Saturday, February 22, 2014

Pussy Riot!

Who can say they are against what Pussy Riot stands for.  They hate things bad, and are trying to move freedom forward.  Okay, so I'll admit.  I'm not perfectly up on the details of the Pussy Riot agenda.  But I think I'm pretty much on their side.  People on NPR and MSNBC feature their comings and goings, and they're getting whipped by Cossacks for screaming their mind.  I figure they must be okay.
You might think this superficial, but the most interesting part of their publicity is not their controversial actions, but that serious news outlets say their name straight-faced and monotone over and over again.   I suppose it rolls off the lips, as it were.
That said, my favorite method of determining fairness in gender equality is to switch a situation around to see how it sits.  In this case the intended meaning of Pussy Riot is important so that we may do appropriate gender switching.  Now, we can argue that pussy stands for swamp grass or house cat, but I don't think they are being all too subtle on its intended meaning.  The swamp grass and house cat meanings only serve to soften, just a bit, what they are really trying to say, if you know what I mean.
With that all sorted out, let's see how well a male version of the name would fit:
Stiff Wood Control
Erection Madness
Cock Crazy


Actually, that last one is in some ways a perfect role-reversal of Pussy Riot.  Part of you might actually say, "Perhaps they really mean a male chicken."  But I think it has other issues.  Moving on.
One-eyed Willy Radicals
Penis Envoy; alright, so the double entendre  is in the wrong place here.
Nuts Revolution


Actually, Nuts Revolution isn't bad, and although Nuts Power isn't the same as Pussy Power, I'll call this one close enough. 
I'll hereby declare Pussy Riot a gender-equality-friendly name.



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Movie Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

You know a movie is successful when it feels like it was made in the eighties twenty after the fact. So it is true with Hot Tub Time Machine. Sunglasses that look like blinds instead of shades, the fashion of primary-colored triangles, and Red Dawn on a tube TV are just of few of my favorite things. But, alas, this movie is slapstick, and tongue and cheek, all the way. We are supposed to laugh with it, not at it.

Men, apparently of my generation, go back to review where they and their youthful, dysfunctional, friendships went wrong. Spoiler alert, one of the best parts of this film is there is no moral provided. It's good that a comedy can be a comedy and the end is yet another laugh.

Second best part is men stop, amid chaos, to discuss the logistics of their conversation. True dudes.