On dating women

I do not have extensive experience dating women and I have never been out with a real lesbian, but these are some of the things I have found that are different from going out with men:

• no first date nervousness - it’s like going out with any other friend;

• no expectations on either side about who should pay;

• you can go to your local together, and no one else realises you’re on a date;

• if you ask her to go home with you, she won’t think you’re a slut;

• she understands period pain;

• there are no “rules” – you can call her the next day;

• relatively effortless mutual understanding;

• you can talk about men you have been out with or are interested in;

• women are more sensual kissers;

• everything is soft to the touch (which clearly would not be a good thing with a man).

This is obviously not meant to be an exhaustive list, just the first few things that came to mind.

Weekend Survey

The question: Which country will the United States invade next? And why?

I was at U Zpěváčků last night (on the beer and black sambuca part of my date with the beautiful kd) and these are some of the answers I got:

Syria – because they are troublemakers, their interference with Lebanon, recent testing of a Scud missile, and we need to protect Israel to bring about the Rapture.

Iran – nuclear weapons, conveniently located next to Iraq, continue our crusade against Muslims.

Cuba – we can spell it, we can find it, we can vacation there. And they’re commies.

Lebanon – to keep the peace.

Belorus – the last dictatorship in Eastern Europe.

Venezuela – oil, and Chavez is friends with Castro. Drug lords.

Mexico or Canada – conveniently located.

Iceland – it poses a clear and imminent danger: the whole fucking place is creeping up on the US by several cm per year with obvious intent. And Björk is a WMD.

Narnia – so that W can stop being scared of the wardrobe.

Thanks to kd, AG, the “arrogant bastard” and others for taking part in the survey.

Opinions, please, my wonderful blogging friends.

On the pleasures of ice cream

Ben & Jerry's ice cream has recently become available in the Czech Republic. Only one shop carries it, and that shop is right around the corner from my office (or, as Jono likes to say, 'orifice'). I have resisted the impulse to purchase said ice cream for the past 2 1/2 months but today I gave in. I am sitting here right now with my 150 ml single-serving portion of Cherry Garcia. Mmmmmmmmmmm...

I think I might just get through the rest of the afternoon.

Feminist Max

Today I am wondering why feminism gets so much criticism. To define my use of the term I am going to borrow from Helena Kennedy, who has said:

Feminism is a theory which involves women emancipating themselves on their own terms from inequalities and discrimination based on gender. The canon of this political philosophy addresses patriarchal orthodoxies within a male-dominated society. It seeks to bring an end to women’s subordination and violence against women by empowering women and giving them control over their own bodies.

I do not understand why so many men seem to be threatened by feminism. I consider myself a feminist, by my own definition, and I do realise that there are other definitions out there. To me, being a feminist means supporting women’s rights, but it does not mean that I want to take anything away from men (except for the power to control women, obviously).

I want equal pay, equal opportunity, streets that are safe for me to walk at night, sexual freedom, the right to choose to have an abortion or not, etc. I do not wish to emasculate men, I do not hate men. In truth, I like men. I will smile and say ‘thank you’ if you open a door for me and I will be grateful if you carry a heavy bag for me. I do not pretend that I am as strong as a man; I acknowledge the differences in our physiology.

I want to be able to make my own choices as to whether to be independent or to marry, stay at home and raise children; men should have the same possibilities. Feminism is really just another philosophy of non-interference, i.e. live and let live. I simply do not see what could be so menacing in that.

Devolution

Gonzales v Raich (the medical marijuana decision) may be the straw that broke Max’s back.

devolution transference (as of rights, powers, property, or responsibility) to another; especially : the surrender of powers to local authorities by a central government

I lived in Edinburgh in 1989-1990 and I have three distinct political images etched in my memory from that time period:
1. The Berlin Wall being torn down;
2. Nelson Mandela’s walk out of prison; and
3. Scottish Nationalist Party graffiti all over town.

The SNP was established in 1934; they stand for an independent Scottish nation, which they have not (yet) achieved. However, seven years ago the UK Parliament passed the Scottish Act of 1998, an act of constitutional reform, which included the words: “there shall be a Scottish Parliament.” In July of 1999, the Scottish Parliament was convened for the first time since 1707. The Act devolved the power to determine domestic policy and laws for Scotland away from the UK Parliament and back to Edinburgh. In the same year, the National Assembly for Wales was convened.

It can be done.

The Supreme Court Sucks Butt

In today’s news from the Associated Press: “Federal authorities may prosecute sick people who smoke pot on doctors' orders, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, concluding that state medical marijuana laws do not protect users from a federal ban on the drug.”

This makes me sick. And not just because I may or may not be a libertarian or because I may or may not smoke dope, but because people who are ill need the stuff. The two Californian women who brought the case against John Ashcroft (who also makes me want to vomit) are suffering between them: scoliosis, a brain tumour, partial paralysis, degenerative spine disease, chronic nausea, fatigue and pain, as well as a few other more minor ailments.

What the fuck is the Supreme Court’s problem? In the decision, Justice John Paul "Arsehole" Stevens wrote that it is up to Congress to change the law to allow medical use of marijuana. That might be fair play, except for the fact that the distribution of medical marijuana in California is without charge and does not involve “interstate commerce” in any way. Under the Constitution, that means that Congress has no say in the matter. Perhaps our eminent justices need to go back to law school.

Max Back in Prague

It has been a long hard drunken weekend for Max. To fill you in with the rest of it... it was great to see Paige & Olivier on Saturday night - I love them. On Sunday I had to fight with Jono to get out of bed so we could drive out to Hemel Hempstead and pick up some of my stuff that has been in storage in Gareth's dad's garage since last June. And finally I left for the airport.

Gatwick Airport is an unpleasant place, especially when it is crowded and the queues are miles long and one is exhausted, on her own and carrying a backpack full of books that is too heavy to check. I got through security, bought my newspapers and went to sit down in the central lounge. I got up to look at the monitors at 17.35 and saw "18.20, flight number whatever, Prague, Please go to Gate 28." I went to Gate 28, it was the wrong gate, but I did not notice until 18.10, after they had announced the Czech Airlines flight to Prague at least twice, and I finally looked up from my Times and remembered that I was flying easyjet. Bugger. Same time, same destination, but I still wondered how a woman with my level of education and intellect could be so dumb (snide comments expected). I went up to the counter, told the airline lady my mistake, and she said very calmly that I needed to go to Gate 12. I walked quickly, but did not run, first because the lady had been calm and had not told me to hurry so I figured she must know something I didn't know, but also because the only thing you can count on with easyjet is that they will be late. And they were.

I saw an amazing sunset on the way back, unbelievable colours: pink and blue and violet, and I did not let the woman sitting next to me look out of my window because she was a bitch. And I did not let the girl in front of me put her seat back because I was writing on my little table and she would have been in my way.

Monkey called me while I was waiting at baggage claim so I went to meet him, rtm and Dan for beers. Dr Strangelove came on tv in the bar and no one could believe that I had never seen it. I have been meaning to see it for years but I hardly ever see anything. (See Shiny Matt's post about AADD. Shiny Matt is wonderful.) I watched a bit of the film and will make sure to borrow the dvd soon so I can watch the whole thing.

Max in London - Part II

I had a lunch on Friday, one that was ostensibly business, but that turned into a 6-hour piss-up. I had other plans, involving shopping (Monkey, I wanted to look for those Alain Mikli frames) and going to see Scott at the Whisky Society, but by the time lunch was over all I could do was stand on a corner and wait for Jono to finish work so we could go to an engagement party in Clapham. I did manage to ring Scott at least. I also managed a foray into a pub to buy a half of Kronenbourg to sip outside while I was waiting. On the way to the party we stopped to buy champagne at a corner shop but we ended up with cava because they didn't have any chilled proper champagne. Jono made me eat a sandwich in hopes that it would absorb some of the alcohol I had already consumed. The party was good: lots of bubbly, karaoke, pints of water and more karaoke. The engaged couple had gone to bed before Jono, a few others and I had finished karaoke, but they always do. We got a cab, dropped another party guest at Elephant & Castle, dropped Jono in Soho, and by the time I got home to Islington, the cab fare was £33. I love London and I love black cabs, but fucking hell, the cost is insane.

On Saturday morning when Jono and I finally went downstairs (probably 1 p.m.) Vanessa was already sitting in the garden with the first of her luncheon guests. The only one I had not met before was Kitsch, who was absolutely lovely, and who is a British tv celeb. Monkey, he bats for your team, and you would love him, even if he is a limey. V invited us to have lunch with them, but Jono and I ran off to get burgers in Exmouth Market instead.

After lunch we went to Smithfields to meet JK, a friend of mine from law school. JK is awesome. We sat in a bar, drank beer and talked about everything from politics to urinals. (Yes, I do see the irony in that statement.) JK is a barrister, actually a pupil, meaning that he is doing his one year of apprenticeship before he becomes fully qualified to practice on his own. He has a wig but does not have to wear it very often. On his very first solo court appearance a couple of months ago he was defending 2 squaddies who had been charged with assault. It had been generally accepted in his chambers that they would be found guilty but JK's brilliant defence led to a verdict of not guilty. JK is a legend.

JK ran into someone else we know from law school in the toilets and brought him back to our table. I asked JK to show Tobes the photo of him in his court robes and wig that he had on his phone.
Tobes: You look really good, mate.
JK: No, I don't, I look like a twat.
(That is for all of you in the US to see that the word "twat" is alive and well someplace in the world.)

Then Jono and I had to run off to see Paige and Olivier for more drinks and dinner.

Max in London

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A Perspective from Abroad

I have lived outside of the United States for most of my adult life. As a long-term expatriate, I have not had the opportunity to be involved in politics at a grass-roots level. Politics for me has consisted mostly of heated conversations and voting once every 4 years.

My perspective is different from the perspectives of my fellow bloggers in the US (not to lump you all together, but you know what I am getting at). I have seen foreign (i.e. non-US) news more often than US news; I have read foreign press more than US press. Therefore I have known quite a bit about US foreign policy as it affects other countries but never enough about US domestic policy. Of course I do talk to fellow Americans, some who also live abroad and some who live at home, as well as people from other countries. I do find that we all have our own unique perspectives, but that there is an overall difference in perspective between Americans at home and Americans abroad, especially since 9/11.

I have been a Republican (I don’t usually admit that), a Democrat, and a member of the Green Party, but I have been unaffiliated in any way for at least ten years. My biggest domestic political concerns have always centred on education and personal freedoms. For example, the freedom to have an abortion has always been an important issue to me. Although I do not know if I would or could ever have an abortion myself (and luckily have not had to make that decision), the thought of a bunch of men presuming that they have the right to tell me what I can do with my own body truly enrages me.

Bush’s post 9/11 policy has frightened me from the very beginning. It is grotesque. We have had draconian legislation hiding behind benign names like The Patriot Act. We now have the Department of Homeland Security which has been given a weird name, an unclear mission and undefined powers. Hello, Big Brother.

James Madison once said, “If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” Why is it so obvious to some and yet others do not see it at all?

The elections in 2004 were a huge turning point for me. I came back to Prague from England in the summer and started working amongst Americans for the first time since the year 2000. We talked about almost nothing except politics for 5 months - before, during and after the elections. I had a political re-awakening, suddenly feeling the need to be more involved in politics than I had been since university and more of a need to figure out what was really going on and to do something to change things.

That is where I am at the present time. I read, I write, I discuss. I am learning from a lot of different sources and people, and still sorting everything out for myself. I see that our system is not working and that radical change is necessary. I am therefore left with the challenges of figuring out how to effect change, with whom I can work, and how we will ensure that the end result will leave us all much better off than we are now.