This article in Salon is tripe.

As usual, it advances the now cliched trope of "there aren't enough available single men in X urban area". I'm tempted to simply quote from The Last Boy Scout and say the girl needs to "get a dog". But in reality, the author herself manages to find some other author to help back up her ludicrously elaborate paranoiac theory of dating. So I have to do a little more digging. Consider grafs like this one:

I have a sense that particularly in New York -- though I'm sure it exists this way in Boston and in San Francisco -- there is a super-abundance of attractive, intelligent young women whom a man is very unlikely to be worthy of, who nevertheless set a higher value on him than he sets on them. This makes any sort of decision very difficult. Because to constantly be exposed to people whom you are unworthy of to begin with, yet who want you more than you want them, is confusing.

That assumption, that generally young men are unworthy of their female counterparts, is certainly in your book. I would get hanged for saying it, but there's an uncomfortable truth there.

Um, no. The entire premise of this story is that there aren't enough available "good" guys. To then use that premise to discover "a sense" that there are more hot women than men in the city is begging the question.

In reality, I find it always curious that articles such as these assume the following tenets:

1. men are, somehow, not making correct decisions when it comes to relationships
2. a large majority of attractive, intelligent, successful women are single because of said decisions
3. therefore, most women are inherently settling if they end up with a man

The problem, of course, is not with tenet #1. I'm perfectly willing to accept that a large body of men make boneheaded decisions about relationships. But #2 is where the train veers off the tracks. Because most of the idiotic relationship decisions men make have to do with:

• cheating on a girlfriend with a hotter person
• wanting to cheat on a girlfriend with a hotter person
• dumping a girlfriend because she's not hot enough

Notice a common theme? Now let's examine the final bit of the story. The (female) author's thoughts are in bold:

Well, let's not overdo it. I don't think this historical crossover is a done deal. What we're talking about is very much in process; these shifts may just be working themselves out. For all our generalizations, I'm speaking very specifically, about my peers who live in New York City and at 30 are almost all single. It's possible that I just have really unmarriageable friends.

But probably not.

No, probably not, in that they are hot and successful: desirable by commonly held human standards. But I don't think my stoic female friends don't acknowledge injustice or pain. They just process it in a traditionally female mode -- by talking about it. It's like they transform that chatter into a fuel that men don't have.

Hmm. You see, I have less trouble imagining men behaving like cads to women who are intelligent and successful. Because, of course, said women could be unattractive. But the author herself negates that possibility, so of course it cannot be true, right?

Oddly, men in this universe are being critiqued for being not shallow enough when it comes to the women. "Look at us: we're desirable!" seems to be the statement of the author. Of course though, for all we know, the author and her social circle could be rich, snobby, unattractive and boring. They'd still, of course, complement each other, which would lead all to wonder why men were not interested.

In the end, I think most men aren't put off by highly successful women. Or attractive women. Or the bizarre possibility that they could never have to settle (sheesh, I'm taking a trip to New York tomorrow! seriously, I am!) if only they were in an urban center. Men are surprisingly good at judging aesthetics. And they are surprisingly bad at empathy. None of these traits affects their capacity for commitment or ability to juggle a relationship and work. Simply having a decent relationship resume isn't enough for a man: you have to have some sort of spark, something that cannot be forced.

Arrrr. The Half-Crazed Capn Bush of the America be sailin' his ship into uncharted waters with dangerous shoals. His navigator be down with scurvy and the men be restless. The capn's solution? Go dig up more booty! To bad he be fresh out of treasure, but they don't call him half-crazed for nuttin.

Avast, me hearties!

'Tis a fine day for making sail across this accursed sea of concrete. Ye be needin' to carry the black spot with you and greet any swash-buckling buccaneers with a hearty "Arrrr" to make sure no scurvy land lubbers are about. For today belongs to us pirates!

The weekend is finally here...and with it, I believe, the end of my moving process. I am looking forward to:

1. no more moving
2. unpacking
3. setting up directv and tivo
4. picking up helena from the airport
5. preparing for Talk Like A Pirate Day on monday
6. much needed sleep
7. steaks!
8. very tiny gifts
9. much needed sleep

Time to dust off your eye-patches, everyone!

If you read one article today, read this one about the New Orleans Convention Center. I didn't know, until today, that there were armed troops at the convention center, doing nothing.

Tragic.

This is just too hilarious. Here we go:

Yes. He's asking for permission to take a bathroom break. Ha!