Being Ashamed of Illinois

How come my state elected this stupid freakazoid who tells members of Congress to "stop talking about jobs" and concentrate instead on repealing the HAMP legislation that helps people get out of their crushing mortgages? Has this vile harpy been to Illinois lately? And once again, Republican voters, is that really what you voted for? A Congresswoman who wants the Congress to stop talking about jobs? Who seems visibly annoyed that the word "jobs" has been mentioned in her presence?

Can you believe it that this anti-jobs and anti-mortgage relief clown has been representing the 13th district of Illinois since 1999? And don't talk to me about the context of Biggert's utterance. The only context that matters right now is crushing unemployment. A member of Congress should go to sleep and wake up with the words "job creation" on her lips. She needs to scream "I want to create jobs!" during sex. It is her obligation to live and breathe jobs until she manages to make sure that some are created in her state.

Of course, it's entirely possible that people who live in Biggert's district don't give a rat's ass about jobs because they are concentrated on something else. See here the most recent comment from the website of the Illinois 13th congressional district:

I called the village of Downers Grove last year and was pleasantly surprised when I asked if it would be alright having a group of people say a prayer at the Village Hall. They turned me over to a very nice gentlemen ( I still have his name) and said I didn't need a permit. And asked if I was going to have over 50 people in case they were doing work at the time. I was really upset about national prayer day being cancelled. I also made a comment how nice it was to have the American flag all over town.

I mean, what do religious fanatics care about jobs and boring stuff like that when there is a much more pressing matter of destroying the wall of separation between church and state?

Religious fanaticism will be the downfall of this country.

Amazon Mom

Can anybody explain to me why there is such a thing as "Amazon Mom membership" but no "Amazon Dad membership"?

Are people truly that medieval? 

I'd never join such a disgusting, sexist program that devalues fatherhood in the most egregious way possible.

Philosophy

I have always been interested in philosophy. There was never any chance for me to get a formal training in philosophy. All my programs of study were too full for me to take a single course in it. So I'm a complete autodidact in this area. I follow the works of Alain Badiou, Zygmunt Bauman, Slavoj Žižek, Ernesto Laclau, Giorgio Agamben, and Terry Eagleton (whom I also consider a philosopher, irrespective of what anybody else might say.) This is what I do for fun, in case somebody thought I wasn't nerdy enough.

So the reason that I'm sharing all this is that there is a really interesting conference in philosophy that is being planned in Canada. I'm dying to give a talk there because the topic is right up my alley. I'm so interested in going to that conference that I wouldn't even mind paying for the trip myself (shhh, don't tell anybody at my university in case I do end up needing the funding to go.) However, I don't think that if I submit a proposal it will be accepted because I'm not a philosopher but a literary critic. Which will be unfair because I could contribute a different perspective on things.

Just wanted to share.

Sempre acho que namoro, casamento, romance tem começo, meio e fim. Como tudo na vida. Detesto quando escuto aquela conversa:

- ‘Ah, terminei o namoro… ‘
- ‘Nossa, quanto tempo?’
- ‘Cinco anos… Mas não deu certo… Acabou’
- É, não deu…?
Claro que deu! Deu certo durante cinco anos, só que acabou.
E o bom da vida, é que você pode ter vários amores.
Não acredito em pessoas que se complementam. Acredito em pessoas que se somam.
Às vezes você não consegue nem dar cem por cento de você para você mesmo, como cobrar cem por cento do outro.
E não temos esta coisa completa.
Às vezes ele é fiel, mas não é bom de cama.
Às vezes ele é carinhoso, mas não é fiel.
Às vezes ele é atencioso, mas não é trabalhador.
Às vezes ela é malhada, mas não é sensível.
Tudo nós não temos.
Perceba qual o aspecto que é mais importante e invista nele.
Pele é um bicho traiçoeiro.
Quando você tem pele com alguém, pode ser o papai com mamãe mais básico que é uma delícia.
E as vezes você tem aquele sexo acrobata, mas que não te impressiona…
Acho que o beijo é importante…e se o beijo bate…se joga…senão bate…mais um Martini, por favor…e vá dar uma volta.
Se ele ou ela não te quer mais, não force a barra.
O outro tem o direito de não te querer.
Não lute, não ligue, não dê pití.
Se a pessoa tá com dúvida, problema dela, cabe a você esperar ou não.
Existe gente que precisa da ausência para querer a presença.
O ser humano não é absoluto. Ele titubeia, tem dúvidas e medos mas se a pessoa REALMENTE gostar, ela volta.
Nada de drama.
Que graça tem alguém do seu lado sob chantagem, gravidez, dinheiro, recessão de família?
O legal é alguém que está com você por você.
E vice versa.
Não fique com alguém por dó também.
Ou por medo da solidão.
Nascemos sós. Morremos sós. Nosso pensamento é nosso, não é compartilhado.
E quando você acorda, a primeira impressão é sempre sua, seu olhar, seu pensamento.
Tem gente que pula de um romance para o outro.
Que medo é este de se ver só, na sua própria companhia?
Gostar dói.
Você muitas vezes vai ter raiva, ciúmes, ódio, frustração.
Faz parte. Você namora um outro ser, um outro mundo e um outro universo.
E nem sempre as coisas saem como você quer…
A pior coisa é gente que tem medo de se envolver.
Se alguém vier com este papo, corra, afinal, você não é terapeuta.
Se não quer se envolver, namore uma planta. É mais previsível.
Na vida e no amor, não temos garantias.
E nem todo sexo bom é para namorar.
Nem toda pessoa que te convida para sair é para casar.
Nem todo beijo é para romancear.
Nem todo sexo bom é para descartar. Ou se apaixonar. Ou se culpar.
Enfim… Quem disse que ser adulto é fácil???

(Arnaldo Jabor)

Student Insights on Democracy

"So what does this author think about democracy?" I ask my class.

"He really likes it," students respond.

"What makes you think that?"

"He is in favor of people being ruled by a small minority, access to which is extremely limited. That's democracy," they respond completely seriously.

When I explained the etymology of the word "democracy" ("power of the people"), they were genuinely surprised.

Out of the mouths of babes, indeed. . .

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Lunella Ristorante in New York: A Review

If you've never been to Lunella Ristorante in New York's Little Italy, consider yourself truly blessed. That restaurant is a complete disaster. The food it serves is not really Italian. It might have stood on the same shelf in the refrigerator with real Italian food but that's as close as it ever got to anything Italian. The service is abysmally poor.

I ordered seafood risotto. Ordering risotto is the best way to figure out if a restaurant is worth visiting again. I have ordered all kinds of risotto at a variety of restaurants across the continent. Some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent. Lunella's risotto, however, is not a risotto at all. It's rice with seafood. It isn't a bad plate of rice, mind you, but it should not be called risotto when that isn't what it is.

Now, I wouldn't bitch about a plate of food that was far from spectacular if that were the only thing that's wrong with Lunella. However, the service at that place was so horrible that I still feel traumatized. When we received the handwritten bill that wasn't easy at all to decipher, we discovered that a 22% tip had already been included. This is a very strange practice that we hadn't been warned about at any point during the bill. Many people pay the restaurant bill without reading it in detail (especially a handwritten bill that is difficult to understand). Just imagine how many people just paid the amount requested and then left a tip on top of that.

When we asked the waiter why the restaurant was doing this, he became extremely aggressive. First, he insisted that this was a common practice in New York, which is a patent lie. Then, when we disagreed (very politely, I might add), he screeched, "I don't give a fuck!" and threw the bill at us. This wasn't a matter of money for us because we were going to leave a good tip initially but such attitude was simply shocking. The manager came up and refused to acknowledge that the conduct of the waiter who yells profanity at polite customers might not have been entirely appropriate. The waiter, in the meanwhile, was lurking in the background, banging food trays, and showing his discontent in every imaginable way. Since I left my country 12,5 years ago, I haven't witnessed such naked and unjustified displays of aggression  from complete strangers. Even the criminal who mugged me several years ago was less scary than this waiter. Which is not that surprising, given that he is, in all probability, a compatriot of mine.

So my advice: whatever you do, avoid the horrible Lunella restaurant in New York at all costs.

E você me olha com essa carinha banal de "me espera só mais um pouquinho". Querendo me congelar enquanto você confere pela centésima vez se não tem mesmo nenhuma mulher melhor do que eu. E sempre volta. (Tati Bernardi)