ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: July 2017

Sunday

30

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – July 30, 2017

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Fight Back

“Hirono said her colleagues on both sides of the aisle sent her comforting notes after her diagnosis about their own experiences with major illnesses. “You showed me your care. You showed me your compassion. Where is that tonight?” she said as she hit her fist on the desk. “I can’t believe that a single senator in this body has not faced an illness ― or whose family member or loved one has not faced illness ― where they were so grateful they had health care.”” Sen. Mazie Hirono Holds Back Tears During Impassioned Health Care Plea (by Rebecca Shapiro for Huffpost) (Please watch the video. It’s less than five minutes long and it’s so powerful.)

“In a letter to the Seattle City Council, the ACLU urged the City to adopt clear and binding guidelines around what data smart meters collect, who accesses the data, what the data can and cannot be used for, and what informed consent must be given before the meters are deployed. The ACLU points out that the option to opt-out offered by the City currently is inadequate, meaningless, and expensive. Under the City’s plan, third parties will be accessing this sensitive data, and those third parties should be bound not to sell the data or use it for unrelated purposes.” Seattle’s Smart Meter Project Lacks Protections for Privacy (ACLU)

Horrific Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Actions

“If this bill were to become law, trans people would have no legal protections from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, or health care. That’s really scary. Because while, in theory, Congress could just go, “Okay, sure, let’s amend each of our various civil rights bills to explicitly protect LGBTQ people,” they won’t (see: my bit above about the struggles Democrats have had trying to pass ENDA/the Equality Act — it’s just not a current political reality).” What you should know about that really nasty anti-trans bill in Congress. (by Parker Molloy for Medium)

“Indeed, in the last six months, Kelly has turned the DHS into one of the most productive arms of the Trump administration. Kelly managed to translate much of Trump’s brazen anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric into actual policy. And if the numbers are any indication, Kelly has certainly flourished. Arrests since Trump took office in February increased by 40 percent over the prior year. But perhaps more important than the numbers is Kelly’s impact on immigrant communities, where apprehension and fear now reign.” John Kelly’s Promotion Is a Disaster for Immigrants (by Julianne Hing for The Nation)

Reproductive Health

“The measure would allow abortion in cases of rape, if the mother’s life was at risk or if the foetus would not survive the pregnancy. Currently, women can be prosecuted if they have an abortion. The bill, which has the backing of President Michelle Bachelet, will now go back to the Chamber of Deputies for approval.” Chile moves towards legalising abortion in limited cases (BBC)

Transphobia

“Two of the clinics found to be violating city law have religious affiliations. The Addicts Rehabilitation Center was founded by a church, operates a gospel choir as one of its programs, and is currently run by Rev. Reginald Williams, a baptist preacher. The Center’s splash page proclaims, “We believe that if you discover the wonderful person the Creator has given to you, that nothing in this life can stop you from reaching your fullest potential.” The Salvation Army is itself a church with a long history of discriminating against LGBTQ people. While that history has mostly focused on its rejection of homosexuality, a Salvation Army-run homeless shelter in Texas was also accused of anti-transgender discrimination in 2014. Their public relations campaign to improve their LGBTQ image has rung rather hollow.” Salvation Army among New York City drug clinics rejecting transgender people (by Zack Ford for Think Progress)

Racism

“In the week since HBO’s July 19 announcement, concern — led by black activists, writers and other thought leaders — has mounted over the project’s premise and the pedigrees of its creators. At the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday, HBO programming president Casey Bloys expressed hope that viewers would “judge the actual material versus what it might be.” But while many of the industry’s screenwriters and critics have been hesitant to (publicly) weigh in based on the high concept alone, the nascent series already is facing a number of challenging issues. “What makes the premise fundamentally problematic is that it threatens to erase the actual history,” activist and artist Bree Newsome, who made headlines in 2015 when she was arrested for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse, tells The Hollywood Reporter.” HBO’s Slavery Drama ‘Confederate’ Faces Minefield of “Fundamentally Problematic” Issues (by Rebecca Sun for The Hollywood Reporter)

Criminal Punishment System

“President Donald Trump gave a speech at a Long Island community college on Friday during which he encouraged the use of violence. Turns out the audience was comprised of officers in a police department that has been scrutinized for racial profiling, and whose former chief was recently sentenced to prison for beating a man. The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) has been under federal oversight by the US Department of Justice since 2013, following a two-year investigation into allegations of discrimination against Latinos and immigrants. Nearly 20 percent of the county’s 1.5 million residents are Latino.” The Police Department Cheering On Trump’s Call for Excessive Force Is Already Under Federal Oversight for Discrimination (by Brandon Ellington Patterson for Mother Jones)

“Around midnight on July 16, a cop—whether local, state, or federal was unclear—apparently posing as an Uber driver arrested a man near the intersection of Havemeyer Avenue and South 2nd Street in Williamsburg. The suspect was cuffed before being placed in the back of a car bearing the ride-sharing company’s insignia, according to a colleague of mine who witnessed the arrest and provided the photo. At first blush, this certainly seems odd—or “unusual,” as Jacqueline Ross, a law professor at the University of Illinois who’s studied police practices across the globe, put it. She said it’s more typical for cops to go undercover as an employee of a made-up business, though there’s no law she is aware of preventing an officer from posing as someone who works for an established—a.k.a. real—private entity.” Are Cops Posing as Uber Drivers Now? (by Allie Conti for Vice)

Sports

“John Urschel, an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens who received much publicity for his off-season pursuit of a doctorate in math at M.I.T., told the team on Thursday that he was hanging up his cleats at 26. Urschel’s agent, Jim Ivler, said Urschel was overwhelmed with interview requests but would not be speaking to the news media. On Twitter, Urschel wrote that “there is no big story here” and that the decision to retire was not an easy one to make, but “it was the right one for me.”” For Ravens’ John Urschel, Playing in the N.F.L. No Longer Adds Up (by Ken Belson for New York Times)

“The NFL reportedly objected to the fact that Dr. Robert Stern, the director of clinical research at the BU CTE Center, was leading the study, because he has always been very publicly critical of how the NFL has handled concussions. Outside the Lines found that the NFL instead steered its funds to doctors who currently or previously worked closely with the league. (The NIH ended up donating the funds for the study by itself; the NFL denied that it ever attempted to restrict the NIH funds.)” NFL ends concussion research partnership $16 million short of $30 million commitment (by Lindsay Gibbs for Think Progress)

Something Good

Saturday

29

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

The Hypnotist’s Love Story

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Four Stars

Best for: Someone who wants a quick read with some interesting explorations of loss.

In a nutshell: Ellen (they hypnotist) has just started a relationship with Patrick. Patrick’s wife died seven years ago, when their son was only a year old. Saskia was Patrick’s first relationship after his wife died, and after they broke up, Saskia began to stalk Patrick. It continues.

Line that sticks with me: “You weren’t meant to admit, even to yourself, how badly you wanted love. The man was meant to be the icing, not the cake.”

Why I chose it: I’d downloaded it during my Liane Moriarty phase two years ago but never got around to reading it. But I was just on a cruise, so it was perfect.

Review:
This book reminds me a bit of “What Alice Forgot” in that it doesn’t quite follow what I now consider the Liane Moriarty formula: two or three interweaving story lines told out of order with a great mystery revealed. This has elements of it, but felt fresh to me.

I enjoyed the storytelling and the elements of mystery – some characters pop up unexpectedly – but the main plot felt a bit deeper than one might expect from a beach read (which is where I think her books often end up). Saskia is a stalker, and in general I wouldn’t be interested in their perspective. And she is not made out to be any sort of victim, but as the story progresses, I think we start to recognize that her motivation is more complicated. But that said … if the genders were reversed, I’m not sure if I would feel as much empathy for Saskia as I found myself feeling. And regardless of the amount, is it odd to feel any at all?

The book also looks at how we view losses differently when it comes to an unwanted break-up versus a death. We all carry bits of previous relationships, but when someone leaves us through death, they can become canonized. And the next person who dates the one left behind is there because the previous person isn’t. How do you handle that? How long ‘should’ one grieve a death? And is there a particular reason why we allow for more grief over a death than over the end of a long-term relationship? Is it reasonable to expect someone to get over being left in a few weeks when they thought they had a life with someone? And how can their grief be directed in a healthy way. Moreover, how does it all change when there are kids involved?

I enjoyed this book a lot. The ending was satisfying to me, although I could have seen it ending differently and also being enjoyable.

Saturday

29

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

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Five Stars

Best for: People who like good, intense writing and want a bit more insight into slavery in the U.S.

In a nutshell: Cora escapes the plantation she is enslaved on and faces more challenges and danger.

Line that sticks with me: “Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren’t looking, alluring and ever out of reach.”

Why I chose it: It’s been on my shelf for a few months; my visiting brother-in-law suggested it was a good book to bring on our family vacation last week.

Review:
Colson Whitehead is a talented writer. He tells a compelling story about a brutal time in U.S. history, weaving in components that aren’t necessarily accurate from a time perspective but that still happened. He doesn’t pull any punches with the horrors of life as a slave and punishment of slaves, but this book doesn’t feel like torture porn. It is graphic but not voyeuristic.

The story itself is fascinating. Mr. Whitehead follows Cora but also tells some of the story of her grandmother and mother, as well as of the people she encounters along the way. We never sympathize with slave owners, but Mr. Whitehead also allows them to be more than just caricatures with twirling mustaches. But what’s better, he allows for the people helping out on the underground railroad (which, in this telling, is an actual railway that is buried underground) to be less than saintly. I also appreciate that the individuals in this book are fully developed and provided with things to do that aren’t just in service of the main character.

Cora, however, is a remarkable woman. She is conflicted. She is brave, but not reckless. She thinks things through. She is skeptical (rightfully) of others. She doesn’t start out totally naive, but Mr. Whitehead draws her out so that she matures in her understanding of the motivations of others. She wants to survive, and she wants to believe that perhaps better things can happen for her.

I’m happy that this book moved up to the top of my to be read list; if you have it on yours but haven’t picked it up yet, I promise you won’t be disappointed if you start it today.

Sunday

16

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – July 16, 2017

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Fight Back

“But Nikkita has run a surprising campaign in spite of the lack of respect from mainstream press. Her campaign launch party had lines around the block as hundreds of Seattleites of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and classes showed up excited for a truly progressive candidate. Her supporters are strong and growing. It has been a tough race, but Nikkita is not giving up.” When A Changemaker Runs For Mayor: An Interview With Nikkita Oliver (by Ijeoma Oluo for The Establishment)

“The action began at North Seattle College where community members gathered with their signs, flowers, and sacred items to prepare and discuss the agenda for the day. Before marching, participants gathered for a prayer lead by Sweetwater Nannauck of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes of Southeast Alaska. From there marchers, led by a banner made by Nannuack that read “Justice 4 Charleena #SheCalledForHelp #TheyShotHer,” marched to the North Precinct and created an altar in honor of Charleena Lyles and all the people killed by the police in King County. A protective shield from possible violence by the police or aggressors was formed, mostly by White allies who linked arms and surrounded the queer, transgender, bisexual, people of color (QTBIPOC) creating the altar.” No Justice? No Celebration. Community Members Participate in Direct Action at SPD Community Picnic (by DJ Martinez for South Sound Emerald)

Horrific Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Action

“The elimination of two years of funding for the five-year projects shocked the professors and community health officials around the country who run them. Health officials say cutting off money midway through multiyear research projects is highly unusual and wasteful because it means there can be no scientifically valid findings. The researchers will not have the funds to analyze data they have spent the past two years collecting or incorporate their findings into assistance for teens and their families.” Trump administration suddenly pulls plug on teen pregnancy programs (by  Jane Kay for Reveal)

“The drop in turnout in these six states led to 400,000 fewer votes relative to turnout in states where ID laws did not change. In Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, strict voter-ID laws had an especially pronounced negative impact on African-American voters.”  Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 (Trump Won by 22,748) (by Ari Berman for The Nation)

Racism

“This rhetoric is yet another example of how white men are constantly and conveniently positioned as children whenever they mess up. We’ve seen it with Ryan Lochte, and even more recently with former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Grown men, given the benefit of the doubt in situations where others would most certainly be dragged. Yes, Trump Jr. is experiencing his fair share of (deserved) scrutiny over this incident, but the very fact that people including the president of the United States are defending him by using the word “kid” is still incredibly significant.” Can We Stop Calling Grown White Men ‘Kids’? (by Zeba Blay for Huffington Post)

Police Violence

“Lyles told the court Camphor had been violent for at least four years out of the eight years they had been together and was known to punch holes in walls, even hitting her while she was pregnant. “I feel so scared for my safety, and I just got out of the hospital from having our 6-days-old baby boy, and I had a c-section. I think he ripped my stitches open,” she wrote in her June 2nd petition for an order for protection. She ended by noting that she “didn’t see him changing.” She asked the court for help.” Who was Charleena Lyles? Family, court records paint picture (by Lilly Fowler for Crosscut)

“Data from 2017 show that armed white males are the category of people killed the most by police officers, a continuing trend over the past two years. However, black males are killed at disproportionately higher rates. While black men account for only 6% of the U.S. population, they make up about a quarter of police shooting victims. According to Mapping Police Violence, a database that tracks the number of black people killed by police officers, blacks are three times more likely to be fatally shot by officers than white people. The Post’s police shooting database shows that the number of black men killed by police has been declining — 50 were killed in the first half of 2015, 34 in the same period in 2016 and 27 so far this year.” Learn The Stomach-Turning Numbers Behind America’s Police Violence (by Celisa Calacal for The Establishment)

Health Care

“The case for doctor-assisted suicide — or “aid in dying,” as it is sometimes referred to— is perhaps most convincing when applied to those who are terminally ill. But the choice to end one’s life is decidedly more fraught in other situations.
Sandra Bem, a prominent feminist and professor at Cornell University, made the news with her own suicide in 2014. She wasn’t terminally ill in accordance with the general standards of current right-to-die legislation, but she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She wrote extensively about her wish to end her own life before she lost the ability to decide for herself.” Who Decides Who Gets To Die With Dignity? (by Katelyn Burns for The Establishment)

Misogyny

“The iconic pin-up artist Gil Elvgren, for example, often slimmed his subjects’ waists and expanded their chests and hips to conform to a 1950s hourglass silhouette. Before now, casual mainstream consumers had no way of knowing the lengths he went to to preserve this exclusive view of feminine sensuality, but a new series of photographs released by Nerve.com showcases the real-life models behind the famous images. These charming snapshots, when transformed into marketing images, are indeed snipped and sculpted to unrealistic and cartoonish shapes. Of course that’s the artist’s personal aesthetic, but we should nonetheless consume media, especially ad images, with a critical eye. Take a look.” The Real Women Behind Your Favorite Pin-Ups Looked A Little Less Photoshopped (by Brenda Pitt for Bust)

“The league’s salary cap is $315,000. What this means is that if one person out of the NWSL minimum 18-player club makes $41,700 for the season, there will be $273,300 left to pay the other 17 players on the team or about $16,076 per player for the season. That’s the league minimum of $15,000 plus an equal portion of what remains of the cap ($1,076). It would be nearly impossible for any club in the league to keep 17 players around at $16,076 while a single player on their roster is making $41,700. Not when salaries can’t happen in a vacuum.” The NWSL Salary Maximum Is A Lie (by RJ Allen for Backline Soccer)

Something Fun

Saturday

15

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith

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Four Stars

Best for: People unsure about poetry but looking for a way in.

In a nutshell: Collection of poems about life. Not just on mars.

Line that sticks with me:
“I didn’t want to believe
What we believe in those rooms:

That we are blessed, letting go,
Letting someone, anyone,

Drag open the drapes and heave us
Back into our blinding, bring lives.”

Why I chose it: There’s a poetry square on the summer reading BINGO I’m playing, and I figured, why not start with something from our nation’s Poet Laureate?

Review: As I mentioned in the title, I don’t believe that I’ve read any poetry since high school. This slim collection seemed manageable, plus I loved the cover.

Having read it, I’m sure that I’m missing some layers of meaning, but even with that acknowledgment, I can still say that I enjoyed this collection. I can see myself going back to it in the future, re-reading some of the poems.

The poem “They May Love All That He Has Chosen and Hate All That He Has Rejected” was especially powerful, as Ms. Smith explores some particularly hate-filled murders (hopefully you know what I mean by that), including that of abortion provider George Tiller. In one section of it, she has the murdered writing postcards to their killers. It’s powerful.

I’m not sure how much more poetry I’ll choose to read. In my city we have a poetry bookstore, so I might go in later this year and see if they have suggestions on more poems, and also on ways to really understand and read them.

Friday

14

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

There Is No Good Card For This by Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell

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Four Stars

Best for: Those who have friends or family going through a rough time, or who someday will have friends or family going through a rough time (so, all of us).

In a nutshell: Dr. Crowe and Ms. McDowell provide practical ways to be there for the people you care about when they are experiencing the worst.

Line that sticks with me: “Just because you have experienced the same thing as someone else does not mean you know how they feel.”

Why I chose it: Two reasons: I write my own modern etiquette blog, and I get a lot of questions on this topic; and I’ve had a lot of friends go through some really rough times lately and want to get better at being there for them.

Review: What a great idea for a book! It’s easy to read, full of practical advice, reassuring stories, and serious examples that show how you can go wrong and how you can do better.

But it isn’t about shaming your efforts or instilling the fear that you’ll say the wrong thing. In fact, from the very beginning, the authors are clear that while yes, it is possible that you’ll screw up (and they go into detail in the last section, with example and language to avoid), you really need to set that fear aside and just do what you can.

I think probably the most helpful bit is the “Empathy Menu.” It’s basically four pages of different roles you can take on to be supportive. I appreciate it because the point is to focus on what you’re good at being able to offer, as opposed to trying to do something that ultimately won’t work. Don’t offer to cook if you can’t or don’t have time. It’s okay to be the person who can provide child care but not the person who can put together a great playlist for them to listen to while undergoing a medical procedure.

It is inevitable that people we love (as well as ourselves) will experience something awful at some point in their lives. I suggest taking a day or two to read this so you’re prepared, and then keep it on the shelf so you can refer to it when you just aren’t sure what you can do for your friend or family member.

Thursday

13

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Five Stars

Best for: People interested in great writing on race, especially writing that gives perspective on race that isn’t US-centric.

In a nutshell: Ms. Eddo-Lodge explores the history of racism in Britain and looks at ways to address it today.

Line that sticks with me: “Being in a position where their lives are so comfortable that they don’t really have anything material to oppose, faux ‘free speech’ defenders spend all their spare time railing against ‘offense culture.’” (p133)

Why I chose it: I follow Ms. Eddo-Lodge on Twitter and find her work to be insightful and interesting.

Review: This book was released last month in the UK; I ordered it on Amazon to be able to read it before its official US release in December. And I’m so glad I did, because it is a fantastic book that I think US readers can really learn from. Ms Eddo-Lodge weaves her own experiences in with a thoughtful analysis of the difference aspects of racism, including strong chapters devoted to the intersections of racism and sexism as well as racism and class.

The book is broken down into seven chapters, each of which could stand alone as its own but also fits in and builds upon the others. The first chapter focuses on the history of race and racism in Britain. Those of us familiar with Brexit and the rise of white nationalism in the UK (not to mention its imperialist history) will not be surprised by some of this. At the same time as someone raised in the US it was interesting to read the perspective of a British person. Specifically, the idea that the US tends to take up so much of the discussion world-wide about racism, which can leave other countries thinking that they don’t necessarily have it within their own borders.

I found two chapters to be especially resonant. “Fear of the Black Planet” talks about the deeply held fear of white nationalists that they are losing ‘their’ country to people of color, and that they need to fight this. Because of libel laws in the UK, Ms. Eddo-Lodge had to offer Nick Griffin, a white nationalist, a chance to respond to some comments, so part of this section is a transcript of their interview. It is fascinating in that Mr. Griffin digs his own hole, as it were. Not to him I’m sure, but I think that anyone just reading his responses to Ms. Eddo-Lodge’s thoughtful questions will recognize how utterly wrong he is about race and what makes a country and its people.

The other chapter is the one on feminism, where she delves into the concept of white feminism. I think we’ve seen a lot of that in the US lately as well, and she offers up a strong and straightforward way of explaining it: “It’s not about women, who are feminists, who are white. It’s about women espousing feminist politics as they buy into the politics of whiteness, which at its core are exclusionary, discriminatory and structurally racist.”

If you are in the UK, Australia or New Zealand, I strongly recommend you go buy this at your local bookstore. If you are in another country, you might be able to order it online through Amazon. If you have a tall to-be-read pile at home, please place a request with your local library and bookstores that they be sure to carry this when it is released in December.

Monday

10

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle

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Two Stars

Best for: People looking for a quick read and a couple of helpful tips.

In a nutshell: Mr. Coyle provides 52 tips to help you get better at something. Anything.

Line that sticks with me: “But in the talent hotbeds I visited, practice was the big game, the center of their world, the main focus of their daily lives.” (p 39)

Why I chose it: As part of that whole summer reading BINGO thing our public library is doing, one square is ‘recommended by an independent bookseller.’ Also, I like to learn things.

Review: Hmm. There are 52 tips, which I suppose is meant to correlate to weeks in the year, but the book isn’t laid out like that. Instead, each tip ranges from a paragraph to a few pages, grouped by getting started, getting better, and keeping it up.

Some of the tips were helpful and familiar. The one I mention above, about practice, reminds me of the book by Commander Hayden (astronaut). Since they might never go to space, they have to treat preparation as the real thing. That’s what matters.

Other tips run contrary to ones I’ve learned before, especially about writing. One is to “never mistake activity for accomplishment.” Which, yikes. Like, the fact that I write every single day — haven’t missed a day since March (that includes when I had food poisoning), when I started that — is a fucking accomplishment. That activity is making me a better writer.

The tips are meant to be universal but, as mentioned above, I don’t think they are always applicable. And while the title is certainly true — this is a little book — I think it could have been a series of blog posts, or perhaps included in some sort of habit app. Not sure it warranted this fancy binding and shiny cover.

Sunday

9

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – July 9, 2017

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Racism

“Last week, Variety reported that Kim and his co-star Grace Park would be departing the CBS procedural ahead of its eighth season, due to a dispute with CBS Television Studios to reach pay equality with co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. Insiders said Kim and Park’s final offer from the studio was 10-15% less than O’Loughlin and Caan, who each also each have lucrative back end deals on the show. Since the announcement of the duo’s departure, fans have been critical of CBS’s failure to reach parity with the series’ two Asian actors, while keeping two Caucasian stars on the show. The social media chatter comes after critics have targeted CBS for its lack of diverse leading roles for women and actors of color, in comparison to the other broadcast networks.” Daniel Dae Kim Breaks Silence After ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Pay Dispute: ‘The Path to Equality Is Rarely Easy’ (by Elizabeth Wagmeister for Variety)

Misogyny

“However, it soon became apparent that this promising start would not last for long. For my first few pull requests, I was getting feedback from literally dozens of engineers (all of whom were male) on other teams, nitpicking the code I had written. One PR actually had over 200 comments from 24 different individuals. It got to the point where the VP of engineering had to intervene to get people to back off. I thought that maybe because I was a well-known Rubyist, other engineers were particularly interested in seeing the kind of code I was writing. So I asked Aaron Patterson, another famous Rubyist who had started at GitHub at the same time as I did, if he was experiencing a lot of scrutiny too. He said he was not.” Antisocial Coding: My Year At GitHub (by Coraline Ada Ehmke)

Responsibility

“As a writer and a member of the founding team of a publisher—the one where you’re reading these words—committed not only to good, honest writing and journalism, but also committed to celebrating and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, the responsibility for what we publish is something I take very seriously.” When Your Words Are Weapons (by Ijeoma Olua for The Establishment)

Local Politics

“Though she envisioned her political career playing a role to help elect others, Oliver soon found herself as the candidate. In November 2016, she was part of a group of friends and clergy who travelled to Standing Rock. On the return trip, a friend died in a car accident. Oliver and a group of community organizers in central and south Seattle found themselves grieving, grappling with the election of Trump and reflecting on the injustices they’d just witnessed at Standing Rock. It was so glaringly apparent that the law and justice are not the same thing as you watched law enforcement openly protect corporations that were drilling on land that at that time, they had absolutely no permits to drill on,” she explained to Jezebel in May.” A Conversation With Nikkita Oliver, the Seattle Mayoral Candidate Whose Activism Spawned a Movement (by Kara Brown for Jezebel)

Saturday

8

July 2017

0

COMMENTS

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton

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Four Stars

Best for: People not that familiar with architecture who are interested in learning about it in a philosophical way.

In a nutshell: Author de Botton takes the reader through a lovely journey exploring how the buildings we inhabit can help fill missing pieces in our lives, and impact how we feel.

Line that sticks with me: “The buildings we admire are ultimately those which, in a variety of ways, extol values we think worthwhile.” (p 98)

Why I chose it: I bought this long ago. It’s survived multiple book purges and moves, but I finally opened it up because I’m participating in a book challenge this summer, and one of the categories is a book about art or an artist. To avoid spending all the money, I’m checking my to read pile first, and came across this gem.

Review: I don’t know much (anything?) about architecture. I know that craftsman homes are popular in my current city, and that ranch-style homes were popular where I grew up. I’ve been learning a bit reading the amazing blog McMansion Hell (which I only came across recently thanks to Zillow going after the writer, then having to back off), but I’ve not been able to put my finger on why certain styles depress the hell of me (most one-story homes; any office park a la Office Space), while others bring me joy (pretty much anything in Paris).

This book has helped me to understand a bit better where my tastes lay and why. I am certain that there are architects who would disagree, but much of Mr. de Botton’s premise is that not only does style reflect the available resources and the elements that must be kept out (a house in Phoenix is probably going to look different from a house in Finland), but also the lives we are living. The greatest example of this is when he argues that people who seek out modernist homes are looking for some order in a chaotic life outside the home, whereas those dramatic palaces built in the 1600s weren’t just a fancy show of money, but also an attempt to create beauty in a time that was pretty dangerous (I mean, think about the diseases running rampant through cities).

I feel that I learned about architecture and beauty, but I also got to enjoy some gorgeous writing. The language Mr. de Botton uses throughout is lovely, a perfect accompaniment to the many examples of different styles of home and building. It can be a bit dense at time, but I think it is worth it, especially for those interested in a more philosophical examination of our built environment.

The only reason this is a 4-star book for me is because there are so many lovely pictures in this edition but they are all in black and white, which really takes away from my ability to see the detail and understand more of why they might be examples of architecture that elevates or depresses us. If not for that, this would be a 5-star read.