The Lovely Benita Robledo
Oh, THAT SMILE! Please stop! Oh my gosh.. I can't take it anymore! Please... All right, I'll do whatever you want! AAAAHHHHHH!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VBhtyGaIA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0xv54T1Wkc
As noted above the pictures are of the lovely actress, Ms. Benita Robledo, one of my very favorite actresses.
Isn't she pretty? Not only that, she's also attractive as well... for a girl.
I first became aware of Benita while working diligently at my desk, writing and doing research, as is my custom, with my television turned on, as is my custom. At the time Lowe's, the chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores, was airing their "Training" commercial ubiquitously on broadcast and cable stations. It was actually another version of the commercial linked to above, but using some of the very same scenes, and of course featured Ms. Robledo as the young wife (assuming the two were not living in sin). I'd be working away and I'd be listening to the TV rather than watching it, and I kept on hearing her say "righty tighty," each time it came on. Actually at first I didn't know what it was she was saying, because really, what does "righty tighty" mean without context? Anyway, I heard this commercial often enough that I began to take notice and watch it.
Well I of course soon became captivated by Benita's performance as the "Righty Tighty Girl," found out who she was here: http://whoisthathotadgirl.tumblr.com/ , and have been a dedicated fan every since.
I don't quite know what's up with the stop motion in the postal commercial above, but it certainly displays Benita's talent and enthusiasm in her work.
I eventually checked out her Facebook page one day, oh probably six months or a year or so ago, when she was still utilizing Facebook's old format (why do companies insist on changing what fundamentally isn't broke? Google wants me to change to Chrome. I don't want to change to Chrome. I changed to Chrome once and it took away all of my bookmarks. I like my bookmarks. They are my friends, so I un-installed Chrome. Blogger has already changed their format and I didn't have a choice but to go along with that change. I don't like it. In this matter I am very conservative and resistant to change), and her privacy setting was such that I could read recent entries that she had made. And I came across an interesting one. A simple observation, filled with truth and wisdom.
But before I quote that particular entry, let me share some others that she has written recently, that are available to me now as we became Friends on Facebook just yesterday (she kept pestering me until I finally caved in and accepted), and I want to document what a delightful young lady she is.
From last Thursday: "Hang with me long enough and you're going to want to learn how to knit." And:
"Happy Sunday! Now go read a book!" March 25th
Good Advice. People don't read enough anymore.
And: "Thank you St. Patrick for driving the snakes out of Ireland and magically tinting our beer green!" March 17th
And of course: "Today I'm celebrating our 26th president, Benjamin Harrison. The first president to...um...have two first names?" From last February.
Isn't she wonderful? I'll answer that, yes, she is.
Now the quote that caught my eye that first time was the very quote that acts as the title of this post, "It's expensive being a girl." Well I can quite imagine that it is!
I assume she was talking about all of the accouterments and beauty paraphernalia that women typically use to enhance their natural features that men don't usually bother with... and with clothes and such, and then of course there's the matter of shoes.
Always with the shoes.
Currently I have one pair of working shoes.
I'm going to buy another on Tuesday.
But I digress. Indeed the cost of keeping and maintaining a steady supply of these "essentials," must indeed be rather prohibitive.
I have often felt very sympathetic toward women, who I immensely respect and admire. I am very glad they are on this planet, and that us men get to spend some time with them. My own mother was a woman... yes, it's true! My dear sister too.
Why do I feel sympathetic? Mainly because they have to put up with men. Brutish beasts most of them. If I were a woman I wouldn't have anything to do with them to be quite honest.
Also, women tend to place a huge amount of importance on their personal appearance, which is directly connected to their sense of self worth, or self esteem.
Now Benita is a very beautiful young woman, and doesn't have to worry about her appearance at all. Her loveliness has prompted me to post four pictures of her above even though she is not the primary subject of this post. But I couldn't help it. She's just too pretty. Men are like that. We have a visceral reaction to the physicality of women. It's not our fault. Nature designed us this way, and it's a good thing because if men and women were indifferent to each other we wouldn't be here to dicuss weighty matters such as this.
Many, many women though are not as blessed as Benita, although I think all women are beautiful in their own unique ways.
This visceral reaction can be annoying for women at times. I've conversed with some and they tell me of how weird men can be when a pretty girl is walking down the street and men passing by in cars honk at them, or the they yell out what is known as catcalls. Here's a chilling example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtM6ezECYwA
And here's the lovely comedian and Television actress, Whitney Cummings expounding on this phenomena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcT_9q5Ayz8&feature=related
I've seen men do this and it alway embarrasses me. I feel embarrassed for my whole gender. Not all of us are like that, as displayed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5P4eVjwVd_U
However, women, I suspect, may be aware of men's vulnerability mentioned above, and take advantage of this, and us. I don't mind. Although it is my belief that woman actually rule the world, I also believe that nature can be very cruel to them over a lifetime, and that quite often their lot in life is not a happy one.
Republicans typically defend the primary economic system used in this country, capitalism, as being the best in the world, allowing the U.S. to grow into the great nation it is. And in theory I agree, although I would describe myself as a democratic socialist, like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Thom Hartmann.
But in the real world capitalism reminds me of social Darwinism, you know, survival of the fittest, and each should be looking out for their own interests and screw everyone else.
The actions of banks who are so eager to foreclose on folks behind in their mortgages, is just one example. The banks are so eager they foreclose on houses they don't even own.
The whole financial crisis of 2007/2008 is an example. Banks sold financial entities such as derivatives they knew would be determental to their clients, so to put it mildly, they were screwing them.
We need a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect us from our own banks who would like to screw us as much as possible to maximize their profits. The republicans cry and moan about how the CFPB will hinder business and of course ruin the country. In actuality they are crying and moaning because the CFPB will hinder the banks ability to screw the American public.
Republicans are unholy assholes, to put it mildly.
Be that as it may, women, simply because they are women, are constantly taken advantage of in our society, and economy, and as our lovely Benita adroitly points out, it is very expensive to be a woman.
I'm stealing the information below from Cassie Murdoch, Jezebel's March 22nd piece, "Turns Out Being Born a Woman Is a Major Financial Mistake," published in Reader Supporter News.
First women tend to be paid less for doing the same job as a men. I don't know why. Seems stupid and unfair to me.
"...women pay more for everything from razors to houses to health care for no reason other than that we are women. It's like our own personal vagina tax, and it sucks. You might think such gendered pricing practices would be illegal and we wouldn't even have to worry about them, but alas they are not. Of course, there are federal civil rights laws which project against discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation, but the same cannot be said for the sales of goods and services."
Here's a link to a Marie Claire article that documents this... problem, which does suck: http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/why-do-women-pay-more
Let me briefly list some examples of how our society and capitalism thinks it's okay to take advantage of more than half of the countries population simply because of their gender.
Dry cleaners often charge women three times as much to clean shirts which are virtually identical to mens' dress shirts because blouses require extra labor to press. Really? Why?
Haircuts and women's toiletries are typically more expensive then men's although they are virtually the same items. Women's deodorant on average costs 30 cents more per ounce than men's, even when the only difference between the products is smell, according to a study done at the University of Central Florida. "'These companies have us convinced that men and women are so biologically different that we need completely different products, as though we are a different species,' says the studies coauthor, Megan Duesterhaus.
On average, women now pay $200 more for a car than a white man would, and black women pay a whopping $400 more.
Home loans: The Consumer Federation of America found in 2006 that women were 32% more likely to end up with high-interest subprime loans, even if when they had better credit ratings than the men. Why? Economists believe that women rely on word-of-mouth rather than just taking the lowest rate from whomever is offering it. They aren't as likely to negotiate either, which puts them at a disadvantage when buying cars, homes, or other big items like appliances.
"Perhaps the most disturbing part of this whole situation is that women pay so much more in health care premiums because of a practice called gender rating - basically charging more because they can claim that a person's gender affects how much it will cost to cover them. The National Women's Law Center has just issued a new report that found more than 90 percent of the best-selling health plans charge women more than they do men. This practice has already been made illegal in 14 states, but the rest the country is still shit out of luck. According to eHealthInsurance.com, in Chicago a 30-year-old woman pays 31 percent more than a man of her same age pays. In Louisville, Kentucky, a 40-year-old nonsmoking woman pays 53 percent more than a nonsmoking man of the same age. The nonsmoking woman even pays 14 percent more than the premium a male smoker pays. Why, pray tell, would insurers charge women so much more than men? It's mostly because, '[Women] are more likely to visit doctors, to get regular checkups, to take prescription drugs and to have certain chronic illnesses.' ...to be fair, we are awfully needy in the drugs department. After all, we keep demanding those pricey whore pills, month after month."
The Marie Claire article estimates that in California women paid approximately $1,351.00 a year in extra costs and fees, or 151 billion dollars if projected across the entire country... more than what the federal government spent on education in 2011.
The situation is even worse, more dire, for older women: http://www.care2.com/causes/6-in-10-older-women-cant-pay-basic-living-expenses.html
Fortunately, President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act addresses the problem of gender rating for insurance, and will eliminate it in 2014, and will also require insurance plans to cover maternity care as one of the "essential health benefits."
Naturally the republicans want to dismantle The Affordable Health Care Act, or Obamacare, as part of their "Repeal and Replace," campaign. They certainly want to repeal it... and replace it with... (sound of crickets off in the distant night).
Nothing, they want to replace it with nothing.
The Supreme Court has already decided part of Obamacare's fate, specifically the individual mandate part, which may entail the whole act. But all of us except for those nine individuals have to wait until June to find out what it is they decided. It takes them that long to write out their rationalizations.
But no matter what the Supreme Court rules, it's just sad how our society takes advantage our wonderful ladies.
And I for one, am sincerely grateful for lovely Benita taking the time to point this out to us.
Thank you my dear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0xv54T1Wkc
As noted above the pictures are of the lovely actress, Ms. Benita Robledo, one of my very favorite actresses.
Isn't she pretty? Not only that, she's also attractive as well... for a girl.
I first became aware of Benita while working diligently at my desk, writing and doing research, as is my custom, with my television turned on, as is my custom. At the time Lowe's, the chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores, was airing their "Training" commercial ubiquitously on broadcast and cable stations. It was actually another version of the commercial linked to above, but using some of the very same scenes, and of course featured Ms. Robledo as the young wife (assuming the two were not living in sin). I'd be working away and I'd be listening to the TV rather than watching it, and I kept on hearing her say "righty tighty," each time it came on. Actually at first I didn't know what it was she was saying, because really, what does "righty tighty" mean without context? Anyway, I heard this commercial often enough that I began to take notice and watch it.
Well I of course soon became captivated by Benita's performance as the "Righty Tighty Girl," found out who she was here: http://whoisthathotadgirl.tumblr.com/ , and have been a dedicated fan every since.
I don't quite know what's up with the stop motion in the postal commercial above, but it certainly displays Benita's talent and enthusiasm in her work.
I eventually checked out her Facebook page one day, oh probably six months or a year or so ago, when she was still utilizing Facebook's old format (why do companies insist on changing what fundamentally isn't broke? Google wants me to change to Chrome. I don't want to change to Chrome. I changed to Chrome once and it took away all of my bookmarks. I like my bookmarks. They are my friends, so I un-installed Chrome. Blogger has already changed their format and I didn't have a choice but to go along with that change. I don't like it. In this matter I am very conservative and resistant to change), and her privacy setting was such that I could read recent entries that she had made. And I came across an interesting one. A simple observation, filled with truth and wisdom.
But before I quote that particular entry, let me share some others that she has written recently, that are available to me now as we became Friends on Facebook just yesterday (she kept pestering me until I finally caved in and accepted), and I want to document what a delightful young lady she is.
From last Thursday: "Hang with me long enough and you're going to want to learn how to knit." And:
"Happy Sunday! Now go read a book!" March 25th
Good Advice. People don't read enough anymore.
And: "Thank you St. Patrick for driving the snakes out of Ireland and magically tinting our beer green!" March 17th
And of course: "Today I'm celebrating our 26th president, Benjamin Harrison. The first president to...um...have two first names?" From last February.
Isn't she wonderful? I'll answer that, yes, she is.
Now the quote that caught my eye that first time was the very quote that acts as the title of this post, "It's expensive being a girl." Well I can quite imagine that it is!
I assume she was talking about all of the accouterments and beauty paraphernalia that women typically use to enhance their natural features that men don't usually bother with... and with clothes and such, and then of course there's the matter of shoes.
Always with the shoes.
Currently I have one pair of working shoes.
I'm going to buy another on Tuesday.
But I digress. Indeed the cost of keeping and maintaining a steady supply of these "essentials," must indeed be rather prohibitive.
I have often felt very sympathetic toward women, who I immensely respect and admire. I am very glad they are on this planet, and that us men get to spend some time with them. My own mother was a woman... yes, it's true! My dear sister too.
Why do I feel sympathetic? Mainly because they have to put up with men. Brutish beasts most of them. If I were a woman I wouldn't have anything to do with them to be quite honest.
Also, women tend to place a huge amount of importance on their personal appearance, which is directly connected to their sense of self worth, or self esteem.
Now Benita is a very beautiful young woman, and doesn't have to worry about her appearance at all. Her loveliness has prompted me to post four pictures of her above even though she is not the primary subject of this post. But I couldn't help it. She's just too pretty. Men are like that. We have a visceral reaction to the physicality of women. It's not our fault. Nature designed us this way, and it's a good thing because if men and women were indifferent to each other we wouldn't be here to dicuss weighty matters such as this.
Many, many women though are not as blessed as Benita, although I think all women are beautiful in their own unique ways.
This visceral reaction can be annoying for women at times. I've conversed with some and they tell me of how weird men can be when a pretty girl is walking down the street and men passing by in cars honk at them, or the they yell out what is known as catcalls. Here's a chilling example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtM6ezECYwA
And here's the lovely comedian and Television actress, Whitney Cummings expounding on this phenomena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcT_9q5Ayz8&feature=related
I've seen men do this and it alway embarrasses me. I feel embarrassed for my whole gender. Not all of us are like that, as displayed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5P4eVjwVd_U
However, women, I suspect, may be aware of men's vulnerability mentioned above, and take advantage of this, and us. I don't mind. Although it is my belief that woman actually rule the world, I also believe that nature can be very cruel to them over a lifetime, and that quite often their lot in life is not a happy one.
Republicans typically defend the primary economic system used in this country, capitalism, as being the best in the world, allowing the U.S. to grow into the great nation it is. And in theory I agree, although I would describe myself as a democratic socialist, like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Thom Hartmann.
But in the real world capitalism reminds me of social Darwinism, you know, survival of the fittest, and each should be looking out for their own interests and screw everyone else.
The actions of banks who are so eager to foreclose on folks behind in their mortgages, is just one example. The banks are so eager they foreclose on houses they don't even own.
The whole financial crisis of 2007/2008 is an example. Banks sold financial entities such as derivatives they knew would be determental to their clients, so to put it mildly, they were screwing them.
We need a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect us from our own banks who would like to screw us as much as possible to maximize their profits. The republicans cry and moan about how the CFPB will hinder business and of course ruin the country. In actuality they are crying and moaning because the CFPB will hinder the banks ability to screw the American public.
Republicans are unholy assholes, to put it mildly.
Be that as it may, women, simply because they are women, are constantly taken advantage of in our society, and economy, and as our lovely Benita adroitly points out, it is very expensive to be a woman.
I'm stealing the information below from Cassie Murdoch, Jezebel's March 22nd piece, "Turns Out Being Born a Woman Is a Major Financial Mistake," published in Reader Supporter News.
First women tend to be paid less for doing the same job as a men. I don't know why. Seems stupid and unfair to me.
"...women pay more for everything from razors to houses to health care for no reason other than that we are women. It's like our own personal vagina tax, and it sucks. You might think such gendered pricing practices would be illegal and we wouldn't even have to worry about them, but alas they are not. Of course, there are federal civil rights laws which project against discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation, but the same cannot be said for the sales of goods and services."
Here's a link to a Marie Claire article that documents this... problem, which does suck: http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/why-do-women-pay-more
Let me briefly list some examples of how our society and capitalism thinks it's okay to take advantage of more than half of the countries population simply because of their gender.
Dry cleaners often charge women three times as much to clean shirts which are virtually identical to mens' dress shirts because blouses require extra labor to press. Really? Why?
Haircuts and women's toiletries are typically more expensive then men's although they are virtually the same items. Women's deodorant on average costs 30 cents more per ounce than men's, even when the only difference between the products is smell, according to a study done at the University of Central Florida. "'These companies have us convinced that men and women are so biologically different that we need completely different products, as though we are a different species,' says the studies coauthor, Megan Duesterhaus.
On average, women now pay $200 more for a car than a white man would, and black women pay a whopping $400 more.
Home loans: The Consumer Federation of America found in 2006 that women were 32% more likely to end up with high-interest subprime loans, even if when they had better credit ratings than the men. Why? Economists believe that women rely on word-of-mouth rather than just taking the lowest rate from whomever is offering it. They aren't as likely to negotiate either, which puts them at a disadvantage when buying cars, homes, or other big items like appliances.
"Perhaps the most disturbing part of this whole situation is that women pay so much more in health care premiums because of a practice called gender rating - basically charging more because they can claim that a person's gender affects how much it will cost to cover them. The National Women's Law Center has just issued a new report that found more than 90 percent of the best-selling health plans charge women more than they do men. This practice has already been made illegal in 14 states, but the rest the country is still shit out of luck. According to eHealthInsurance.com, in Chicago a 30-year-old woman pays 31 percent more than a man of her same age pays. In Louisville, Kentucky, a 40-year-old nonsmoking woman pays 53 percent more than a nonsmoking man of the same age. The nonsmoking woman even pays 14 percent more than the premium a male smoker pays. Why, pray tell, would insurers charge women so much more than men? It's mostly because, '[Women] are more likely to visit doctors, to get regular checkups, to take prescription drugs and to have certain chronic illnesses.' ...to be fair, we are awfully needy in the drugs department. After all, we keep demanding those pricey whore pills, month after month."
The Marie Claire article estimates that in California women paid approximately $1,351.00 a year in extra costs and fees, or 151 billion dollars if projected across the entire country... more than what the federal government spent on education in 2011.
The situation is even worse, more dire, for older women: http://www.care2.com/causes/6-in-10-older-women-cant-pay-basic-living-expenses.html
Fortunately, President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act addresses the problem of gender rating for insurance, and will eliminate it in 2014, and will also require insurance plans to cover maternity care as one of the "essential health benefits."
Naturally the republicans want to dismantle The Affordable Health Care Act, or Obamacare, as part of their "Repeal and Replace," campaign. They certainly want to repeal it... and replace it with... (sound of crickets off in the distant night).
Nothing, they want to replace it with nothing.
The Supreme Court has already decided part of Obamacare's fate, specifically the individual mandate part, which may entail the whole act. But all of us except for those nine individuals have to wait until June to find out what it is they decided. It takes them that long to write out their rationalizations.
But no matter what the Supreme Court rules, it's just sad how our society takes advantage our wonderful ladies.
And I for one, am sincerely grateful for lovely Benita taking the time to point this out to us.
Thank you my dear.
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