Novelties that aren't novel: "Mantuaries" and "man caves"
Posted 1 year 46 weeks ago byGentlemen, please. Last month, it was "bromances." Here, under protest, we have "mantuaries" and man caves. What kind of lameness is this?
"Mantuary" is a clumsy word, tough on the ear. Unpleasant to read. Unrewarding. When I first read it, I thought it might have been a typographical error. (Of course, there's a website.) "Man cave" is almost worse; it sounds seedy and disreputable. So what's the story? According to the CNN piece:
Having a room of one's own can provide refuge in a stressful world, but can a mantuary actually help a marriage?
Steve Brody, a clinical psychologist from Cambria, California, who specializes in marriage counseling, thinks so.
"Separate time is important," he says. "A good relationship has both intimacy and independence. Man caves may just be the 21st-century wrinkle to it."
Gee... no kidding. Honestly, this is news? In my day -- I'm a young fogey -- we would have called this a "den." (And we still do.) Personally, I have a "study." But dens and studies have been around forever. And men have been hanging out in their basements as long as ... well, as long as there have been basements. Sixty years ago, my grandfather even had Veronica Lake painted on his basement floor. The "21st-century wrinkle" is nothing more than a shoddy neologism.
Ah, but maybe there is something to the story, after all. Why would a presumably educated fellow such as the aforementioned clinical psychologist make what appear to be stunningly obvious statements? Apart from patronizing the reporter, could it be that such statements are no longer so obvious? Evidently, Americans' commitment to sexual equality causes blindness, deafness and amnesia.
JKP's observation about "bromances" fits perfectly here: "It is so typical of today's navel-gazing popular culture to imagine that every observable phenomenon is of our own creation. We don't look to the past. Heaven forbid, we look to the nature of things. And when we take 'credit' for having invented a thing, we have to give it some nasty little spin full of psychological and sexual drama."
Sure enough, here's CNN's sidebar to the "man cave" story: First the 'man cave,' then cross-dressing.
"My aren't we clever?" Too clever by half.
Thoughts
Although I don't personally
Submitted on August 2nd, 2009 by rahulraikwar24Although I don't personally have any sex toys (I guess regular sex hasn't lost enough appeal yet) many people do. It's a viable industry that is selling a product to be used. These are NOT just novelty items (okay maybe the penis water gun is). As for items that are inserted or used as a hole, for lack of a better description, we should be careful and if we expect some default in such that could potentially harm us we should regulate it.
I can't say about a marriage
Submitted on July 20th, 2009 by rahulraikwar24I can't say about a marriage but yes your room is at times your world, a place where you can find peace if the room is allow to remain a peaceful place that is. It's your private place and I'd term it as one's domain.
It charges you up for the next day. a good bed and good mattress and a good mattress too contribute to a sound sleep.
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I agree it is a good time
Submitted on June 18th, 2009 by hankjmattsI agree it is a good time for some lighter relaxing fare in this interesting period between now and Tuesday (aka Super Tuesday III). So thanks for that, my friend. What may come out of all of that Super, Super, Super razzle-dazzle is that the NFL might be feeling some pressure to rename its iconic 'The Superbowl' to someting like 'The WayMegaBowl'.
club penguin
As coincidence would have
Submitted on June 10th, 2009 by GarryWertAs coincidence would have it, I was in my "office" last night considering the latest Miley Cyrus "scandal." It's the end of the world as we know it. memory foam and memory foam mattress and memory foam beds.
Uncomment that, and change
Submitted on May 11th, 2009 by marweeeUncomment that, and change the zeros to your host's main IP address. Another daemon off the top of my head that would use its own config file for this type of configuration, would be Apache. However, remember that I recommend the slimmest configuration possible on your host, so not installing Apache or any other network applications would be advised. After all, the point of jails is to install virtual systems that all our network daemons can then be installed into. My host system does use inetd, so I add this to my /etc/rc.conf to keep inetd only on the hosts IP addrress:
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Edit a config file file to
Submitted on May 11th, 2009 by marweeeEdit a config file file to match your system, and save it as an ALLCAPS name to /usr/src/sys/i386/conf (if you dont have an i386 machine, remember to save the config file to the appropriate architecture's folder tree). As you may have noticed above, my host's name is ACRUX, and this is the name of my config file. After the file is saved, its time to build the world and the kernel.
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My point is slightly
Submitted on March 23rd, 2009 by hankjmattMy point is slightly different but dovetails nicely: We're coining dumb new words for very old things because we've forgotten what those old things meant and why they were important. CNN has this long story about why it's a good thing for dll men to have their own space, as if the idea is novel much less controversial.
Watched attentively
Submitted on October 10th, 2008 by AnonymousHello.
:)
Martha Louise, who is the only daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, gave up the title of 'royal highness' upon her 2002 marriage to writer Ari, and has a reputation for not standing on ceremony.
Bye.
Hello3
Submitted on October 1st, 2008 by AnonymousHi all!
Nice site!
Bye
The best man-cave site I
Submitted on August 23rd, 2008 by AnonymousThe best man-cave site I have come across has to be The Mantuary. Do check it out sometime.
shucks
Submitted on May 3rd, 2008 by John 2000I thought that might be the case. But, you always seem so serious ...
Wait, what!?!?!
Submitted on May 3rd, 2008 by KansasGirlJohn, I was actually sincerely applauding Ben here - I'm a word snob, and this kind of nonsense makes me crazy too! "Mantuary" is just somebody trying to be way too cute, and I'm against it, forever and ever, amen.
Hey KGirl
Submitted on May 3rd, 2008 by John 2000I thought you would have been happy to see Ben get past The Wright Stuff.
Maybe you wore him down. You Won!
and yet the bitterness ...
Office
Submitted on May 3rd, 2008 by dotsAs coincidence would have it, I was in my "office" last night considering the latest Miley Cyrus "scandal."
It's the end of the world as we know it.
'Atta boy!
Submitted on May 3rd, 2008 by KansasGirlYou go Ben, defend the English language! Somebody's got to - sheesh . . .
yes ....
Submitted on May 2nd, 2008 by John 2000I did get your point, and it was well made. There is very little really new under the sun.
But from here, barricaded in my mantuary with only my Hughes Net and hand-crank generator and assorted electronics to connect to the real world, well, it is, quite frankly, difficult to not wander afield in my thoughts. My only neighbor some miles off seems to be interested in a bromance, but so far it is only textual. I suspect he is only really interested in the electronics, where I am certainly superior.
Please advise.
Worked up
Submitted on May 2nd, 2008 by BenWell, John, you make a very good point about language here. My point is slightly different but dovetails nicely: We're coining dumb new words for very old things because we've forgotten what those old things meant and why they were important. CNN has this long story about why it's a good thing for men to have their own space, as if the idea is novel much less controversial.
A couple of years ago, James Twitchell wrote a fascinating book on this subject -- with lots of grear photos by Ken Ross -- called "Where Men Hide." It's thesis is somewhat obvious, too -- again, men need their own space for their own mental and spiritual well-being, not simply because they want to exclude women from the fun -- but Twitchell has a knack for making stuff interesting. I recommend it.
well Ben -
Submitted on May 2nd, 2008 by John 2000It is difficult for me to get worked up about this one, so I won't. Yes, I agree it is a good time for some lighter relaxing fare in this interesting period between now and Tuesday (aka Super Tuesday III). So thanks for that, my friend. What may come out of all of that Super, Super, Super razzle-dazzle is that the NFL might be feeling some pressure to rename its iconic 'The Superbowl' to someting like 'The WayMegaBowl'.
Anyway, I don't know if you like Colbert or not, but he likes to explore words some in his show. I like the show but only watch it occasionally.
On one good show, he was exploring Wikipedia and some various aspects of that relatively new phenomenon. At the same time he was toying with a new concept-word which he was defining as 'truthiness'. But, being the rather quirky personality that he is, he required that this great new word, deserving as it obviously was, needed to be placed into his hard text desk dictionary. So, he flipped to the location where the word 'truthiness' would fit, and found that the word 'try' would have to go. So, with scissors and some paste, he now had an updated version of of his dictionary. Of course he warned children not to do this, especially in school.
I think his point was wonderfully made and obliquely goes right along with the essense of your potential concerns. It has indeed become increasing easy to add, modify, undermine, and delete words, facts, ideas, and meanings in a very technically facilitated 'loosely governed' modern era. This is arguably dangerous. Perhaps, your intent was not to push the question that far, but, in any case, it is where it led me.
So, I guess it turns out that my opening stance and attitude turned out to be non-binding.
thx
Sooo....
Submitted on May 2nd, 2008 by Joel...no interest in hanging out in my "guyfuge?"
Navel gazing?
Submitted on May 2nd, 2008 by AnonymousI hear this term thrown around a lot. However, with the obesity rates rising, I really prefer not to navel gaze.
I'm just saying.