed.
Communication between Individuals
One thing that we need to understand is that we don’t just communicate by words. We use body language. We use intonations. We use special word combinations. We also use ways to communicate by “feelings”. Anyone who is married can attest to this. Your partner is not taking and is maybe in the other room. But, you feel that something is wrong. You don’t know what it is, but you know that something is not right.
These feelings should not be discounted.
One of the most important things we need to understand is that there is a [1] physical reality and a [2] non-physical reality.
A person who is sensitive can detect changes in the non-physical reality. For lack of better terms, the non-physical reality is the realm of quanta in various state of wave properties. While the physical reality is the realm of quanta in various states of particle behaviors.
Newtonian Physics = Only the physical exists.
Quantum Physics = The Physical exists alongside the non-Physical.
A sensitive person can detect changes in nearby wave behaviors relative to their personal relationships with others. This can be between people, and this can be between us and our pets…
Lesson from Smokey my “Little Toke”
I once had a grey cat named Smokey. I called him my “Little Toke”.
He was a great cat. He was a pretty lanky cat. He had two characteristics that were noteworthy. Firstly, he was this very nice grey color. His entire body was grey. He was a short hair, and his hair had a very nice sheen to it. The second thing about him was that he had fangs. These were not vampire fangs. These were saber tooth tiger style fangs. They lung down from his mouth in a nice proud manner.
When he got older, he had a paunch. That is to say, that he had this flap of fat that hung down from his belly. The thing that I remember the most about him was that he always tried to enunciate. I would ask him if he wanted to go out. He would always take the time to say, as clearly as he could; “I…want…out.” Really, it was so cute. However, it would be pouring rain outside and I would have to open the door and let him see for himself. “Not this time”, I’d have to say.
He was a great cat, and when I broke up with my first wife, he ended up being with her. Which was a good thing. She had moved to a house on her parent’s land in rural Pennsylvania. The cats that went with her had an entire forest to play in. When I would visit my ex-wife, I was always happy to see the cats. They had made a very good life for themselves there. They were always busy going about and doing cat stuff.
A Life Apart
Smokey was not “my cat”. He was a part of our cat family, but shared both my wife and myself as “his” humans.
He was a member of our cat household. When we broke up and he went off with my ex-wife, he would still say hello to me when I would visit. Initially, he found the move too shocking, and as such, he spent the first six months hiding in the bedroom closet under the clothes. However, soon enough he migrated outwards. Once he was able to get out and explore, he fell in love with the place.
I would come and visit, and there he would be crossing the cow pasture and heading straight toward me. He always wanted to say hi.
Our relationship was that we were “good friends”. Where Texie and I were “best buddies”, Smokie and I were just “good pals”. It was a relationship, and a good one. I would stop by and say “hi” to him. He would come up to me and rub my hand, and then go away. As if to say “I like you very much, but I’ve got things to do and places to be.”
An event after Shopping
I was living with a girlfriend at the time. I hadn’t seen Smokey in six months. Though I did call my ex-wife every month or so. She was doing well. My cats were also doing well. So I moved on with my life.
That’s life, you know. You grow and change. Sometimes those who are close to you grow and change in different ways, and in different directions than you do. There is nothing bad about that. That is life.
One day, I had just come back from shopping. I had a bag of groceries in the passenger side of the car, and I was driving home with it beside me. The radio was on, and I was near our house. As I got close, I suddenly “felt” a presence with me. I felt like a cat had just joined me in the car and was crawling onto my lap. In fact, it felt like it was going around and around trying to settle down into my lap.
It was very clear.
I Get a Visit
I turned off the radio. (I wanted to concentrate on my impressions and feelings.) I distinctly remember saying this out loud; “Now, who are you? Which cat are you? Hum?”
The feeling persisted during the balance of my trip to the house. Here there was this invisible cat that lay there on my lap. I didn’t know which one it was, but I knew it was one of “my” cats. It felt like one of my cats. He was dead, but his spirit was there with me. He had yet to go to Cat Heaven.
When I pulled into the driveway, I continued to stay in the car. I didn’t want the feeling to go away. I must have sat there for ten or fifteen minutes, until my girlfriend came out to yell at me. “What the heck are you doing? Aren’t you going to come in? What’s the matter with you?”
So reluctantly, I got up and exited the car. I didn’t feel the cat come with me. It just sort of disappeared, and I took the groceries into the house with me.
Two Weeks Later
Two weeks later, I got a frantic phone call from my ex-wife. She was worried about our cat Smokey. He hadn’t come back and he had been gone quite a long time. Two weeks for him was quite a long time. My ex-wife was quite worried and besides herself.
I told her, not to worry. “Smokey visited me. He’s dead. He is in Kitty Cat Heaven.”
She asked, “Are you sure? How do you know?” So, I explained.
What I Knew
She asked me what happened. (As if, I would know.)
Obviously, I didn’t know.
However, I had a distinct impression that he was attacked by a large animal, probably a dog. It was a quick death. He was caught off guard while in the woods near a tree and was surprised, as soon as he noticed the large black dog, it was all over. The impression that I had was quick and sudden surprise.
She said that couldn’t happen, her parent’s dogs were all beagles and they would never hurt her cats. I told her that I didn’t know who did it. I just had the distinct feeling that that is what happened.
Now, of course anything could have happened. I think that most cats die a death on the roads by automobiles. But, the impression, or the “feeling” that I had was that it was by a large dog in the woods near a tree. It was not on a road. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I do.
My ex-wife could not understand why he would visit me, and not her. I have no answer for that. Except to say that there are probably numerous reasons for it. My ex-wife, who was unusually sensitive, now needed to take medicine to keep a mental illness in check. Perhaps that medicine blocked her sensitivity to some degree.
Anyways, he never returned. Obviously, because his spirit came to me when he died and said goodbye.
Cats and kittens are very loving creatures.
What this can tell us
As with all events, we need to take a look at the situations and conditions. We can learn from them. Of course, the statists and those who don’t believe in anything other than what they see with their two eyes think that I am crazy.
That could never happen, they argue. You just cannot “feel” anything.
They argue this simply because THEY never could feel anything. Ever. After all, they argue, every human is the same. We are all equal, with equal experiences. We all have equal abilities, and equal knowledge. Since they haven’t experience what I did, I must be in error.
Hah! As if, they were equal to me. Or, better. Yeah. Right.
We all have different abilities. Sensitivity comes with age, training, attention and experience. Just because a person cannot drive a car, does not mean that no one can drive a car. Some people can drive, and others cannot.
Don’t say that no one can do something just because you yourself cannot.
Just because you don’t know how to fly, a plane does not mean that others can’t do so. Just because you don’t know how to read Chinese doesn’t mean that no one can read it just because you personally cannot. That is silly.
It is like that.
We are all different, and if you are open and sensitive, you can feel things associated with those who are closest to you. Many people can’t. But, some people can.
What we can Learn
This is what we can learn from this event;
We can sense spirits in quantum wave (non-physical) behaviors.
The spirits can be associated with us in various ways.
We might not know how important are associations are with others from their point of view.
You do not need physical proof to know something has occurred.
If a person is open and sensitive, they can see things that others (who rely on only the physical) cannot sense.
Finally, the most important point…
My dear friend Smokey had a consciousness that lived after his physical death.
He did not disappear into nothingness when his physical body died.
Lesson from Snowball
Finally, I will wrap up these stories with the littlest member of my once large cat family. This is a little kitten that I named “Snowball”.
Snowball was the runt of a litter of cats. A cat next door had a bunch of kittens and they managed to give all the kittens away. All, that is, except one. This one was the runt of the litter and no one wanted it. So, one day the neighbor came over and gave the kitten to us to take care of. They were just planning to throw it into the dumpster, and let it fend for itself. Yikes! I just couldn’t permit that.
About Snowball
Now, I have to tell the reader that I immediately took a shine to this little guy. He was really young and well… not really all there. He wasn’t as sharp as the other kittens for his age. He was like a kind of slow cat or maybe a little retarded. But he was a cutie and really adorable. He had this habit or crawling up my leg and my back and always sitting on my shoulder on my neck. In fact, that was his most common position.
I would come home from work and there he would be. He would crawl up onto me and set himself on my neck and not go anywhere else. He lived on my shoulder. My neck was his home. That was were he stayed. It did not matter what I was doing or involved in. If he was nearby, he would join me on my shoulder and hang around my neck.
His time with us was short. He was only with us a few months when he ended up dying. Luckily, it was so quick. It was painless. Before he knew what was going on he was up in Heaven.
How he died
One Saturday, I was in the yard, and the neighbor called me across the street. So I walked over to them. I crossed the street. Now, I didn’t realize it, but Snowball started to follow me. He was like a laser beam. When he had a target, he just went forward and paid no attention to the world around him.
So, here I am walking across the street. Suddenly I felt a “startle”. That is the best way that I can describe it. I spun around and looked at the road.
I turned around and a SUV was speeding though the 20MPH residential zone on some sort of emergency errand, and my beloved Snowball was lying on the road. I went over to Snowball. I said “Now why are you sleeping on the road?” And, then I realized the truth. He was just killed by the SUV. He was off on the way to Cat Heaven.
Of course, I was shocked and stunned.
Spinning and Spinning
The odd thing was that from that moment on… from the moment he died (the “startle”) and until late in the night, I felt him spinning around and around my neck. He was there. I could feel him. I could not see him. His body was dead but I felt him. He went around and around my neck.
The next morning, I woke up and I no longer felt him around my neck. I got washed up and showered and went to work. I will tell the reader, I was very distressed over this. It was really upsetting to me.
A Message from “Above”
A few days passed, but I was still not over the death of Snowball. I was so sad. It was difficult for me. I couldn’t bear life. I had no appetite. I was so darn sad.
It was such a thick sadness. It was thick.
Then one night I had a dream. It was a “special” dream. Now, the reader needs to understand that dreams come in packets. [1] Many dreams are just nonsense. They are just the brain relaxing and reacting to various daily events through imagination. Other dreams [2] hold learning purposefully. These dreams come in groups of threes. In other words, these dreams will have the same theme for three nights in a row. The only way that you can follow them is through recording your dreams. Yet, other dreams are [3] portals. They are windows that allow us to send and receive messages from others in the spirit worlds.
If we are aware, we can identify these “special” dreams and isolate them away from the normal dream clutter that typically occupies our nighttime adventures.
Anyways, I had a “special” dream that night.
A Special Dream
I dreamed that a “guardian”, “angel” or “representative of humans” took me to another Heaven. There he met another entity. This was also a “guardian”, but he was a “representative of felines”.
Together they both led me to this place.
I like to think of that place as cat Heaven. I refer to these entities as guardians, but others might refer to them as angels. They were intelligent (non-human) entities who helped take me to a special place.
Cat Heaven
It was a flat and rather boring place.
They led me to it, and there in the middle of this place was a shallow depression. It was like a low shallow bowl. Inside the depression were four kittens. Each in the shape of a kind of long oblong egg. They were all asleep.
I immediately recognized Snowflaker there. And in my dream, I cried out. At that moment, I completely understood what was going on. My cat was busy going onto his next reincarnation. He was safe and moving onward, and I too needed to move on.
Of course, when I tell this dream to others, I am laughed out of the room. In a way, it makes me feel bad. Can I not relate my experiences and dreams? Am I always to be laughed at and made fun of, before anyone can really take a good hard look at what is going on? Never the less, I consider this “special” dream significant. As such, I would like to lay out some key points for worthwhile consideration.
What this can tell us
Here is what I think that this can tell us;
There are other spirits that acts in ways to help us when we need it. We are not alone.
These spirits have roles.
There is a Cat Heaven. It is different than a Human Heaven.
To visit it we need permissions, or more accurately, assistance.
Cats, like humans, will move on in their lives to obtain experiences through reincarnation.
My friend Snowball moved on with his life.
Mind and Spirit
Without going through all kinds of scientific proofs, let me lay things out this way…
Our souls exist within Heaven. We, as people, exist on the earth. The earth is our “reality”. It is what surrounds us. Heaven is not the earth. They are two different places. They exist in two separate and different universes.
But…
Our soul is always connected to us. The way that our soul connects to us is body through consciousness. Soul and consciousness is not the same thing. They are two different things altogether. You can think of consciousness as a temporary “set of self” that the soul uses while it utilizes your body. But I think that that description can be misleading. Consciousness is more like a tunnel that bores from “Heaven” to our physical “Reality”.
Consciousness is like a tunnel from the soul to our mind.
My idea of happiness.
Consciousness is like a Tunnel
Many people like to think of it as a nice long tube or hose that connects to your body from Heaven. I suppose that is as good as an explanation as any. Certainly, Mr. Monroe would agree with me on this point.
Now, the point of disclosure should be made clear. I have never seen this structure either with my physical eyes, my mental visualizations or spiritual perceptions. I just know that it exists. It is the way that soul connects through consciousness to reach the physical.
The soul connects to the body through consciousness. It bores through the physical and the non-physical realities in a kind of tunnel like appendage.
So far, the reader should be following me. It’s really not that difficult to visualize, is it?
How it works
But, there is a problem with this. Soul resides in a Heaven that is fundamentally different than the physical world that we inhabit. Heaven is not the same as our physical world. It just isn’t. Therefore, you just cannot make a simple pipe to connect the two.
Think of this analogy; think of Heaven as a place full of water, and the earth as a place full of electricity. A pipe would not work very well because all the water gushing through the pipe would damage all the electricity on the earth. There needs to be a mechanism along that pipe that converts the water into a form that the electricity on the earth can utilize.
Luckily, there is a mechanism.
Quanta
It turns out that everything is made up with something called quanta. These are the smallest forms in the universe.
Fundamentally, they are like tiny little strings. They fit together and form particles. These particles then fit together that build up atoms. Atoms, if you might recall, fit together and build up to form things. Now quanta can take on different forms, shapes and energy levels. The problem is that the [1] energy levels and [2] forms of the quanta in [A] Heaven are different than [B] the forms of the quanta on the earth.
Souls are made up of quanta.
Everything in our universe is comprised of quanta. This is super small stuff that the building blocks of atoms are made up with. Quanta is so small that it can behave either as a very small and hard marble (called a particle), or like a wave which is like all other waves. Depending on the mode of behavior; particle or wave, the quanta has different abilities.
The Forms of Quanta
On the earth, all the quanta can be in two distinct forms.
They can be either [1] in the form of particles or [2] in the form of waves. They can be one or the other. They cannot be both at once. There are many, many discussions on this.
You can find out about wave particle dualityHERE. It’s an interesting subject, but we need not get too bogged down in it. The point is NOT that the quanta itself changes, rather the perception of it does. Sort of like this…
It is not that a quanta changes, it is how the observer views the quanta that makes the change. Our soul controls consciousness. Consciousness can be in different states depending upon the point of view of the person (the observer).
The soul, and sometimes the consciousness (with training), can alter the perception of self. Or, to phrase it better, it can decide to go from wave to particle forms. Or, go from particle to wave forms. It can decide what to do when it wants to.
Souls can change their quantum behaviors
Quanta and Consciousness
Now, with this in mind, we need to consider how the consciousness can exist within the physical reality. To occupy and operate the physical body, the consciousness needs to operate on the quantum level as its point of control. For after all that is what it is. As such, it takes on a “particle” aspect of behavior. It operates as a particle. This is a very important point.
Consciousness takes on particle behavior to control a physical body
If it is a particle, it can interact. It can move about, hit, absorb and mix with other physical items. So if the quantum particle wants to interact with the physical world, it takes on particle behavior. If it wants to leave the physical world, it takes on wave behavior. Then it can “fly”, “soar about”, and visit the other “heavenly worlds”.
So, let’s put this knowledge to use.
Within a Reality
A soul can exist within a given reality as a “consciousness”. In order to be able to occupy a body, and move about the world, it needs to take on particle behavior. That is the only way that consciousness, and by extension the soul, is able to occupy a physical body. Afterwards, when the body dies, the consciousness can change form and take on wave behavior. It can then fly away and go about the world and the heavens as needed.
Consciousness takes on wave behavior to leave the physical body.
Spirits
With this in mind, we can thus identify some really interesting “unexplained” events such as spirits and the like.
Let’s consider a “spirit” (a ghost) that one can occasionally come in contact with. If you can see it, or it actually moves things around physically (such as knocking books off shelves and such), then the associated quanta is behaving like a particle. That is the only way that it can interact with the physical world.
If you “feel” the presence of a “spirit”, but you cannot see it, and there is no physical interaction, then it is taking on wave behaviors.
With this in mind, we can well imagine a spirit that might have a combination of both behaviors. Where part of it might behave like a particle and we can see it, like the head for instance. And, where there are other parts of it that might be able to go through walls and such like a wave.
But, I digress…
When something dies…
When a person, or an animal dies, the behavior of the quantum particles change. It goes from “particle behaviors” to “wave behaviors”.
The consciousness form changes.
However, it is still here. Just because the consciousness is no longer in a particle state, and the physical body is dead, the consciousness is still there. It is in a wave state.
It is in a wave state instead of a particle state. As such, it can move about within the physical realm without using a physical body. It can also move about in the non-physical realm that surrounds our physical body.
I must ask the reader to remember what Einstein said when asked if believed in Heaven. He said (and I am paraphrasing), “I do not know what happens when a person dies. I do not know what Heaven looks like, or what it is like. However, I do know one thing. In this universe, nothing is ever destroyed. It only changes shape.”
Nothing really dies, it just changes shape.
An Introduction to Soul types
Now all of this is interesting, but what does it mean to us? Hum. Let me introduce the reader to the idea and concept that souls are complex, and that they differ from species to species. It’s a pretty big leap for most people, but it shouldn’t be.
Souls are complex.
One of the problems with us humans is that all we know is all we know. The scientific method places theories based upon our observation. Yet we can only observe things from the point of view of a human. If we cannot observe it as a human, then we cannot observe it at all. Thus, everything that we know of in this world of ours comes from our knowledge as a human.
Now that was a really deep paragraph, but it is entirely true. We can only observe, interpret, and consider things that our mind allows us to. If we need to see things in the way that they really are, then we need help. (Which is partially why I was in MAJestic in the first place.)
Anyways, how we view things is always colored or modified by the environment that surrounds us.
Our reality is Influenced
Indeed, it is further altered by religious studies and the theories of others. As a result, we have a tendency to believe that humans are the greatest and the best intelligences in the universe. We think that the world, and the universe is ours for the taking. We believe that we are the dominant creatures, as defined by God in all eternity.
It is very egotistical, and terribly wrong.
All species have their own realities that they occupy and learn from. As such, with each reality, they have a corresponding spiritual reality as well. This, like ours, involves a sort of “Heaven” as well as a non-physical reality that surrounds their reality upon this life that we share together.
Souls are nothing but organized quanta that has obtained sentience.
We as humans have an “individual” soul configuration. Which means that we often feel alone because our soul acts independently from other humans. We are not connected. When our soul occupies this physical container; the body, we yearn to connect with others. There are many reasons for the development of the soul in this manner.
What I know
OK. I’m not going to regurgitate the Biblical lore, and some scientific mumbo-jumbo. I was in MAJestic. Here is what I know. If you don’t like it, you can leave.
What I know is based on my MAJestic entanglement.
Other species, those older, smarter and more experienced than us, have mapped out the science of souls. For them they understand multi-dimensional interactions over time. They know things that we don’t know. Meanwhile we are very primitive. My God, we still use the internal combustion engine for transport, and a chemical reaction in bullets for killing other creatures. How dare we consider ourselves advanced. (OK. I will get off my “high horse”.)
The human soul is an intermediary form.
Our Human Soul is an Intermediary Form
For now, let’s keep it simple and simply say that our soul is an “intermediary form”. We need to “improve it” through growth to hit a “stable archetype”, or approved form configuration. This is a very important point to understand. It is because of this that our memories of previous life incarnations are intentionally withheld from us so that we can develop and grow. This is not the case with other creatures.
In our galaxy, intermediary soul forms must grow in a “nursery”.
Yah, I know. It’s too much to grasp.
Now other animals have different soul configurations. As they should. Souls conform to a given physical shape and configuration. Both dogs and cats have a “hive” or shared soul. Their soul configuration is stable. It is not an intermediary form like we humans have.
As such, cats and dogs for instance are fully aware of their previous incarnations.
Memories are stored in the non-physical Reality
Since memories are stored outside of the physical reality, the access of it is possible in certain ways. For access of physical memories related to a specific physical body in a set reality, they can be accessed directly by the consciousness by using particle behaviors. For access of non-physical memories from previous incarnations, access is only possible through wave behaviors. As such, humans can’t remember previous incarnations. However, creatures with hive souls can access memories from previous incarnations. (As would explain the experience with my cat Texie.)
It is very much like it is portrayed in the movie “A Dog’s Purpose”. I strongly recommend the reader to go rent this movie on Netflix or download a torrent of it. In regards to this movie, I would like to “underline” a number of key points;
The dog remembered its’ previous incarnations.
The dog went through numerous reincarnations.
The dog was always attracted to those people, places and things that were meaningful to it.
When the dog reincarnated it would take on a different appearance, sometimes a different gender, and possibly different attachments.
All of these things are very true.
An Explanation of the Soul
What we refer to as “the soul” is actually nothing more than “consciousness”.
It is a self-understanding of being. This is a quantum state. There are those who believe that actual consciousness is the result of quantum gravity effects in the microtubules in the cells of the physical body. This is known as the “Orchestrated Objective Reduction theory (Orch-OR)”. However, for this to be true, it implies that consciousness needs a physical body to exist, when it is the exact opposite that is occurring. The physical body is what precipitates at lower energy states from the thoughts and desires of a given soul form.
Not the other way around.
Heavenly Relationships with the Physical Reality
Actual consciousness, and thus soul, is a manifestation of quantum gravity effects independent of a physical body. In low energy states, the creation of a physical body occurs through precipitation of the energy state. In that environment, the quantum gravity effects due to the quantum particles attach themselves to the microtubules in the physical body. This then, is the actual description of what soul is. (If you were to use conventional nomenclature and contemporaneous descriptors.)
In conventional and colloquial speech, the soul is often referred to that part of the human body that is not physically observed. That is truly disingenuous, because the soul is actually the sum total of every experience of your consciousness, regardless of space or of time. It includes the physical self, and the spirit self. It also includes all thoughts and experiences that the person has. Since it is timeless, it also includes all events that the soul experienced. This includes events prior to birth, and events that occurred after death of the physical body. This also includes all previous reincarnations.
Experiences and how we react to them is what shapes our soul.
Experiences are the Mechanism by which Souls can Grow
Experiences are the reason for why we are on the world. Experiences are everything. Both the good and the bad experiences are what matters. Ultimately, it is what defines our sentience. As I will elaborate upon later, they will determine what shape construct our soul manifests in the physical. Experiences are nothing less than entangled quantum particles.
Experiences create entangled quantum particles.
These are particles that alter the formation and behavior of the quantum gravity effects. Thus, it is desirable to have a physical body of the lower density levels to constrain the microtubules in the cells. This is why the physical body exists, and why it is so important for a given soul or quantum entity to acquire experiences in the physical world. This helps to add shape and definition to the experiences that a soul or entity experiences.
Life is like a hallway with many rooms. The life once lived can be in a mansion with many rooms or in a one-room shack. It is the experiences you live that determine what you get out of life.
The experiences you have determine what you will get out of life.
Everything Has a Soul
Every physical item, animated, intelligent, or inanimate, has a soul. Dogs and cats have souls. True, they are different from human souls, but they still exist. Since there is no thing such as physical space, that is just a perception due to the limitations of our brain, we are all connected and our souls fit together like pieces in a complex multi-dimensional puzzle. All souls are different and they all connect together differently. But they do connect to each other. We are all interconnected.
On an ancient tombstone in England, there is this inscription:
“Heaven will Heaven never be
Unless my cats are there
to welcome me.”
Organized quantum “clumps”
I am quite sure that the reader did not expect to get into such a deep “rabbit hole”. You probably wanted a much easier (on the eyes) story. But to appreciate the story, you need to understand what is going on and why.
In Heaven, the Soul is not some kind of evenly distributed mass with quantum particles. Like a swarm of bees. Or like a pot of hot water with a lot of salt in it. Instead, the soul is lumpy. It has clusters or clumps of multi-dimensional quanta that interacts with other clumps and clusters.
The soul is a “lumpy” mass that resides in an area without physical form.
We need to understand that the quanta that comprises a soul (quantum cloud –individually associated) is composed of smaller clumps of organized quanta (clusters). Humans have ten (10) such major clumps (clusters).
Garbons
These clumps are known as garbons. These clumps of quanta; these garbons, are discrete. They form building blocks, and many such building blocks are used in other soul shapes and archetypes.
Now other religions have identified aspects of being. They roughly associate with garbons, but they are NOT the same thing. The reader should not bet confused.
A garbon is a stable discrete cluster of organized quanta.
The forming of these “clumps” is though one basic process; accumulation of experience. The more experiences that a given entity has, the more quanta that are accumulated. How it is accumulated is determined by the [1] types of experiences that the entity has had, as well as [2] how they react to those experiences.
Souls are made up of clumps of quanta, called garbons.
The accumulation of experiences do not necessitate the formation of new garbons. But rather help establish the behavior of the garbons with respect to time (entropic change) and dimensional placement of the lower energy components (they tend to drift about MWI dimensionally).
Matrix lattice arrangements
How the clumps interact with other clumps is known as a “compound lattice” or a “matrix”. (Do not get confused with the movie of the same name. That is not the case here. The term was used in the mid-1980’s to describe these events well before the movie of the same name was released.)
There are attachment points, or more accurately, interactive exchanges between the “clumps”. Yes, these garbons work together in various ways.
Swales
In the human individual soul, there are 22 major interactive exchange lanes between the cluster groups and clumps. These attachment points transmit quantum-entangled information. They do so using different states. These states are also discrete.
The connection points within a lattice are interconnected with pathways known as swales. The arrangement and function of the swale varies considerably from specie to specie, but is an actual function of the net experience base of the total cluster as a whole. It varies over time. It varies in capability, and in configuration.
Swales connect garbons together to form a lattice (or matrix).
All souls, human or otherwise, consist of a lattice. The lattices all consist of garbons connected by swales.
The Tree of life (Kabbalah) is very similar to that of the garbon lattice or matrix of the human soul. However, it is not the same thing. Both are diagrammatic representations of how major components of who and what we are work together to form a human soul.
Terms & Calculations
Now I describe things herein is not necessarily the same as how quantum physicists or other scientists describe things. Thus, my simplistic description can easily be misunderstood. I want to avoid that.
For all practical purposes, the mathematics of souls are well understood. It is just that they are not applied in the same framework of understanding towards that of the soul. The reader must understand that aside from the nature of the discussion; a borderline theological rather than pure scientific discussion, I have greatly simplified the content and organization of souls.
Locality
The key to achieving this simplification is a principle called “locality.” Any given quantum particle only interacts with its nearest neighboring particles. Entangling each of many quantum particles with its neighbors produces a series of “nodes” in the network. Those nodes are the tensors, and entanglement links them together. All those interconnected nodes make up the network. A complex calculation thus becomes easier to visualize. Sometimes it even reduces to a much simpler counting problem.
(Which is exactly why we obtain “experiences” within this “reality” that has a physical dimensional component. Without that component, it would be very difficult to define “locality”.)
Indeed, as I have stated previously that there are many kinds of souls; there are also many different types of tensor networks, but among the most useful is the one known by the acronym MERA (multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz).
MERA
Multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) works is a rather straightforward manner; Imagine a one-dimensional line of particles. Replace the eight individual particles — designated A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H — with fundamental units of quantum information (qubits), and entangle them with their nearest neighbors to form links.
A entangles with B, C entangles with D, E entangles with F, and G entangles with H. This produces a higher level in the network. Now entangle AB with CD, and EF with GH, to get the next level in the network. Finally, ABCD entangles with EFGH to form the highest layer.
“In a way, we could say that one uses entanglement to build up the many-body wave function,”
-Román Orús, a physicist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany
The use of entanglement can build up and create different kinds of entanglement systems; and thus different kinds of nodes; orbs, lattice networks, swales and garbons. Overall, these networks demonstrate how a single geometric structure can emerge from complicated interactions between many objects. This emergent geometry can explain the mechanism by which a smooth, continuous space-time can emerge from discrete bits of quantum information.
And that, boys and girls, is how unorganized quanta becomes organized through experience.
Physical location of the soul
We, as humans, are so accustomed to treating the “soul” as something “else” that it is difficult for us to understand just where it resides. We tend to think that it is here, there, or everywhere. Alternatively, we might think that it resides in another dimension or universe. Yet, as strange as it might seem, these answers are both correct and very wrong.
The soul is a collection of many consciousness’s.
The consciousness is nothing less than the accumulation of thoughts, over many many reincarnations. Since thought has a physical manifestation as the multi-dimensional aspects of quanta, it can be considered to have a physical component.
Yes, it resides in multi-dimensional states, and (for our purposes) in the “universe” (speaking figuratively) of the physical and the “universe” of the spiritual. As stated previously, the Soul resides in a universe called “Heaven”, and the physical body resides in a universe called “The Physical Universe”. To confuse things, they are connected. So, as I stated, it resides in both and either.
Our physical body is a mere percentage of the entirety of our soul. The soul has a physical and spiritual aspect. In relative location with the physical body, the soul is part of every single cell. There is no specific point of residence of the soul.
Attachment Point
However, the soul matches certain physical locations or attachment points. These are well known as chakras. The history and the religious acceptance of their purposes are pretty well defined and pretty much accurate. However, the main control center, or the primary attachment point is located within a tiny gland within the brain. The exact same gland (This is the pineal gland, which is located in the epithalamus, near the center of the brain.) that my ELF probes (installed at NAS NASC Pensacola, Florida) accessed. (Yeah, more MAJestic nonsense. You can ignore this all, if you feel so inclined.)
The pineal gland is located within the brain, and it is the primary connection point of the consciousness in the physical reality to the soul.
Um. Remember boys and girls, I just didn’t pull all this information out of my ass. It came from somewhere. There’s a lot of fakers out there. If you want the real deal, then here it is. Surprise! It’s not what you thought it would be, is it?
The pineal gland is a pretty well-known source of control. It has been known for many years, and scientists and researchers are constantly trying to learn from this gland and its effects on the soul and on people who try to do physically related soul calming activities. For instance, a team of neurologists, directed by Dr. James Edward Monroe and Dr. Waheed Langhani, spent three years studying this gland. They studied thousands of scans obtained with a technology called Functional magnetic resonance Imaging (FMRI), which enables scientists to see images of changing blood flow in the brain associated with neural activity.
While studying the numerous FMRI scans, the researchers noticed that every time they asked a patient to pray or meditate, the brain activity suddenly concentrated around the epithalamus, more specifically in the pineal gland. After thorough testing and investigation, they were able to determine that the small endocrine gland was the center of all spiritual and religious thoughts and beliefs, within the brain, acting as the headquarters of spiritual activity that receives information and sends “orders” to the other structures of the brain. The exact functions of the pineal gland and the nature of the relationship between the “soul” and the body remains unclear, however, because the extremely intense level of brain activity and its concentration make the data harder to analyze.
“We first noticed that when the patients began to pray, their pineal gland became completely hyperactive. This seemed really unusual, since this gland was known to have a low and constant level of activity. We were finally able to determine that every time a patient prayed, meditated or even read a holy book, the brain activity was clearly centered on the pineal gland and the thalamus. There is so much activity at times, that it almost glows on our scanners, and it’s hard to see exactly what’s happening.”
-Dr. Monroe and Dr. Langhani
The reader should understand that this attachment point is a very important one, but not the only one. Removal of the gland will NOT detach a physical body from its soul component. This gland only functions as the control of the PHYSICAL ASPECTS of a given soul. To tear the physical body from that of a soul, all the chakras have to be immobilized.
Souls of other entities
Now, finally after all that boring basic stuff, we get to the heart of the matter…
The way that a soul is constructed depends on the quantum makeup of the species. Some souls are simple; such as tables and other inanimate objects. While others vary in complexity from that of plants, simple organisms, simple creatures all the way up to higher order mammals. But it doesn’t end there, as there are very complex entities in far greater and higher states than humans. (Consider of “angels” for example.) These other souls and quantum configurations can vary in shape and layout.
The layout, configuration and shape of a soul varies greatly.
The physical body represents less than 5% (in accumulated volume) of the quantum entity. The rest, hidden from view by humans, is both enormous and complex.
Contemporaneous human quantum physicists are just now recognizing that the quantum spirit exists; imagine what they would be able to understand given 200,000 years of study! (Like some of our extraterrestrial friends.) Many of the attributes and trending fields associated with the soul are so alien to the human existence that there are no words to describe them. For purposes of simplification, we assigned simple broad reaching nomenclature and symbolism to represent, what was to us, extremely sophisticated technological understanding of complex processes and states of existence.
To understand what a soul is, one must first understand that the concept of it runs counter to that of conventional Newtonian science. The physical laws and reasoning behind Newtonian science do not apply. Souls occupy the world of Quantum science.
Types of animated biological entities souls within Heaven
“All you really need to know for the moment is that the universe is a lot more complicated than you might think, even if you start from a position of thinking it's pretty damn complicated in the first place.”
― Douglas Adams
There are many kinds of souls.
In each type, the behaviors and interactions of the quantum particles interact with each other differently. It all depends on how the quanta interface with each other. This ability to interface with each other has similar analogs in the physical world.
For instance, fish live in the sea, and birds fly in the air.
The interface and occupation of various attributes are constrained by the limitations of the physical universe and the inherent thought (components) that manifest the environment that is created. The reader must realize that the ability to interface with similar event attributes eventually colors the construction of a given quanta cluster. How the cluster is constructed regulates whether it can be self-propagating.
Self-propagating soul clusters become animate in the physical world.
Individual Soul
Let’s start with what we know and understand. Let’s discuss the “individual soul” construct.
The human soul is an individual soul. That is to say that the relationships that we have with each other are not hardwired in the quantum connectivity between the core quantum arrangements in the basic unit of the soul. Each basic quantum soul stands alone and apart from others. It can communicate with them, and can share ideas, information, thoughts and experiences. But it cannot own or hold those elements of another soul. They can only be passed from each other through a secondary means.
Of course, as humans we communicate by writing, talking, body signals, behaviors, scents, and many other ways. There are a rare few who can communicate using PSI ability, but they are pretty rare. Depending on the previous religious experience, or education that one has, there might be some confusion in what is discussed here.
For our purposes, an “individual soul structure” is equivalent (in name only) to the “jiva-atma”. In the Upanisads it is explained that there are two types of souls which are technically known as jiva-atma and param-atma. Jiva-atma, or the individual soul, is the living entity and param-atma refers to the Supreme Lord who expands Himself as the Supersoul, who enters into the hearts of all living entities as well as all atoms.
Thus, ultimately we feel the universe as an individual. We feel alone, and not connected to others. We yearn to connect, and to become part of other peoples and communities. Yet, through our latent quantum ability, we can connect with others through various quantum techniques.
We are unique and separate individuals. But all of us possess the ability to reach out and touch the quantum bodies of other individuals. For we are all simply quantum vibrations in our most fundamental state.
Hive Soul
"How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven."
—Robert A. Heinlein
On the earth are other kinds of souls. Let’s look at a common soul archetype that humans interface with.
Both dogs and cats have Hive souls. This is a soul arrangement that permits the core quantum soul elements to be shared with other souls of the same species. It manifests, to us humans, as physical containers.
In this arrangement, a given dog or cat body might have one, two or even more than three personality clusters. A personality cluster is a set sub-cluster of quantum elements. They stand alone and are shared between other soul groups. For us humans, we can only conceive of but one personality cluster per physical body. And, thus we assume that all animals are like this. This is not true at all. Dogs and cats can share their personality clusters with each other. And thus, enable one dog soul for example, to inhabit or share the body of a different dog.
It only works interspecies. A cat cannot share its personality soul cluster with a dog and vice versa.
The discrete soul pattern or archetype for a feline is different than for a canine. Thus, they are unable to cross interact. However, both archetypes are of the same general form which is a hive soul cluster.
Patterning
Fundamental to this is the concept of “Patterning”. Hive souls, and to some degree, matrix souls tend to fall into discrete patterns that surround the physical manifested body. Thus, this patterning has a benefit of permitting the inertial makeup of a soul to find its least potential entropy through interaction with a neighboring soul.
That is why you might see cats and dogs that copy movements. They will copy the movements of those that they are close to.
If you lay down a certain way, your dog or cat might do so as well. If you have two pets that are friends, you might notice that they tend to behave and position themselves in exactly the same way. This trait is known as patterning.
Cats have the ability to pattern behaviors of other creatures that they have an emotional bond with. This has to do with their garbon orientation within their soul structure.
Switching
Cats can do some amazing things with their hive soul. One of the most startling is that they can perform “switching” activities. They can occupy the physical body of another cat. Thus a given cat’s body might have the soul that the owner is used to, and an occasional “visitor” cat soul. This is amazing stuff, and not at all well known by the human race.
Heck, I might be the very first person to write about this.
In fact, an owner of a cat who died, and then gets a replacement cat would find that the former cat’s soul would come back and occupy the new cat’s body. Cats can migrate in and out of Heaven at will. Often times completely displacing the original cat who moved on to other locations and places. That is why the cat behaves, acts, and even “feels” different when it moves into a new household with new people.
Gravity Manipulation
Some hive souls can alter localized gravity. This is very strange, and it is not known how they do this. Cats are one of the species that have this ability. They can decrease their weight at times and under certain conditions. It enables them to “seemingly” defy gravity. This permits them to jump higher, and to leap farther than what would normally be considered normal.
Cat owners can attest that the cat might (at times) feel lighter then when they are held than at other times. This is a manifestation of this ability. (Come on, cat owners, you know that this is true. Speak up.)
Cats have the ability to manipulate gravity by making themselves lighter. This can benefit them in hunting, and attacking prey as this GIF clearly shows.
Cats can manipulate gravity. They can be lighter or heavier at will. (Image Source)
Dogs do not have this ability.
What can we learn from this?
I have provided my stories relative to my knowledge of souls and Heaven. As far as most conventions, my experiences and my stories are pure nonsense. They mean nothing.
Just like the Catholic Pope believes that there is no Hell. We all have our own points of view. For a given person, we could be correct, or we could be false. It doesn’t really matter. It is what you, deep down inside, believe. For me, I am sharing my beliefs. I know that many people will not agree with me.
That is fine too.
In my mind, they are significant. And, so I have shared them. If I can help just one person, just one, then this article was worth it. The world is full of people who will laugh at you, and will disparage you. It need not be this way, but that is the way it is.
The Loud and the Ignorant
I remember a story that I read on the Drudge Report back in 2014. A mother was alerted that her six year old boys were posting nonsense on the Internet degrading women, and just tearing up the chat rooms with all kinds of nonsense.
The mother found out about this, and made a public apology. I like to think that she tore the boys a new asshole.
Never the less, the point needs to be made, just because there are people who disparage your message, it does not mean that they are authorities or that they have the ability to be given any attention. Those that behave like children, might actually be nothing more than that.
That infantile response is typically made by someone with an infantile brain.
Indeed, prior to the internet, people could see just who they were talking to, and who was calling them out on their comments. If it was a person deserving respect, they were listened to. If they were not, they were ignored. We cannot replicate this environment on the internet, though I have tried to put some protections in this blog.
I have related what I know about souls, and placed it in context with my own personal experiences. They are my experiences, and they DID happen. You might not believe it, but it is the truth.
Further Readings about Heaven
I would suggest the following books for those who truly want to understand what happened in the stories that I have related;
When I am down, I like to go on walks in the woods. This isn’t always possible. If you are inside the house, and are sad here is a website or two that might put a smile on your face;
Here is my question to everyone who does not believe my experiences: “Did you buy groceries ten years ago? Seriously. That is my question for you. Now, please answer it. Did you buy groceries ten years ago. Yes or No?
Yes/No. Well, great. Fantastic.
Now prove it to me.
Because, like you, I demand cold hard facts. I need witnesses, proof, receipts, and Xeroxes from your ledger. Unless you can provide them to me, everything that you say is just nonsense. It’s just hearsay. As such, you could be making it all up. I don’t know because I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it. I have to take your word for it.
Does anyone have similar experiences?
I would hope that there are others out there who have had similar experiences. If so, I would really welcome you to take the time and share them with me in the comments section.
There are people out there who are hurting. They are hurting really, really terribly. They have just lost a loved one, and they think that they are alone and their little pal is gone forever and for good.
It’s not true. But that is how they feel.
Heaven is not as far away as it seems. Heaven does exist, and we all connect to it. I would really welcome anyone to place their stories here to share and to help others who visit this page for support. I just can’t possibly be the only person who has ever had these experiences. I just possibly can’t be.
Bible Thumpers
Oh, …and don’t just be a “hit and run” “Bible thumper”. If you want to use a Biblical passage to illustrate something, that is fine. We all welcome it. Just don’t lay down some passages and scurry off. It’s not really compassionate. It’s lazy. It’s pretending to be someone doing something, when in reality all you are doing is nothing. Let’s have some real stories and a point that you want to make. Then, please post the passages in context how they helped you personally.
Oh,… and while I am at it, I pretty much edit the comment section. When it comes to comments, I am GOD.
So if you want to devolve into racist rants, are offensive, talk about Jews, or try to tell me how I too can get rich on the internet, I will delete your posts. Remember, nothing gets posted UNTIL I read it and approve it. So don’t even try. OK?
I hope that I have made myself clear on this point.
Conclusions
Please believe me, you are not alone.
We are more than what we see. There is an entire world out there that we cannot feel. It extends outward to include our friends and family. When someone dies or leaves we are still connected. There are various ways that we can meet up again and connect. Please believe me, we will meet up with our little pals in the future.
I know. I mean to say, I REALLY know about this subject.
If there was ONE thing that I am absolutely convinced of, through my MAJestic entanglement, is this simple truth. We will always meet up with our loved ones when we perish. They will join us in Heaven.
I promise you this, that when you meet your beloved cat in the future it will be like this…
When we die, or one of our loved ones dies, whether it is a cat or a dog, we will meet again. There is no such thing as time, and everything in this universe is never destroyed. It only changes shape.
There will be many happy reunions in the spirit world. (Image Source)
Take Aways
Well, I really gave the reader a huge information dump didn’t I? You expected a nice light hearted or heartwarming story about how cats live in Heaven, and instead I gave you this; a dissertation on the soul and examples how it manifests.
Now, I don’t expect the reader to understand all of it. Or, maybe even a small part of it. What I do want to do here is to provide the reader with the most basic information so that they can live their lives fully, and not be emotionally distraught when a loved one dies.
So here are my “bottom line” lessons that I can give to the reader;
We all, every creature on the world, has a soul.
The soul resides in a Heaven.
The soul connects to the physical body through a mechanism called consciousness.
Memories are not stored in the physical body, they reside outside of it.
Movement of consciousness in and out of the body is a function of the quantum state.
There are two quantum states of importance; particle and wave.
The particle quantum state permits the body to be alive and ambulatory.
The wave quantum state permits out of the body travel.
Outside of the physical body is a very big world and universe.
Nothing ever dies. It only changes its’ quantum state.
And, finally,
When a loved one dies, they still exist. They actually DO remember you and your times together.
If your love and relationship was strong, they will return back to you.
You might not recognize them because they will appear physically different.
I truly hope that this post / article was able to put some hope in your troubled mind.
RFH
How about a Request For Help? I tire of busybodies and statists who poke fun at the ideas and theories of others. They offer no constructive dialog. Rather they just make fun, ridicule, and then scurry under a rock.
I use this forum as a way to disseminate some of the things that I learned though my thirty years of involvement in MAJestic. However, I am forbidden to posit my knowledge directly. I cannot tell the interested, the “secrets of the universe”. The best that I can do is share my opinions about things that interest me, and flavor it indirectly with my forbidden understandings.
To help put this in perspective, put yourself in my shoes…
Imagine that you are working at a company with a brutal NDR. You cannot divulge anything about what you are involved in for any reason.
Now, let’s suppose that for thirty years you were involved in training unicorns to dance with bigfoot. To help with your training, the Lock Ness Monster would gather “magical beans” that you would award the unicorns when they did a particularly impressive dance move; like the cha cha or a nice rendition of the samba.
Now, there is no way that you can talk about unicorns, bigfoot, or the Lock Ness Monster. But, the NDR doesn’t cover “magic beans”. So in the best interests of society, you might want to posit your thoughts about growing “magic beans” and how they might be of interest to imaginary creatures.
That is the situation that I find myself in.
So, if you, the reader, were so interested, I would welcome your stories. Tell me about your loved ones. Tell me about how you coped with their loss. Tell me about how the Bible helped you through your grief. Tell me about any dreams or spiritual experiences that you have had. Tell me about how you have coped. You are never alone in this. We are all here to help each other.
This is my callout, to you the reader, to assist all of us in solving these mysteries. After all, this is a far better use of the internet than for looking at Justin Bieber videos.
FAQ
Q: Do cats go to Heaven? A: Yes absolutely. Now, you need to understand a few things first. Initially, they will hang around the physical world. They will fly about in the quantum wave form and explore all kinds of things. They will hang around for a little while, but soon they will be all over the neighborhood. Eventually, they will move on. They will migrate to the “Cat Heaven”.
It is a place that the quantum soul for the cat; it is their true and real home. They will then go here and stay a while. After a while they will decide to return back to the earth. If your relationship with them was strong they will return to you. This can be in numerous ways. Often it is through a shared body with another cat, or completely occupy the body of a new born kitten.
Q: What will happen to my pet when they die? A: Most cats don’t stay around the physical for long once they die. Once their quantum shape changes and they enter wave behavior they are free to go anywhere, and so they do. If they are particularly attached to you, they will hang around with you. But, even that will not last for longer than a day. Then they will go to more interesting and comfortable places; their version of Heaven. This is a “Cat Heaven”.
Q: My cat died, what can I do? A: Well, the first thing that you need to do is say “goodbye”. You need this. The cat does not. The cat knows how you feel. They really do. They also know that they cannot stay too long near you, as it would disrupt your life. So, often they will leave rather quickly.
They seldom hang on longer than a day. They tend to quickly find their way back to Heaven. Once you say your goodbyes, then you need to get rid of the dead cat’s body. You can bury it yourself, or give it to the vet for disposal. They will usually charge a small fee. You can also throw it in the trash. This sounds terrible, but the cat’s soul does not care about the body any longer. It has moved on.
Q: I miss my cat, it died, is it ok? A: Of course. We will always miss those whom we love and care for. The longer we are with them together, or the strength of the intensity of our love will determine the grief that we will feel when they leave for Heaven. It is always ok to feel a certain way. Do not allow anyone to tell you that what you feel is wrong, bad or misplaced. It is a very personal thing.
Q: Will I see my cat in Heaven? A: When you die, you will always be able to reunite with loved ones. You might not share the same species, but all of us are made up of quantum strings. Of course we can meet up. The difference, well it’s a minor technical point, is that we will have to cross some minor barriers to meet. However, the good news is that there are systems in place that will allow you to do just that. You will be able to meet again. I promise. There are bridges in Heaven between the Human Heaven and the Cat Heaven.
Q: Will I see my Cat again? A: If you had a good relationship, the answer will be yes. We always return through reincarnation towards our attachments. This can be good attachments if we are good people, and bad attachments if we are poor in our relationships. The returning cat will not look like your former cat. But after a while you will feel a special bond. Pay attention to your feelings. Close your eyes and do not be deceived by appearance.
Q: What is Cat Heaven like? A: I don’t know. If my one dream was an accurate portrayal of heaven, then I would have to say that to my soul it appeared empty and bland. My guess is that Heaven is what you make it. Within a Cat Heaven, it is probably filled with things that are of great interest to cats. Just like a Human Heaven is filled with things that are a great interest to humans.
Q: Is my Cat spirit ok? A: I am sure that he is just fine. We have to stop thinking that only what we see is all that there is. You cannot see radio waves. Does that mean that television and the internet does not exist? You cannot see feelings, does that mean that there is no such thing as love? You cannot see what is going on at the other side of the world. Does that mean that nothing is going on? Of course not.
Q: I had to put my pet asleep. Will it hate me? A: No. However, that being stated, the emotions that you feel regarding this is everything.
I have needed to put many loved pets down. It is never easy. It tears my heart to remember those times. Please know that their soul moves on and forward. Your love for each other still exists in other forms and other ways. The quanta never goes away. Those relationships that you have built up still exist. They will enable you two to reunite again in the future. It can be in Heaven or it can be on this earth in your reality.
Q: What you say does not agree with the Bible. Why not? A: The Bible is a great religious book. Inside of it are many truths. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for many to believe that what is inside of the Bible is all that there is, and anything outside of it is false. That is not the case.
My rebuttal to this statement (and question) is that a person needs to read all of the books of the Bible and derive their thoughts from the sum total. They should not limit their Biblical studies to only a few books of choice. That’s like going to a restaurant and saying you are only going to eat carrots. Well, there are a lot of good things about carrots, but other foods also have their merits as well. You end up really limiting yourself and your experiences.
Finally, my most important point is this. My God is a limitless God. It is capable of great love and great power. I find that when someone tries to use the Bible to say that “God would not let…”, or “God would never permit…” they are trying to put limits on God. I won’t have none of that.
God has no limits. In this universe, under this God EVERYTHING is possible. All you need is to accept and believe in faith.
Q: No one understands my relationship with my pet, what can I do? A: You do not need to explain yourself to anyone else. So do not even try. A relationship is only between two individuals. This is whether or not they are of the same species or not. It does not matter your gender or anything else. I have seen dogs and cats that have been lifelong friends, and then when one passes on, the other just pines away in lonely sadness. Of course they will be reunited. In this universe, nothing ever is destroyed. It only changes form. Thoughts are something. They are something. Feelings are something. How you feel, and what you think are important parts of who you are. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Q: I feel guilty that I wasn’t good enough for my friend, what can I do? A: We always feel this way when a loved on passes on. It is a rare person indeed, who feels that they have lived a long and complete life with those they loved. Do not worry about it. I am quite sure that your relationship was good enough given all the issues and situations involved.
Q: I didn’t bury my pet, is that bad? A: No that is fine. Their spirit could care less. They moved on. Burial is only for your emotional needs. Your pets do not need any such reassurances.
Q: Am I bad for moving on with my life? A: No. Not at all. We all need to grieve, and then put closure on an old life and move forward. We should never think of life as all that there is. It is much more than that and very complex. It has both the physical and the non-physical elements. As such, we absolutely need to move on, and our pets understand that.
Q: Will I see my pet again? A: Of course. There is always a good chance of seeing it in the physical, and there is a near certainty of seeing it in the Heavens. Though, to access meeting your pet cat in the Heavenly worlds will require assistance. Though when you are off in the spirit realms you will most certainly be able to make the necessary arrangements. It will not be hard at all. It will absolutely happen.
Q: How will I know if my pet will ever reincarnate near me? A: You will get “nudges”. These are feelings of a sort. Our physical reality is surrounded by a non-physical reality. Souls in the wave form can “play” with that reality. You would feel it as a “nudge” or a feeling to do something.
Maybe you might have this urge to go to a certain place.
Maybe you have a special attraction to a pet in the pet store. All I can say is this; listen to your feelings and nudges.
To repeat, if you have a “feeling” or a “nudge”, or encounter a situation (like a cat rescue) or something unusual… listen and take action.
Stop thinking. Start doing.
This kind of thing happens all the time.
HEREis a story about a boy who lost a cat that he loved, and so he volunteered at a cat shelter. Then one day, out of the blue a cat took a liking to him and they instantly bonded.
This is exactly how it happens.
“Austin fell in love with his new buddy and begged his mom to keep him, during the event. Gizzard who looked like the kitten version of Diddle (the older cat), lay on Austin the same way Diddle always used to do.”
Or HERE, where this couple goes to a shelter to get a cat after theirs died. They discover one of the cats won’t leave them alone and insists on going home with them.
Funny thing. This cat has the same name as their former cat.
Stephanie started recording that adorable moment where the kitty threw himself at his human friend, clutched onto him and snuggled up a storm. Once he noticed Stephanie, he climbed over to her shoulders, standing on his tippy toes, kneading and purring away.
“We asked what his name was and found out it was Oliver, just like our recently passed cat. It had to be fate! Our hearts melted and we knew we needed to add him to our family,”
Girl bursts into tears when she finds a kitten that “feels” and looks just like her former cat that passed away. The crying is happiness. Not sadness. . And HEREis the video when her mother bought the kitten and brought it home to her to have. .
Q: Can I get another pet or cat when my pet died? A: Sure. That is fine. If you beloved cat wants to be with you, it will find a way to return to you. Either it would join with the new cat, or take over the body. Often it might just end up coming around, and now you might end up with two cats instead of one. You never know.
Your loved ones will return back to you. Opportunities will present themselves. Just relax and be of open heart.
Dreaming with my cat
This is from a fan. -MM
I used to dream with my cat, literally.
The first time it happened, he was sleeping next to me, as we did, I was using his little rump for a pillow, and he had pulled my hand close to his head, laying it on my hand.
We were both asleep.
I had a dream (or he did) that a bird flew by, diagonally, from the lower left to the upper right. As the bird flew by, he startled me awake by waking up, shooting his head up and looking in the direction of the bird that I had just dreamed flew by.
I’ve never been so close to a soul in my life.
I lost him, at the young age of only 11, just 3 and a half weeks ago. His name was Makana. It means ‘gift’ in Hawaiian.
He certainly was.
I’ll miss you forever. 🙁
Kitty dream time.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Articles & Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
