Be Nice, Boys!

Anyone who's been reading the many entertaining, fascinating, thought-provoking (I hope!) offerings of yours truly will see that I can sometimes be a tad prickly. I've criticised celebrities (it's not out of jealousy! Honest!), called out people on their stupid behaviour, didn't hold back when it came to contentious issues in society and genuinely have no problem being a straight-shooter who 'tells it as it is'.

Having said that, I do believe in chivalry and I don't believe that it is totally dead as some people suggest. Apparently, last Wednesday (besides being Ash Wednesday) was International Be A Gentleman Day in which all men were encouraged to be well-mannered. According to AskMen.com editor Jamie Watt, acts of chivalry can still make a difference. While it's true that in today's world women can out-earn men, men still want to be known as 'the provider' and Watt claims that being chivalrous gentlemen is a part of that as it shows women that they care. 'Ladies need to be treated like ladies, not just on special occasions but all the time,' says Watts.

Besides, according to Watts, being chivalrous makes a single guy look good!

Well, I like to think I'm chivalrous. I do open doors for women, I let them step ahead of me when I'm getting onto a train, elevator or escalator, and also let them move ahead of me in a shopping line or movie line if we arrive at the counter at the same time. Sure, sometimes they grab the opportunity and don't bother saying thanks (You're welcome!) but most of the time, they look up, smile and say 'Thank You!' They do care, guys. Chivalry isn't dead.

Having said that, there have been times when I've thrown chivalry out the window. You know, rudely rushing past them, not bothering to hold doors open for them, not apologising for accidentally bumping or scraping them etc. Well, sometimes people make mistakes but most of the time, it's because I was in a rush to get to places, was on the verge of being late for work or missing the train or, *ahem!* needed to use the restroom. Ladies, for all those times that I've acted like a careless brute, I am sorry.

Well, that's it. Forget about this talk of chivalry being dead, it's very much still alive. Some guys just can't be bothered to apply it. So come on, guys, whether it's opening doors, allowing them to move ahead of you or giving up your seat, it's ok to show her that you are well-mannered and that you care. It will also do wonders for your image and your soul.

Man up and be nice, boys!

Full House

I have to say, choosing a particular topic to blog about this week was quite difficult. Several recent stories stood out for me and I couldn't limit myself to just one topic to comment on. Therefore, I decided that I would list these stories and give a quick opinion on all of them. Enjoy!

1. Expand your options

During the middle of the week, Australian actor Firass Dirani (who is of Lebanese heritage) claimed that mainstream Australian TV shows are 'too white' and that there is a total lack of cultural diversity within their casts. Popular shows such as 'Winners & Losers', 'Home & Away', 'Packed To The Rafters' and 'Neighbours' feature a virtually all-caucasian cast whereas shows that do feature a more diverse cast such as 'The Slap', 'East West 101' and 'The Straits' are relegated to the ABC and SBS channels. Dirani argued that the more popular shows do not reflect the Australia of today and in 2008 'Neighbours' was criticised by UK viewers for the lack of cultural diversity in the cast.

Well, this might be the first time I've heard an actor actually having the balls to bring this matter to light. He does have a point. You look at most TV series from the US and the UK and there are a mixture of Caucasians, African-Americans, Asians, Latinos etc in there interacting with one another. I don't know if Dirani also noticed this but even Australian TV advertisements are also 'too white'. Most of the characters in these ads are caucasian. It certainly does not reflect the multicultural society that Australia is now.

The good news, according to Equity Australia is that the actors' guild, along with the Screen Producers Association, Live Performance Australia and the ABC had worked to encourage more diversity in casting. It is their hope that the networks will pick up on this.

2. 'Tatts' not on

Pubs and bars are now moving to ban people with excessive visible tattoos from entering their premises, stating that people should try to look classier and respectable when entering such establishments.

Well, I'd say it's quite unfair to tattooed folks, seeing as how not all of them are the rough types who start unsavoury riff-raff as some people believe they do, but the tragedy here is a sign outside the Australian hotel and Brewery in Rouse Hill, Sydney: 'No Visable Tattoo's'. What kind of establishment would allow a person who can't spell to make their signs? Not a good image for the pub. Heck, I'd hate to see how many errors this person's resume has.

Back to the issue: Not all people with excessive tattoos are thugs and troublemakers like some people presume. But if these people want to keep their establishments classy and force visitors to cover their body art, then that's their decision. But they need to be prepared for any backlash from offended customers.

3. Valentines Day hijinks goes wrong

An American couple, Nikolas Harbar and Stephanie Pelzer, decided to play a role-playing game on Valentine's Day. Sounds simple enough, but it went haywire after a passer-by saw Steph bound and gagged naked in the back of a car then called the cops, believing she was a kidnap victim. When the couple arrived back to Harbar's home, the police were waiting and despite Steph telling them that it was all a big misunderstanding she and Nik were arrested and charged with second-degree disorderly conduct.

Forget about not coming to work after Valentine's Day due to sex injuries, this is the ultimate Valentine's Day-related humiliation. Getting caught with your pants down and walking away with a criminal record for your troubles? Yeah, that's got to hurt!

All you couples out there, doing all this role-playing, kinky stuff is totally ok. Hell, if it'll help your relationship then by all means, go nuts. But please make sure that you both won't end up looking like complete idiots if it ever goes awry because nothing screams embarrassment more than getting caught with your pants down. Literally.

4. No laughing matter.

He performed at the ceremony and even won the award for 'Best R&B Album'. It seems the event organisers have forgiven him for the beating he put on then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. Nonetheless, his appearance at the awards was met with criticism and he did himself no favours by taunting his 'haters' with a profane message on Twitter.

Even more disturbing, however, are the Twitter reactions from his female fans. One tweeted, 'Call me crazy, but I would let Chris Brown beat me up any day!' Another posted, 'Everyone shut up about Chris Brown being a woman beater. Shit, he can beat me up all night if he wants to!' And yet another squealed, 'Like I've said multiple times before, Chris Brown can beat me up all he wants, I'd do anything to have him, oh my!'

Wow. Just, wow. And here I thought Justin Bieber's gaggle of screaming, psychotic little monsters were scary. Advocating violence against women just because the guy you like committed the crime? Really!!?? I've heard girls loving the whole bad-boy thing but this is something else. How would they like it if they actually got involved with a cute guy who beats up on them just for kicks? It would not be fun or pretty.

If they want to swoon and get all googly-eyed all over Brown, then that's fine. But making fun of what he did as if it were nothing? That is a slap in the face not just for victims of this crime, but for all women in general. No pun intended.

5. Whitney Houston found dead in her hotel room.

Well, this one certainly took me by surprise. I know she hadn't been well for while but I was still shocked when I heard on the radio that she had passed away.

The story of Whitney Houston is a tragic one, indeed. Once a superstar with a breathtaking voice, she spent her final years broke, washed-up and clearly her long battle with drugs and alcohol had taken its toll. Who could forget people walking out of her Australian shows two years ago, where she huffed, puffed and struggled to hit the high notes that once blew her listeners away.

Such a shame when people fall prey to their demons and pay the ultimate price for it. As much as people can blame Bobby Brown and others for her troubles, it was her bad choices that ultimately led to her untimely end.

May she Rest In Peace.

Oh well, that's it for this week. Let's see what other headlines and bits of weird news is in store this coming week. Bye for now.

My take on THAT video

Sometime last week, Tommy Jordan from North Carolina in the US uploaded a video on youtube where he rants about a post his daughter shared on Facebook in which she disrespects and curses him and his wife (her mother).

In the video, he sits on a chair reading out loud his daughter's post before responding to her in front of the camera. He had also brought her laptop with him and shortly before the video is over, he teaches her a lesson by taking out a handgun and firing nine bullets into the laptop. The video went viral on youtube and sparked debates on Jordan's parenting skills. Many praised him for his 'tough love' approach while detractors stated that he was just another psycho with a gun who went too far (predictably, these critics were chided by many to just be rebellious teens or 'weak' parents who think Jordan was too harsh).

Me personally, I'm on Jordan's side. Perhaps ranting about your daughter on the internet and then shooting her laptop was a bit of an over-reaction but I can totally understand why he did it. We've all been in that situation where we didn't see eye-to-eye with our parents but any kid who disrespects their parents outright, especially on the internet, is an ungrateful little prick who deserves to get slapped across the head. In this case, Jordan chose to return the favour and then some. I'm not saying that the way he went about the situation was the right solution but I can totally see why he did what he did. Heck, if I were a father myself and I found out my kids did something like that to me you'd better believe they'd be in a world of hurt over it.

You know, some countries around the world are considering on outlawing the spanking of children and some parents have gone to jail for spanking their kids. I think that's just a load of bull. While I don't approve of beating up on children and think that any parent who does such a thing should be beaten up themselves, spanking your kids if they've done something beyond the pale, and provided that it's nothing more than a stern but gentle tap, is ok. I don't consider that beating up on a kid, more like letting them know loud and clear that what they did was totally unacceptable. I've been there myself. When I was a kid I got a few light whacks on the backside or on the hand if I really screwed up and I turned out just fine. And my father used to tell me stories of how kids back in his day would get whacked with a cane or a shoe when they misbehaved, not just at home but also at school. And guess what? He turned out ok and so did most of the people he knew. So come on with that nonsense!

Tommy Jordan's vid, while outrageous and extreme, shows that there are parents out there who refuse to let their kids walk all over them. Seriously, just because they're kids does not give parents an excuse to let them do as they please and whenever they do something wrong, they need to face the consequences and learn to be responsible for their own actions.

And as for this crap about outlawing the spanking of kids, all I have to say is 'HARDEN UP, PEOPLE!!!!' The day you start getting too soft on kids is the day they start thinking that they are untouchable and so another self-destructive little troublemaker is born. If you aren't prepared to play bad cop when necessary and discipline your kids whenever they cross the line, then don't have any! It's that simple.

Well played!

Remember that film Meet The Parents? Towards the end of the film, when Ben Stiller's Greg Focker character was preparing to fly back to his home state, he tried to take his over-sized luggage on board the plane only to be told by a flight attendant that his bag was too big and so it had to be checked in. Focker refused to hand over his bag and angrily told them, 'It's not like I've got a bomb in here!' Having said the dreaded 'B' word on a plane full of passengers, he was escorted off the plane and interrogated by security who believed he was a terrorist just because he said the word 'bomb' on an airplane.

Something similar occured in Los Angeles earlier last week. Two British tourists, Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting were detained by armed guards upon landing in Los Angeles thanks to a twitter faux-pas made by Van Bryan in which he claimed that he and Bunting were going to 'destroy America' and dig up Marilyn Monroe's corpse. As a result, they were considered potential terrorist threats by the Department of Homeland Security and locked up in a jail cell with a Mexican drug dealer for 12 hours. They were also interrogated and had their passports confiscated.

The pair told officials that 'destroy' was British slang for party and that Van Bryan's tweet was meant to imply that he and Bunting were going to live it up in Los Angeles. Van Bryan also claimed that officials searched his belongings for spades and shovels in case he really meant to dig up Monroe's corpse and that he was being treated as some sort of terrorist.

Well, what can I say? Given that the US has been on high alert for terrorist threats since September 11, I don't think it is a wise idea to use the words 'going to destroy' in the same sentence as America. Ok, I understand that Van Bryan wanted to brag to his friends about partying hard in the US, but he could have chosen his words more carefully. What's wrong with just simply stating, 'We're gonna rip it up here in the States' or 'Gonna paint the town red' or simply, 'Hollywood here I come!!!!' Any of those would've been fine. But apparently it wasn't 'epic' enough for Mr. Van Bryan. And as if to make his oh-so-exciting trip much more exhilirating, he decided to add some quote from Family Guy that involved digging up Marilyn Monroe's corpse. Well, what can I say? I guess he got so carried away with going on this trip that all manner of Internet etiquette was thrown out the window. That, or he's an idiot. If he had any sense of tact left in his brain he should have known that the US takes such matters seriously.

You know, this is one of the problems in the modern world. Some people get so caught up with bragging about an upcoming moment in their life that not only do they feel the need to shove it down others' throats, but they also try to make it much bigger than it really is by digging into their bag of overstatements and coming up with a sentence that might make an event seem impressive, but could also inadvertently land them into trouble. Maybe it won't be as extreme as what Van Bryan did but such behaviour could be seen as arrogant and could make others jealous or cast the poster seem snobby. Someone might view the message and think, 'This punk thinks that just because he/she is going to some place they must be better than me!' Not a pretty thought, is it?

Van Bryan and Bunting were eventually cleared of any bad intentions and were released. But they didn't end up going on that quest to 'destroy America' after all. They were driven back to the airport and then flown back home. Well played, guys. Absolute humiliation thanks to your lack of common sense and you get treated like criminals and ultimately sent home for your troubles. Talk about a waste of time, effort, money and hyperbole. Perhaps in the future you will think before you post and choose your words carefully. We live in a world where some people will take what you say seriously, even if you were joking or speaking in slang.

One person sins, everyone pays

Dr. Charlie Teo is a world-renowned Australian neurosurgeon and the son of Chinese immigrants. He was chosen this year to deliver the New South Wales Australia Day speech next Monday. The NSW Australia Day Council just might regret that decision. While Dr. Teo claims that Australia is 'the best nation in the world' and one in which he is proud and happy to live in, he plans to mention in his speech that Australia is still very much a racist nation.

His controversial views stem from the experiences his daughter had during past Australia Day celebrations, in which she had been vilified by drunken Australians who mocked her for her Chinese appearance and told her to 'go home'. Dr. Teo, a two-time NSW Australian of the Year finalist and Order of Australia Medal also used the experience of a neurosurgeon from India who came to study with him as ammunition for his argument. The man told him that while he was standing on the side of the road waiting to cross someone spat on him and told him to go back to where he came from.
Dr. Teo also takes shots at the people 'targetted' by racists, claiming that immigrants sometimes bring it upon themselves. He says that some immigrants are misbehaved and disrespectful of Australia and its culture and so this makes it hard for some Australian people to embrace immigration. Dr. Teo wraps up his argument by claiming that, apart from Indigenous Australians, the rest of Australia are immigrants. Therefore, the view that caucasian Australians are the real Australians is wrong.

I can understand why Dr. Teo would make such statements. There are some pretty fervent racists out there who go by the 'F**k off, we're full' mentality and openly take shots at other people's culture, background and appearance. But for him to bring this up at an Australia Day speech is garbage. Not only would it be an insult to the spirit of the event but it would also serve as a slap on the face for the Australian people who are not racist. If this is the way Dr. Teo thinks, well then it's his opinion. Heck, I'm pretty sure that there are people out there who shares his view. But there's a time and a place for everything and an Australia Day Speech is not the platform to use if you want to air out some dirty laundry about a nation and its people.
Dr. Teo should also note that it was 'drunk' Australians who abused his daughter. It would be unfair of him to brand all Australians racist just because some drunken idiots who practice false patriotism had a go at his daughter. If he wants to think that way, then it's his opinion and he should be entitled to it, but he should keep it to himself unless he wants to start trouble or, worse, another race riot reminiscent of the 2005 Cronulla Riots.

For me personally, I won't go so far as to call all Australians racist but because of some people who think it is ok to make fun of others for their backgrounds and culture I am not surprised to hear that some people see Australians as rude and racist. Some people have lamented that getting a tattoo of the Southern Cross or Australian Flag, behaving in a typical 'Aussie manner' (enjoying a few beers at the pub, watching sport, enjoying a weekend barbeque, speaking in a thick Australian accent, being laid-back and free-spirited etc) and even just owning an Australian flag is now a burden since people look at them and instantly think 'Oh, there goes a bogan!' It's an unfair assumption but thanks to some people, they exist. If you go on Facebook and look up the community page Aussie Pride you'll see people who, when they're not talking about what makes Australia great (which is the likely purpose of the page's existence) they're making fun of other people and their culture and appearance, often with the use of racial epithets.

Moreover, and as Dr. Teo pointed out, some Australians also complain that some immigrants don't make an effort to embrace their new home, blatantly disrespect customs and are genuinely misbehaved. Fair enough, but when you hear stories of Australians misbehaving overseas, whether it is in Europe and ESPECIALLY Asia, such views kind of make you shake your head. Ok, so being a tourist and an immigrant are two different things, but when you go to another country, whether it is permanent or temporary, you are expected to be respectful of their customs and obey their rules.

I guess if there's one thing that Dr. Charlie Teo needs to understand it's that racism exist all over the world and that just because one person committed the crime it doesn't mean you have to condemn their entire community, especially during a national celebration.

But that being said, it is sad for people when one of their own acts like an idiot and ruins it for everyone else. In this case, there are people who think that Australia is a racist country just because some people seem to get a kick out of making fun of other people's backgrounds. Such a way of thinking is unfair and is far from the truth, but because of people who punish an entire community, race, culture etc for one person's stupidity others pay the price.

Finally, racist people exist all over the world and they come in different colours and backgrounds, they are not just caucasian. So if Dr. Teo wants to brand Australia as a racist country, how about doing the same to the rest of the world?

For all the wrong reasons

Last weekend, I was reading The Sunday Telegraph newspaper and ran into an article by Claire Harvey in which she outlines how Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice does not get a fair shake from the media. It seemed reasonable enough. After all, Rice shone in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and has continued to perform well in international contests though she's also been burdened by injuries. Harvey also covers the way Rice's personal life and image has mostly been disrespected in the media and among people in Australia.

First of all, I'll give credit where it's due. Yes, Rice is a great athlete and what she's done in her career is nothing short of amazing. Heck, I'm pretty sure people will be watching her race at the London Olympics this year hoping that she can a). repeat her amazing run in Beijing and b). she can stay injury-free all year. And yes, she is a beautiful girl no doubt about that. However, for Harvey to gloss over her twitter faux-pas in 2010 (in which Rice, after Australia beat South Africa in a Rugby match tweeted 'Suck on that, faggots!') as though it was nothing is not right. It was a stupid and irresponsible thing for a star athlete to do, given that there are many young swimmers out there who, no doubt, look up to her as a role mode. Also, such a comment is seen as prejudicial and homophobic. If a football player were to do the same thing they'd be criticised by the media for it and be branded as a jerk and a homophobe for the rest of their career. Why should Rice get a free pass? Because she's a pretty girl? I don't think so.

And for Ms. Harvey to claim that Rice is 'manifestly more articulate, and more gorgeous, than anyone else on the planet' is a gross and unfair exaggeration. Sure, Rice is attractive but to call her the most attractive person on the planet? That's a tad bit histrionic isn't it? And as for being the most articulate, I don't think using such language on twitter posts shows that she is smarter than anyone else on Earth.

Then there's the Facebook controversy that occurred before the 2008 Olympics when Rice posted a photo of herself dressed in a sexy police officer's uniform. I can see why the backlash from this would be considered unfair, after all it's not like the outfit itself was too revealing, but for a person in the spotlight, such an act can give people the wrong impression. Sure, for some it shows that she's a normal girl who likes to let her hair down once in a while, but for others it might suggest that she's another party animal who is only using her position as a star athlete to become a tabloid-hogging celebrity. To women, she comes across as a tart. To men, she comes across as a slut. Unfair labels and perhaps contrary to the fact, but people can and will judge.

Ms. Harvey focuses quite a bit on Rice's good looks in her argument and she reveals that Rice has on occasion wondered why she doesn't get as much praise as past swimming greats like Susan O'Neill and Libby Trickett. Harvey uses this as an opportunity to attack Australians and the way they characterise female athletes, celebrities and just women, period. Harvey claims that Australians in general cannot respect a woman who proudly embraces her sexiness and that doing so will cause people to constantly question their personal life no matter how pure they claim to be. People will always take every mistake they make and blow it up into something bigger than it is and if anything about their love life becomes messy, they will be in a world of hurt.

Then comes the baffling part. Having criticised the media and the Australian people for their mistreatment of poor Steph, Harvey then takes the opportunity to criticse both The Sunday Telegraph AND Ms. Rice for photos published in the paper. The photos show Rice wearing tiny bikinis and posing provocatively. Harvey claims that if Steph were her little sister she'd be telling her to tone down the sauciness and that the bikinis she wore should have been more modest.

She then closes her article claiming that in today's world, young beautiful girls like Stephanie Rice will always be subject to unfair, preconceived notions and so the best defense would be to stay demure.

Ok, I know this is going to sound unfair, and it probably is, but young women who are comfortable with looking sexy will have a hard time with the media. Contrary to what Ms. Harvey claims, it is not about people being incapable of respecting women who are sexy, it's just that given the image they project, of course they are going to attract sleazy attention from guys and bitter attacks from women who feel that they are disrespecting their gender. And as for Ms. Harvey's attack on The Sunday Telegraph for those photos, well all I have to say is that they pretty much answered her questions as far as to why Rice is being treated disrespectfully. If Rice really wanted people to start taking her more seriously, she would have objected to the poses and the bikinis she had to wear and asked for a classier shoot. Instead she went along with it, saucy poses and all.

Ms. Harvey also notes that Rice, who recently ended her relationship with rugby union star Quade Cooper, was the subject of a disgusting act by online gambling agency SportsBet who started offering odds as to who would be Rice's next boyfriend. She also notes that for someone who many claim is a tart, Rice has only had two boyfriends in the past four years (Cooper and fellow swimmer Eamon Sullivan).

Ok, so the SportsBet thing was a rude and classless thing to do, and yes, she did only go out with those two guys in the past four years, but again, when you are a beautiful young woman like her who is comfortable looking sexy, or if you are just a celebrity, period, you will get a hard time from the masses as far as your personal life is concerned. During the 2008 Olympics, for example (which occurred shortly after she broke up with then-boyfriend Sullivan, whom she outperformed as far as personal achievements in the 2008 games is concerned) there were rumours of her getting flirty with US swimmer Michael Phelps, who, as well all know now, dominated in the 2008 Olympics. This led many people to brand her a 'gold-digger', claiming that she was probably only after him for his impressive gold medal-winning run. Such rumours turned out to be false, but Rice still couldn't prevent people from making such judgements.

Well, there you have it. Claire Harvey can complain about Stephanie Rice making headlines for all the wrong reasons as much as she wants but the truth is, and as sad as it is to admit, it just comes with the type of image that Rice is projecting right now. A young woman who loudly embraces their sexiness is always going to get a hard time from the media and from people in general, whether it is criticism or unwanted attention and labels, and Rice herself can gripe about all this as much as she wants but she really isn't doing anything about it. Yes, she is a fine athlete and yes, she is a beautiful girl, but she needs to understand that as a person in the spotlight who has no problem putting it all out there, there will be consequences. Ms. Harvey is right, perhaps Rics should tone it down a bit. As she put it, 'imagine herself on the cover of Vogue, not Zoo Weekly', look at your image through the eyes of a 40-year old bloke, not your Gen Y girlfriends.'

Well, that's one way to lose your job!

I read a story on the internet today (9/01/2012) in which an employee at a New York pizza chain called Papa John's was sacked over a racist receipt.
Yeah, the first thought that came to mind upon finding the article was disbelief. 'How can that be?', I asked myself. I read the article and as it turned out, the employee had taken Minhee Cho's order and handed her a receipt referring to her as 'Lady Chinky Eyes'. Ms. Cho took to Twitter to post a picture of the offending receipt and vent her anger (as one usually does these days) and as a result, Papa John's was forced to issue an apology on Twitter and Facebook and immediately fired the idiot employee.

This story seems to be another one of those dumb 'pranks-gone-wrong' type of stories, but there may be other reasons the employee did such a thing. Maybe they were sick of their job and looking for a way out (because apparently quitting is soooooo five years ago), perhaps Ms. Cho was rude to them and so they decided to hit her where it hurts, maybe this person is racist etc. But however you slice and dice it, this is a stupid way to lose your job. Even if you don't want it and feel like breaking free, what's wrong with just quitting!? It sure is a far more dignified way to go out! And if you're the type who is short on references in your resume, you'd better get down on your knees and pray that your former boss doesn't tell future employers that you are dumb, immature and racist.

And if it is indeed a prank that went horribly wrong, well what can I say? You goofed around on the job and you paid the price. Nice going, bud. If you want to play pranks on people while on the job (not that you should be, but I understand how boring work can be) then make sure that a). You don't hurt yourself and others, and that b). The outcome will not cost you your employment. Yeah, it's not as easy as it sounds, people!

Well, whoever that employee was, I wish him or her the best of luck. It's going to be pretty tough finding another job now, unless they have other references who won't tell future employers about their mistake. And if there's one lesson you can take from this wretched tale of stupidity, it's that you have to think before you act. Oh well, gotta go. I got work to do!