ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: October 2013

Sunday

27

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

The Devil in the White City

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

DWCity

My boss actually recommended this book to me a few months ago. I downloaded it but didn’t get around to reading it until I went on vacation this last week. It seemed right up my alley – it’s about a time period I find fascinating (urban U.S. in the late 1800s/early 1900s) and two I find interesting (urban development/architecture and, well, true crime). The book certainly delivered on the time period and the urban development side; the story about the serial killer H.H. Holmes less so.

Larsen employs some interesting writing devices to tell these intertwining stories. On one track, he follows Daniel Burnham on his quest to not just bring the World’s Fair – known afterwards as the “White City” to Chicago (planned as a celebration – blech – of Columbus ‘discovering’ the ‘New World’) but to try to create all the buildings, the expositions, and promote the fair in an effort to beat Paris’ exposition from a couple of years prior. It also follows Olmstead (of Central Park fame) in his quest to have quality landscape architecture. That story alone was fascinating, set against the “Black City” of crime and slaughterhouses of the rest of Chicago.

The other component of the story – the ‘Devil’ – follows H.H. Holmes, a man in his 20s who uses his charm and wiles to defraud creditors, build businesses, and ultimately kill many people. It’s also a very interesting tale, although the book spends far more time on the World’s Fair than on Holmes’ story, possibly because not nearly as much is known about him. It’s definitely still interesting, but it’s not exactly what I was expecting from this book.

One thing I appreciated from the book was what felt like really meticulous research. His claim that everything in quotes comes from real sources – no reconstructed conversations – is fascinating. The book is non-fiction, filed under true crime, but it certainly feel like a piece of literature because the writing is quite good and it reads rather quickly given its length. I enjoyed it, and will likely check out his other books as well.

Sunday

27

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – October 27, 2013

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Back from a week on vacation, where I got some ridiculous food poisoning. Sigh. But happy to be home! Here are some things I came across since last I posted…

– Wait, fox news got something wrong? Intentionally? Inside the Fox News lie machine: I fact-checked Sean Hannity on Obamacare (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– This is disturbing. The abortion that could cost a mom her family (h/t @FeministGriote)

– Reminder that folks in Canada can be horrible to First Nations folks. Police Attack First Nations Protesters in New Brunswick (via @shakesville)

– Great article reminding us that a) all Millennials are not White and b) most are not whiny brats Not all millennials are white and privileged! (via @Blackamazon)

– Ha ha The Daily Caller Publishes Public Service Announcement on Why Feminism Exists (h/t @ClinicEscort)

– Are you kidding me with this B.S.? Pepper Spray Cop Fired For Assaulting Protesters Wins A $38,000 Payout (via @ThinkProgress)

– Speaking of B.S….I can’t even with this treatment of the pregnant women. Case Explores Rights of Fetus Versus Mother (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– Weekly reminder that Men’s Rights Activists are full of it A Good Men’s Rights Movement Is Hard to Find (h/t @JillFilipovic)

– Really thoughtful article on why reclaiming ‘slut’ isn’t top priority for some Why I won’t call myself a “slut” (h/t @mollyknefel)

– An area I find fascinating but don’t talk about on here that much: rationing medical care The Cost of Living

– Word. Why on earth are people calling on Jay-Z to pull out of Barney’s ASAP? Oh, wait, I think I know … A Statement from Shawn “Jay Z” Carter (h/t @PrisonCulture)

Thursday

17

October 2013

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COMMENTS

What I’m Reading: October 9-17, 2013

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

New format – once a week only (and next week will be skipped because VACATION!)

And finally … this. This is bringing me joy this week.

Thursday

17

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

mad-about-boy-24jul13-01

 

I was trying to figure out how to write this review without spoiling the book (beyond the whole Mark is dead thing, which is not a spoiler, but instead the whole premise of the book). Most of what bothered me about the book involves pretty specific plot lines, but I’m going to try to get through the review by speaking at a general level. However, if you want to read the book and don’t want to know ANYTHING about the plot, maybe just stop reading at the end of this paragraph. I’ll TL:DR it for you: pretty entertaining, retreads much of the same ground from the first two books, Bridget does seem like Bridget still (but older), worth downloading in e-version or checking out of the library for a quick read.

Alright, the longer, slightly spoiler-y stuff. So Bridget is 51 in the book. For those of you who were introduced to her via the movie, that sounds too old, but I think the time line is based on the original books, but even so it’s not that far off as the first move came out TWELVE YEARS AGO.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Overview:

As stated above, we’re visiting Bridget over a decade down the road, and four years after Mark has died, leaving her a widow with a young son and a three-month-old daughter. I noticed this comment when Pajiba originally reported the news, from Sara_Tonin00 “There’s a decent romcom to be made about a young widow trying to figure out how to date again – but I don’t think it’s about Bridget Jones.” To that person I would say this works better than I thought it would, but that’s not to say that it’s groundbreaking or earth shattering. It’s a pleasant book, and to me it strikes true to the Bridget we’ve gotten to know in the first couple of books: still self-centered but not much more so than most folks seem to be these days.

The high points:

She doesn’t utterly forget about her children; they aren’t like Emma in “Friends,” they serve more than just a plot twist every few chapters. In fact I actually came to care for them. They aren’t angels but they aren’t devils; I don’t have children of my own but my experience with my nieces seems to fit. And while the children certainly feature in the book, Bridget still has experiences that aren’t entirely about them.

I also think that Ms. Fielding does a good job (as far as I can say, not having experienced the death of a spouse) of capturing how, as time passes, sure the grief isn’t top of mind all the time, but it’s there, and can pop up as easily at a mundane event as during the holidays. I think it made sense to set the book well after the death so it’s not so much about getting through every day but instead about getting through life and what Bridget wants it to include since it can no longer include Mark.

Most of the same folks figure in this book, so it’s fun to see how the past few years have been treating them. I especially enjoyed catching up with Daniel, who surprisingly does make an appearance. The writing was also pretty good – I started on Monday night (the benefit of being on the west coast – it came through on my Kindle just after 9PM) and finished up Thursday at lunch, and it only took that long because I had a bunch of stuff to do on Tuesday and Wednesday evening. I am traveling this week and wish I had saved it because I know it would have made the flight go faster.

The low points:

Yes, the book now incorporates Twitter and OK Cupid (woo, up to the minute technology!) but so much of it seems like a retread of the previous books. Obviously there are only so many different ways to talk about searching for love but, without spoiling anything, a lot of the book seems VERY familiar, and I was able to (accurately) imagine the last page of the book a few chapters in.

There’s also a storyline about her being fat, and I get that Ms. Fielding was looking for a total transformation / look what’s happened but COME ON. That’s a pretty lazy writing device, and also offensive to anyone who is, well, fat, because fat is a substitute here for letting everything go. Fat isn’t bad, isn’t even necessarily unhealthy, and the fact that once she decides to lose it the method she picks just .. works? Not realistic. It’s obnoxious and I would hope Ms. Fielding was better than that.

Also the Twitter component seems a little OOH! Look at the older folks and the hip new technology! It eventually serves a purpose but I did start giggling because it seemed like the start of a bad SNL sketch more than a plot component.

Suggestions:

If you enjoyed the first two books (or the first move – let’s all just pretend that second movie never happened, shall we?), I think you’ll be able to get past the whole no more Mark component and enjoy checking in with Bridget. It’s not a feminist tome, and I doubt that any women who have lost their husbands will be looking to it as a guide, but it’s a fun quick read.

Monday

14

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

Warm Bodies

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three stars

marion_warmbodies

I know it might be blasphemy to admit this, but here goes: I’m not really into zombies. I have no desire to watch The Walking Dead (and have muted all related hashtags on Twitter); no interest in World War Z. I did see Shawn of the Dead about two years ago and I recall laughing very loudly at Zombieland. But that’s it for me.

I say this all because the reason I ended up reading Warm Bodies is because I saw the movie. It was available on Redbox, my husband and I wanted to watch something, and we both thought we’d remembered someone saying it was cute and different from standard zombie fare. And that generic someone was correct: the movie was adorable. So adorable that we ended up watching all the extras, including one where they speak with the author of the book. If I’m remembering correctly, the book was actually written to fulfill an option placed on a short story Mr. Marion had written, and which a film director had picked up. That sounded kind of interesting, so I decided to read the book.

The book is a quick read – it’s not short, but the action moves at a nice clip. If you’re familiar with the film, you’ll recognize most of what’s in the book, although there are some differences. Based loosely on Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies follows the life (or “life”) of R., a zombie who has a very rich inner monologue. He lives in an airplane at the airport (flight has stopped long ago), goes out hunting with his fellow zombies, and even has a zombie wife. Until he runs into Julie and her friends, regular humans out on a scavenging mission from their home, an old sports stadium. Julie gets caught up with the zombies in R.’s hunting group, and R. saves her, taking her back with him to the airport and hiding her from the other zombies who just smell the life in her.

While the book certainly has some connection to the star-crossed lovers concept of Romeo and Juliet (I mean, how much more star-crossed can you get when one of you is, you know, dead), I enjoyed it more for its exploration of what being a zombie means. Why DO they eat brains? What happens when they do? Do they have any feelings? Can they be helped? What does that mean for the regular, living humans? As I said, I’ve never really cared for zombies once they are seen as this threat to the humans, but the back story? The view from their eyes? That’s pretty cool indeed.

Sunday

13

October 2013

2

COMMENTS

Obligatory Post on the GOP Government Shutdown

Written by , Posted in Politics

I work for the government, and have for seven of my 10 years in the full-time world of work. I don’t always enjoy the day-to-day tasks, but I love the fact that I’m in public service. Sure, some days there is a inexplicably intricate bureaucracy I have to jump through to do something like accurately complete a time sheet, and there are rules that sometimes mean we have to take the lowest bid as opposed to the best for the job, but the reality is that we get to do work with the public, not the profiteers, in mind.

Now, I’m not of the mind that we should go full-scale socialist and eliminate the private sector. I think it’d be pretty challenging for me to argue that the government should be in charge of creating, say, video games. But for the things the government already has a hand in? I think it mostly makes sense, which is one reason why I’ve been so frustrated during this government shutdown when I see pundits or even journalists talking about how so little of what the government does is truly essential. The argument is, if we could furlough 800,000 employees, is what they do *really* that important?

Yes. Good grief, yes. Federal funding and federal employees are essential to so much of the work in this country. And from my perspective, that isn’t an issue of the government being too involved in our lives; it’s an example of all the amazing ways the government does things that no one else can do as well, for myriad reasons. It isn’t just about the people you see, like the disease investigators at the CDC. It’s about all the people who make it possible for those epidemiologists to do their work

For CDC staff to function, we need folks to help with training. We need equipment – HAZMAT suits, microscopes, lab equipment. The government doesn’t make those things, but we do buy them. We keep the private sector churning those things out. And someone needs to enter into contracts with them. Someone needs to make sure that those private sector companies don’t screw over the taxpayers. And the people doing that? Also government employees.

My own position is funded by federal grants, although I have not been furloughed. I spend my days writing plans that I hope we’ll never need to use, and, during winter storms and disease outbreaks, I work even longer hours to respond to issues in the health care sector. You may not know that my job exists, but if you ever lose a loved on in a mass fatality, or live through the next earthquake here, you’ll be glad it does. And while not everyone I work with writes the plans, everyone has a role to play, and those roles are essential to getting the work done.

My point with all of this is that all of these government workers are all essential.* When you eat that burger, you’re already taking a big risk, because inspectors are woefully underfunded and understaffed. Furlough some of those inspectors, or the people who track the data from across the country showing people are getting sick, and you’re putting yourself at even greater risk.

For the purposes of the government shutdown, those who are considered essential are basically doing work that can’t go more than a day without happening. These are often positions that are staffed around the clock, or at least have a duty officer (someone to take calls) 24/7. Think health, medical, safety. People who perform tasks that can mean life or death. The other employees, classified as “non-essential”, aren’t superfluous; that classification simply means that a day might be able to pass without them coming to work. Think building permits. You need one eventually to keep horrible, unsafe, cheap buildings going up all over town, but in the middle of a snowstorm it might be okay for that service to wait for a day or two before you devote resources to starting that office back up. This type of demarcation is really useful when you are facing limited resources or personnel, especially after a disaster. If some areas can wait, you can redirect their personnel to other places for the first few days before more people can return to work.

So, as the GOP continues to hold the government workers, those who receive any sort of government service (i.e. everyone), and our economy hostage because they hate the idea of poor people accessing health care, keep in mind that those government workers that pundits are just fine with furloughing are performing real work that has a real, positive impact on your daily life, even if you can’t see them.

*for the most part; I’m sure like any other sector  there are some incompetent employees; that’s not unique to government work.

 

 

Friday

11

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Written by , Posted in Reviews

4 Stars

packingformars

This is my second Mary Roach book of this Cannonball read, and the fact that it popped into my queue right now is perfect, because Gravity is out and I cannot wait to see it.

I was excited to read this because when I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut. Not enough to get into the physics and astronomy track in college, or enlist in the air force, or really do anything to actively pursue that career path, but enough that to this day I still think that if I win the lottery I plan to squirrel away a chunk of the change to pay my way into space (after donating the vast majority of it to charity, of course.)

The premise is not just exploring space travel, but specifically extended space travel. Ms. Roach does a great job of weaving in the history of space travel through specific areas from eating space food to … eliminating said food. There are so many wonderful facts, great footnotes and just fun stories. She gets to ride the vomit comet (i.e. the parabolic flight), interview groundbreaking (atmosphere-busting?) astronauts, scientists and others.

The book is especially interesting because it doesn’t sugar-coat anything about space travel. I didn’t realize, for example, that some of the early space flights involved two dudes hanging out in a capsule for two weeks, no ability to wash or really take care of any personal hygiene needs. Or how much fecal matter can end up floating around in the space shuttle, and how much research and development had to go into creating a toilet, or how much effort goes into creating food that allows for a little more time between … evacuations.

Along the way of telling the story of all the challenges that are increased on a long space trip, Ms. Roach drops great little bits of knowledge. For example, she explains how the flag on the moon looked like it was blowing in the wind even though there isn’t wind on the moon, and talks about why people get motion sickness. There are so many awesome nuggets that it’s worth it for anyone who is into trivia.

You know the drill. It’s Mary Roach. It’s good. You’ll probably like it. Add it to the list.

Tuesday

8

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – October 8, 2013

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Alright. I’m starting to have more ideas about actual content (as opposed to news round-up) blog posts. But that means that I probably can’t keep doing round-ups on a daily basis. Since I know all of you (hi Austin!) wait for this with bated breath, I think I’m going to shift to a Wednesday or Thursday evening post with a week’s worth of articles.

But, for my last daily round-up: How Unpaid Interns Aren’t Protected Against Sexual Harassment (via @ProPublica)

– And now, for something a little different: Famous people, historical look alikes

– Reminder of what political correctness really is: Empathy

– Finally, an analogy about the shutdown: The Office Soda Machine

Monday

7

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – October 7, 2013

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Happy Monday – unless you work for the federal government, in which case I’m very sorry that the GOP continues to hold your livelihood hostage.

– Stay classy, Ole Miss: Ole Miss Football Players Disrupt Performance About Hate Crimes By Yelling Gay Slurs (via @ThinkProgress)

– This is AMAZING: If Congress Got Stuff Done Like Roommates (h/t @raniakhalek)

– HA HA: Texas Law Prompts Creation of More Abortion Clinics (And One Will be in Houston) (h/t @clinicescort)

– Ugh. LSE. Really? Atheist society harassed by student union at LSE freshers’ fair (h/t @szvan)

– I’ll be following this VERY closely: Sisters Question Police Actions in Deadly DC Chase (via @ap)

– Like, for example, this thoughtful commentary: My Lingering Disquiet Over the Capitol Hill Shooting (h/t @prisonculture)

– I don’t understand how we allow this treatment in our prisons, in our names: After 42 Years in Solitary, Herman Wallace Dies a Free Man (via @ACLU)

– Wow. Go California: California Poised to Broaden Access to Abortions

– This. So much this: Fuck “Save the Tatas” (via @scATX)

Sunday

6

October 2013

0

COMMENTS

My Time Counts

Written by , Posted in Random

The only time I’ve ever really raised my voice at work was back when I was in NYC. I was employed by the City, but funded by a federal grant. We had switched time-keeping systems, and were asked to sign off on our time sheets each week. Because I was exempt (didn’t earn overtime), I was supposed to just report the same number of hours a day (seven, usually – we worked a 35-hour week), every day, regardless of how much I really worked. Which meant that if I spent 12 hours at my desk, my time sheet still said seven hours. And we had to sign off saying something to the effect of “I affirm that these are my true hours.” One day I pointed out that every time I signed that when I had worked more than seven hours in a day, or 35 hours in a week, I was lying. The raised voices came when I pointed this out to the person responsible for time keeping and she yelled “What’s the problem? JUST SIGN IT!” to which I responded something along the lines of “WHY IS EVERYONE OKAY WITH LYING?”

In my current position, I face the same thing. Once again I work for local government, and once again I am federally funded. Every week I have to certify online that the hours I have worked, as entered into the system, are accurate. Even, again, if I’ve worked a Saturday, I’m not allowed to enter those hours. If I come in late because of a doctor’s appointment, I’m just supposed to say I worked the full day. And every time I hit the submit button, I have to click that I certify that these are the hours that I truly worked. And this isn’t some sort of ‘shhh’ work around of the system – this is the official county policy.

I don’t get why this is. I understand that we need to track our hours, as we are grant funded, and the funders want to make sure the money is going where we say it is going. What I don’t understand is why no one is interested in finding out exactly how much time we all *really* work. There’s this ridiculous idea that government employees don’t work hard. There are clearly some people who work for government – as in EVERY organization – who are lazy, and who do the bare minimum. But I promise you, there were just as many people doing the bare minimum when I worked in the private sector. So I already cringe at this notion. But the fact there is a way to measure at least the time we put in – why, if we’re already required to track our hours, are we not allowed to track ALL of our hours? If it’s a flaw in the software system (we use a popular one that is made by the private sector, and used in many offices), I have to say build a better system. Build a system that recognizes how many hours we are to work each two-week pay period, and allow us to actually enter it all. It shouldn’t be hard, and it would allow me to not cringe every two weeks when I hit submit on the computer screen knowing that those 80 hours? Not the time I’m putting in. And it would allow us to see that maybe there’s more work to be done than hours to do it in, so we could make arguments for more positions, or changes in work load. Those hours could be classed as ‘unfunded,’ and we could show grantors that not only are they getting their money’s worth, they’re getting a lot more than that. And we could show the public at least one (admittedly small) measure of what we do.