March 18, 2008
Books I Read While Falling Apart
New Total: 142
Eat, Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert
I was prepared to hate this book, having heard so many 20-something girls gush over its deep insight into love and loss and recovery. In fact, it sat on my bookshelf untouched for months before I slipped it into my carry-on on the way to Key West. Dear reader, I devoured it--seeing myself as that put-upon character, and sobbed my way through the India third (while sitting on the beach, no less), and had it wrapped up by the time I got back on the flight home two days later--feeling like the solution to my problems would be to stay in an Ashram for four months and then pick up a Brazilian lover in Indonesia. If it worked for her, I thought I had a fighting chance.
Self Storage: A Novel
by Gayle Brandeis
This book was the result of National Novel Writing Month, which I have tried to participate in (but never gotten past the second week of a horrid chick-lit autobiography). The author, in a nutshell "manages to weave Walt Whitman, 9/11, and secondhand goods into a provocative story about the nature of one's self and the intrinsically human need to find meaning in life." Although there were parts of me that totally identified with the ambivalent "going through the motions" main character, I thought that the book overall was just okay. Good for a beach read (assuming you like burqa'ed Afgani refugee stories), but not something that took me out of myself--which was what I was looking for.
The Testament of Gideon Mack
by James Robertson
I finished this "cleverly framed autobiography of a Scottish minister who confronts the devil" at 2 a.m. last night. Now here was a book that took me out of myself...and I loved every page of courtship, adultery, faith and faithlessness, near death experiences, and talks with Satan. It's a shame that more people didn't read this book, since I am dying to find out what other readers thought.
February 05, 2008
Books I Read While Avoiding You
New Total: 139
The Keep
by Jennifer Egan
My Thoughts: Amazon.com calls this book "deliciously creepy" and I can't think of a better term. I was hooked from the beginning, wondering "who is this narrator?" and "am I going to be able to sleep tonight?". While it turned out not to be a nail biter in the classic Stephen King sense, it was strewn with atmosphere in a way that made my room positively quiver when I put the book down. Lovely, lovely.
Rebecca's Tale
by Sally Beauman
My Thoughts: Here's the gist: "April 1951. It has been twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, and twenty years since Manderley, the de Winter family's estate, was destroyed by fire. But Rebecca's tale is just beginning." I loved Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier) and wasn't sure if I would enjoy a retelling of the cult classic--but I did! Reading this not-quite-detective-story was like a hot bath, a guilty pleasure that's nothing to be ashamed of. It made me want to go back and revisit the original to compare notes. I wish we had done both books in tandem for book club--there was much to discuss.
Saving the World
by Julia Alvarez
My Thoughts: I've read several of Julia Alvarez's books before and thought they were "eh". More like something we would be assigned to read in high school, rather than something I would pick up on my own. This was no exception. I liked the *idea* of a twin story about women seeking to link their personal identities with something larger than themselves, but in too many places it felt strained and contrived.
Jesusland: A Memoir
by Julia Scheeres
My Thoughts: For a memoir about being a sexually abused teenager in a strict evangelical family in Indiana (plus the added drama of having a black adopted brother), I thought Jesusland was incredibly funny, albeit in a dark and depressing way. I wish there had been more at the end about how her parents dealt with the book (her siblings are apparently supportive)--I was left with an unfinished feeling.
January 19, 2008
A Tale of Three Movies
I will go for months at a time without stepping foot into a movie theater. And since I don't own a television I rarely get to watch movies on the small screen. But then…everyone once in a while (usually when I start dating someone new) there will be a flurry of movie-going activity.
This time it has been less "dating new guys" and more "escaping from the black hole that is the BIg Idea" – but no less delightful. And so in the past two weeks I have seen three movies, which could not have been more different from each other.
Juno – my sister convinced me to try going to a movie alone ("it's so great—so relaxing, see whatever you want, sit wherever you want, etc.) and so one evening last week when I was at the end of my proverbial Big Idea rope I trotted over to the fancy art house theater across the street. Plunking down my $9.75 for a ticket, I also enjoyed the absurd luxury of a Diet Coke and Junior Mints, snuggled into the plush box seating area, and prepared myself. Many people had recommended Juno, and the movie did not disappoint. I laughed, I cried, I reveled in the dry, witty humor and the not-too-easy ending. I wish I had an extra set of arms so that I could give this movie four thumbs up.
No Country for Old Men – Mr. Pilot and I had been waiting for weeks to see this movie, which made an absurd number of "top 10 movies of 2007" critics' lists. I had read some Cormac McCarthy in the past (namely, All the Pretty Horses) and had not been particularly impressed. On the other hand, I love me some Javier Bardem. As the movie progressed, I realized that it suffered from the same issues (not flaws, since I think they were intentional) that made me dislike Dances with Wolves and Brokeback Mountain and the novels of T.C. Boyle (I'm thinking specifically The Tortilla Curtain). First, the plot moves at a
G
L
A
C
I
A
L
pace. It's not that lots of stuff doesn't happen, it's just that in between the action sequences there is an obscene amount of "man stares over the open plain" going on. And then, at the end there is less resolution than just…an ending. This definitely smacks of Cormac McCarthy, and if I had been reading the book instead of watching the movie I would have definitely thrown it across the room. It wasn't A Terrible Movie, just a disappointment.
Cloverfield – This was another movie that Mr. Pilot and I had been dying to see for months. We were all set to go to opening night when it turned out that he was going to be flying a plane to Charleston that day. We faced a conundrum—wait 4 days until he got back or see it separately. In the end, the desire to see it without preconceptions or knowledge of any secret twists won out, and we opted to see it individually and then reconvene over instant messenger later that evening. What to say about this movie? I thought it was GREAT for a monster movie, accurately portrayed how people would act in a similar situation, and made the Marines look great. (I'm not sure I believe that an entire battalion of Marines could be dispatched to mid-town in three hours, complete with everything needed to fight an alien monster, but I'd like to put that doubt aside.) There were moments that were a little too "Blair Witch Project" for my taste, and I did end up taking a brief hiatus in the middle to vomit up my dinner (oh the shaky camera work!)—but overall I thought it did its job well. And it was blessedly only 90 minutes long—any more and it would have gone downhill fast.
December 25, 2007
Books I Read When the Weather Turned Cold
New Total: 135
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
by Anne Fadiman
My Thoughts: Mr. Amazing surprised me with this charming book of essays on our second date, and even read a few chapters aloud to me. While the relationship fizzled, the book remains my favorite part of the time we spent together. I loved being with a man who loved books like I do, someone who could rattle off a list of books I would like based on a single suggestion. By the time I finished the last essay Mr. Amazing was gone, but having this tiny green book on my nightstand made me hopeful that another amazing man might be around the corner.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino
My Thoughts: Ms. ADA and Mr. Amazing had both suggested this book, which I had never heard of until they mentioned it within a week of each other. After reading it almost straight through, I can't decide if it's a brilliant work of staggering genius or a fancy sleight-of-hand with no literary merit beyond the author's technical prowess. This would have been an excellent book club selection because of the twists and turns--since regardless of my final love-it-or-hate-it decision, it was chock full of interesting discussion points.
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
My Thoughts: I had never picked up this book before Matthew Baldwin chose it as the book for November's National Novel Reading Month (NaNoReMo). Mr. Pilot said it had been hugely influential in his life, although several other people had said it was mind numbingly difficult to get through. After a month of reading according to a syllabus (which was maybe the most challenging part--not skipping ahead), I have to agree with both viewpoints. I can see how the endless repetition would frustrate a less patient reader, but I also saw how that repetition was intentional and intensely important to the point of the book. Although I have no desire to read the sequel, I feel like I am a better read, more insightful person for having gotten to the last page. And there could not have been a better book to read along with a group--and so a special (if belated) thanks to Matthew Baldwin for pushing ahead when the middle chapters got rough.
November 21, 2007
Why Life Is Better In 3D
Tonight I saw Beowulf with Mr. Pilot. We've been on a bit of a movie kick lately, seeing 30 Days of Night (note to self: trip to vampire-infested Alaska is coming next week!), American Gangster, and now Beowulf.
I had read the poem before. Twice, in fact--one translation in high school and the new (and much better) translation a couple of years ago. Hell, I'd even read Grendel. So I was pretty familiar with the storyline, which was good because some of the accents...if you can call imaginary-with-a-hint-of-Scandinavian brogue an accent...were a bit tough at the beginning. There were great action sequences, a ridiculous amount of almost-male-nudity, and of course Angelina Jolie's gold-painted breasts. What's not to like?
But what I really want to talk about here is the fact that we saw the movie in 3D. Mr. Pilot in his infinite wisdom had assured me that 3D movies were the wave of the future and that "James Cameron has said he will never make another film in 2D!!" Take that, Titanic.
I was a bit skeptical and grew even more so during the previews, which featured a very unfortunate 3D rendering of Brendan Fraser dashing about like a madcap fool. Avoid it at all costs, I tell you. And frankly, the other 3D previews weren't that great either. So it was with some reluctance that I settled back in the chair as the opening credits rolled.
Dear reader, it was so fun! Yes, there were parts of it that were a bit overdone and a few clichéd moments that reminded me of Jaws 3 (in a bad, bad way). But overall it was SO worth it. And I can even admit to myself that with a little more experience and finesse, I can indeed see 3D as the wave of the future.
Obviously, the main downside is that seeing such a movie takes this...
...and turns it into this:
Actually, I kind of rock the geek look.
Posted by madchen at 01:17 AM | Comments (0)October 25, 2007
Books I Read During an Indian Summer
New Total: 132
The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay
by Michael Chabon
My Thoughts: It took me two full months to read this book. And while I certainly understand why it won the Pulitzer prize, much like the Booker Prize winner from a couple years ago "The Line of Beauty", I *appreciated* this book more than I enjoyed it. Frankly, I grew weary of the overall plot arch, and couldn't stay with all of the sub-plots. I should have known when I picked up the book in the store and saw that it was about comics. No matter how much you dress it up, in the end it was still a book about comics.
First Among Sequels: A Thursday Next Novel
by Jasper Fforde
My Thoughts: I have often mentioned my love for the Thursday Next series, and this one was no exception. It certainly wasn't the best (after five books, the quirky alternate universe is losing some of its flavor), but highly entertaining nonetheless. At some point I will get all of these books in paper format (I've only listened to them on audiobook), since I think I might be missing some of the wordplay...
Eye Contact
by Cammi McGovern
My Thoughts: This book was everything that A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime *could* have been. I devoured it in a single sitting and kept thinking about it days later. There were perhaps a few too many characters, and the second half could have been a bit tighter (there were a series of denouements reminiscent of the final Lord of the Rings movie), but overall this was one of my favorite late-summer reads.
Those Who Save Us
by Jenna Blum
My Thoughts: Another WWII book about Jews and Germans, but with a twist--involving rather graphic Nazi sex. In many places, I thought this book was an incredibly compelling look at what people do to survive (and a good story line too), but the flashing back and forth between generations felt too contrived. Whatever its flaws, though, there is no doubt that this would make a GREAT book club selection.
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
My Thoughts: This was a book club selection that we ended up abandoning because of time constraints. I read it anyway, and thought that it was an interesting insight into the "liberal peace corps-esque man fights terrorism" mentality. I am leery of biographies that tend to make their subjects towering heros, and by the end I felt some of exasperation that led some of Mortenson's colleagues to distance themselves from his projects. The best analogy I can make is that he's the Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) of the Kyber Pass. One of these days he's going to be killed while pursuing his passion, and while everyone will lament his passing, there will also be a sneaking suspicion that he was asking for it (just a little bit).
August 01, 2007
Books I Read In Between Frantic Attempts To Be Productive
New Total: 128
Best American Travel Writing 2006
Edited by Tim Cahill
Publishers Weekly: Declares Cahill (Jaguars Ripped My Flesh) in his introduction to the seventh edition of Houghton's annual collection, "Story is the essence of the travel essay." So perhaps it's no surprise to see several contributions from writers with literary reputations. Gary Shteyngart revisits his native St. Petersburg for the holidays; George Saunders takes a surreal journey through Dubai; and Alain de Botton explains why he loves "boring and bourgeois" Zurich so much. But more traditional travel writers make their presence felt as well. Outside columnist Mark Jenkins hikes across the steppes from Afghanistan into China; in another article from that magazine, Michael Behar finds himself getting shot at by natives in the rain forests of West Papua. Airplanes come in for a lot of ribbing: P.J. O'Rourke jokes his way through a sneak peek at the jumbo-sized Airbus A380, while David Sedaris bears the resentment of his seatmate on a crowded flight after refusing to switch places with her husband. In a charming touch, the anthology begins and ends with stories about food: Chitrita Banerji's reflections about a Calcutta wedding feast are book-ended by Calvin Trillin's marvelous New Yorker piece about spending a week in Ecuador indulging his love for "thick and hearty" fanesca soup, a perfect mix of exotic locale and elegant prose.
My Review: This book was a birthday gift from Ms. Wish to See and I brought it with me to Key West back in June. There is something about reading travel writing while on vacation (especially on a sun-soaked beach on the longest day of the year) that makes the prose extra good--not that this book needed it. The stories were hysterically funny, touchingly poignant, full of derring-do, and overall an excellent way to spend a day on the beach (even if I did forget to reapply the sunblock).
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by JK Rowling
Amazon: The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.
My Review: I scarfed down this book in a single reading (10 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday) and laughed and cried and thoroughly enjoyed myself. But as time goes on, I think I am becoming less impressed with the finale. It was a bit like "Harry Potter on Ecstasy"--there was just too much going on. I mean, did we really need Horcruxes AND Deathly Hallows? Did *every single* character in the preceding 13,000 pages need to show up for the final battle scene? Did she have to go the extra mile and make sure that we knew that Harry and Ginny get married? Don't get me wrong, I still loved it--but felt like a little more editing could have been useful...there was enough for books 9, 10, and 11 here.
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Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China
by Rachel DeWoskin
Publishers Weekly: DeWoskin moved to Beijing in 1989, shortly after the military squashed the democracy movement in Tiananmen Square, but just as China's younger population began embracing Western ideologies and commodities. This entertaining romp through her five-plus years in Beijing details her life as a PR consultant—and as the star of the wildly popular Chinese nighttime television drama Foreign Babes in Beijing. After getting the gig on a lark, DeWoskin became known, sometimes even in her real life, as the character Jiexi, an American who falls in love with a married Chinese man, in the 20-episode drama, which aired to an estimated 600 million viewers. Her memoir weaves humorous tales of Sino-U.S. culture clashes both on and off the set with astute observations of the two cultures, as well as a significant amount of Chinese history. Though she admits frequently to being homesick for New York, DeWoskin feels for the loss of more traditional Chinese culture: "Consumerism became a religion; companies arrived like missionaries... seducing the average Zhou Schmoe with products he had never known he needed." The book offers a generous helping of Chinese words (along with their English translations and insights into the young people's "Chinglish"), as well as Lost in Translation–esque glimmers of the differences between the Chinese and American acting worlds.
My Review: I was loaned this book by Ms. Secret Blog, and I secretly resisted reading it for two months. For some reason, the overall premise (an American woman starring in a Beijing soap opera writes her memoirs) just rubbed me the wrong way--and the title made it sound like the worst kind of chit lit. Well, Ms. Secret Blog, I admit that you were right and I was wrong--the book *was* good. I loved the insight into US-China relations and the reality that people tend to be the most patriotic when in another country. It reminded me of my week in Shanghai last year, my three summers in Japan, and the feeling of being out of place in a foreign country, and yet at home at the same time.
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Suite Francaise
by Irene Nemirovsky
Publishers Weekly: Celebrated in pre-WWII France for her bestselling fiction, the Jewish Russian-born Némirovsky was shipped to Auschwitz in the summer of 1942, months after this long-lost masterwork was composed. Némirovsky, a convert to Catholicism, began a planned five-novel cycle as Nazi forces overran northern France in 1940. This gripping "suite," collecting the first two unpolished but wondrously literary sections of a work cut short, have surfaced more than six decades after her death. The first, "Storm in June," chronicles the connecting lives of a disparate clutch of Parisians, among them a snobbish author, a venal banker, a noble priest shepherding churlish orphans, a foppish aesthete and a loving lower-class couple, all fleeing city comforts for the chaotic countryside, mere hours ahead of the advancing Germans. The second, "Dolce," set in 1941 in a farming village under German occupation, tells how peasant farmers, their pretty daughters and petit bourgeois collaborationists coexisted with their Nazi rulers. In a workbook entry penned just weeks before her arrest, Némirovsky noted that her goal was to describe "daily life, the emotional life and especially the comedy it provides." This heroic work does just that, by focusing—with compassion and clarity—on individual human dramas.
My Review: Holy crap, this was a powerful book. I stayed up late finishing it last night after being unable to complete it in time for my book club meeting. It wasn't that I didn't *want* to finish it, but it was often impossible to read more than a couple of pages before physically having to set it down because I was crying, or sick with fury, or perplexed as to how I would have reacted in such a situation. My favorite line: Important events--whether serious, happy or unfortunate--do not change a man's soul, they merely bring it into relief, just as a strong gust of wind reveals the true shape of a tree when it blows off all its leaves. This is a book that I will go back to on cozy winter evenings, and will serve as a reminder about the REAL hardships of life.
Posted by madchen at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)July 15, 2007
Books I Read in June
New Total: 124
Absurdistan: A Novel
by Gary Shteyngart
Publishers Weekly: *Starred Review* Misha Vainberg, the rich, arrogant and very funny hero of Shteyngart's follow-up to The Russian Debutante's Handbook, compares himself early on to Prince Myshkin from Dostoyevski's The Idiot: "Like the prince, I am something of a holy fool... an innocent surrounded by schemers." Readers will more likely note his striking resemblance to John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius Reilly. A "sophisticate and a melancholic," Misha is an obese 30-year-old Russian heir to a post-Soviet fortune. After living in the Midwest and New York City for 12 years, he considers himself "an American impounded in a Russian body." But his father in St. Petersburg has killed an Oklahoma businessman and then turned up dead himself, and Misha, trying to leave Petersburg after the funeral, is denied a visa to the United States. The novel is written as his appeal, "a love letter and also a plea," to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to allow him to return to the States, which lovingly and hilariously follows Misha's attempt to secure a bogus Belgian passport in the tiny post-Soviet country of Absurdistan. Along the way, Shteyngart's graphic, slapstick satire portrays the American dream as experienced by hungry newborn democracies, and covers everything from crony capitalism to multiculturalism...Extending allegorical tentacles back to the Cold War and forward to the War on Terror, Shteyngart piles on plots, characters and flashbacks without losing any of the novel's madcap momentum, and the novel builds to a frantic pitch before coming to a breathless halt on the day before 9/11. The result is a sendup of American values abroad and a complex, sympathetic protagonist worthy of comparison to America's enduring literary heroes.
My Review: This book is weird. There were parts that made me laugh out loud, and parts that made me feel like I should be analyzing the overly obvious satire with my 9th grade english class. Frankly, I'm not quite clear why it deserved a *starred review*, but then I've never been a fan of the slapstick satire genre.
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Special Topics in Calamity Physics
by Marisha Pessl
Booklist: After 10 years of traveling with her father, a perennial (and pedantic) visiting lecturer at various, obscure institutions of higher learning, Blue Van Meer finally settles in as a senior at the St. Gallway School in Stockton, North Carolina. There she is bemused to find herself part of a charmed circle of popular kids called the Bluebloods and the protege of the mysterious film-studies teacher, Hannah Schneider. When a friend of Hannah's dies at a party the kids have crashed, this extravagantly arch and self-conscious coming-of-age novel turns into a murder mystery that--although never as Hitchcockian as its publisher claims--is, nevertheless, almost compelling enough to warrant its excessive length. Intriguingly structured as a syllabus for a Great Works of Literature class, Pessl's first novel is filled with references to invented books--and to some real ones, too, including several by Nabokov. Overkill? You bet. But, as a result, the novel is generating a great deal of buzz that will excite the curiosity of readers who enjoy postmodern excesses and indulgences of this sort.
My Review: I adored this book. No, that's not strong enough...I throw myself down and proclaim this to be one of the best books I've read in the last 5 years. And if you look over all the books I've read in the last 5 years, that's saying a LOT. I loved the clever ramblings--even when they were a bit too clever and rambling (as all college freshmen are), and thoroughly enjoyed the murder mystery wrapped in a secret society, wrapped in a high school clique enigma. It was hip, it was totally different than anything I've read recently, and I finally get the joy of "postmodern excess". More of it, I say.
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Rosseau's Dog
by David Edmonds and John Eidinow
Publishers Weekly: In 1766, Scottish philosopher David Hume helped the radical Swiss intellectual Jean-Jacques Rousseau find asylum in England; a few months later, the volatile philosopher accused his benefactor of masterminding a murky conspiracy against him and triggered a virulent response. The argument had nothing to do with philosophy (or Rousseau's dog), but, as in their well-received Wittgenstein's Poker, the authors use the dispute as a pretext for an engaging rundown of the two thinkers' great ideas—with a big swig of human interest to wash down the philosophical morsels. Their (sometimes excessively) detailed, meandering account of the feud points to something larger: the contrast between the affable, urbane rationalist Hume and the moody, paranoid, emotionally overwrought Rousseau prefigures, they believe, the shift from the Enlightenment cult of reason to the Romantic cult of feeling. The authors widen their vivid portraits of the antagonists into a panorama of the cross-Channel intellectual community that refereed the squabble, taking in the ancien régime salons and their brilliant hostesses and the London and Paris streets where visiting philosophers were mobbed like rock stars. The result is an absorbing cultural history of the republic of letters in its exuberant youth.
My Review: This book is exactly what I like about a well-written nonfiction book. It got me caught up in the drama and the intrigue, while still providing me with an "I am superior than you because look! a! nonfiction! book!" cover. Very entertaining, and dare I say it, educational too.
Note: In the last month I had also re-read and re-listened to Harry Potter #4-6, and the Thursday Next Series #1-4, in preparation for their latest sequels--both due out in the next few weeks. So really, I should get WAY more credit for squeezing in non-repeats, don't you think?
Note #2: You know when Amazon.com does really freaky things, almost like it's watching you? I put "Absurdistan" into the Amazon.com search function and it spit out the proper link. But immediately below it is Special Topics in Calamity Physics, the VERY BOOK THAT I READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER ABSURDISTAN! The books were bought at completely different times, and there is no rhyme to why I chose these particular two for June. Also of note, my July book club book also appears on the Absurdistan list, but much further down. Clearly, Amazon is spying on me.
Posted by madchen at 11:52 PM | Comments (2)May 16, 2007
Books I Read In Transition
New Total: 121
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel
by Haruki Murakami
Publishers Weekly: Haruki Murakami is a master of subtly disturbing prose. Mundane events throb with menace, while the bizarre is accepted without comment. Meaning always seems to be just out of reach, for the reader as well as for the characters, yet one is drawn inexorably into a mystery that may have no solution. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is an extended meditation on themes that appear throughout Murakami's earlier work. The tropes of popular culture, movies, music, detective stories, combine to create a work that explores both the surface and the hidden depths of Japanese society at the end of the 20th century.
My Review: I am SO sad to be missing this month's book club meeting (I'll be in NYC), because this book was chock full of things to talk about. I love the Japanese take on magical realism, I love how things are left unexplained, and I love how the ending is just as it should be. I've now read two of Murakami's work, and I look forward to reading the others.
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Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
Los Angeles Times: Kurlansky continues to prove himself remarkably adept at taking a most unlikely candidate and telling its tale with epic grandeur.
My Review: Epic grandeur, huh? Reading this book made me feel like a cultured person, someone who might pick up The Economist and make it through a whole article without stopping to stare into space (or slump over for a quick nap). The facts were certainly interesting, and presented with aplomb...and yet, it wasn't quite like I was eager to pick up the book each night for another go-round.
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The Secret Lives of People in Love
by Simon Van Booy
Publishers Weekly: A breadth of experience and setting distinguishes this somber first collection of 18 very short stories by New York-based Van Booy...Van Booy's characters are shipwrecked by fate and memory but tarry on, like the narrator of "Distant Ships," a lifelong Royal Mail loader who stopped speaking after the death of his son 20 years earlier, or the homeless man chased by ghosts in "The Shepherd on the Rock," who aims to "live out the last of my life" at John F. Kennedy International Airport. These tales have at once the solemnity of myth and the offhandedness of happenstance.
My Review: I bought this book the night that Mr. Pilot and I broke up, and so my reading of these stories was colored by my own inner turmoil. That said, I loved the stories. They made me ache, and I marked the book with little post-it notes for all the sentences of profound truth that jumped out at me from the page.
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The Art of the Start
by Guy Kawasaki
Publishers Weekly: Kawasaki (Rules for Revolutionaries) draws upon his dual background as an evangelist for Apple's Macintosh computer and as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist in this how-to for launching any type of business project. Each chapter begins with "GIST" ("great ideas for starting things"), covering a variety of facets to consider, from identifying your customer base and writing a business plan to establishing partnerships and building brand identity. Minichapters zero in on particular jobs that will need doing, while FAQ sections address the questions readers are most likely to have: Kawasaki covers the basics in an effectively casual tone. Much of the advice, however, consists of generic banalities—start your company's name with a letter that comes early in the alphabet, use big type in presentation slides for older businessmen with declining eyesight, and avoid writing e-mails in all capital letters—that can be found in any mediocre guide. Fortunately, Kawasaki does rise to the occasion here and there. He goes into great detail when it comes to raising capital and offers effective methods for sorting through the nonsense associated with interviewing prospective employees.
My Review: I'm continuing to plow through a list of books that are supposed to help me make the Big Idea a success. This was one of them. It wasn't brilliant, it wasn't terrible. I got some good ideas, but since I'm now past the "start" of the Big Idea, mostly I just congratulated myself where I had succeeded and realized where I went wrong in the early stages of the project.
Posted by madchen at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)April 19, 2007
Spare Me
I went to Virginia Tech for graduate school, and I have several close friends that still live in Blacksburg and go to school/teach at VT. I was horrified to see the news of the shootings this week, and my heart goes out to everyone involved.
That said, I am disgusted by the way the media is handling this whole tragedy--CNN in particular. Within hours, CNN anchors were putting kids on the air, asking them to speak about their experiences. These kids fell into two categories:
Group #1: I could hear the shooting, and we were scared, and we didn't know what was going on. Right now, we're just in shock--how could something like this happen?
Group #2: I was somewhere else on campus when I got the news that there was a shooting. I was confused and didn't know what was going on. Right now, we're just in shock--how could something like this happen?
First of all, that's not news and it adds nothing to the story. Coverage like that is just CNN's way of pretending to have breaking news every second of the day...similiar to its crawl bar that often says things like Breaking News: Jury Still Out on XXXX Case.
But then, as if realizing that they weren't producing anything dramatic enough, multiple times I saw the anchors ask the students things like:
"I know you are on television and trying to be professional and calm, but what does it really feel like? Give us a sense of your emotional state of mind." As in, please break down into wracking sobs so the viewers at home can feel like they are getting the best coverage of this breaking news story.
And then, when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I saw Wolf Blitzer (an annoying little man at the best of times) try to compare the shooting with the situation in Palestine. Way to rachet up the drama-factor.
Wolf: So, you are Palestinian, and you're familiar with a situation where lives are at risk every day. Can you tell us [guy who shot the crappy cell phone video that really just shows police walking around with guns, with some shooting in the background], how do the two situations compare?
Guy: Um...well, nothing like this has ever happened back home.
I almost had to drive down to Atlanta and do something drastic. Instead I turned off the television and let Washingtonpost.com update me throughout the day.
Today, I was still irritated, but I thought perhaps we were moving past the hyped-up, major ratings, instant "Tragedy in Blacksburg" logo, spiel. But no--the idiot shooter decided to send photos and video of himself to the media. And they played right into his hands by blasting in nonstop on the television, radio, and internet. What on earth do they hope to accomplish, other than ratings? Do we better understand the tragedy? Do we feel comforted to know he was such a freak? Do we feel safer?
I hope that everyone who watches the video, everyone who searches it out on YouTube, everyone who goes back to replay it, I hope you all feel dirty. As for me, I haven't seen any of the video, and I've only seen the pictures that were unavoidable on the home page of CNN and the Washington Post. It's icky, and I would rather go about my day focusing on other things. When my mind does goes back to my friends at Virginia Tech and the inevitable "what would I have done in a similar situation" questions, I'm happy to know that I have chosen not to delve into the mind of the killer.
Posted by madchen at 12:11 PM | Comments (1)March 21, 2007
Books I Read In My Spare Time
New Total: 117
Travels with a Tangerine
by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
Publishers Weekly: The author, a British Arabist who has lived in Yemen for the past 17 years, traces the footsteps of an extraordinary, but relatively unknown, medieval explorer. Ibn Battutah (1304-1368) grew up in Tangier within an educated family. At the age of 21, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca and spent the next 30 years traveling throughout the Middle and Far East. When Mackintosh-Smith happened on a translated version of Battutah's travels, he was hooked and decided to make the same journey. This volume covers only the first part of Battutah's path, from Tangier to Constantinople, but has enough excitement, exotic details and information to satisfy the most exacting armchair traveler.
My Review: This book took me more than 2 months to read--not because it wasn't "good" but rather because it had no plot. The author has an engaging way of telling a story, but ultimately I just didn't see why I should care about this strange man from Tangier. And I was irritiated that it took me 50 pages to figure out that there would be no fruit involved.
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The Book of Hard Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at Work and Keep Your Self-Respect
by James A. Autry and Peter Roy
Book Description: “There are a thousand acts of duplicity and dishonesty every day, some large and some small, some of which undoubtedly take place in your workplace. The question for all of us is, ‘Are we going to resist or just play along the path of least resistance?’ The first hard choice a person of integrity must make is to choose to live, both personally and professionally, in a way that embodies integrity. The power of this book comes from the real-life, in-the-workplace experiences that these executives have been so generously willing to share. None had easy choices, but that’s the point: Integrity is not about easy choices, it’s about the courage to make the right choices.”
My Review: I read this book in a single sitting, and thought it captured exactly the types of decisions that we're forced to make everyday--from the junior employee all the way to CEO. It made me think a lot about my past workplace Alamos, when I decided to throw it all on the line for what I thought was "right". And it made me realize just how few people I have worked for that really took the hard choice when it came right down to it.
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Creating the Accountable Organization: A Practical Guide to Improve Performace Execution
by Mark Samuel
An Amazon Review: Samuel's thesis is that an accountable organization is one in which "people at all levels of [it] can be counted on to keep their commitments and agreements." That is to say, an accountable organization is a human community in which each member demonstrates a high level of personal accountability. Samuel wrote this book for leaders and change agents at any level within any organization "who are ready to move to the next level of excellence and success."
My Review:Eh, this book seemed like it would be more suited to an inspirational speaker's schtick tthan a full length book. I walked away feeling like the ideas were good in theory, but what we really need is to fire the bottom 1/3 of every organization and encourage them to move out of our communities since they are draining us of productivity.
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Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business
by Jamie Nast
From the Book Jacket: "This is a book that everyone should read. It's an interactive, thought-provoking book about the brain and learning that will expand your mind. Nast, an accomplished and well-respected instructor, has guided me into a new realm of learning experiences and possibilities. I'm sure you will feel the same upon reading her insightful work."
My Review: This book was written in the most annoying conversational tone I have ever encountered. Approximately half of the sentences ended in exclamation points! Because the material was so revolutionary!! So exciting!!! Can't you just tell how amazing this tool will be?!?! Eh--I'm a linear thinker, and always will be.
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The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova
Booklist: Readers who think the legend of Dracula has become a trite staple of schlock fiction will find this atmospheric page-turner by first-time author Kostova a bloodthirsty delight. A teenage American girl, living in1972 Amsterdam, comes across an ancient book in the library of her widower father, a former historian and now a diplomat. The book, blank save for an illustration of a dragon and the word Drakulya, contains a cache of faded letters all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate reader." Thus begins a search for the truth behind the myth of Dracula, a search that crosses continents as well as generations. Told through narratives, flashbacks, and letters, the plot unfolds at a rapid pace but never gives away too many clues at once. The cast of colorful characters even includes a creepy librarian who takes on the Renfield role of crazed vampire groupie. Both literary and scary, this one is guaranteed to keep one reading into the wee hours--preferably sitting in a brightly lit room and wearing a garlic necklace. Highly recommended for all collections and just in time to enthrall the summer-vacation crowd.
My Review: This was a book club selection, and I adored every scary minute of it. I read most of it after midnights when the Big Idea was done, and it hit just the right amount of creepy and "not-too-creepy" to allow me to sleep soundly and wake enthusiastic for more.
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Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
An Amazon Review: If Satan took up literature, he'd write like Nabokov...As I grow old and older, I ask myself all too often why I bother? Haven't I eaten enough toast? Haven't I bent over to tie enough shoes? Then I come across an author like Vladimir Nabokov and a book like *Lolita,* an author and a book that, although Ive read thousands and thousands of books in my time, I somehow never read before. Maybe it was his name, or fame, or the fact that a movie was made of his most famous novel. There are books that you feel you've already read, even though you havent, just because they are so famous, or infamous. This is one of those books. But if you havent read it and think you know what its all about, youre wrong, utterly and 100% wrong, and youre missing one of the great joys of a reader's life: the prose of Vladimir Nabokov.
My Review: This Amazon reviewer hits the nail on the head. Our book club realized that we all knew the story of Lolita, but none of us had read it. The story turned my stomach even as I was delighted by the way Nabokov puts together thoughts. I thought the most telling part was the afterward where he notes that the book is a love story of the English language. On the other hand, I'm happy to never have to read it again...pedophelia is even more gross coming from a 1st person perspective.
Posted by madchen at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)February 06, 2007
Books I Read During January
New Total: 111
The Go Point: When It's Time to Decide--Knowing What to Do and When to Do It
by Michael Useem
Amazon: “The Go Point is a tour de force of a tour through battlefields and boardrooms, illuminating the differences between brilliant and tragic decisions. Michael Useem is a wise, witty, and understanding guide whose insights can dramatically improve leadership and decision-making skills. Go for it!” —Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, bestselling author of Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin and End
My Review:I got this book during a Barnes and Noble spree designed to help me figure out the next steps for the Big Idea. It was interesting, but didn't really tell me anything particularly new and reality-bending. As much as the author touts the genius of using examples to learn basic decision-making principles, I could have done with less examination of wildfire fighting. Personally, I think Useem had a childhood dream of being a firefighter and used this book as an example to go play with the big boys.
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Grow Fast Grow Right: 12 Strategies to Achieve Break-Through Business Growth
by Andrew J Sherman
Book Description: The first book in this series, Grow Fast, Grow Right, provides business owners and executives the complex methods they need for smart and efficient growth. Focusing on Human Capital, Financial Capital, and Intellectual Capital, the three major pillars that form the foundation for effective business growth, this resource teaches businesses to break through current growth ceilings and overcome challenges by using their 12 Grow Fast Grow Right Value Drivers.
My Review: Meh. I thought this book was going to change the Big Idea forever. It took me a week to read the first chapter, since I wanted to commit every nugget of information to memory. Then I got to Chapter Two and realized that the vast majority of this information was designed for start-ups looking to be the next Amazon.com. Not exactly relevant to a simple girl trying to figure out if she should hire full-time employees or stay with a freelance model.
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The Feast of Love: A Novel
by Charles Baxter
Publishers Weekly: Baxter (First Light, Harmony of the World, Believers) has for too long been a writer's writer whose books have enjoyed more admirers than sales. Pantheon appears confident that his new novel can be his breakout work. It certainly deserves to be. In a buoyant, eloquent and touching narrative, Baxter breaks rules blithely as he goes along, and the reader's only possible response is to realize how absurd rules can be. Baxter begins, for example, as himself, the author, waking in the middle of the night and going out onto the predawn streets of Ann Arbor (where Baxter in fact lives). Meeting a neighbor, Bradley Smith, with his dog, also called Bradley, he is told the first of the spellbinding stories of love--erotic, wistful, anxious, settled, ecstatic and perverse--that make up the book, woven seamlessly together so they form a virtuosic ensemble performance.
My Review: This was a book club selection from several years ago--one that I missed for a reason that now escapes me. Ms. Wish to See lent it to me several months ago and I just now got around to reading it. I did enjoy it, although I wouldn't necessarily call it "a virtuosic ensemble performance". But it was quick, and a nice break from business tomes.
Posted by madchen at 08:11 AM | Comments (1)January 31, 2007
Orson's Shadow at the Roundhouse Theatre
Tonight I went with two girlfriends to opening night of Orson's Shadow at the Roundhouse Theatre. It was pay-what-you-can night, and we each plunked down $10 and were rewarded with seats in the front row of the balcony.
Let me begin by noting that there are no bad seats at the Roundhouse. It's so small and intimate that even in the balcony (which has only two rows) you can see every gesture, hear every sigh, and yes, roll your eyes at every bad English accent.
The play itself is a strange premise, and here's how Roundhouse pitches it:
Round House Theatre is proud to present the DC-area premiere of Orson's Shadow, one of this year's biggest Off-Broadway hits. Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright come to life in this clever comedy that reimagines the backstage drama that accompanied a 1960 production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros. A fictional account of real events, Orson's Shadow uses humor and irony to reveal the fragility and vulnerability of these larger-than-life celebrities whose tangled romance and fleeting fame lead to a hilarious and powerful clash of the titans. Pendleton's dark backstage comedy has been called the greatest exploration of the artistic soul in a generation.
I'll admit, it's probably especially hard to carry off a play where the actors are portraying real, famous people who happen to be actors, in a situation where they are dramatizing the real-life production of a play. Tricky indeed. And I'm sorry to report that the cast was unable to rise to the occasion.
It's not that the play was terrible--or that the actors were terrible. I will reveal, however, that I did consider sneaking out after the awkward opening scene between emphysema-stricken theatre critic Ken Tynan (played by an over-the-top-fake-coughing Will Gartshore) and swaggering Orson Welles (played in caricature-format by Wilbur Edwin Henry) transitioned to a bizarre soliloquy that mocks theatre-type exposition--all while providing fifty years of biographical history on Orson Welles. It was intended to be ironic, I suppose, but it did not prove a good start to the evening.
There were moments when I thought my intiial impressions were mistaken...particularly when Vivian Leigh (played by Kathryn Kelley) appeared on the scene. Ms. Kelley managed to capture the mannerisms, accent, and overall fragility of Leigh in a way that made me marvel at her talents. Unfortunately, even her manic-depressive grace could not carry the second half. Seeing her struggle to convince the audience that Leigh was in the midst of a manic breakdown was only slightly less painful than watching the actors try to convince us they cared about the meltdown occuring before their eyes.
At one point in the play, Tynan reflects that perhaps he writes such scathing reviews because he believes that great actors should produce great work, and when they fall short it behooves him to call them on their flat performances. Hearing that coming from the stage tonight makes it easier to write my own scathing review.
The twisted irony here is that this disappointing play is all about actors trying to recover from the impact of poor reviews, about trying to sustain their self-worth despite harsh critique, about trying to convince themselves that their performances were misjudged, their skills slighted, their futures ruined--not by themselves, but by critics. I wonder how the cast feels tonight...
My verdict: it is a crime that those front-row balcony seats that we enjoyed tonight for $10 will be going for $45 a pop starting tomorrow night, and running every night for the next four weeks. For that amount, I would expect to see "the greatest exploration of the artistic soul in a generation". Or at least consistent British accents.
Posted by madchen at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)January 26, 2007
You Had Me at Cockfight
In my early morning (9 a.m.) rush to avoid work, I have been perusing the movie reviews from the Washington Post. One immediately caught my eye:
Checking in on the entertainment spectrum somewhere between a cockfight and a really fine tractor pull, "Smokin' Aces" offers scabrous, bloody and bloody-minded fun for reptiles and reptile wannabes.
Well, well, here is a movie that clearly asks for more attention from such a refined eye as Ms. Write Again Soon!
Seek in its confines neither wisdom nor insight, beauty nor refinement, grace nor poetry, but rather enjoy a movie that most resembles a guided tour of the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, where the year's new-model toys are introduced. Although the stars include Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck and Ryan Reynolds, the truly commanding performance is handed in by a mean-as-sin Barrett .50 semiautomatic sniper rifle.
My, my, my. (In case it's not clear, this is actually a flattering review, as reviewer Stephen Hunter seems to appreciate that sometimes a movie that's just fun (in a cockfight sort of way) deserves a "critics pick". My interest has definitely been whetted, an much more so than the terrible review of Catch-and-Release, starring my "secret celebrity wife if I was a lesbian" Jennifer Garner. I wonder if she feels bad that her husband's movie, released on the same weekend, is getting such better reviews.
Perhaps I spend some time on the internet research such information. For the good of all mankind, of course.
Posted by madchen at 09:22 AM | Comments (1)January 18, 2007
Books I Read In Between Work and Boys
New total: 108
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barak Obama
Publishers Weekly: Ilinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama (Dreams from My Father) castigates divisive partisanship (especially the Republican brand) and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's prochoice, but respectful of prolifers; supportive of religion, but not of imposing it. The policy result is a tepid Clintonism, featuring tax credits for the poor, a host of small-bore programs to address everything from worker retraining to teen pregnancy, and a health-care program that resembles Clinton's Hillary-care proposals. On Iraq, he floats a phased but open-ended troop withdrawal. His triangulated positions can seem conflicted: he supports free trade, while deploring its effects on American workers (he opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement), in the end hoping halfheartedly that more support for education, science and renewable energy will see the economy through the dilemmas of globalization. Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring proposals bear the stamp of those compromises.
My Review: A curse on Publishers Weekly, because this is the most well-written, soundly thought-out book by a politician that I've ever read. While there were certain points that needed a stronger stand, I walked away respecting the man behind the Senator. Mr. Bad Apologies was supposed to read it too, but I don't know that he ever finished it.
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A Changed Man
by Francine Prose
Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. Prose (Blue Angel; The Lives of the Muses) tests assumptions about class, hatred and the possibility of change in her latest novel, a good-natured satire of liberal pieties, the radical right and the fund-raising world. The "changed man" of the title is Vincent Nolan, a 32-year-old tattooed ex-skinhead who appears one morning in the New York offices of World Brotherhood Watch, a foundation headed by Meyer Maslow, a Holocaust survivor. Vincent declares that he has had a personal conversion (never mind that it was triggered by a heavy dose of Ecstasy) and wants to work with the foundation to "save guys like me from becoming guys like me." Meyer takes Vincent on faith—and convinces Bonnie Kalen, the foundation's fund-raiser, to put Vincent up in the suburban home she shares with her two sons, Max, 12, and Danny, 16. Prose tears into this unusual premise with the piercing wit that has become her trademark. Vincent becomes a media darling of sorts, and everyone wants a piece of him: the liberal donors and the television talk shows; Meyer, a figurehead so celebrated that even his close friends kiss up to him; and maybe even divorced Bonnie, who finds herself drawn to Vincent's charms. In more hostile pursuit of Vincent is his cousin Raymond, a member of the Aryan Resistance Movement, from which Vincent stole a truck, drugs and cash. In these circumstances, can a man truly change? And what is change—not only for Vincent but for the other principals as well? Prose doesn't shy away from exposing the vanities and banalities behind the drive to do good. Fortunately, her characters are sturdy enough to bear the weight of the baggage she piles on them. Her lively skewering of a whole cross-section of society ensures that this tale hits comic high notes even as it probes serious issues.
My Review: This was our December-January book club selection, and while I enjoyed it for its amusing take on the Neo-Nazi self-involvement and the hubris of the progressive left, it's not one that blew me away. I probably won't ever pick this book up for a re-read.
Note to self: stop listening to podcasts and stop watching the Sundance Channel and finish reading the 5 books you have going on at the same time. It's getting too complicated to keep all the plots straight, and "watching 1000 movies" sin't going to get you any closer to your 50 Things to Do Before You Die.
Posted by madchen at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)December 04, 2006
Books I Read in November
New Total: 106
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
Publishers Weekly: Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."
My Review: I loved this book, which was our Novemb.er book club selection. It was heartbreaking and funny, and above-all thought-provoking. I'm still wondering at the question, "were their parents abusive"? A quick read that wasn't "easy".
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My Horizontal Life
by Chelsea Handler
Publishers Weekly: Opening with a cute story from when she was seven and photographed her parents having sex, stand-up comedian Handler goes on to discuss the virtues of the one-night stand, which amount to having sex early enough so you're not months into a relationship before you discover he's into "anal beads and duct tape." She discusses her quest for sex with a "black man," which doesn't work out because the date she finds on ChocolateSingles.com has a penis so large, she "would have had to be the size of the Lincoln Tunnel to accommodate that thing." After him, there's a "little midget," but she sobers up before sleeping with him. Next come a number of would-be partners with penises too small to consider. Finally, there's a guy Handler does sleep with, only an embarrassing incident involving a "giant skid mark" prevents her from seeing him again. By the end, Handler considers settling down with one man, which might actually net her more sex than these mostly unconsummated one-night stands. Anyone who laughs at the mere mention of vaginas and penises may find Handler's book almost as much fun as getting drunk and waking up in some stranger's bed.
My Review: This was a fun break after reading about Jews hiding from the Nazis in Berlin during WWII (see below). I was surprised to get through the book and discover that she doesn't *actually* have sex with half of the guys in the book, making me think that *I* could write a similar book with equal success. Certainly there's room in publishing for a detailed account of my Shanghai breast massage?
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The Nazi Officer's Wife
by by Edith H. Beer
Publishers Weekly: Born to a middle-class, nonobservant Jewish family, Beer was a popular teenager and successful law student when the Nazis moved into Austria. In a well-written narrative that reads like a novel, she relates the escalating fear and humiliating indignities she and others endured, as well as the anti-Semitism of friends and neighbors. Using all their resources, her family bribed officials for exit visas for her two sisters, but Edith and her mother remained, due to lack of money and Edith's desire to be near her half-Jewish boyfriend, Pepi. Eventually, Edith was deported to work in a labor camp in Germany. Anxious about her mother, she obtained permission to return to Vienna, only to learn that her mother was gone. In despair, Edith tore off her yellow star and went underground. Pepi, himself a fugitive, distanced himself from her. A Christian friend gave Edith her own identity papers, and Edith fled to Munich, where she met and--despite her confession to him that she was Jewish--married Werner Vetter, a Nazi party member. Submerging her Jewish identity at home and at work, Edith lived in constant fear, even refusing anesthetic in labor to avoid inadvertently revealing the truth about her past. She successfully maintained the facade of a loyal German hausfrau until the war ended. Her story is important both as a personal testament and as an inspiring example of perseverance in the face of terrible adversity.
My Review: This was an important book from a historical perspective, but it lacked the narrative tension that would have made it exciting to listen to on audiobook. Even though the Nazis were breathing down her neck, there is little hold-your-breath suspense. Also of note: the audiobook was read by the same woman who does my much-beloved Amelia Peabody mysteries, which was a bit jarring when occasionally I would think that we were supposed to be in 1910s Egypt on a dig.
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The Art of the Novel
by Milan Kundera
Book Description: Kundera brilliantly examines the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Musil. He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe. Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the post-psychological novel.
My Review: Blah...made me realize that--despite reading 100+books in the last two years--that I'm really not well read at all. Clearly I need to go back and spend some serious time with the classics.
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The Denial of Death
by Ernest Becker
Book Description: Winner of the Pulitzer prize in 1974 and the culmination of a life's work, The Denial of Death is Ernest Becker's brilliant and impassioned answer to the "why" of human existence. In bold contrast to the predominant Freudian school of thought, Becker tackles the problem of the vital lie -- man's refusal to acknowledge his own mortality. In doing so, he sheds new light on the nature of humanity and issues a call to life and its living that still resonates more than twenty years after its writing.
My Review: So grand, so sweeping, my head hurts. (And to be completely honest, I'm only half-way through, since I can only take it a couple of pages at a time...)
Posted by madchen at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)October 20, 2006
Books I Read in October
New Total: 101+
A Taste of the Sweet Apple
by Jo Anna Holt-Watson
From Publishers Weekly: Despite some uneven writing and wandering storytelling, this memoir is frequently touching and laugh-out-loud funny. The titular "sweet apple" refers to chewing tobacco, which a six-year-old Watson yearned for when she was a hell-raising tomboy on her father's Kentucky tobacco farm in the summer of 1942. She adored farm manager Joe Collins, who taught her how to test the soil by eating it, plant seedlings from a tobacco setter, chew tobacco and spit. He rescued her when she was stranded in a tree house and put out the fire when, in a rage, she shoved matches between her buck teeth and lit them. Watson inherited her temper from her father and grandfather, who were both prone to intermittent rages. Although Watson's parents loved her and each other, "we just never knew when things might come to a boil," and when life at home got dangerous, it was Joe Collins and Eva Belle, the cook, to whom Watson ran. The strongest aftertaste from this rhapsody about life on a Woodford County tobacco farm, with its horses, blooming crabapple tree, timeless summer and ubiquitous cigars, cigarettes and chewing tobacco, is of the heartfelt, old-fashioned loyalty of the hired help, and Watson's gratitude to them for holding things together when her family threatened to fall apart.
My Review: This was a strange sort of read--something definitely "authentic"--there was no professional ghostwriting here. It was like a book we would have been assigned in 6th grade, with enough discussion material (domestic violence, race relations, the "poor South", etc.), but not too much to get overly excited about.
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I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
From Amazon.com: Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud." Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic.
My Review: I loved this book--it felt like a mix between the E. Nesbit books and Jane Austen. I was immediately hooked by the narrator, who--as J.K. Rowling puts it, is "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met"--and was delighted to find that it defied a specific genre and managed to mix in "contemporary young adult" with "classic Bronte" with a touch of "Umberto Ecco". Quite lovely indeed.
Posted by madchen at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)September 27, 2006
Books I Read in September
New Total: 99
Snow
by Orhan Pamuk
Publishers Weekly: A Turkish poet who spent 12 years as a political exile in Germany witnesses firsthand the clash between radical Islam and Western ideals in this enigmatically beautiful novel. Ka's reasons for visiting the small Turkish town of Kars are twofold: curiosity about the rash of suicides by young girls in the town and a hope to reconnect with "the beautiful Ipek," whom he knew as a youth. But Kars is a tangle of poverty-stricken families, Kurdish separatists, political Islamists (including Ipek's spirited sister Kadife) and Ka finds himself making compromises with all in a desperate play for his own happiness. A detached tone and some dogmatic abstractions make for tough reading, but Ka's rediscovery of God and poetry in a desolate place makes the novel's sadness profound and moving.
My Review: This book was definitely more engaging than My Name is Red (which I read during my trip to Turkey last summer), but still a challenge. There were moments when I was totally caught up in the story, and others when I just wanted it to be over. I can't tell if this is a Turkish thing, or an Orhan Pamuk thing--since I had similar feelings towards his previous work.
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Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
Publishers Weekly: In this latest addition to the author's incomparable oeuvre, 15-year-old Kafka Tamura runs away from home, both to escape his father's oedipal prophecy and to find his long-lost mother and sister. As Kafka flees, so too does Nakata, an elderly simpleton whose quiet life has been upset by a gruesome murder. (A wonderfully endearing character, Nakata has never recovered from the effects of a mysterious World War II incident that left him unable to read or comprehend much, but did give him the power to speak with cats.) What follows is a kind of double odyssey, as Kafka and Nakata are drawn inexorably along their separate but somehow linked paths, groping to understand the roles fate has in store for them. Murakami likes to blur the boundary between the real and the surreal—we are treated to such oddities as fish raining from the sky; a forest-dwelling pair of Imperial Army soldiers who haven't aged since WWII; and a hilarious cameo by fried chicken king Colonel Sanders—but he also writes touchingly about love, loneliness and friendship. Occasionally, the writing drifts too far into metaphysical musings—mind-bending talk of parallel worlds, events occurring outside of time—and things swirl a bit at the end as the author tries, perhaps too hard, to make sense of things. But by this point, his readers, like his characters, will go just about anywhere Murakami wants them to, whether they "get" it or not.
My Review: I loved this book, and now am fighting every urge to go out and buy all of his other work. This is the first non-South American writer I've encountered who does magical realism in a way that works, and I was drawn into the web to the point where the Kafka on the Shore world seemed more real than the chair I was sitting in. Highly recommended to EVERYONE.
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Everything is Illuminated
by Jonathan Safran Foer
Amazon.com The simplest thing would be to describe Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer's accomplished debut, as a novel about the Holocaust. It is, but that really fails to do justice to the sheer ambition of this book. The main story is a grimly familiar one. A young Jewish American--who just happens to be called Jonathan Safran Foer--travels to the Ukraine in the hope of finding the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is aided in his search by Alex Perchov, a naïve Ukrainian translator, Alex's grandfather (also called Alex), and a flatulent mongrel dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. On their journey through Eastern Europe's obliterated landscape they unearth facts about the Nazi atrocities and the extent of Ukrainian complicity that have implications for Perchov as well as Safran Foer. This narrative is not, however, recounted from (the character) Jonathan Safran Foer's perspective. It is relayed through a series of letters that Alex sends to Foer. These are written in the kind of broken Russo-English normally reserved for Bond villains or Latka from Taxi. Interspersed between these letters are fragments of a novel by Safran Foer--a wonderfully imagined, almost magical realist, account of life in the shtetl before the Nazis destroyed it. These are in turn commented on by Alex, creating an additional metafictional angle to the tale.
My Review: Hmm, even days after finishing this audiobook (the narrators were GREAT), I don't know what to say about this novel. There were certainly parts I thought were interesting, engaging, dramatic, and even perhaps brilliant, but the overall effect was somewhat lacking. It was almost as if the author ran out of steam at the end of things and wasn't quite sure how to end. I'm not surprised, I can't imagine how it should have ended, but I was left wanting more.
Posted by madchen at 08:01 AM | Comments (1)August 16, 2006
That Time of the Month
I've been watching a lot of television lately. Between the amazing tennis on ESPN2, the long nights sans 5-year old (she and the grandparents are on holiday somewhere in West Virginia), and editing work that can be done with TV in the background, I've done a full review of the commercials on rotation. For the most part, they are the standard fare—yawn inducing, mildly irritating, overwhelmingly conducive to a life of consumerism. Nothing special.
But this one commercial has me especially irate. It begins in a very mojito-ish way. Bass thumping, hot pink leather couches, scantily-clad nubile women—you know the scene. One of these hotties leans over, pouty-lipped, and says to her friends:
"My doctor just told me about a new kind of birth control."
Holla! There is nothing I like better, dear reader, than going out with my girls and talking about family planning. The only way to make this night more fun is to have the know-it-all friend jump in with a 3-minute list of side effects. Did you know you shouldn't take this pill if you're dying of liver cancer?
There is a moment of hope when the next socialite on the couch leans in (showing plenty of cleavage) and says "you certainly know a lot about this topic". But then the smart babe replies (tresses shining and bouncing about her shoulders), "well, I didn't go to medical school for nothing!" and the entire group bursts into orgasm-like fits of laughter.
Ok, up until this point the commercial has been slightly ridiculous. I imagine the PR firm pitching the idea to the pharmaceutical company with the following breathless wonder:
These women are powerful, smart, educated, single, and looking for a good time. They could have their pick of men in this classy, swank joint—but they are happy just kickin' back with their friends and talking about their favorite contraceptives. And the potentially lethal side effects of that contraception, of course.
Fine. But let's return to the commercial, which is still in progress. The "lady doctor" (viewers can practically see the young bucks lining up for her proctology exam) casually adds:
"And the pill can help with that time of the month."
WTF? Here is a woman who has rattled off thirty different medical conditions in a single stream of consciousness (all while crossing her very shapely legs and tossing her hair from side to side). She's been to medical school and is clearly the go-to girl for her circle's uterus-related queries. And the term she chooses to use is that time of the month?
People, please. That PR firm, the pharmaceutical company, the actresses, and anyone else associated with the filming of this commercial should be dragged into the streets and shot. Or perhaps required to sit through an entire semester of 8th grade health class.
Incidentally, the medication in question is Yaz, the very naming of which should have tipped me off to the obnoxious nature of the commercial to come. And if you haven't seen the commercial, check out the website to see these babes continue the discussion of their menstrual cycles. Oops, I mean, that time of the month.
Posted by madchen at 12:01 AM | Comments (0)July 20, 2006
The White Trash Girl In Me
I was aimlessly channel searching tonight, looking for something to put on in the background that would be entertaining but not too entertaining. I've gotten in the habit of doing a couple hours of Big Idea work before going to bed--wrapping up emails, setting up meetings, researching biz development stuff. Nothing too terribly important, and perfect for a work/television combo.
Anyway, what should I find on ABC Family but Dukes of Hazzard, one of my favorite childhood shows. Unlike the crappy 2005 remake with Jessica Simpson, the original series taught us important lessons:
-- sexual tension between cousins is okay, as long as one is wearing absurdly skimpy shorts
-- refusing to pay your taxes is a legitimate way to stick it to the man, as long as the man is a portly gentleman dressed in all white
-- when a loved one is thrown in the county clink, you can always get him released by a) breaking him out in the culmination of a kooky plot or b) negotiating a deal with the aforementioned portly gentleman in exchange for bringing in more dangerous/offensive criminals
-- driving your car at high speeds into a pile of dirt will--contrary to the laws of physics--actually result in a fabulous fly-through-the-air-in-slow-motion montage
-- real men shun the use of guns in favor of a bow-and-arrow set, which they prefer to use perched out the window of their car while their sexy cousin slides over to take the wheel
The particular episode I caught had all the critical elements of a Dukes of Hazzard classic. Uncle Jesse had been wrongfully (in the eyes of "country law") imprisoned in the jail. A group of sexy women (including a very diverse African American woman sporting an afro) were running rampant in town. Bo and Luke made a deal with Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane to bring in the wild women (who like to take bucket showers in the woods) in exchange for all charges (which I didn't catch, coming into the show 20 minutes late), releasing Uncle Jesse, and giving Daisy (who, for some reason, was dressed like a saloon prostitute) the reward money associated with the girl gang's capture. Of course, during the final chase scene, Bo (who was previously captured by the women when caught watching them shower) is tied to the roll bar of their jeep and has to make a dramatic escape by jumping from the car mere seconds before it plunges over a cliff (you know all those cliffs in Hazzard County?) and explodes in a ball of flames.
Good times.
Posted by madchen at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)July 13, 2006
Stupid Mr. Bad Apologies
Mr. Bad Apologies openly mocked me tonight, saying something to the effect that opening up my blog and finding information about "all the books you read last week" wasn't exactly getting him hot and bothered. Perhaps if he opened a book once in a while he wouldn't feel so inadequate.
So rather than recite a list of the books I read last week (there are two, just so you know), I thought I would review some of my favorite TV shows. Now that cable is back, I'm more addicted than ever. Dear reader, behold the bounty that is non-network television!
In no particular order...
Psych - Last week was the series premiere, and I have to say that I'm completely enamoured. First of all, Dule Hill has turned into quite the buff young actor, and he plays a great straight man to...what's his name...James Roday. If you didn't manage to catch it, you can watch the whole episode (for free, no less) on the web.
Nip/Tuck - This is a show that I never made a point to watch on a weekly basis, but I was always delighted to find it. It's so dark and funny and sexy and trashy--it makes me want to move to Miami and wear huge sunglasses and date men much too young for me. (Again, Mr. Bad Apologies, any suggestions on how to get started?) I'd like to rent the first couple of seasons and get all caught up to date before the new season starts.
Rescue Me - I've only seen a couple episodes, but Denis Leary is SO funny that I keep meaning to make a mental note of the show's air time. I also love how they have a bunch of older women (Susan Sarandon, for example), playing romantic (or at least sexy) roles.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - This show is brand new, but it has the makings of a new Seinfeld. Depite the MUCH sharper edge, it has the same "random plot that is eventually tied up brilliantly in the last 3 minutes" scenario that made Seinfeld such a joy to watch.
The Colbert Report - Despite a truly AWFUL website, the Colbert Report has topped the Daily Show on my list of best fake news shows. I only wish Stephen would bring back the "formidable opponent" bit--that one was my favorite.
Hustle - Holy crap--I saw this for the first time tonight and I can't believe I've missed it up until now! It's probably because I don't watch AMC that often (ever, really), but that will change from now on! I love the Oceans 11 grifter stuff (the witty Matt Damon-George Clooney banter, not the pouty, forlorn Julia Roberts schtick), the fun British accents, and the random interludes of old movie clips. If I had to watch only one show from now on, this might be it.
Gee, looking over this list, it's hard to believe that I'm not sitting in front of the TV 6 hours every day. But I assure you, dear reader, that I rarely watch more than an hour (or possible two) of TV a day. Otherwise, how would I have time to read all those books of which Mr. Bad Apologies despairs?
Posted by madchen at 12:06 AM | Comments (7)September 16, 2005
Teenage Adventures
Yesterday, the Washington Post published an article entitled "Study: Half Teens Had Oral Sex". It should have been called "Things I Could Have Told You From Personal Experience".
(Note to readers, if you would prefer to live your life without knowledge of my past sexual history, I suggest you skip this entry altogether--although the article itself is a good read.)
The article opens:
Slightly more than half of American teenagers, ages 15 to 19, have engaged in oral sex, with females and males reporting similar levels of experience, according to the most comprehensive national survey of sexual behaviors ever released by the federal government. The report today by the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the figure increases to about 70 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds.
Is anyone surprised? Really, are you? And if you are suprised, is it in a horrified sort of way? The scientific authorities are all up in arms about it--and maybe I've mellowed in my pernicious judgements of late--but this statistic seems neither surprising nor terrible to me.
The article goes on to talk about girls and boys and how it now appears that they are equally active--unlike the past when boys were considered the "hunters" and girls were considered the "prey".
The data also underscore the fact that, unlike their parents' generation, many young people -- particularly those from middle- and upper-income white families -- simply do not consider oral sex a big deal."Oral sex is far less intimate than intercourse. It's a different kind of relationship," said Claire Brindis, professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco. "At 50 percent, we're talking about a major social norm. It's part of kids' lives."
Yup, that's how I remember it. (And here's where my parents want to STOP READING.) I started having oral sex when I was 16. Was I the prey, or was I the hunter? Neither, and both. I was in a committed (yet oh-so-immature) relationship with my high school boyfriend and we sort of stumbled into it together. I think he was probably helped along (from a logistics perspective) by his hand-me-down collection of 1980's porn, which was later ceremoniously passed to his younger brother. It was fantastic, and emotional, and intimate--but it didn't change my life like I thought it would. Yup, it was just a normal part of my life.
The newly released data, gathered in 2002, are sure to stir debate over abstinence-only sex education. Supporters of such programs say they have resulted in young people delaying intercourse, but opponents say they simply have led young people to substitute other risky behaviors, especially fellatio and cunnilingus. The new data tend to support the latter view, showing that nearly one in four virgin teens has engaged in oral sex.
To go back to my personal experience, duh! I was engaging in oral sex YEARS before I actually had intercourse. And it wasn't because of pregnancy issues (I was on the pill for medical, not contraceptive, reasons) but because I wasn't ready to be "having sex". Looking back, that was silly. Nowdays, it is MUCH more intimate to have oral sex than to just have intercourse. In fact, I probably had more oral sex in the 2 years before I had sex than in the decade afterwards. Hmm, that's quite sad for me.
Child Trend's analysis breaks down the federal data by age, race and ethnicity, mother's education, family structure and income. Combined, these breakdowns show that oral sex is most common among white families in the higher-income brackets.
Damn, I've been profiled.
Anyway, my real issue with this whole study is that it's asking the wrong questions (or the Washington Post is writing about the wrong results). The question is not whether teenagers are having sex, or oral sex, or whatever. It's whether they are doing it in a dangerous way. For me, I was in a committed relationship with a fellow virgin. We didn't have sex AND I was on the pill. Aside from the fear of someone walking in on us, we were pretty safe about it--both physically and emotionally. That, I think, is the big issue with teen sexual exploration.
I encourage everyone to leave comments (you can do it anonymously--the request for name, email, and website are purely optional) with your take on this issue. Am I totally off base? Note that you may not be able to post a comment with the word "sex" in it--so you can just write s*x, or something. It's irritating, but it prevents spam.
Posted by madchen at 02:50 PM | Comments (1)September 14, 2005
Supreme Court Hearings
After thinking long and hard about the John Roberts hearings (ya know, the guy nominated for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?), I have this to say:
YAWN.
That yawn is not even worthy of an exclamation point. The problem is that the Supreme Court is SO BORING. I mean, they're old, practically unimpeachable, and very, very solemn. Come to think of it, even the ABC network and Sally Fields couldn't make the Supreme Court interesting.
Which is all very sad, because the Supreme Court is so important. So very, very important. But honestly, I tried to listen to an audiocast of a Supreme Court hearing and just about fell asleep at the wheel. It's lucky we have people like Mr. Bad Apologies to get enthused about this branch of government for us.
Now this is what a confirmation hearing should be like.
I look to Mr. Fliven for confirmation of my point.
Posted by madchen at 12:06 AM | Comments (5)July 27, 2005
Pffft for Phthalates
A recent discussion on phthalates has been circulating on my class listserv. After reading a lot about the issue, I'm more than a little worried and thought I'd summarize my research.
First, what is a phthalate?
According to the Phthalates Information Center:
Although you never see them, phthalates play an important part in making everyday life more convenient, colorful, and fun. Thanks to their varying characteristics, this family of workhorse chemicals makes a wide range of consumer and industrial products work better for us.
Dozens of phthalates have been developed over the years, and some have been in use for nearly a century. The dozen or so types in general use today have some traits in common – they are clear liquids resembling common vegetable oil, have little or no smell, and do not readily evaporate. They all break down rapidly in the environment and in living organisms.
In my opinion, the first problem with the Phthalates Information Center is the general vaugeness of the information presented. Ooh, "workhorse chemicals" that make my "everyday life more convenient, colorful, and fun"--sign me up!
The real information is much more complex. According to Our Stolen Future, one of the most credible groups decrying phthalates:
Phthalates are a class of widely used industrial compounds known technically as dialkyl or alkyl aryl esters of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid. There are many phthalates with many uses, and just as many toxicological properties.
Phthalates crept into widespread use over the last several decades because of their many beneficial chemical properties. Now they are ubiquitous, not just in the products in which they are intentionally used, but also as contaminants in just about anything. About a billion pounds per year are produced worldwide.
So what's the problem?
Many, MANY people are worried about the health effects of these chemicals, believing they have a role in the following health problems:
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Endocrine Disruptors
- Sick Building Syndrome
Our Stolen Future has a great article summarizing the general health concerns associated with phthalates--information you won't find at the Phthalates Information Center. Some of the highlights include:
- An explanation of why traditional approaches to toxicology don't work with chemicals like phthalates (even though the chemicals industry pretends that they do).
- How extremely low doses of phthalates can change the male reproductive development, which is acutely sensitive to some phthalates. For example, the "phthalates dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) produced dramatic changes in male sexual characteristics when exposure took place in utero, at levels far beneath those of previous toxicological concern."
- A section on the debate between regulation and public health concerns. As the article points out:
The debate heated up further in the US when an industry PR firm that masquerades as a public health organization, the American Council on Science and Health, put together a panel to review the safety of phthalates. Headed by retired Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, the panel ultimately issued a flawed report that concluded phthalates were safe. Their report failed to consider several key recent publications and misrepresented another, citing the latter as stating that no kidney damage was caused when in fact the research did not assess kidney damage. They committed an even more basic error, moreover, by accepting the absence of data as proof of safety. Absence of data proves only ignorance. A devastating critique of this report was published by Health Care Without Harm.
Our Stolen Future has further publicized a number of important stories on phthalates, including the following:
- Our Stolen Future: Phthalate levels in children
- Our Stolen Future: Phthalate exposures in the general population higher than expected
- Our Stolen Future: Phthalate alters gene expression at low levels
- Our Stolen Future: Phthalate contamination of infants from neonatal intensive care units
(For the very latest news on the effect of on unborn children, check out last month's press release from Health Care Without Harm on the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.)
Of course, the Phthalates Information Center disputes this claim, with all the panache of an industry trade group.
The Industry Response
Not to worry, says the Phthalates Information Center:
Phthalates have established a very strong safety profile over the 50 years in which they have been in general use. There is no reliable evidence that any phthalate has ever caused a health problem for a human from its intended use.
Some advocacy groups complain that phthalates are all around us, and therefore must pose some special kind of concern. But recent government data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that human exposure levels are far below minimum safety levels set by regulatory agencies. And because phthalates have been around for so long, and are so widely used, they are also one of the most widely studied and well understood families of chemicals.
What a relief!! Oh wait, all these research studies were funded by the phthalate producers themselves (the Foundation Panel Members--the ones funding the research--include BASF Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, ExxonMobil Chemical Company**, Ferro Corporation, and Teknor Apex). Come to think of it, the Phthalates Information Center is itself a website run by the American Chemistry Council--no conflict of interest there!
The Phthalates Information Center, along with its member organizations, throws a lot of vague information out to dispute findings that phthalates may be dangerous, even publishing critiques of specific studies. But authors of the original reports have always been able to justify their findings, as shown in this latest example.
**If the fact that ExxonMobile is connected to this organization doesn't immediately make you question the validity of the Phthalates Information Center, you are too dumb to be reading this entry. I refer you instead to ExxonMobile's generous funding of the Global Climate Coalition, an industry group created solely to give the public the false idea that actual scientific dialogue was occurring around the existence of climate change.
How to Respond
The problem with phthalates is that they are EVERYWHERE. (Just check out Not Too Pretty for a list of beauty products with phthalates in them). What's more, it can be impossible to determine which untested products have them. As my friend Susan wrote:
For years I have used co-op bulk shampoos and conditioners after reading the labels because I wanted to make sure I was not putting anything harmful on my body. Then, while in humid Tennessee and Georgia recently, I got tired of having a three foot afro and decided to try Pantene Pro V conditioner for "smooth and silky hair." Turns out a few of Pantene's products were listed as having phthalates. I called the number on the back of the bottle to find out if my newly purchased product did and they said I had to get a doctor's note on letterhead specifically requesting to know if a certain ingredient is present due to concern for allergies or some other health condition before they would tell me! (because under law they are only required to list "fragrance" on the label).
It's disheartening to think that there is virtually no way to avoid phthalates (or the hundreds of other chemicals) that are invading our bodies every day. Just this week, in fact, the LA Times ran a story on the new CDC report on human exposures to chemicals. The main finding?
In the largest study of chemical exposure ever conducted on human beings, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that most American children and adults were carrying in their bodies dozens of pesticides and toxic compounds used in consumer products, many of them linked to potential health threats.
Right now, it's not clear to me what the right course of action is. I can certainly buy phthalate-free brands of personal care products, but I can't really avoid all the other phthalate-drenched products (although I could eschew the phthalate-caused "new car smell").
While the evidence against phthalates seems to be growing, I'm not sure where the leverage point is. Certainly, governments could be regulating (or preventing) phthalates from being produced. But industry could also take the lead (excuse me while I insert an ironic laugh). But what is my role? It doesn't quite seem like the kind of thing for which a letter-writing campaign would be suited.
And now, I will go be sad and depressed, and probably phthalate-ridden.
Posted by madchen at 04:00 PM | Comments (3)May 21, 2005
Disappointed To Be From Maryland
At my previous job, we often had a good-natured debate on the relative merits of Maryland and Virginia. I had always supported the Maryland side of the debate, but I might need to rethink my position.
Ehrlich Vetoes Bill Extending Rights to Gay Couples
Increase in Minimum Wage Among 24 Measures Rejected
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed a bill yesterday that would have granted rights to gay partners who register with the state, concluding after weeks of intense deliberations that the legislation threatened "the sanctity of traditional marriage."
First of all, why on earth would allowing your life partner to be in the recovery room with you after major surgery undermine the "sanctity of traditional marriage"? Can you even explain to me what "the sanctity of traditional marriage" is?
The emotionally charged bill was among 24 that Ehrlich (R) rejected yesterday afternoon, including legislation to raise the state's minimum wage by $1, allow early voting in elections and heighten oversight of the state's troubled juvenile justice system. Another measure sought by gay rights activists that would have extended a property transfer tax exemption to domestic partners was also scuttled.
The minimum wage veto is another thing I'm baffled by, as there is a well-documented correlation between poverty and divorce. Governor Ehrlich, why not protect the "traditional sanctity of marriage" by getting families closer to a living wage?
Among the Bills Vetoed by Ehrlich
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) vetoed 24 bills yesterday, in addition to others rejected earlier this spring. Here are some of the measures and what they would have done:
· Senate Bill 796: Provide domestic partners certain medical and funeral rights afforded to married couples.
· House Bill 1298: Exempt domestic partners from real estate transfer and recordation taxes.
· HB 391: Increase the minimum wage for workers in the state from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour.
· HB 443: Allow Montgomery County police to use speed-monitoring cameras.
· SB 281: Create a commission to study Southern Maryland's transportation needs.
· HB 979: Create a legislative oversight committee to monitor the Department of Juvenile Services.
· HB 1342: Transfer the state's independent juvenile justice monitor office to the office of the attorney general.
· SB 849/HB 479: Begin a study of ways to independently verify ballot results from computerized voting machines.
· SB 287: Revise procedures for challenging a voter's identity and counting provisional ballots.
· SB 444: Reconstitute the State Elections Board.
· SB 478: Allow voters to cast ballots at the polls in advance of Election Day.
Reading this partial list makes me want to move to Virginia.
Posted by madchen at 02:48 PM | Comments (3)April 27, 2005
Commentary - The Schiavo Distraction*
The controversial legal events leading up to the removal of Terry Schiavo's feeding tube has created an unprecedented interest in living wills, documents that specify the type of medical care people want to receive if they become unable to communicate their own wishes. While the importance of living wills should not be underestimated, the media frenzy over Schiavo's death obscures a larger truth: we would be more effective in protecting our collective health by turning our attention to the causes of long-term debilitating illnesses rather than unlikely end-of-life scenarios. Unfortunately, Congress and the Bush Administration are doing precisely nothing to change this focus.
According to scientists, we are far more likely to suffer long-term health problems from environmental contaminants and carcinogens than ever before. As the Collaborative on Health and the Environment notes, "Chronic diseases and disabilities have reached epidemic proportions in the United States, affecting more than 100 million men, women and children, which is more than one-third of our population. Asthma, autism, birth defects, cancers, developmental disabilities, diabetes, endometriosis, infertility, Parkinson's disease and other diseases and disabilities are causing increased suffering and concern."
These chronic and often terminal illnesses can be traced back to chemicals used by industry and manufacturing. Multiple studies have shown that lab animals and humans exposed to these toxins develop birth defects, gene mutations, nervous system damage and liver and kidney disease. Other long-term health problems include impaired immune systems, damaged motor skills, and cancer-causing shifts in hormone levels.
Take mercury for example, just one of the hundreds of deadly chemicals currently released into our local air and water supply. Working its way up the food chain, high levels of mercury exposure can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune systems of people of all ages. In particular, mercury compounds in the bloodstream of fetuses and young children can result in severe learning disabilities. The effects of mercury poisoning are not limited to a few unlucky families either. A National Research Council study commissioned by Congress estimated that each year about 60,000 children born in the United States could have neurological problems because they were exposed to mercury before birth.
Back in 2000, the EPA determined that mercury from coal-burning power plants, accounting for about 40 percent of all domestic mercury emissions, was a risk to public health. Although supported by numerous scientific studies, the government failed to act until last month, when the EPA issued a long-awaited Clear Air Mercury Rule to "permanently cap and reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants for the first time ever."
The Bush Administration hailed the new regulation as a major step forward, but in fact, the Clean Air Mercury Rule is fundamentally flawed. Not only did the EPA ignore research findings by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis that showed mercury could be controlled better and faster, but the new regulation even allows some states to increase these dangerous emissions up to ten times their current levels by 2010.
Regrettably, criticism of the new mercury regulation can be more broadly applied to the government's attitude towards all environmental contaminants. Instead of placing the burden of proof on companies, the EPA currently allows chemicals to be used until they are proven dangerous. Because of the persistent and accumulative effects of these compounds, the EPA's reactionary policy threatens public health, especially for women and children, long after identified toxins have been removed from industrial use.
One of the many groups fighting to emphasize the connection between the environment and public health, the Saratoga Foundation for Women Worldwide, is archiving a list of studies of environmental health effects on women of pesticides, herbicides and chemicals applied in various countries. The aim of the program is to propose alternative measures which may be substituted and employed to avert environmental contamination and injury to health and to educate the public about why they are getting sick.
Even with this information, however, the public is still at a disadvantage. The sad truth is that until our government begins to proactively address the danger of environmental contaminants, we are likely to see a continued increase in chronic illness and death for years to come.
Given that the government appears unwilling to address this emerging health crisis that results in long-term chronic and debilitating illnesses, perhaps the recent attention on living wills is not so misplaced. So while you wait in your lawyer's front office, consider the following question: Which should be more important to Congress and our President, prolonging the life of a single brain-dead woman, or preventing toxic pollutants from affecting thousands of Americans? Unless your brain has already been damaged by mercury pollution, the answer should be obvious.
*This is the op-ed I wrote that was politely rejected by every conceivable newspaper. I personally believe that the writing is brilliant, just that the timing was off. Damn that Pope for dying and stealing the spotlight!!
Posted by madchen at 02:53 AM | Comments (1)April 12, 2005
*My* Situation
Would you rather have him be Dictator of the World? I thought not.
[For consistency, you might want to read Kevin's entry first.]
Let us examine the following excerpt from Kevin's blog:
We all know that someone who does not subscribe to a close-minded, one-track, "this is the absolute truth - regardless of the circumstance" view is quickly labeled a flip-flopper, a wish-wash, weak, and indecisive. What a sad world we live in when people are made to feel guilty or inadequate for thinking about a topic from all angles, reserving judgment until it is well understood, and refusing to make over-arching assertions independent of context.
Can't you just hear the long drawn-out sighs and see the morose head-shaking that must have accompanied the writing of that paragraph? One can almost picture Kevin standing at the window, looking out over the Baltic sea and wondering if life is worth living. If only h