As IF Times

Source: Mariah Carey reportedly demanding ex James Packer to pay for her home | Fox News

Normally, the lifestyles of the vain and vapid aren’t of interest here since it contributes little to thoughtful experience.  However, it’s difficult to avoid exposure to the breathless stories of their latest romances or sightings or iffy outfits,  since they occupy prominent exposure in all on-line news sources.  While some may actually possess some level of desirable talent, we note that luck is a big part of their success in life.

Notwithstanding the propaganda of the hard work ethic that we are taught to believe, it can be difficult to overcome the inherent advantage some people have simply by virtue of the birth lotto.  Anyone who denies that attractiveness is the HOV lane to success is delusional. If you are fortunate enough to have been born with an inherent talent for music, you are doubly blessed, at this time in history and in this culture.

A third important factor is geography.  While being attractive and blessed with music talent are advantages, it wouldn’t be if you were born in, let’s say, Afghanistan.  Having the dual charms of attractiveness and an aptitude for music affords those lucky individuals in Western culture,  a fairly exalted status; so much so that they are detached from the concerns and realities of the fans who put them there.

The delusion sets in and they actually believe that not only are they charmed, they are entitled to be so at whatever the cost to whomever.  This is reinforced by the army of acolytes who tells them so.

We contrast the demands of Mariah towards her estranged boyfriend to the circumstances of the wife of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un.  She hasn’t been heard from for over 7 months.  Something tells me that it isn’t rent and support demands that are keeping her from the limelight.  We don’t know if she has any musical talent, but it certainly was her misfortune to be born in Korea.

The whining entitlement of Ms. Carey is not that surprising other than the sheer scale of her chutzpah.  We are used to multi million dollar divorce settlements and other large scale damage awards based on entitlements. The real jarring reality is that this view of what she’s entitled to is merely a grotesque version of how society at large views things.  We’ve gone downhill  from the “greatest generation” of 50 years ago to the me, me, me generation of today. You can’t swing a cat these days without hitting someone or some group who feels entitled to some slice of life’s pie merely by claiming such.

Like Mariah’s once powerful voice that could elegantly hit the highest octaves, the bleating of the entitled just sounds like her aged voice now: Shrill.  It’s very sad that her once large voice has been overshadowed by her much larger hands.

Source: Out with hunks: fashion breaks codes for male models

Ya, that’s not going to fly. Of course a pushback against the feminization of men is made more difficult these days with the constant onslaught of ads and portrayals in pop entertainment pushing the beta male ideal.

Throughout history, societies have focused on the wants of women as far as fashion and style.  Men’s concerns about fashion generally revolve around comfort. There’s the old saying that women dress for other women, not for men.  For the most part, men’s appreciation for women’s appearance is fairly simple and straightforward; namely that they can’t be men.  They tolerate the fashion dictates of the day as indulgences on the part of women but not as necessities.

The strange places that fashion has taken us over the years is especially amusing when viewed through old images.  But things such as bell bottoms, padded shoulders and wide lapels are to be expected since the fashion racket needs to constantly fuel their business.  But these are just ephemeral flirtations and curiosities to be discarded next season.

The really sinister part is when the fashion gods dictate that a body style is the must do of the day.  A few years ago, ‘heroin chic’, that gaunt, starved cat look was flouted on fashion runways.  Not sure who found that attractive, but it wasn’t red blooded men.  At the moment, we are living in a time when thin women with ample cleavage and no body hair is considered desirable (go figure), leading  women to spend money on fat vacuums, breast implants and depilatory aids.

Having run out of things to torture women with, the haute couture  poobahs are focusing their attention on insecure men.  They are trying to make men sensitive to eyebrow shapes and body hair and odor. The are essentially pushing to downplay normal masculine features.  Actually if you look at the ideals trotted out by the fashionistas, they appear to be trying to make men and women look like each other, with asexual being the ideal.  We are already seeing some sensitive men being swayed by this propaganda as evidenced by the man bun craze.  Will Jimmy Choo offer man-lettos next?

I hope that men will have the confidence not to succumb to the effeminate ideals being offered by pop fashion.  But it may be a losing bet.  The feminization of culture has already emasculated men in many aspects of our sex.  Nature had it correct from the beginning; men are men and women are women; a damn good arrangement.