Esoteric Bowl

Every now and then I like to travel from one journal site to the next, allowing the links to decide which direction I will go. It’s a great way to visit a variety of journals and to see what others are writing about. Lately in these travels, I have been discovering a recurrent pattern in the journals that I have come across. For some reason, there are a number of females that often refer or describe themselves as a “bitch”. Why is that? Is there a new definition of this word that gives it new meaning? I referred to Webster’s definition: outside of a female dog, the word has a handful of slang meanings, most of which are negative references to a woman (malicious, unpleasant, selfish, and lewd are just a few).

The word “bitch” has never been my swear word of choice. I have never been very comfortable with the word. I even cringe on those rare occasions when I hear someone to refer to a female dog as a bitch, so to hear/read someone describe themselves in such a way is always a little unsettling. I have always thought that the word held a significant amount of disrespect within its meaning, and remember a time when dire consequences would occur if someone referred to a woman in such a way. Perhaps I’m making too much of it all, it’s only a word right? But how can someone expect others to give them any amount of respect when they describe themselves in such a negative way?

I wonder if the “gangstah”, “in yo face” pop-culture-attitude has somehow given this word some kind of validity. Perhaps referring to oneself in this way is nothing more than what is the “in thing” to do. Maybe wearing the “Bitch” label is today’s Jordache Jeans or Nike Air Jordan Sneakers.

Very little time had passed following the attacks of September 11, before the question was raised on how the lives of so many would be honored. While there have been both public and private ceremonies to honor the dead, there are those that believe that a number of memorials should be constucted. I’m neither for nor against such memorials, although if none were built, I honestly doubt that the events of that day or lives lost would be remembered any less.

One such memorial that is currently being constructed is a statue based on the popular photo of the three NYC firefighters hoisting an American flag amidst the rubble of the Twin Towers. But instead of portraying the event with historical accuracy, the statue has apparently fallen victim to political correctness. The ethnic backgrounds of the firefighters portrayed have purposely been changed to display one Hispanic male, one Black male, and one White male. If a staute is desired to show the ethnic diversity of those lives that were bravely lost, then by all means construct such a memorial that would symbolize that diversity. However, I don’t think such creative privileges should be made with historical events. If these changes are seen as minor, then why not make other such minor changes such as having a female portrayed as well? And what about other ethnic backgrounds, are they not worthy of being represented? While memorializing our dead is nothing new, the process of doing so, and how we do it, often says less about those that we are honoring and more about ourselves.

Is it just me, or does anyone else have difficulty believing the president passed-out because of a pretzel? Maybe I’m too much of a skeptic, or perhaps I have lived a sheltered life, but never have I heard of someone choking on a pretzel and then passing-out.

According to the White House, the president was alone on the couch watching the football playoffs and eating pretzels. I haven’t heard anyone from the press ask, but I wonder what beverage the president was drinking to wash down all those pretzels. Perhaps the guy has taken to hitting the sauce again; litterally falling off the wagon and landing on his face.

Maybe the story of the pretzel is true. Who could create such a lame excuse? I mean, the president passing-out because of a pretzel has all the makings of bad fiction. Imagine if it is true, and the end result was far worse than a facial injury. I can just see the history books now; John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Mr. Salty.