Itsadudething.com

I've hinted at my next web project for a few weeks now, but I've finally decided to move forward with it.

I've registered the domain itsadudething.com. The thrust of the site is simple - it's a blog and site for men who want to reclaim their masculinity.

Reading a myriad of books on masculinity and manhood, I've come to realize that at least in my life, my masculinity was looked down upon as something shameful. My mother and father both sent out messages during childhood that my manhood was undesirable - that my agency and inner "wild man" as Bly would put it ought to be tamed, muted and exorcised. 

Even society has forced men into a corner. Look at countless depictions of men on television and you'll see them as gormless boobs that don't know their arse from their elbow. Some of them are even rewarded for being clueless (the Ross and Rachel saga from Friends comes to mind.)

Men tell other men they are "whipped" by their women yet their pointed finger points straight back at them. Men are afraid of intimacy and dating because they conflate "respect" with "submission." Some men lead lives of quiet desperation sat in front of the television when they could be living a much more fulfilled life instead.

Men are born free yet everywhere they are in chains.

So working closely with some of my brothers we will write articles about our journey from the "nice guy" to the loving yet assertive integrated male. I also hope to get interviews with men from a variety of occupations to discuss men's issues also. I might make a little cash from it too!

I hope all you dudes (and sympathetic chicks) can join us!

Selling Out

Well, I need to make extra money if I want to travel and set up my media empire over in the States. Rupert Murdoch did it, why can't I?

Got a few more interviews to put up here, including the full, unedited transcript with Andrew Craighan of My Dying Bride that chronicles the decline, a brief interregnum and rise again of one of doom metal's most prolific pioneers.

Of course, I'll be releasing older material from the archives as well as updates on my many other projects. Oh, and Easter? What's that? I saw Steve Coogan yesterday at the Forum; why they don't give him some sort of award for just being himself is beyond me.

Is a canvas ever blank?

Think about it. If I shine an image on a canvas, is it blank? Does it become blank when we turn the projector off, or when we leave the room? Does extreme skepticism and extreme empiricism ever win out over agnostic rationalism? Highly abstract terms, I know - but I'm using them shake up your thoughts to let seeds take root in your non-belief system.

I was reading in Australian Anthill magazine, a rag for corporate cocksuckers and their aspirant media whore hangers-on (such as myself) to congratulate themselves about the concept of personal branding. Personal branding, like corporate or product branding, uses similar themes and concepts; for example - to gain recognition and sales using a discrete package of repeated symbols to produce predictable outcomes in perception. How does this relate to you, and why are you still reading? I'll tell you.

I use personal branding myself online - the "Crushtor" brand is unique, it's my own. It stands for "maverick" journalism even though you've seen little evidence on it here - yet. My "fake" business cards are shocking and reaction-provoking, and may even attract the odd visitor to this website. The brand perpetuates itself - it is both the means and the end. People also use it unconsciously online via Facebook. A few people in my friends list have begun to "brand" themselves as the ultimate party girl/boy - the "most popular girl/boy in school" motif that many people aspire to be themselves, sort of like the "Paris Hilton effect." How do they do it? It's actually quite simple.

First of all, they insert themselves into as many avatars as possible. Their image in another's avatar elevates them to the status of "everyone's best friend." The non-verbal communication runs two fold and circuitously compliments both strands:

1. The party boy/girl establishes his/her brand by having their image grace as many avatars as possible.
2. The less astute/popular boy/girl ascends to popular status due to the "party boy/girl" being in their avatar.

It could be that Western need for attention and popularity rearing its ugly head again (as most cases are) but it could be used as a powerful tool for success, networking and business opportunities. Being seen on Facebook or MySpace often enough means you expose yourself to more people than you otherwise would. Finish it off with store-bought attractiveness (verbal, not physical) and you're an instant winner.

Keeping up social engagements to be snapped on Facebook seems to be more important than the event itself, at least to some. Like most brands, there's only grains of reality that are buried beneath tons and tons of spin, flashiness and purr words. How can you tell X that Y isn't all that they're cracked up to be in the face of that? Well, it's not that easy to answer. As a journalist, its hard to win a PR war with the truth when the almighty image tells you something else.

It's All Shiny

Well! Got myself a domain name. Crushtor.net. Always wanted it, so feeling awesome right now. Whatever that could possibly mean. Going to see all the movies I want to see this Summer. It's a quest. Like Sparta! I think I only attempt to watch the tennis because of Jim Courier. Eliminate him from the equation, and it would not be worth the effort.