This is what I've been saying!

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/men-arent-from-mars-and-women-arent-from-venus-20130212-2eaje.html 

The common belief that men are from Mars and women are from Venus is really wrong, we are all from planet Earth. 

Thank you!

Cinderella sends a bad message to the modern man...

I've come to a revelation, why modern dating has gone so wrong,

Remember Cinderella? She worked hard, was unappreciated, was humble and absolutely stunning in her ball gown and glass slippers? So because of her good looks and great character, where she wasn't expecting to really ever get a chance to meet the prince in a pumpkin carriage pulled by mice with some serious idenitity complexes...well whatever it was - they ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

Even though we predominately tell this story to our little girls to inspire within them hope that their Prince Charming will one day come, those little boys hear it too and think "oh wow, I'll meet a lovely little girl who will be beautiful, hard working, modest and generous in her heart one day" - and then he goes back to playing with his trucks.

And then the day comes when the little boy grows up and starts dating - and he finds the ugly step sisters are primmed and preened and parading around waiting for their princes or in today's world, the doctors and lawyers (not bankers apparently because they've already lost their money). And these boys have some fun with them, sleep around - all the while waiting for that breathtaking, beautiful, humble and sensible (maybe a bit lovingly forgetful) Cinderella to waltz through their lives.

And we wonder why the billionaires all end up marrying the maids?

BREAKING: Kid who wanted more Facebook time behind Cartoon Profile Pic

BREAKING NEWS: After this blog posted the previous post on standing up against child abuse, a young teen contacted our webmaster and revealed he was the source of the campaign. The purpose behind his call to action - to get his parents to give him back his Facebook privileges.

"My mom took away facebook saying I spend too much time on Facebook and not enough time on my school work and chores," confesses 15-year-old Martin Tomfoolery in a Facebook chat interview. "After I didn't clean my room for three weeks, she said it was going to be a week without TV. When I said that was like child abuse, she took away my facebook time! That's just wrong!"

Marty, who is certainly no stranger to the viral potential of the social media realm having been behind previous efforts as "Every time you don't "like this" on Facebook, God kills a kitten" or "Retweet this if you want to be like the awesome people who retweeted this - or you really are just a loser, just like we always thought anyway", took to the masses to call attention to his plight.

"To take away my TV, that's just totally unfair. I've already missed all of my favourite shows, so I'll have to find them on Pirate Bay - and you know how slow that is," says Marty, who admits to being a fan of old-school cartoons including the original Spider Man and He-Man series from the 70s and 80s. "But to take away my Facebook time, that's just not right, man. Today, that's like locking a kid up by himself and feeding him nothing but bread and water - it's child abuse. I'm gonna die at school, if I didn't know what's going on twitter and facebook. My stupid parents just have noooooo idea."

Marty, who was unable to log in with his own facebook account (my parents joined Facebook last month, major bummer!) used a friend's account to spread the word.

"I figured, if I could show that everyone thought what my mom was doing was child abuse, then she'd get scared I'd sue her or something and I could get my Facebook back," says Marty, who was inspired by a case in Quebec where a 12 year old successfully sued her parents for grounding her for posting inappropriate images of herself on Facebook.

When asked about the success of his campaign, Marty appeared genuinely surprised. "To be honest, I didn't think it'd really get much hype. But I mean, people WANT to put up pictures of their favourite cartoon characters anyway. You just have to give them a good reason to do it," he says. "That's like, the secret to being popular."

Marty has since had his facebook privileges restored to him (Without facebook, he had spent the weekend cleaning his room, but Marty strongly believes the level of support he received onliine had something to do with his mother's final decision). Asked about his next campaign cause, the teen replied thoughtfully, "Maybe update your profile pic to your favourite childhood toy or first pet or something." He hasn't decided on a worthy cause behind his campaign but is considering a few interesting political offers, he says.

Facebook Cartoon Profile Pic to Fight Child Abuse December 6 - WTF???

Okay I have to comment on this because it's driving me mental. Just as I can't understand the double standards and complete confusion of the dating world - I understand even LESS the idiocy behind some social media "meme"s and what we do on the online world to really demonstrate how overly accepting and unquestioning we are about advice, networks and supporting generalisations and ideals without thinking for ourselves.

Change your Facebook Profile Pic to a Cartoon to Fight Child Abuse

Last weekend, I received a message from a dear friend on Facebook:

The challenge? Change your FB profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood. The goal? To not see a human face on FB until Monday, December 6th. Join the fight against child abuse and copy and paste to your status to invite your friends to do the same.

Now while I loved this dear friend dearly, I always believed she was of the more "gullible" sort - well meaning, but well gullible. I certainly didn't think her post and status would be the first of many an internet phenomenon.

Before I knew it, within 24 hours, my entire facebook feed was overtaken by status update and cartoon characters proclaiming I should change my profile picture for the goal to "not see a human face" to fight child abuse.

Many authorative (by authorative, I mean awesome blogs like mashable) reported on the trend, but were unable to trace the source of the campaign to any particular NGO or special interest group. Some say that it was a game that had originated in Greece.

What I say is - HUH???

Maybe I have too much faith in my network and friends but I thought everyone would see through the idiocy of such a declaration - I mean I LIKE seeing my facebook feed taken over wiht awesome cartoon characters - but I have so far received NO RESPONSE from any one as to the nature of this campaign, namely:

What sort of child abuse are we fighting? Is it...

• is it the cases where teens sue their parents for slapping them in the faces or for not signing permission slips?
• or is it the baby girls in china that are drowned or sold off because they're female?
• or is it child abductors who are known to use toys and cartoons to lure kids in?

Seriously, folks, I would like to ask that we try this again - let's get this right and create a real cause and a real page with real statistics on child abuse for someone to think about and decide how they want to make a difference? Or if the whole point was just to get a lot of awesome cartoon characters on FB (which I would like to think is why so many people joined the cause) let's call a spade a spade and have National Cartoon Week where everyone can post as their profile picture a cartoon from their early childhood. Let's just please not hide behind some seemingly blanket good cause and belittle the seriousness of violence against children - and look to raise awareness in a proper and real way.

Is chivalry dead?

Opening doors, offering chairs, paying for dinner, taking off the hat - these are the usual concepts of chivalry, stemming from the days of knighthood when the great gentlemen were expected to follow a specific chivalric code. Knights were trained to fearless fighters, full of honour and gallantry, aggressive on the battle field, that was then tempered by a particular chivalric code that centred around respect. The Song of Roland was one example, outlining how one should behave. Much of the chivalric code and expected duties stem from Faith in the church, with honourable characteristics including honesty and prudence.

The chivalric code extended to matters of the heart - and love in the medieval courts. Damsels were aplenty in the King's court and a knight courting his beloved had certain ideas and notions on that love. The Rules of Love in the court are outlined by Andreas Capellanus in his work, De Amore:

• Marriage is no excuse for not loving.
• An easy attainment makes love contemptible; a difficult one makes it more dear.
• It is not proper to love one whom one would be ashamed to marry.
• True jealousy always increases the effects of love.

Of course, when we talk about chivalry, we don't really mean the knights of the courts - we're talking more about men honouring women, being courteous and considerate to the "finer sex". So when we ask if chivalry is dead, we're really considering this fundamental question: do men today respect and honour women?

And I guess, there's no real answer - there are certainly plenty of women that I respect, Angela Merkel for one, while there are plenty of women that I don't really have a lot of respect for - say Lindsay Lohan with her ankle bracelet - not that I'm really judging her or anything. There are plenty of respectable men - like Obama - and absolutely abhorrent ones (I'll let you come up with a few on your own).

So back to the question - is chivalry dead? In the age of Carrie Bradshaw, have sex like a man and Lindsay Lohan's party girl independence - do men respect women less than they did in the past?

Call me an optimistic - but I don't think so. I think men are confused about the appropriate actions to demonstrate their honour and respect - do I hold open the door or am I infringing on her independence? It's a minefield to walk through - depending on the girl and the situation. But deep down underneath - the modern man still respects the modern woman.

After all, if they didn't - they'd be hearing from their mothers.

Do you think chivalry is dead? Do women want men to be chivalrous? Are certain girls worth it?

Sex and the City - a phenomenon

I am standing in a queue for the new Sex and the City flick - you can feel the energy in the room. Women of all shapes, ages, backgrounds and races - all keen to see their fav fab 4 in action.

Reading the reviews, there's little doubt that S&C is - a phenomenon - that's what Margaret called it last night on At the Movies. And it is - something about the show has really captured the heart of the fairer sex so that plot, realism, dialogue - all that stuff we look for in movies - they don't matter. It's about the clothes, the style, the setting - what these women represent.

And only women seem to get it. I loved watching Margaret become so animated in defending her enjoyment of the movie. A girl I work with had the same reaction - it's a love that cannot be challenged - like defending the honour of someone bitching about your BFF.

What can I say - it's a girl thing.

Queue's moving, here we go. :) See you all on the other side.

Does social media empower us?

Facebook, twitter, blogs - web 2.0 has given us all a forum to voice our thoughts and opinions, share our feelings and ideas - and give us the satisfaction that we matter. Doesn't matter that we're not experts on a matter - this is democracy in the 21st century and our opinions count!

From broadcasting our hook ups and conquests - to our fails and faux pas - social media gives us a forum to say what we really think - and with 140 character limits - we don't even have to give evidence or support our claims. Don't like it? De-friend me right now - go on I dare you.

So has social media liberated and empowered our society - giving us an outlet to speak our minds freely? Or are we in such a frenzy to be heard that what we say has no real substance anymore?

And where do women fit into the social media sphere? I wonder about women in particular because women are seen as being exceptionally influential in this space. A 2008 study shows that while both sexes are adapting social media, women far outpace men in the use of these networks. Women are generally more community and network oriented in their daily lives and there more mediums - such an online gaming - that demand male attention in front of the computer.

So how are women using their online voice? Many speculate that as social media continues to grow as a viable and necessary business component, more and more women will be needed to execute these strategies - which means more opportunities to females to be in control. On the other hand, on a personal level, maybe it's a bit of a social crutch that lets us hide behind our idealised visions of the world - where everyone is tweeting, liking and digging the same things - and speaking with the same voice.

But who's REALLY listening?

What are your thoughts on social media in society? Do you use it? Do you like it?