Friday, July 10, 2015

Ch. 23 Capitalism and Culture - Barbie Goes Braless and Keith Richards Lives Forever


Instead of buying clothes for my niece’s Barbie doll, my sister would buy the entire doll with different outfits because it was cheaper to do that then buy individual outfits!  That is crazy!

Key words:  Globalization and the Columbian Exchange.

Neoliberalism – this is a new word to me, and I have been around in the 1970s as the book states its existence came to be – I must have over-toked and missed that one.

The photo on page 1140 – “A World Economy” – those must be my DirecTV peeps!  Right on!  Now I know why they talk kind of robotic.

Human migration – the perfect word combo to describe how people want to escape oppression.

The fact that women and girls are recruited as sex workers attests to the fact that human trafficking is a major problem in today’s world and is nothing short of a form of slavery.

Good use of verbiage to describe the 2008 economic downturn:  the worldwide economic contraction” (p. 1143).  I clearly recall thinking how the house prices were skyrocketing out of control and just how high could they possibly go?  Sure enough, the inflated housing market came crashing down.  I also recall that in 2000 it seemed anything and everything was possible – there was money flying around everywhere – money did not seem to be a hindrance for people who previously had been struggling.

If you want to experience outsourcing, just call customer service for any business with whom you wish to have contact, because you are bound to talk with someone from India who has been trained to sound as American as possible.  Good luck.

There is a whole new meaning to ‘united we stand, divided we fall’ when it comes to talks of economic globalization.  I was unaware that organizations exist to counteract globalization, which just proves how strongly people feel that there is too much inequality.

I can see why people would view the U.S. as either an “informal empire” or an “empire of production” because it is true.

Just how people can recall the day President Kennedy was assassinated, those who were alive on 09-11-01 can vividly recall the events of that fateful day and which are forever etched in our minds.

France wrote the book on revolutions!  Those people know how to express themselves for sure!

Anyone interested in a movie about Che Guevara, check this out this excellent flick from 2004: 
The Motorcycle Diaries

I love that the women’s libbers crowned a live sheep as Miss America in 1968 (p. 1151)!  Ballsy!

1975 – The International Women’s Year – that’s the year I graduated from high school.  I must say that going braless is not a good idea for most women.

I definitely consider yoga in the religion category – why not?  It is mindful, peaceful, and contemplative.

Awesome lines on page 1158:  “secular schools, alcohol, Barbie dolls, European and American movies, scantily clad women.”  Awesome.  Too bad drugs aren’t listed because I like to joke that drugs and alcohol are two of my favorite things.

Another sweet line:  “It was a posture that would enable Muslims to resist the seductive but poisonous culture of the West.”  Seductive and poisonous – great use of intertwining two words of opposite contexts.

Yes, the Anthropocene Era!  I learned the word ‘antropogenic’ in my Way of the Earth class earlier this year.  Also, I learned in great detail about global warming in my Atmospheric Geography class.  Humans have been ruining earth to the point that it may not be able to be corrected.

People die from pollution, but then there are those who are kept artificially alive with dozens of pills down the hatch every day!  I can think of many people who should have been dead long ago.  For instance, take a look at Keith Richards!  I love the guy, but really, how is he staying alive?

Here’s a good one:  Western governments want China and India to watch their emissions, but the Western world is the culprit by having their manufacturing done in those countries!

Very nice ending to chapter 23 – that “history provides us a marvelous window into the unfamiliar” (bottom of p. 1170).

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