Can mobs be civil?

I've always loathed it when [some] people argue it is the woman's fault if she gets sexually asaulted or raped because she invited it by being there, or being beautiful, or suggesting advances. But, I'm not sure how I feel about this one: 

Female Foreign Correspondents' Code Of Silence, Finally Broken http://huff.to/dN7OVx

What do you think? 

For one thing, I KNOW mob-mentality is the lowest, scariest, most hideous the public can get. There's a level of invisibility. Law is not in place. Chaos helps overshadow everything immoral, unethical, illegal. So how can one expect (in our not-so ideal world) for people to act with civility, when the only thing that FORCES us to act in line is the fear of getting caught, the fear of loosing dignity.

Atlanta Snow Week

Atlanta and surrounding areas have been snowed in since Sunday (Jan 9) evening. Large part of Georgia came to a screeching halt and schools, offices, stores were closed on Monday and Tuesday. Things started picking up today, Wednesday... but the road conditions haven't improved much on the outskirts, i.e. outside downtown or midtown Atlanta. More places will start opening their doors tomorrow (Thursday), but they're being cautious by starting late (Georgia Tech at 10a, Art Institute at noon), but many continue to play it safe by declaring another day off.

In all this chaos, instead of enjoying this unexpected extra time with self or with family or by doing something that they had been putting off because of the lack of time, people continue to complain. When suspected that Ai may not resume classes on Thursday either, I read students writing on Facebook how disappointed they were; and then when we learnt that school will indeed be open starting noon (still not sure, we'll know the real deal tomorrow) students started cribbing about the serious icy road conditions. It's really mind boggling. Do we really, always, want what we don't get?! WHY?

I came back from a 10 day Vipassana course on Friday, Jan 7. And thank god I did it when I did (wish I could've done it sooner though). Through all this snow and ice mayhem, I've been sitting and observing peoples reactions. Not at all ideal. They do - and I can't figure out why - continue to make themselves miserable based on something that's not even in their control! Wow, indeed. So what if you get another week off school. So what if you can't go anywhere. So what if school will drag into another week at quarter or semester end. So what if you'll have to move around some plans. You can't fight with anybody about it, damn it! What're you gonna do? Punch nature in its face? Psh! Read a book. Watch movies. Play board games. Get to know your roommates. Do something you haven't done in forever or ever. There's no lack of things to do, even if you can't step outside.

Live in the moment, Atlanta. You may miss it when it's gone; and it will be gone. Impermanence is how nature works, just observe how long it lasts, objectively, without identifying yourself with it - Vipassana words :)

Happy Ice and Snow week! Peace, Atlanta 2011.

Let's F*ck Baby!

Both Russian and US scientists are out there researching the best positions for sex in zero gravity, in space.

The issue of sex in space is a serious one.

Hmm. Sexual satisfaction is pretty important, I guess. But what about single men and women who go on long missions, do they also get to have sex? With colleagues? (Question raised because they only mention 'married couples' in the article).

People have differing opinions on whether or not Sex is important in a relationship or marriage. There are virgin married couples out there, living happily together. And there are people who switch partners like they change clothes. What's your take on sex? Its importance in a relationship? Or its need for a healthy growth of a relationship, or an individual?

Breakfast in America

No matter which fast food place one decides to enter before 11 AM to fill up their hungry tummy, what one gets is not unique to any specific restaurant. Be it McDonald's, Subway, or Dunkin' Donuts the Breakfast Menu is the same everywhere in America!

Buttered or Chicken Biscuits
Waffles or Pancakes
Eggs, Omelet
Coffee, Milk, Juice

There is no variety. Nothing to look forward to or get excited about. Certainly not a chance of jumping up and down with a smiling face upon the discovery of the absolute need to have breakfast in some fast food restaurant. When there are so many fast food places in America that serve variety of things from burgers, to sandwiches, to tacos and burritos during the normal hours, why can't they come up with something creative for the early hours of the day? Something that closely matches their regular menu?

More companies need to be Apple like ...and... 'Think Different'.

Sexed-Up Semester

No, I'm not having a lot of sex this semester, neither watching a lot of sexually erotic movies, nor dressing up in sexy clothes. Instead, I'm taking a Sociology course titled 'Sexuality and Society'. They don't teach us when, how, where to approach someone for sex, neither do they teach us about the various positions, nor the art of achieving orgasm. Instead, we study how sexuality is shaped by society, how it differs from culture-to-culture and time-to-time, and what are some serious issues we're facing today.

So far, I really like the course. I'm learning things that never even crossed my mind, and also things that I wanted to know about but never got serious enough to google.

For example: Did you know... Vibrators were originally invented as a health aid. Until the early 1900s, women who had high sexual desire were believed to be mentally ill. Vibrators, before which doctors used to manually rid of a women's sexual desire (please imagine what that might mean), were used as a tool to calm a woman's sexual desire.

Another Example: Did you know... Intersexed individuals go through a genital correction surgery soon after birth (in America). The treatment continues well into childhood and sometimes even during the teenage years. This leaves the individual with scarred genitals which hurt, and (s)he also looses the reproductive ability. If a male child is surgically made a female (this might be needed when a child looses his penis due to a disease or accidentally), the parents must insert some kind of object into the vaginal opening every single day so that the opening doesn't close.

There's a lot of learn in this class. But I probably won't be writing much about it because, 'society' - dear readers - doesn't allow 'open discussion' of such matters. And I'm pretty sure, some of the people who read this particular post would say - 'What kind of a person is Geetali? Plus, she's a female! Girls should have decency and should not go out running around talking about sex. She's crazy!' ...My response: 'I don't give a damn about how I'm supposed to be.'

iSpace

I hail from the land of crowd.

No matter where you go, where you step, where you turn, where you see ... there's crowd everywhere! At bus stops, at train stations, at airports, in schools, in movie theaters, in parks, on the road ... crowd everywhere! Men, women, elderly, young, kids, infacts, rich, poor, beggars, sellers, people, people, people ... everywhere! Sometimes it is hard to find enough space to stand, to sit. Many times it's hard to walk. People pushing you around, stepping on your foot, calling you names, being extra rude is not at all shocking or surprising or even new. This is just how life works ... in the land of crowd!

Due to this exposure, it is sometimes hard for me to see people standing in buses when almost half the seats are empty. In the land of crowd 3-5 people share a seat, which was originally made for 2.

The later is the land of space, iSpace.

This place is full of land! Here, people don't like to see people. They don't like to be in close contact with them. In theaters, a minimum distance of one empty seat is absolutely required in order to enjoy the show. Here, people prefer living in the back portion of the house so that the road is not in front of there small abode, which allows them to avoid seeing people! Mostly everybody drives a car, use of public transportation is minimal, which allows many to enjoy iSpace in their known and friendly surroundings. In class, in parks, at train stations, at bus stops - in any public place - a good distance is maintained, no word is spoken, and not one comment is passed between two strangers. This is how very extremely important iSpace is, and this how very extremely strange the land of space is!