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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
This might be wrong, but

I like that Gwen Stefani song, "Harajuku Girls".*

Also, I don't understand why people were calling Britney the new Madonna, when Gwen has obviously been the new Madonna for a while now. Not that I have strong feelings about any of the three of them. I'm just saying - people need to give proper credit.

*Not the real video, but that is the song.

My Latest Very Strong Opinion

Men should carry purses.

Seriously. I'm not trying to be funny.

I don't care if they have to call them something other than purses. I know "man bags" didn't work. Call them messenger bags, then. Or just bags. Or whatever. Shit - call them purses. What's wrong with it?

But men should carry purses. It's time. Here is what y'all need a purse for:
1. your phone
2. your wallet
3. your keys
4. your PSP
5. snacks
6. a comb
7. a pen
8. everything else you're always asking me to carry in my purse for you


Stop saying it's gay. It's not gay. How the hell can carrying things in a bag make you a homosexual? That doesn't even make sense. Guys in the army have backpacks. Do you want a backpack? No fanny packs - right. I get that. But, dude, come on. The warriors on the video games carry bags.

If you disagree, give me your reasons for being a man and not wanting to carry a bag. And don't say it's because it'll make you gay.

I swear, I wish that every time a straight man admonished another man for being "gay," someone would slap that straight man across the face and tell him to quit being such a stupid bitch.

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10:35 PM #

Comments:

 I call them "man sacks," and am very pleased that the guy I've got carries one when necessary. Because I got over being a pack mule a long damn time ago.


# posted by Blogger jen fu : 11:06 PM  

 They're called "murses," and every man in Korea carries one.


# posted by Blogger Brit : 12:43 AM  

 They're really common in London too. I was actually noticing that the other day - there were more of the messenger bag style than any other kind, but most guys I saw had a bag of some kind.


# posted by Blogger Alice : 5:31 AM  

 actually, army guys have a thousand pockets in their uniform for all their stuff. they only use their backpacks when travelling.


# posted by Blogger armywife : 6:32 AM  

 My husband just got one -- he calls it his man purse (although I have to say I really like "man sack") and those things (with the exception of the comb, maybe) that Gwen mentioned are exactly what he carries in it. He likes to think of it as a tiny briefcase.

It's awesome, and I think much cooler than having fifteen different things strapped to his belt or stuffed in his pockets. I certainly don't want to carry a purse big enough to hold all his junk AND mine.


# posted by Blogger jam : 9:12 AM  

 Men in almost any pedestrian oriented city, including in the US, carry bags. There's no other way to function. I always had one in DC and Boston.

In Houston, instead of a bag, I have my car. It serves the same basic purpose - a place to leave crap while I go about the day's business.


# posted by Blogger John Whiteside : 10:13 AM  

 You gotta have one, dude. I just gave up trying to call it anything other than my purse. Wallet, gum, phone, sunglasses, water bottle, faux-iPod, and a book, among other things.

Very necessary!


# posted by Blogger Stupid Haiku Dude : 8:47 AM  

 Hey, Jack Bauer carried a murse through this entire season of 24. Granted, he had cool, manly things in it like guns and lock picks and explosives. My husband and I laughed at everything he pulled out of that murse - it was like a Mary Poppins bag!


# posted by Blogger Redhead Infidel : 9:37 AM  

 My husband has been using one for years. It keeps me sane. He now has a place for all those things you mentioned and I don't have to carry it or more importantly, I don't have to look for it.

Everytime he asks me where something is, I just want to scream.

As Roseanne says, "Why do they think my uterus is a tracking device?"


# posted by Blogger Texas Jaye : 10:57 AM  

 Backpacks, satchels, briefcases (soft sided or hard): men have carried these for years and will continue to do so. Calling any of these a purse is an error in connotation and denotation. English can be quite specific in noun connotation, which is a strength of the language.

Other items easily go in pockets, which men traditionally had in their clothing while women did not (although, times change).

I find it interesting that I am frequently called upon to carry my wife's purse when she has no free hands or to carry her wallet (and accouterments) in my pockets when she does not want to carry a purse (either for convenience or safety reasons). For me, the situation is quite reversed and it doesn't really bother me. Although, I wonder if a designer will ever make a blouse with pockets or feminine pants with multiple pockets. Perhaps they will be called "firts" and "fants".


# posted by Blogger R.T. Lemur : 4:44 PM  

 Ok. How come everyone is about the murse(this reminded me of a Seinfeld episode, or more recently, Friends) and no one has mentioned what a great song Harajuku Girls is?

Gwen, you get extra points if when you listen to it while driving, you try to mimic the lyrics in japanese by doing the face the little girls did in japanese cartoons when we were little.

I have the Gwen Stefani CD (I also have Britney's Hits CD) and I love listening to it, I call it my girly trashy silly girly therapy music.

C'mon, we both know there's nothing better than getting your funk on while driving and listening to 'Toxic' in the car, right?


# posted by Blogger LC : 12:49 PM  

 Every guy has a "man sack", it came attached at birth. You give it up if you carry a murse. A backpack or briefcase is really the only acceptable "bag" for a man to carry. A murse or satchel is too metrosexual for the average guy. Anything but a case or pack and you will have to relinquish your man card.


# posted by Blogger OutontheFarm : 12:43 PM  

 Jen Fu: Ha!

Brit: Are you in Korea? Let me go check your blog...

Alice: See? That's all I'm saying. A messenger bag style. There you go.

Armywife: Oh, forget I said that, then. Men love pockets. I should have known.

Jam: Good for him. Yes - the Belt of Many Tech Things is so, SO ugly. Good job.


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 10:01 PM  

 John: Maybe it's because Houston isn't pedestrian. Could there be a link between homophobia and lack of public transportation, I wonder?

Stupid Haiku Dude: I applaud you.

Redhead Infidel: Good point. You're making me wonder if MacGyver had a purse.

TX Jaye: Ha! I know. Why do they think we know? Or care?

RT Lemur: You said "Calling any of these a purse is an error in connotation and denotation." I know! That's what I'm saying! And I want men to carry everyday purses, not sometime briefcases and backpacks. Dude, I can't speak to your wife's habits. Sometimes I go purseless and get Tad to carry my ID and lipgloss in his pocket. But then I feel sorry for him, because bulky pockets are ugly and uncomfortable. That's why women don't use them.

LC: Hell yes. Hell to the freaking yes. You know I *only* listen to that stuff in my car, and you know I *always* say, "Oh, at the Supah Lovah store!" right along with. And, yes, Toxic is the song God made Britney give us.

Outonthefarm:
1. We know what a man sack is - that's why they're calling them that, because it sounds like you're talking about balls. Dude.

2. Can you follow directions? You're supposed to give a non-homophobic reason. Switching "gay" for "metrosexual" doesn't make you not homophobic.

3. Hello - if you had a purse, you could carry your man card in it, along with everything else. DUH.


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 10:09 PM  

 Oh HELL YEAH.

Toxic is the reason Britney can go and fuck up her life publicly and I won't mind. Why?

Because 'With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride...'

Freaking making me horny like hell song. Not something to listen to during celibate times.

I'm just sayin....

I also do the 'Arigato!' when listening to the Harajuku girls song. And could I please mention (and I promise, hopefully this will be the last of me commenting on it) how freaking AWESOME 'bubble, pop, electric' is?

I sing along the whole intro to that song....'Hold your pretty horses, alright toots? You just pick a place, just pick a place'

My gosh, the romance!

Perhaps you should work on an entry of girly-trashy songs. but God knows then I would just ramble till no end in the comments section.


# posted by Blogger LC : 2:08 AM  

 Perhaps YOU should work on an entry about trashy girly songs, LC.

I will never hate Britney for effing up her life with Kevin, because she's just a sad little girl. But I give the credit for Toxic to Cathy Dennis, who wrote it and who used to be a very minor pop star, herself, back in the day.

Here's the video for the Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired "What Are You Waiting For":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107KYx4VocU&search=gwen%20stefani


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 10:07 PM  

 Oh, and I agree with you that Bubble, Pop, Electric is insanely catchy.


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 2:51 PM  

 i love this idea. im 16 years old and my family constantly teases me about carring a bag everywhere i go. i finally got them to stop by not carring it one day and saying "where is my ______? oh yeah couldnt fit that in my pockets!" it finally got to them and now they shut up because it helps me keep up with my things.


# posted by Blogger matt : 3:19 PM  

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