Is the globe growing or shrinking?

"The reasons for these changes are immensely complex, but I would suggest that three are central: challenges to the gender order by women, the logic of the gendered accumulation process in industrial capitalism, and the power relations of empire" R.W. Connell

I am at that point where everything becomes extra-extrodinarily unclear. Its like putting vaseline on a window (who does that?) or taking off your glasses to find the world a-blurr. But! I am a strong believer that you are only doing research right if you get more confused as you go along-you should have more questions and probably not so many answers, because we are complex beings and no one can capture our stories whole. The last few days I have done a lot of browsing, reading, and thinking and general sitting-around-like activities. I went the American Embassy to get more passport pages-which they simply used clear box tape to attach it to my passport. I am worried America won't let me back in on the account almost all of my documents look a bit shabby at this point. Also, Luka, my roomate taught me how to say "United" in Croatian and it is gosh-darn difficult.

I am interested in the problem of dissimination of information. The one thousands outlets for news and media and information and culture to travel instantly around the globe. I can sit on my bed and get plugged in, persay, to most places. It is a matter of owning a computer, internet access, and an interest. At least I can listen to their music, read about the jobs there, look at satellite images of the places that would cost a fortune to visit. In the book I am currently reading about masculinity they speak of a the American/Europen colonilzation of gender norms across the globe-meaning OUR gender norms becoming present everywhere else. In that sense, there is some sort of gender hegemony. But due the increasingly multi-faceted demensions of success due to dramatically changing industries there is a fission, and no longer is masculinity defined by one sole idea of success but rather a whole multitude of things and ideas. This is mostly jargon (because, as I hope you all know and recgonize-blogging, for me, is more a place to sketch out ideas and stories, nothing here is finshed or polished, are ready to be carved into stones...) but it leaves with the question of if you look at the margins and work your way in or if you search for the core, the "norm". With this mass culutre how are we to define standards or cultures based on national bounderies? (Although, due to history, founding myths, etc I am sure it is still meaningful). I suppose what I am gettting at, is that in the modern world there simply seem to be more options in creating a culturally successful person. Subcultures are less subcultures because their you-tube videos might have just as many views as prime time television.

just thinking.

Tonight I am going to go see Black Swan. Hope its great.