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“I had wanted to learn Karate because I thought it would be great to save someone in distress and to never be afraid of what might happen to me. But like most young girls, I soon quit thinking of myself in the role of a rescuer and instead daydreamed about what my rescuer would be like, and when he would arrive. He would resemble a movie star. Maybe he would know Karate.” ~ Jennifer Lawler, Martial Arts for Women: A Practical Guide

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“Why focus on the perspectives of women? Are their perspectives necessarily different from men’s perspectives? Although each individual brings unique experiences and beliefs to the martial arts, women often face different challenges in their training.” ~ Carol A. Wiley, Women in the Martial Arts

“You can’t be a female athlete without addressing questions of femininity, sexuality, fear, power, freedom and just how good you are compared to men.” ~ Mariah Burton Nelson, Are We Winning Yet? How Women Are Changing Sports and Sports Are Changing Women

“In many ways, female martial artists differ from male martial artists and need information specifically for them….Since most martial arts instruction is aimed at men, the needs and questions of female martial artists are often overlooked—from how to make the uniform fit better to whether it is safe to practice while pregnant.” ~ Jennifer Lawler, Martial Arts for Women: A Practical Guide

How true are these things?

Now that’s evolution.

(Ironically, I’m not sure whether this supports Christianity or flies in its face…)

Actually, this post isn’t about jelly at all. It’s all about the nectareous lusciousness that is peanut butter.

I love peanut butter. I have it for breakfast almost every morning (with something else, usually). I do that because a) the deliciousness, and b) peanut butter is one of the yummiest and most convenient ways to pack in a boat-load of protein, which is not only good for taking care of your muscles, but also keeps you full longer than fruit or cereal. (I’m not really into beef or tuna for breakfast.) Yes, peanut butter will fill you up and never let you down.

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“Some feminists call women’s interest in violent sports ‘right-wing’ feminism. Such women buy into the existing patriarchy and identify with masculine traits rather than feminine ones, they claim. Feminists frequently accuse women interested in traditionally male roles and male traits of being ‘male-identified.’ ”

“Some feminists consider women’s strength and claim to political legitimacy stems from their refusal (perhaps inability) to be violent and aggressive. Such feminists argue that women who are aggressive have traded their own views for men’s.”

~ Jennifer Lawler, PUNCH! Why Women Participate in Violent Sports

There’s this idea that certain traits or characteristics are more typical of one gender than the other. Yes, this can certainly vary from culture to culture, but let’s go with the one I live in since that’s what I know.

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“What do you want your daughter to be: a boxer or a ring-girl?”

Allow me to enumerate them.

1. They look dark and whole wheat-ey and even say “made with whole wheat” on the box, but the fact is that they are made mostly of refined, bleached, blood-sugar-spiking white flour.

2. They were invented in 1829 by Rev. Sylvester Graham as part of a diet intended to suppress “unhealthy carnal urges.” (He also insisted that ketchup and mustard caused insanity.)

3. Not-insignificant amounts of sugar and honey have been added to the original recipe over the years for the express purpose of enhancing their, um, evilness. By which I mean their deliciousness.

4. They are a key ingredient in Moon Pies, the most pathological of all snack cakes.

5. They have a nasty habit of making your milk all crumb-ey and graham-ey tasting. Which, at first, is what you thought you wanted, but later you think, “Wow, I’d really like just a pure, wholesome, un-grahamafied gulp of milk.” So then you have to either wash out that glass, or go pour a new one, and then it becomes this whole *thing*…

6. Did I mention the wicked, wicked carnally addictive deliciousness? (This is why #2 is ironic.) God, I swear these things must have crack in them…

The Open Door is the second major-label studio album from Evanescence. The first, Fallen, was released in early 2003 to rave reviews, riding the Daredevil publicity wave (two tracks from Fallen were featured in the film). Listening to the entire first album for the first time in 2003 made me jump up and down giddily.

So I was excited to hear about this one. It’s taken me about two months to get my thoughts about it together, though, and they’re not simple, so this is likely to be a little long and ramble-y.

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Rock on, New Jersey.