The Horror of South Korea

 There is a huge problem in South Korea and it isn't the 4B movement. It's the young men. It's the rise of deep fake porn, sexual assault, sexual abuse, misogyny and patriarchy. 

These conversations keep happening and then getting swept under the rug.

Taeil, a K-Pop idol from South Korea, in the popular group of NCT, is part of a police investigation regarding rape, child abuse and assault. He has been released from his label, wiped clean from social media and started what might become a sweeping indictment issue that could span a lot of South Korean entertainment. 

The problem is of course, the society that punishes rape with suspended sentences, that don't care at all for the victims and have told victims that it's just part of a woman's life. And for men they aren't being socialized to see women as autonomous humans but rather as property.

The deep fake problem is out of control. There are chat rooms where boys can post pictures of girls, teachers, family members and within minutes someone has created a deep fake porn video with that woman's face superimposed. (This is AI generated, something the government is fighting against fixing).

However, the problem is beginning to go deeper which isn't being reported on and is coming from South Korean feminists, who have to hide because once a woman is identified as a feminist, they are doxxed, deep faked and in danger.

South Korean feminists are reaching out to feminists all over the world because these aren't just boys doing this to teachers or school mates. They are doing it to their own sisters and mothers. There have been incidents of family member rapes, nude pictures leaked...

Studies have shown that 80% of South Korean men have admitted to physical, sexual or psychological abuse of women. (Got that number from Google, btw)

Anyway, I'm not a sociologist. What I am is a K-Pop fan and a K-drama fan who can't currently enjoy entertainment currently because I'm afraid that someone I'm sighing over might be someone who has hurt a woman. 

Supposedly there will be more names coming out of South Korean entertainers who have been a part of the chat rooms and conversations which Taeil was a part of. A lot of women are sick over this right now. 

We don't know celebrities and who they really are. We don't know what men are capable of when they think they're untouchable.

This is sickening.

Things I've Learned This Week

 1. This first thing I learned yesterday when I finally (5 months after the referral was sent) got into Physical Therapy: my knee pain is very specific and not the cause of my problems. I have a nerve (femoral or sciatic) which got injured in my fall in February and it's the root cause of my worst pain and my decreased movement.

Happily it's entirely fixable through stretching, exercise and massage. My greatest fear recently has been the idea of going to Japan and not being able to walk. My therapist said that will not be a problem. 

2. Nothing makes a home feel dirtier than broken things in it. 

We had two days of severe tropical storms and flooding and my bedroom got a small flood. Pulling everything up and out has kick started me into spring cleaning (I don't care if it isn't spring) and the worst part was recognizing that I have a broken chair, broken vacuum, broken mop all taking up space. They're in the car now to go for a dump run tomorrow. 

3. Sometimes you really do want to eat an entire cucumber. With a home made reduced calorie ranch dressing. 

4. Forgiveness is key to moving on with your life. Not forgiving those who hurt or diminished you but forgiving yourself. Forgive yourself for living for years in survival mode. Forgive yourself for choices and mistakes that you made. 

5. Mainstream media is dying. The New York Times had 2 recent op-eds: Joy is not a strategy (regarding Harris) and Trump could win on character alone.

Irony is also a victim in this crime.

6. Love is sometimes an obligation. Liking someone never is.

WTF Was He Thinking and Let's Get Demure With It

Donald Trump posted on his social media website, Truth Social, an endorsement from Taylor Swift. One little problem: she never endorsed him. She hates him. She votes Democrat.

Taylor Swift took a man to court for grabbing her ass at an event (and sued him for one dollar because she wanted to make a point) and she won. Taylor is not going to be okay with Trump claiming she endorsed him.

Sit back for the fireworks.

The DNC convention is taking place this week and it's going to be a celebration. I'm going to say that personally Donald Trump did one thing for my life to better it: he got me interested and learning more about government. 

On a personal level: since retirement my nervous system has really been recalibrating and I spend a lot of time sleeping. I've spent most of my life existing in a mode of hyper-vigilance and now that I'm safe, now that I'm not trying to people please or exist in unwelcome spaces: the tension and anxiety are dripping away. When I'm aware nowadays, I feel the change of not having to check out where the exits are.

Anyway, it's a really strange thing to experience.

TikTok has been exploding lately. That amazing "let's be mindful, let's be demure" trend is a joy. (Background: trans creator Jools Lebron did a video talking about "let's be mindful and not show the cha-cha's at work, let's be demure" which is just a wonderful vibe and very tongue in cheek and even Joe Biden has done it and the mad popularity has made Jools enough money to now pay for her transition surgeries). 

Also on TikTok is cucumber boy Logan "Sometimes you just need to eat an entire cucumber" who is causing cucumber shortages around the US. There is only one grocery store in all of Hilo who has cucumbers in stock. He is single handedly changing how Americans eat by showing all the wonderful and easy recipes using a cucumber and one container. I've made 2 so far and am dying to do more but wasn't able to get the cucumbers.

Also, Logan showed an easy pickling technique and I have pickled onions and carrots in my fridge now and I love this so so much.

I have 1000 postcards to fill out and send on October 15 to Ohio voters. Going to start writing them now. 

Watch this space for more updates about Swift and Trump. This is going to be fun.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

The Blurb:    Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.

When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.

I'm a huge T. Kingfisher fan. There's almost nothing they write that I don't love (with the exception of a horror title or two). And this book is just **chef's kiss**

The story is simple: Evangeline is a sorceress. Cordelia is her daughter. Evangeline is cold, beautiful, cruel... she can 'occupy' people and make them do terrible things. Like murder. 

Her goals in life are thus: marry rich and make sure her daughter marries rich. To achieve that Evangeline finds Samuel, an older, guileless bachelor with a nice estate, an astute sister Hester and no ability to understand the viper he brought home.

Cordelia finds something in Samuel's household that she's never experienced before: safety. Hester is a lovely character. Hester will do anything to save her brother and soon, to save Cordelia too. And with a group of supportive friends (and an ex-lover), Cordelia finds a family and people worth risking everything for.

I'm not a reviewer and I won't try (for great, thorough reviews read Aztec Lady's Blog . Those are some brilliant reviews.) Hell, half the time I don't even remember the character's names a day later. I just remember how a book made me feel. And if it had major plot holes are silliness that took me out of the story.

Sorceress was the real deal. Intriguing, well-written. The evil was excellent. The betrayal of Cordelia by her mother's horse was everything. And the kindness she was shown not just by Hester and her friends, but also the servants in the house was lovely. Cordelia was a girl who wasn't allowed even the freedom to have her own thoughts. To be given safety was everything and knowing her own mother's goals and plans putting everything in danger ... exquisite.

The story did things unexpected. Everybody was resourceful and committed to helping. I didn't love the one otherworldly element introduced but it ended so perfectly that I won't quibble.

On a scale of 10: this book was a 9.2. 

A Noble Man

 A Noble Man

Carolyn sent this to me this morning and I want to share. Joe Biden is a great man and this is a wonderful watch. I teared up watching this. It isn't often anymore that you actually see someone who believes in public service and believes in Democracy the way this man does.

I believe his legacy will be a great one.

MEME ME

 

Thoughts

 According to Jesse Watters on Fox News, if a man votes for a woman candidate he will begin transitioning to becoming a woman. So I was thinking about this and realized that Republicans should be excited about that: then they'd have even more people to carry their white babies. What a win!

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The news companies in this country are failing outrageously. They pushed the narrative of Joe Biden's age but have chosen to completely ignore Trump's age and dementia. It truly feels like they want to see Trump get elected for the clickbait so they push the narrative without truly reporting on the news.

We are actually in a place where the only reliable news is via social media. And that is crazy.

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My social media platform is Threads and they have a kind of Trending Topic bar in the feed which I've started paying attention to. And one of the topics was about Joy Behar from The View. Multiple reports under the topic of her getting thrown out of restaurants and her contract being terminated because she's toxic.

I realized they were all Russian bots. Not a single report was true and all the reports were word for word the same. I know there are bots out there but I never saw so clearly how they push the narrative.

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I did the White Women for Harris zoom call. My favorite speakers were women of color. Oh well. 

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I bought Kamala shirts. One is a Cat Ladies for Kamala and the other is the Tide logo with the word VOTE on it and it says Can Remove Orange Stains. 

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The weird thing.

Democrats are pushing the Republicans are Weird line. And it's effective as hell. Concise messaging that can't be disproven. Brilliant actually (especially when discussing anything JD Vance says). And the more you think about it...

My brother texted me this morning that a high school friend's wife passed away. We were both sad. He's a good guy. My brother knew and liked his wife. We spoke of age and how now that our contemporaries are dying we feel more vulnerable.

My brother said "I love you. Don't die unless it's directly by my hands."

I replied: "I love you too, ya weirdo."

Now I know he knows about the Democratic messaging that Repubs are weird. I know that word was probably triggering. But I also know that telling someone I love you and I could kill you, despite it being meant as a joke, is a really weird way to say I love you. And I know that for myself, setting boundaries is important, especially with my brother. And the message of calling someone weird when they say something that really is fucking weird is a wonderful, non-confrontational way of pointing out why what they said is wrong.