30 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

Prostitutes and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief

A prostitute assesses a fee for services rendered.

A gold-digger also exacts a fee, but without a menu.    

Both share a lack of empathy and remorse, and thus, both share sociopathic tendencies that are preconditions for the behavior.
 
Neither care whether you live or die, as much as they care about securing a financial replacement in the event that you do.
 
Their self-esteem is so low that everything about survival becomes relative. No one particular person really matters. Feelings are subordinate to the results of certain actions that lead to financial reward. Not unlike the furtive maneuvers of feral cats that drag chunks of bloody squirrel meat under a house after a kill, these women pander to the deepest fantasies of their human prey, and then hide behind 16 different social security numbers when they find a better deal somewhere else.
   
They get away with this because many older men cannot disconnect their emotions from their actions; a pathologic condition that, ironically, ensures their whores a unique advantage.

In other words, they buy into the delusion because it’s too painful not to.
 
So I do it for them.

Meet John Doe’s mistress, Crystal; a woman with a online degree in finance from callgirlsunite.com, who is also embroiled in a nasty divorce with an RV salesman over a 67,000 credit card debt and litany of physical abuse allegations stemming from alcohol and drug abuse [not to mention the armed robbery thing at a Stop and Go 5 years ago, for which the husband received a suspended sentence]. 

This underscores the level of damage that also facilitates their effectiveness in the arena of deception.
  
For the record, every stripper claims to earn a minimum of 1000 dollars a night. Of course they don’t delineate between stripping and turning tricks [see moral relativity]. Nonetheless, if they work 5 nights a week, they earn 240,000 dollars a year, tax free.
 
They lie, cheat, steal and bury you emotionally, and then pass on these survival skills to their children. Others molest their children outright and then set up websites for them to help with the electric bills.

It’s all relative.

They don’t care what art hangs on your walls, unless there is an opportunity to steal it. They don’t care what you did as a child; where you attended high school or college, or what you wanted to be when you grew up. All they see are the physical trappings…as though life were nothing more than an abstraction.

Interestingly, over time these men begin to validate themselves based on their relative affluence, the way their whores validate themselves based on their youth and beauty.

So what we end up with is a beautiful young woman in the arms of a much older man who shares the same pathology: One pretends to be in love, while the other willingly suspends his disbelief that money has anything to do with it.

Joseph Heller’s, Catch 22, comes to mind.
 
A man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request proves that he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

In the context of this essay, a man challenges his fading sense of relevance by testing the veneer of his delusions. But if he chooses not to participate in what he knows is nothing more than a business transaction, he gives up the very delusion he can’t live without. 
      

27 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

The Unbearable Irony of Attraction [revisited for the 17th time]

Every day I stare at a blank canvas. And after throwing some paint on it, I am judged. This is what happens when you go public with your feelings, and it’s something every blogger must accept.

 I can’t explain myself to everyone on earth. And people will judge me based on their own self-interests and/or insecurities. In deference to this, I don’t mind admitting that, because I love satire, much of what I say is over-the-top entertainment. It drives up ratings [network news comes to mind] and makes the process enjoyable, rather than grueling…given the touchy subject matter.

But in the end, my hope is that the underlying themes begin to resonate, and eventually inspire conversation about a society we share. I’m not a Messiah, like some people I know, but rather a man who, for reasons that stretch back to my childhood, feels motivated to share my thoughts; regardless of the reactions I can neither change, or control.
                  
Put another way, if someone I want to date knows me solely though my writing, she better have a sense of humor or I can forget about the dating part, which is where the unbearable irony comes in.

If words alone define us, then we are nothing more or less than what we say. And if you’re dumb enough to buy this, might I suggest to you that I am Prince Charming on a quest to find Snow White in the dead of summer.
 
I didn’t say words meant nothing, however, which is why I concede that irony can be unbearably heavy.     

23 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

How to Land “the” Man without Match.com, Part Three: The Sex Conundrum

The Defining Characteristics of Male Sexual Behavior

While both men and women share the same noun to describe coitus, the similarity ends there.
Feminists blame society for this disparity in behavior and experience, but I would suggest that it has more to do with evolutionary biology, alongside those goddamned unrequited Cinderella fantasies.
 
Men are predatory and impulsive, sexually. There’s no point in complaining about this, much less disputing it. And despite all the arguments that our capacity for reason had earned us a place above the vagaries of the baboon, most men ignore this reality altogether in favor of the baboon. 
What this means is that men’s sexual needs outweigh their judgment. In short, they’re powerless in the face of beauty and the physical reaction [and subsequent behavior] it elicits.

So yes, they’re superficial by default [and aggressive by need].

This is one reason gay men follow men all over grocery stores across America in spite of the fact that I show no interest in them whatsoever. If I so much as glance in the general direction of a gay man – wherein he happens to catch my glance [something they rarely miss, because they’re also predators - I can count on running into the same guy at least 22 times before I leave the store…and sometimes out in the parking lot.

Replace the gay man with a woman and her first assumption is that I’m some freak out on the streets, without my collar, and then disappears without a trace. If have to literally hunt her down like a fucking mountain lion if I want to meet her. This makes the grocery store an excellent metaphor for life in the world of dating, for those of you looking for writing ideas.

With this in mind, let’s move into the bedroom.

Because men are inherently visual, certain visual elements stimulate them above all else [not to the exclusion of all else], but they pave the way for a seamless segue to intercourse.

What men want is the intercourse without the sacrifice of power. In other words, they want seamless copulation without the over-abundance of intimacy – unless you go with their definition of intimacy – which has more to do with conceding the fact that they’d like to hand-cuff you to a piece of furniture, while referring to you as someone else.
  
So intimacy means different things to men and women, and it’s at the heart of the sexual problems they often face.
 
A woman’s sexual rhythm hinges on a deeper emotional connection. But this same connection can change a man’s sexual mood altogether as he starts talking about his mother, and suggests that the two of you, instead, watch a rerun of The Matrix. He still wants the sex, but because the conversation has rendered the whole thing somewhat clinical, he goes with The Matrix until he can get the sex he [still] needs someplace else.

A hooker won’t mention his mother at all because she knows it’s a buzz-kill in the bedroom. Instead she’ll talk about guy stuff, including – but not limited to –

A[ Porn
B] Fetish wear
C] The Matrix

Women don’t get male porn, which is why they produce porn for women, which bores the shit of men. This is because it’s boring. It’s more like an educational tool emphasizing the merits of appropriate male behavior in the bedroom, rather than two primates in the throes of killing each other. 

When a man queries a woman about her sexual fantasies, he can often be found sleeping towards the end of the discussion. This is because women’s sexual fantasies don’t meet the same criteria as men’s. Here’s a typical exchange:

Man: [WHILE IN BED] “Honey, what is your deepest, darkest fantasy?”

Woman:  “I fantasize about us making love in the rain.”

Okay, wrong answer.
 
He doesn’t want to hear this. He wants to hear something that will challenge him; something that will trigger his predatory impulses and, again, pave the way for seamless copulation.

Here’s a better response:
 
Woman: “I fantasize about my personal trainer with the six-pack and massive bulge who’ll fuck the living shit out of me if you do give me what I want.”

See now the guy has something he can sink his teeth into. He doesn’t necessarily want the woman to actually pursue this fantasy, but it’s a lot more motivating to him than the thing about the rain. In the later case, her fantasy now resembles the detached, intimacy-avoidant nature of his, which might involve, for example, a gang bang involving 10 college cheerleaders he doesn’t know.  

Women must always understand that men are most comfortable when they’re most primal impulses aren’t interrupted. For women it’s more about establishing security and protection of hearth and home.

And this dynamic isn’t going anywhere soon, by the way.
 
But for women who appreciate male wiring, a long-term, fulfilling sexual experience can be achieved…but in most cases the woman in question must share the same impulses. There are women like this, but they’re tough to find because splitting is a psychiatric condition that most can’t manage without extensive psychotherapy.
   

23 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

Bill Maher on Feminism [hysterical -- and true]

22 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

How to Land “the” Man, Part Two: Emotional Preconditions

In the context of a long-term, monogamous relationship, women must always remember that men have extraordinarily delicate egos. This is because once they fall in love they walk a fine line between objectification and intimacy [fucking you versus making love to you].

This is easier said than done, which is why so many of them take lovers, rather than face the intimacy monster that kills them off years before their female counterparts.

In short, the man must feel powerful, respected, relevant and defended, regardless of the circumstances. If he can’t trust you with his feelings; if life with you is like walking on eggshells; and if he is more comfortable in the arms of a hooker than getting within a mile of your voice, it’s over. 
 
Women are wired for intimacy. Men are not. Killing a wilder-beast requires a lot of self-esteem when all you have is a spear and a prayer. So when a man falls in love with a woman he must find a way to remain both strong and vulnerable at the same time. It’s a tough job, believe me, AND ONE THAT REQUIRES BACK-UP FROM YOU. Your first assignment is to accept the fact that he is a man, as opposed to a woman. Then you have to embrace his struggle without removing his testicles in the process. Are we clear? 

Intimacy is usually a conundrum for men, which is why they struggle so much with monogamy.
Their self-esteem [in the context of the relationship] hinges on your admiration and respect. If they don’t get it, they’ll find it somewhere else, if only to prove they still have what it takes to earn it. As strong as men are physically, they are just as frail, emotionally. Not frail in the world outside of the relationship, but inside, where you’ve laid eggs in their cerebral cortex.
 
Once a man is emotionally vulnerable, he is at your mercy; so make him feel strong, in spite his condition.
    
Do not be his mother…ever. He will feel the urge to adopt one if you baby him too much. It is at this point that he will stop using “you” and “sex” in the same sentence.

Always challenge him without giving the impression that you can’t be trusted as far as he can throw you. See he’s vulnerable [in love], so you have to be careful when dealing with the clinically insane.  

Don’t take on his family-of-origin issues, either, because he doesn’t want to associate you with something he didn’t get from his mother. I’ll keep repeating this, if necessary.

Understand that in order for him to sleep with you he will objectify you to one degree or another. This is normal. Problems arise when you no longer allow him to do this and he has to face the fact that reality can’t be bent like a plastic spoon. So you have to walk a fine line between Whore and Madonna. Whore keeps him excited. Madonna keeps him secure. The interplay is complex and there is no one template that works for everyone.
 
[I’ll discuss sex in the final essay of this mini-series.]
 
For example, I know swingers who ignore the Madonna thing altogether. But this arrangement seems to work best for sociopaths who have no trouble disconnecting lust from love and then dumping the later altogether. 

Don’t be his doormat. He wants a challenge, and if he thinks you’re a pushover, he’ll push his way right through you and [into] someone else.

Don’t allow him to idolize you either, because even you can’t live up to that.
 
Don’t babysit him. He’s an adult, in spite of his behavior. In other words, don’t treat him like your six year old son or he’ll start acting like your six year old son.

Don’t cling. He can breathe on his own, and often does so without you.
 
Don’t be his shrink. He already has one. Deconstructing him will emasculate him; particularly when he’s vulnerable [clinically insane].

Do not under any circumstances pull any feminist egalitarian crap on him, unless of course, you married a wuss who suspects that his gender was a mistake.
 
Respect what you already know about men and be done with it. You can’t change a man no matter what the hell you do. And for those of you who get into relationships thinking that a little tweaking here or there will transform him into your knight in shining armor, you may end up turning him into something that more closely resembles a nuclear Winter.
 
The women who end up winning with men love men for who they are…not who they could potentially be, through subtle passive-aggression and other forms of manipulation.

However, for women who like the idea of living as wealthy widows – courtesy of massive insurance policies and a battery of shrinks who address the unrequited disdain you still hold for your biological fathers – keep up the nagging.

If he’s old enough, it won’t be long before your wish is granted.     
     

19 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

How to Land “the” Man without Match.Com: A Primer for Women who require Force-Feeding.

[Note: The following is the first in a 3-part series identifying specific male desires in women over the age of 30: 1] The physical, 2] The emotional, and 3] The sexual.
 
What I’m about to tell you is the truth.
 
Pulling punches is a waste of time, and because I’m not here to win any popularity contests [I may have lost more than I’ve won by virtue of my honesty], I wanted to share some facts of life about what certain men [often the ones with whom you see yourselves] have in mind when it comes to women.

But be forewarned: This part in the series has nothing whatsoever to do with foreplay, romance or shadow boxing around reality [for those of you who can’t complete a sentence without Cinderella having something to do with it]. It’s about the way it is whether you like life on earth or not.  

Having said this, you’re sitting with a few girlfriends over wine and the conversation turns [inevitably] to men. All of you jump in at the same time, hammering the familiar themes through the concrete floor with the collective force of a hydraulic nail gun.
  
But your complaints about male superficiality, intimacy avoidance and predilection for porn aren’t going to have any impact on male behavior; and women who know and accept this aren’t wasting their time at your pity party, believe me.

The moment a man sees a woman, he immediately knows whether or not he’s interested. See men make love with their eyes; women with their ears. He doesn’t realize he’s attracted to her 6 weeks later. He knows immediately. This is important for you to realize – and accept – if you don’t want to waste your time getting laid and then dumped.
 
But don’t worry. He’ll let you know if he’s interested. You won’t have to lift a finger, trust me.

Unconsciously men are hard-wired to respond to specific anatomical proportion. And for you women who can’t see past your own projected versions of truth, this means that you must possess certain symmetry: Height/Weight/proportion, if you need it spelled out.
 
And whether men prefer larger or smaller women, all of the above must have the same relative proportion. 

Helpful Definitions:

Trim: (trim) 1. In good or neat order. 2. Having lines, edges, or forms, of nice contours or pleasing symmetry — in good proportion; having a harmonious relationship of all the parts to one another and to the whole.

Symmetry: (sym•me•try) 1. Exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane. 2. A relationship of corresponding characteristics. 3. Beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement. 4. The proper or due proportion of the parts of a body or whole to one another with regard to size and form; excellence in and of proportion; 5. Beauty based on or characterized by such excellence of proportion.

Contoured: (con•toured) 1. Nicely shaped in its lines and curves; having beauty of form, resulting from those lines and curves. 2. Beautifully outlined.

Taut: 1. (tôt) Tight, firm, and well-packed; 2. Kept in trim shape; neat and tidy; 3. a: kept in proper order or condition; b (1) : marked by an economy of structure not (2) : loose or flabby.

Sleek: (slēk) 1 a : having a neat, smooth, well-groomed look b : healthy-looking in its physical body (physique) c : nicely curved, finely contoured, attractive, trim, and streamlined.

Structure: (struk’chur) Synonyms; arrangement configuration constitution composition formation.
The secret of sex appeal lies in the waist – or, to be precise, the waist- hip ratio, which is calculated by dividing the waist measurement by the hip size. The smaller the waist is in relation to the hip, the more desirable a woman is perceived to be.

The waist is one of the distinguishing human features, like speech, making tools, and a sense of humor. No other primate has a waistline. We developed it as a result of another unique feature – standing upright.

Specifically, we needed bigger buttock muscles for walking on two legs – and given our current obsession with the aforementioned feature – I’d suggest you start doing your squats, lunges and wind sprints.

Okay, so now that you have the flat stomach, narrow waistline and taut, round buttock, you’ll also need an aesthetically balanced face, healthy teeth and gums, and smooth skin. This doesn’t mean you have to look like Kristen Anne Bell, but you must have enough balance not to detract from your other more compelling attributes.
 

It’s all about balance.
   
If the face is a 7 [on a scale of 1 to 10], the butt better be pushing 10 to counterbalance it. If the face is a 9, the butt can fall to an 8. However, one soon reaches a point of diminishing returns as one or the other falls too far, leaving the other one stranded in the one-night-stand category. And keep in mind that the flat stomach part is a non-negotiable, regardless of the other numbers.

This is why we see so many single women beating the living shit out of themselves in gyms across America — while cursing men for their superficiality. Their reward for the hard work – or genetic blessings – is all the attention any human being should be allowed to have. But it’s a double-edged sword, because they know that men are responding to their proportion and nothing more. This, of course, means that their relative value hinges on a depreciating asset. But as I’ve said before, if the age difference is large enough – and the woman makes fitness a lifestyle choice – he will have already passed the threshold of love and won’t notice the errant wrinkle or other subtle imperfections brought on by the passage of time.

I walked pass a Guess store in Houston’s Galleria yesterday and noticed a female mannequin in the window. Not surprisingly, her flawless butt, strong back and narrow waist line were facing the window. And I thought to myself how telling this was. The Abercrombie store featured similarly featured mannequins, only they included men with ripped abs and flawless proportion as well. The difference was that no one bothered to look at the men because women both men and women look at the women and ignore the men altogether. That’s because man’s job is to hunt successfully, not overly [or overtly] primp.  

Case in point: I observed an attractive woman in my gym do her stretching exercises as men began encircling her like a pack of opportunistic crows hot on the trail of discarded bits of chicken.  

See it isn’t about how good a man looks. It’s about how good a woman looks. The men will play their respective roles if the women play theirs. And whether you like this set up or not, there is nothing whatsoever you can do about it.
         
Even clinically insane women get a pass for more than a couple of dates if their appearance is strong enough to counterbalance their predilection for scaling the walls of your home and text messaging you 67 times in a given evening.

I realize that there are exceptions to the rule, and not every man will have a woman in his life that fits the aforementioned description, but these men are usually pig farmers in Oklahoma with type II diabetes and a penchant for cheap whiskey.
 
Note: Men of any description are usually in the company of more attractive women; something with never seems to work the other way around. And one will find that women who spend their entire lives on sites like match.com are usually working with hidden handicaps. They include – but are not limited to – the following:

1] Lack of physical balance [face/body ratio in the red zone]              
2] Blind affirmation in spite of their shortcomings [which they hide in two dimensions]
3] Desperation [for women who don’t - or won't - live in Oklahoma]

Please don’t make me say this again!

Attractive young women don’t need dating services. They need body guards.  

16 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

Reader Comment on “Man’s Struggle for Relevance” Discussed

A young man writes:

“So many women in this world fit this mold. On one hand the alpha-male has the upper hand in the hunt. However, ultimately…I think more specifically in Houston, many women just look for the guy who has money. This is a sad but true reality. There may be attraction to the younger alpha-male, physiologically, however… survival instinct likely kicks in with more force of action, thus … you have beautiful women with guys like Hugh Hefner, Dennis Kucinich, and of course Michael Douglas. Times won’t change.

Men, we just gotta step up and make more money if we want to marry the Halle Berry’s of the world. I am afraid much of the former was killed when the Equal Rights Amendment, National Organization of Women, and organizations of the like killed chivalry. Now we are left with Bill Clinton and Monica-gate, reality TV, and a divorce rate higher than any time in US history to present. Well, guess you got your independence ladies … and you professional women out there making the dough…why is it that you are alone and can’t seem to make any relationship work?”

The reader seems to be saying that money is the sole basis for today’s relationships, but I would counter that it tends to be the basis for the majority urban relationships, where people are more exposed to – and affected by – the vagaries of affluence.

It is also true that feminism has led to an unprecedented number of educated women entering corporate America, which by default, tends to result in the deferment of marriage until later in life. So with the added exposure to affluence, coupled with cultural nuance, women have had to adjust their fantasies accordingly; a task that concurrently plagues them with the force of demonic possession.
 
Along the way they’ve also acquired a certain cynicism towards relationships in general; something that’s unavoidable for anyone operating with a modicum of consciousness. Headlines scream divorce, infidelity, custody battles, deception, abuse – and even cold-blooded murder – as though the existence of such things were a cultural novelty.

Nonetheless, all of this has established a permanent foothold in the labyrinthine realm of female psychology, and changed their perception of relationships forever.
    
Now we have a nation with a burgeoning population of financially independent, urban professional women in their late 20’s, 30’s and 40’s engaged in an epic struggle with nature over the viability of committed relationships, as they weigh the independence that’s so much easier to maintain.

With this in mind, let’s take a close look at the inner psyche of the 30-year old urban, professional woman:

“Young guys are opportunistic, just like their simian relatives. In fact, I think they’ve actually digressed biologically. Feminism’s “gift” of sexual and reproductive freedom has wounded – rather the empowered – our gender; so young men no longer respect us as women as much as they do egalitarian fuck-buddies who may or may not also share the same office.

This isn’t what we had in mind.
 
Older men have already been down the road. They have the financial stability, along with the maturity and appreciation sorely lacking in younger men. So I’m going to approach this thing like a business deal and improve my odds of success by finding someone of this description, rather than a young guy who’s harvesting women under the pretence of romance; a phenomenon that’s nothing more or less than evolutionary opportunism witnessed in all other known species — further down the food chain, I might add.”
            
Note: I happen to know this writer and can tell you from personal experience that he is not unlike me in my younger days; an “alpha-male sorely lacking in appreciation for the wonderful women he has had the good fortune to date.

In summation, while young women would prefer to date men their own age, they are less willing to tolerate the fallout precipitated by the very movement they fought so hard to secure.

15 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

We All Come Home…Eventually

As all of you know, I don’t blog politics.

But today I happened to catch a beautifully delivered speech by Senator Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. that made my skin crawl…and that takes a lot, believe me.

His message was as simple as it was direct:

America has failed its people on every front. It’s failed its principles. It’s failed its honor. Through lies, obfuscation and unmitigated tyranny this country’s obsession with power and money has cannibalized its own moral compass, and choked its own citizens on the countless missteps of an imperialist enterprise, otherwise known as the Bush administration.

I could go on.

If I were a foreigner listening to this speech, and unfamiliar with American politics in general, I would despise this nation. I would walk away from this man’s eloquent and impassioned diatribe with a sick feeling in my stomach about a legendary placed that no longer exists.
 
I now understand Michelle Obama’s comments about not respecting her country up until the moment her husband received the support of the Democratic Party. I get it, Michelle. No need for further clarification. I now also understand the Reverend Wright connection, and the balance of dubious characters that today bring this man into sharp relief.
 
Obviously, I’m a proponent of free speech, and I don’t fault Senator Obama or anyone else on those grounds. But for a man aspiring to the highest office in the land to blatantly slander and ridicule a sitting president; particularly during a time of war and global economic instability, disrespects all of us — whether we agree with the President, or despise him, outright.

He is still the President, elected by and for us. That would be ME and YOU, for the readers around here solely focused on discussions involving psychotic women and the men who love them — and that would exclude everything else in the entire fucking universe. 
 
Anyway, regardless of our many areas of agreement – and my equal number of disagreements with Senator John McCain – this uncharacteristic digression was something I felt I had to do in response to what felt like a foot being shoved down my throat.

See, I’m also an American, and in spite of the current drift away from all things patriotic, mine is neither deaf, dumb or blind.

If you pummel me with vitriole, I will summarily delete your posts. There’s something sinister about this guy, and maybe it’s the fact that we’ve reached a point in our culture where style does, in fact, trump substance, which reminds me of every closeted gold-digger I’ve ever met.    

Note: The following is from hotair.com:

“My knock on him all along on Iran has been (a) that he has no plan B in case negotiations fail since the left implicitly is prepared to let Iran have the bomb, and (b) that the only real difference between his approach and Bush’s is that he thinks giving Iran a personal audience with His Messianic Awesomeness is somehow going to change their minds. Tell me, based on this, how I’m wrong. If the part about not being able to tolerate nukes in the hands of terrorist states is significant, then why isn’t it reinforced with a specific threat to attack if negotiations don’t work out? Read the speech and you’ll see he has no qualms about threatening to go into Pakistan if we spot Osama on the radar screen — another Bush policy, as it turns out, and one that Pakistan has evidently already agreed to.”

“There’s more, including Obama ever so ironically chastising McCain for maintaining his posture on troop levels irrespective of the security situation, but it doesn’t take long to read so pick through it. I want to end with a question I asked yesterday, though, since it’s important and it’s getting short shrift. What should we make of the fact that Obama’s promising to send two more combat brigades to Afghanistan even though, both anecdotally and statistically, support on the left for the war there is drying up? If there are any objections to his plan among the nutroots, I haven’t seen them. In which case, who’s the liar here? Is it the left, willing to go along in the interests of the election to help sell Obama as a hawk to independents, or is it Obama himself, falsely promising to deploy troops for the same reason even though he secretly doesn’t intend to? I’m willing to take him at his word in this case but I wonder how he plans to deal with the left once he’s in office and finds they’re not nearly as gung ho for the big Afghan push as he is. Or does he think, a la Iran, that through sheer charisma he can pull them back on board?”

15 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 0 Comments

Reality Check

Tampa airport.
 
12:57 pm.

People here look so normal.
 
The kind of normal you don’t see, for examples, in commercials. That’s the other normal, for those of you who think that television is a literal reflection of society…as opposed to its projected fantasies.

Nothing looks or feels like the world we experience on television.

If you don’t believe me, I’ll drop you off on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific with the world’s most beautiful woman and see how long it takes for the two of you to kill each other.
 
So, what happens when you try to teach kids how to cope with reality, but fail to mention the fact that most of it is projected? At some point, kids stop seeing the difference and then get angry and confused as the inevitable collision occurs.

With this in mind, is it any wonder that our lives are filled with lunatics who use defeated expectations as fuel, and then cocktail the problem with alcohol and anti-depressants?

What we end up having to do is explain to people [especially kids, but not excluding adults] that great looking people in perfect settings, for example, don’t represent the actual people to whom they’re trying to sell dishwashing detergent, but rather the people they want their intended audience to imagine themselves to be.

People take this stuff in without realizing that it’s also taking complete control of their lives. These skewed versions of reality challenge their appreciation of a simple trip to Florida – that for some reason – doesn’t include a suite at the Ritz Carlton, with a private beach cabana, and of course, perfect sex.

So in the context of an intimate relationship, is it any surprise that life’s most difficult challenge is to replace fantasy with reality without throwing out the reality part by mistake?
  

10 Jul 2008, Posted by jay rusovich , 1 Comments

OMG! I’m in Florida.

 FYI, the sun feels like it’s setting on top of me down here. This is a place for the dead and those on the precipice [usually people they know]. I’m feeling a little translucent myself, actually.

Okay, I’ll cut to the chase.

I’m in Florida.

And for those of you whose knowledge of it is limited to video footage of drug lords cruising Miami Beach in stolen Ferraris, it’s a rather large peninsula that juts out into the open ocean, separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico. It’s famous for attracting hurricanes, and has some weird connection to the Bermuda Triangle, which people love to talk about as though it gives the state some added prestige.
  
Florida was founded by Ponce de Leon in 1565, while he was out looking for the fountain of youth, and frankly, most of the people here look like they’re from the same generation. So maybe he found it after all, only the people keep getting older and older, instead of younger and younger; which I believe is the way he originally envisioned the thing to work.
 
Regardless, I could be talking backwards around here and still not get anywhere, which of course, renders the century irrelevant no matter how you look at it. It’s quiet all over the place, particularly on its West Coast, where I happen to be at the moment. Think of it as one gigantic cemetery surrounded by salt water and a pace slow enough to stop your heart altogether.

Basically, the social structure here consists of retired geriatrics and the people who work for them: Groundskeepers, yacht captains, sailing instructors and car mechanics. These are the individuals one tends to encounter – even at the finest hotel bars – primarily because there are no other inhabitants, and because their employers tend to disappear after 8 o’clock at night. As a result, West Florida feels like a cultural blight zone, in spite of its many cultural venues.

It’s almost as though someone said,“Hey Frankie, let’s throw that opera house up over here. It’ll look good against those palm trees over there.”
   
Anyway, from a singles perspective, it’s the same song and dance: Older [old, more often than not] searching for youth and beauty, just like Ponce De Leon, only this time in Buicks. But because they have nothing more to offer than a ride in a speedboat – as opposed to, say, a movie deal – the women tend to be older and more done – as in plastic surgery done. Where they get said surgery done I don’t know, but they all seem to go to the same guy, based upon their collective resemblance to the indigenous blowfish population.

At least they’re trying.
 
Their M.O. is to travel throughout the state on the weekends in search of whatever deals they can land. One woman told me that she was working both Orlando and Sarasota this weekend, but was off to Miami the next because “Puff Daddy was throwing a private beach party,” and she knew somebody who knew somebody. I didn’t want to laugh in her face, so I just dropped my head and stared at her green plastic shoes.

Maybe it’s just me, but I just can’t connect outside of large metropolitan areas, and that would include the entire State of Florida, including Miami.
 
Having said this, however, the place is beautiful in a moist, tropical, sedentary sort of way.

Okay, I’m done with Florida. Sorry, I’m just done. I’m coming home tomorrow, and thank god, because this much relaxation isn’t good for me. The sights and sounds of seagulls, pelicans, cranes, flamingoes, manatees – and god knows what else – just pale in comparison to the other sounds that have nothing whatsoever to do with wildlife, but everything to do with certain ex-girlfriends and their predilection for cocktailing their Lithium.

Parting shot: Where there is physical beauty there is often little else.