The Art of Manliness

I live with 3 males (4 if you count the English Bulldog). Of the humans, one is old. 2 are much younger. There is an imbalance of testosterone in my home.  You know you aren't in Kansas anymore when Pagani and Bugatti are not designer shoes; when the only thing on TV is the Golf Channel, Top Gear and ESPN; when every sock emerging from the dryer is a black Nike footie; when over half of all household cookbooks are about grilling; when the big green egg in the backyard takes up 40% of the patio space; when all things pink are prohibited. Welcome to my world.

I am used to this.  I grew up in a gender imbalanced home with 2 older brothers.  I could pitch a tent, a lawn dart and a fastball. Under pain of death I knew what a Phillips Head screwdriver was. I mowed the lawn.  I built cardboard forts in the basement. I rode dirt bikes and played football with boys. I wore my brothers hand-me-downs. (Yes I did). I have lived in a man's world all my life, in more ways than I can recount. Though I am not a man, nor ever wished to be one, I find the subject of manliness fascinating. Why are we women attracted to men?  Just what is it about them draws us??

Naturally, when I encountered this website Art of Manliness my curiosity was piqued.  It explains a lot of stuff.  It's an understatement to say that most of this is simply not taught anymore, but should be. It is a testament to a bygone era when men were known for things like...chivalry, for instance.  Ladies...if you want manly men (and I think we all do) then this is everything you want your men to know and then some.  In fact, it's so manly, I swear it's written by a woman :-)))   Don't get me wrong.  I'm not slamming my family members or just picking on men here, but I do think we, as a society have lost touch with what it means to be a gentleman (OR A GENTLEWOMAN for that matter!)  We have become less civilized, more abbreviated, and more or less, less than what our beautiful gender could ultimately blossom into if we gave it half a try.  And Ladies, we are not off the hook.  We have a role to play.  We simply must desire and demand more of our guys.  We want them in heaven with us, right? Besides, if we don't clue them into these nuggets of wisdom, who will? Charlie Sheen? Tiger Woods? Men's Health Magazine? Stop staring at me like that.

Oh, and after doing a little research, I found out that the authors are a lovely husband and wife team.  That's sweet. I like the site so much, I've added it on the sidebar to My Little Linkdom. Now you can get there easy like I do.  Here's a beautiful slice of the Art of Manliness for you:

HOW TO APOLOGIZE LIKE A MAN
by Brett and Kate McKay
“I’m sorry.” Two simple words and yet two of the hardest to say. We easily utter them in response to trivial matters like accidentally jostling a stranger on the subway or giving the cashier the wrong change. Yet in important matters and to those who mean the most to us, we can find ourselves practically choking on the words. But the inability to apologize can critically wound all of our relationships, from home to work. Learning how to properly apologize is a necessary step in moving from boy to man.  read more here: http://artofmanliness.com/2009/08/23/how-to-apologize-like-a-man/


So whether you are impeccably gentlemanly or rather roguish, I believe this site will help you trim your rough edges.  Or, maybe it will just help you trim your moustache.