I really enjoy learning about etiquette in general - teatime etiquette specifically - this may seem like a complete waste of time to some people, but not to me.
The "Teatime etiquette" page is what I have been working on as of late, so please click on the tab above under "Teatime Party Tips" to read all about what I have written so far. I hope you will find it, not only informative, but that it will encourage you to learn more about this valuable subject, and maybe you will even venture to learn about the many other social graces, and apply what you have learned as well.
I don't know if any of you remember a TV show that was first aired about 8 years ago, it was kind of a mini series, called: "An American Princess". I think the producers of the show tried to make it a modern version of "My Fair Lady", which is why I was glued to the television set for weeks. Twelve or so, female American slobs were taken from all over America and shipped off to New York, and then nine remaining ladies crossed the Pond to England, the land of afternoon tea and royal manners, where they were taught how to act like a lady, and competed to see which sow's ears would make the cut, and be transformed into a silk purse. The contestant I wanted to win, the timid soft spoken woman from Oklahoma, who charmed Sir Richard Branson, didn't win, oh well. I often wonder where she is now.
I am amazed that those souls who berated this show, found it very offensive, because the contestants had put themselves through the torture of learning the social graces. For some reason, most people have an aversion, or an allergic reaction to the idea of perfection. Perhaps they feel since it is practically unobtainable, then why even bother? Well, please allow me to tell you why the pursuit of perfection is a worth while effort. When you aim at a standard of perfection, but miss the mark, then you are exceedingly better off than if you had aimed at mediocrity and obtained it.
These souls who loath excellence seem to think that the raunchy "Roseanne Barr" type of - mmm .... lady - is tres chic. Why do so many people resist bettering themselves? Why do they balk and act horrified when they are the fortunate recipient of constructive criticism? They act as if a sailor or construction worker has used profanity on them. Why are these poor souls convinced that the violent, aggressive, brash, and in your face attitude, depicted by women on their favorite t.v. shows, displays genuine womanly self-confidence?
That perception simply isn't true, that's not even true in the animal kingdom. No - the kind of so-called "self-confident" female behavior as seen on most sitcoms and films is indicative of a mating dance or a cornered animal fighting for its life. Many people don't realize the power a steady diet of propaganda has upon a populace - has history taught them nothing? Even though most of us understand that the garbage Hollyweird shovels out to the public is "make believe", what most don't understand, is that the overt and subtle perverted messages Hollyweird preaches, still affects and influences us more than we know or would care to admit.
Truly, Hollyweird is mostly to blame for this sad display of animalistic unfeminine conduct. The entertainment industry is a propaganda monster, that excretes out moral filth faster than a fruit bat's g.i. tract excretes guano. At least the fruit bat's guano is a good fertilizer, but as for Hollyweird's filth, what is it good for? Making money? As these sayings go: "The love of money is the root of all evil", and "garbage in, garbage out", so goes Hollyweird. Yet amazingly, there were some rare jewels, that despite the crud that covered and surrounded them, shined forth from the muck and mire. Who were in and of themselves, goodly examples of womanly grace and beauty, both on stage and off. One such jewel was the lovely Audrey Hepburn. Ah yes, Audrey Hepburn.
The "Teatime etiquette" page is what I have been working on as of late, so please click on the tab above under "Teatime Party Tips" to read all about what I have written so far. I hope you will find it, not only informative, but that it will encourage you to learn more about this valuable subject, and maybe you will even venture to learn about the many other social graces, and apply what you have learned as well.
I don't know if any of you remember a TV show that was first aired about 8 years ago, it was kind of a mini series, called: "An American Princess". I think the producers of the show tried to make it a modern version of "My Fair Lady", which is why I was glued to the television set for weeks. Twelve or so, female American slobs were taken from all over America and shipped off to New York, and then nine remaining ladies crossed the Pond to England, the land of afternoon tea and royal manners, where they were taught how to act like a lady, and competed to see which sow's ears would make the cut, and be transformed into a silk purse. The contestant I wanted to win, the timid soft spoken woman from Oklahoma, who charmed Sir Richard Branson, didn't win, oh well. I often wonder where she is now.
I am amazed that those souls who berated this show, found it very offensive, because the contestants had put themselves through the torture of learning the social graces. For some reason, most people have an aversion, or an allergic reaction to the idea of perfection. Perhaps they feel since it is practically unobtainable, then why even bother? Well, please allow me to tell you why the pursuit of perfection is a worth while effort. When you aim at a standard of perfection, but miss the mark, then you are exceedingly better off than if you had aimed at mediocrity and obtained it.
These souls who loath excellence seem to think that the raunchy "Roseanne Barr" type of - mmm .... lady - is tres chic. Why do so many people resist bettering themselves? Why do they balk and act horrified when they are the fortunate recipient of constructive criticism? They act as if a sailor or construction worker has used profanity on them. Why are these poor souls convinced that the violent, aggressive, brash, and in your face attitude, depicted by women on their favorite t.v. shows, displays genuine womanly self-confidence?
That perception simply isn't true, that's not even true in the animal kingdom. No - the kind of so-called "self-confident" female behavior as seen on most sitcoms and films is indicative of a mating dance or a cornered animal fighting for its life. Many people don't realize the power a steady diet of propaganda has upon a populace - has history taught them nothing? Even though most of us understand that the garbage Hollyweird shovels out to the public is "make believe", what most don't understand, is that the overt and subtle perverted messages Hollyweird preaches, still affects and influences us more than we know or would care to admit.
Truly, Hollyweird is mostly to blame for this sad display of animalistic unfeminine conduct. The entertainment industry is a propaganda monster, that excretes out moral filth faster than a fruit bat's g.i. tract excretes guano. At least the fruit bat's guano is a good fertilizer, but as for Hollyweird's filth, what is it good for? Making money? As these sayings go: "The love of money is the root of all evil", and "garbage in, garbage out", so goes Hollyweird. Yet amazingly, there were some rare jewels, that despite the crud that covered and surrounded them, shined forth from the muck and mire. Who were in and of themselves, goodly examples of womanly grace and beauty, both on stage and off. One such jewel was the lovely Audrey Hepburn. Ah yes, Audrey Hepburn.
Even in Audrey Hepburn's role as Eliza Doolittle -the flower selling street waif with ear offending English, she out shined and out classed the likes of Roseanne Barr's jaded ear grating prattle and buffoonery she displayed on the show bearing her name 'Roseanne'. Leave it to Hollyweird to portray a sophisticated yet neurotic socialite/ high- priced prostitute, like Holly |
Golightly[what's with the imperative last names?], as a more feminine and likable character than a Midwestern housewife - oh, I mean: "Domestic Goddess" . This is what Hollyweird does best, make a person and the life they live, which are not acceptable in polite society, like a prostitute, seem intelligent and appealing. While portraying a person and the life they live, which should be acceptable to society, like a housewife, to be a slovenly, loud mouthed ignoramus.
tion of womanhood, which this wretched creature, naturally personifies so well.
When a woman is really confident of herself, she is attentive, placid, soft spoken, gracious, mannerly, and dressed modestly - yet beautifully. Trust me ladies, a man will choose the "Audrey Hepburn" types hands down, over the "Roseanne Barr" types, everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. When a woman would rather act like Roseanne Barr, than Audrey Hepburn, then there is something wrong, and I mean seriously wrong, with her. Are the "Audrey Hepburn" types of this world perfect? They will be the first ones to tell you, "No". But they sure do seem to be perfect, because they are comfortable in their own skin, and know who they are, and even though they strive for perfection themselves, they don't berate others who fall short of it. Their beauty radiates from within, and that only makes them all the more alluring.
It shouldn't matter where you come from, or how much money you have, or the amount of education you have acquired in order to act like a lady - all though these things do help. All that is really needed to display good manners is to have a basic love for yourself, not to the point of narcissism, but enough to genuinely like and respect yourself. If you don't genuinely like or respect yourself, then how can you genuinely like, respect or love others? You can't. I assure you, you can take a sow out of the mud, but you can't remove the love of mud out of a sow. What I mean is: there are many beautiful, rich and well educated women out in this world who are uncouth, and raunchy. However, there are many not so pretty, poor and lesser educated women who are as gracious as the queen.
So, as a member of the fairer sex, I wish to encourage every women, everywhere, to reject Hollywood's twisted feminine propaganda, and to behave and carry yourself with dignity, not snootiness. Be gracious, kind, and soft spoken. Not malicious, mean spirited, and a loud mouthed fool. Don't be afraid to strive for perfection, it is a wonderful thing to aim toward. Because even though you will miss it, you will end up a lot better off, than if you were aiming for mediocrity and obtained it. Proper behavior should and must be taught, learned, and practiced; we are not born with good manners. The social graces, such as manners are what afford us with dignity, and respect, not only of ourselves, but also for our fellow human beings.
Sure, learning the social graces may come more easily to some as opposed to others; that only means they are the ones who will have to work harder at it, and remember that any worth while pursuit will be a challenge. Yes, I do enjoy learning about proper etiquette, but I think it is high time for me, for us, to put it into practice, don't you?
When a woman is really confident of herself, she is attentive, placid, soft spoken, gracious, mannerly, and dressed modestly - yet beautifully. Trust me ladies, a man will choose the "Audrey Hepburn" types hands down, over the "Roseanne Barr" types, everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. When a woman would rather act like Roseanne Barr, than Audrey Hepburn, then there is something wrong, and I mean seriously wrong, with her. Are the "Audrey Hepburn" types of this world perfect? They will be the first ones to tell you, "No". But they sure do seem to be perfect, because they are comfortable in their own skin, and know who they are, and even though they strive for perfection themselves, they don't berate others who fall short of it. Their beauty radiates from within, and that only makes them all the more alluring.
It shouldn't matter where you come from, or how much money you have, or the amount of education you have acquired in order to act like a lady - all though these things do help. All that is really needed to display good manners is to have a basic love for yourself, not to the point of narcissism, but enough to genuinely like and respect yourself. If you don't genuinely like or respect yourself, then how can you genuinely like, respect or love others? You can't. I assure you, you can take a sow out of the mud, but you can't remove the love of mud out of a sow. What I mean is: there are many beautiful, rich and well educated women out in this world who are uncouth, and raunchy. However, there are many not so pretty, poor and lesser educated women who are as gracious as the queen.
So, as a member of the fairer sex, I wish to encourage every women, everywhere, to reject Hollywood's twisted feminine propaganda, and to behave and carry yourself with dignity, not snootiness. Be gracious, kind, and soft spoken. Not malicious, mean spirited, and a loud mouthed fool. Don't be afraid to strive for perfection, it is a wonderful thing to aim toward. Because even though you will miss it, you will end up a lot better off, than if you were aiming for mediocrity and obtained it. Proper behavior should and must be taught, learned, and practiced; we are not born with good manners. The social graces, such as manners are what afford us with dignity, and respect, not only of ourselves, but also for our fellow human beings.
Sure, learning the social graces may come more easily to some as opposed to others; that only means they are the ones who will have to work harder at it, and remember that any worth while pursuit will be a challenge. Yes, I do enjoy learning about proper etiquette, but I think it is high time for me, for us, to put it into practice, don't you?