Friday, November 03, 2006

Right Questions

What is important in life, isn't knowing if you have all the right answers -- it's knowing if the all of the questions were ... (right).

(Thanks for sharing HK...)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

"The Greening of Americans"

Money is the root of all Wealth.(What did you think that I was going to say?)

"Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think, and the barometer of a society's virtue." -Ayn Rand

On Money & Wealth - Russian born American novelist Ayn Rand is originator of the philosophy of "Objectivism". You can learn more about her life and philosophy at the Ayn Rand Institute. "Francisco's Money Speech", an excerpt from "Atlas Shrugged", Copyright ©1957 Ayn Rand. Reprinted [see link] with permission from the Estate of Ayn Rand:
http://www.congregator.net/topical/money-speech.htm

Part-II "I want a Ring & Nearby Living"

See also, Part-I [below]

It seems there's a bevy of women who hanker-after a wedding ring as a top priority. Why? Because they simply want the wedding? Perhaps they're just obsessed with the venue -- the dress, the flowers, the food, and the glamour of it all?

Well maybe. But maybe it's ALL about money?

Have they forgotten about the true values of marriage? What happened to love, commitment and "till death do us part"? Sadly they are sometimes so caught up in the notion of personal security and safety and affluence -- that they also get caught planning the fairytale wedding long before they've even met "the one" -- "Prince Charming" on a white horse (in a convenient parking lot).

Holy Tiara!

Ride him Cowgirl!

These days, and everywhere you look -- couples are tying the knot, and the hotties are cashing in their 'tits'. Oops. 'Scuse me ... their 'c-h-i-p-s'.

Women are sporting bling-bling rings, snazzy see-through dresses (I recall reading that Nicole Kidman's was worth a reported $100K. SWEET! ). All want to revel around and around, waltzing into dreamland by dancing like a "Princess for a Day".

So why the wedding obsession?

Perhaps it's all thanks to a mix of little-girl desires, savvy marketing and the lure of a Tiffany-esque ring, but either way, it seems the desperate desire for a wedding (felt by so many modern women) is spiraling out of control.

In the film "Muriel's Wedding", Muriel, a 22-year-old girl obsessed by marriage, lies, steals and then marries a man she doesn't love -- just to experience the transformative thrill of marching down the aisle. And it seems that despite women being more assertive in the Boardrooms of the World (and also in the bedroom), this sort of behavior is still running rife. (OK, where's my rifle? -ed)

While I agree that there's certainly nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy (what little girl doesn't dream of being a bride at age 8?). But what's at the root of such motivation?

Is it: To love, honor and obey, in sickness and in health, till death do them part?

Or is it: To have the best darn wedding possible?

Or is it; Simply the lure of flowers, showers, dresses and of course -- a HUGE diamond ring?

"Oh, definitely the ring," scoffed one of my male friends (who admitted that he was "forced" to buy a HUGE ring for his ex-fiancée). She gave him the dreaded ultimatum:

"Marry me, or else we are at a 'dead end', and I will (unstated: sleep with someone else)!"

"She kept demanding a big ring," he said. He added, "But once I proposed and she'd gotten 'what' she wanted, it was like she no longer cared for our relationship. She certainly wasn't interested in me anymore. It was like all she wanted was a big fancy wedding, a big fancy dress and a big fancy ring to show off to all her non-married friends. The actual meaning of marriage was lost on her. When it came down to our relationship, it felt like it meant nothing to her." In his case, he called it quits "before it was too late". (He didn't get the ring back. -ed).

In our culture obsessed with weddings, it comes as no surprise that reality TV shows hit our airwaves like swarms of bees. Titles like: "Suzie's getting Married". The show aims to marry-off an insecure female nick-named, "Sue". Her dress is chosen; the venue is booked; the caterers have their menus; and the drinks are decided on. There's only one tiny little catch: Suzie opted to 'dead end' the man of her dreams.

Yep, there's no groom and no Good man in sight. That's why she's got the whole team at (Focker) Family Channel behind her -- to find her one such groom (same religion of course) -- and they've got just a few more years do it, and must make sure he's who he says he is -- AND -- he has to be rich! Quite the order to fill, Me Thinks.

And while that's just fantasy on Reality Television, the trend is very, very real. Often nicknamed "Bridezillas" (AKA "Monsters"), even Oprah is on that trend-line -- devoting entire shows to women who've become so obsessed with their wedding, that the obsessions evolve towards being more important than any thoughts of actually pleasing their poor down-trodden groom-to-be.

But guys, don't fear -- because not all women are wedding-obsessed. A quick dip into the BLOG-O-Sphere found this comment from a bride-to-be: "I wish we could actually skip the wedding, go to Vegas and just get married -- like I wanted to do in the first place!

"Did I just hear a cheer of, "Amen !!!" over by the slot machines?

By so doing, the Road to Riches can be green (indeed).

To close, and as for fitting advice? Neither a gambler... nor a lover be.

Get an appartment nearby, buy a "Mercedes Benz SL 500", drive by her house daily.


Part-I "Honeymoon Over & The Itch"

See also, Part-II [above]

What's the best part of any relationship? Ah ...the spin-up, "honeymoon" period, of course! But once the conjoined baths, public smooching, and non-stop canoodling are over, the relationship can come to a screeching halt. Someone announces a "dead end" (cul de sac).

That's when she starts to feel the itch.

According to experts, sometimes it's not merely a "rough patch" (to scratch), but THE inescapable "love crisis point" that occurs (it's a point in time when an "EXODUS" is no Book of the Bible). She is CONVINCED that the grass is sure to be greener on the other side. More often than not, the grass does all the damage. More often than not, all that is grass is NOT green. Maybe it's money, maybe it's sex (a romp in the hay), maybe it's true incompatibility -- but there's that itch.

It always gets touched by someone. (Itched.)

In the classic film "Seven Year Itch", lead man (Richard Sherman) who has been married for seven years meets 22-year-old lead lady (Marilyn Monroe). And he is petrified. Why? He had recently stumbled across a phenomenon known as the 'seven-year itch' -- the time in a relationship when a significant proportion of men and women have extra-relationship affairs. And while he doesn't succumb to scratching the itch, it seems he's not alone in feeling it.

Ah, the itch. "I felt it after just 3-years." revealed Ms. "X".


She's a self-employed professional who recently found herself placed on the outside of a three-year union by a boy friend who demands zero impropriety in the form of consistent decency and irreproachable moral behavior (at all times) -- and the total absence of abuse and violence in a home.

Well, "Now, it's alive and real.", " I will do whatever I want. It’s a free world. For both of us." (The itch.)

It was all running smoothly between the two of them, and then BAM (wambam, AKA marriage wampum?). She hit the mark and everything went pear-shaped from there.

"He broke things off due to my behavior, and things have been lousy for me ever since.", she said.

"The problem now, is that I'm petrified this will happen again, because she can't contain herself.", he said.

Research shows the median time for an enduring relationship is approximately, 7.2 years. So why all the malice at the 3-year point?

People change naturally over the years (anyone who broke off a marriage after about seven years) ought to know. Life works in cycles and everything changes (about every seven years). Suddenly, you wake up with someone that you weren't with those (few) years ago. So you need to make an effort to get to know that person again.

The itch occurs when people think 'I cant be bothered to do anything about the problems that we have to surmount, and I'm just not going to accept a mediocre relationship." (The itch.)

Yet the seventh year isn't the only blimp on the relationship radar. Oh no. Sometimes this occurs during the 6th, 5th, 4th, or even the 3rd year!


Those "love crises points" are the times (in every relationship) where things get a little unpleasant. Some relationships have more, others less. Experts (and serial "candy shop" daters), say there's the one-month itch, the one-year itch (when the honeymoon period is over and reality slowly starts to creep in), the 2-year itch (when realities surface), and the third-year itch (usually at the point where the couple is actually thinking about being together for the long haul) -- but each interval leaves couples out in the cold... shivering and stark-naked, their souls bared.

Within that three-year period, the initial euphoria has worn off and each person is getting down to the business of 'How can we be together?", "What must we do with our lives to make that possible?", "How are we going to coordinate our work and home lives to care for our children?", "Are we going to get to travel and enjoy love and life together?", "Or will it be all work, and no play?

"A girl just wants to have fun? So let's forget about the seven year conundrum for just a moment.

How do we scratch the three-year itch? After all, no-one wants the honeymoon to end after just three years, right?

Perhaps we can look to Hollywood for some answers?

In the film "The Break Up", Jennifer Aniston's character finds the perfect solution for her relationship itch. So how does she get character Vince Vaughn's attention? She opts for Brazilian bikini wax. And yes, according to my friends, it works wonders...

Have you felt it? How do you prevent the itch?

And so Bikini wax it is...

Sunday, October 29, 2006

"KNOW IT ALLS"

People who THINK that they KNOW EVERYTHING, generally annoy those of us who do...
(jest jestin')