ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Daily Archive: 24/09/2017

Sunday

24

September 2017

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COMMENTS

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for: Someone looking for a quick read that has only a marginally absurd premise

In a nutshell: Journalist Cannie Shapiro deals with many different issues, kicked off by the fact that her ex is writing a magazine column about her.

Line that sticks with me: Nothing stood out enough to underline.

Why I chose it: I became aware of Ms. Weiner because of the chapter about her in Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud and thought it’d be fun to check out her work. Starting with her first book.

Review:
There is so much to enjoy about this book, and one storyline that dropped the rating for me. I’ll talk about what I loved first (mild spoilers below).

I’m 6 feet tall and technically overweight (per BMI, which I know is bullshit, but whatever). I’ve never purchased a button-down shirt that I can actually get to close across my bust. What I’m saying is, as far as her feelings about her appearance go, I could certainly relate to Ms. Shapiro. The scene in the weight loss clinic was so wonderfully written that I was practically cheering when the nutritionist went running.

I also enjoyed the bit of fantasy fulfillment that occurs in her relationship with the movie start Maxi Ryder. Maxi is such a sweet person who becomes a true friend to Cannie, that I was fine with some of the more absurd things that happened as a result of that friendship.

I also enjoyed that Cannie was a strong women in her work life. She wrote the stories she wanted, she didn’t take shit when she was brushed off, and she managed to write a screenplay that gets picked up. And I appreciated that she was complicated – just because she was able to get shit done at work didn’t mean she had everything else worked out.

But what I didn’t like was how she spoke of her mother’s relationship with her mother’s partner, Tanya. I get that other reviewers have thought that it was more about Cannie being upset the loss of her old life, but it was so heavy-handed that I found Cannie to be quite homophobic. Especially when she dismisses her (then) boyfriend’s comments about how it’s not cool to be responding this way as being too “PC.” I’ve mentioned before that I have zero tolerance for people who use the term “PC” as an insult. I’m not sure if Ms. Shapiro was trying to be edgy, or didn’t know quite how to give Cannie a personality flaw so she would be more complex, but making her homophobic (and repeatedly revisiting that) was a hugely off-putting.

I don’t think Ms. Shapiro meant that, and I’ll look to see if she’s addressed it in other interviews or essays. If not, then I’m probably done with her work. If so, then I might check out another book of hers.

Sunday

24

September 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – September 24, 2017

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

One way to help support those impacted by Hurricane Maria: Hispanic Federation

Horrific Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Actions

“But it’s not hard to find more information about the estimated impact of the substance of the legislation. The bill has come under fire from a diverse array of critics, including top medical associations, insurance lobbyists, governors across the country, the bipartisan Medicaid directors from all 50 states, and Jimmy Kimmel. And a number of outside analyses have outlined the likely effects should Graham-Cassidy be signed into law.” The White House didn’t do its homework on Trumpcare, so we did it for them (by Addy Baird for Think Progress)

“The secretary’s five flights, which were scheduled between Sept. 13 and Sept. 15, took him to a resort in Maine where he participated in a Q&A discussion with a health care industry CEO, and to community health centers in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, according to internal HHS documents. The travel by corporate-style jet comes at a time when other members of the Trump administration are under fire for travel expenditures, and breaks with the practices of Obama-era secretaries Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Kathleen Sebelius, who flew commercially while in the continental United States.” Price’s private-jet travel breaks precedent (by Dan Diamond and Rachana Pradhan for Politico)

“When asked by Wallace if the president regrets “opening the racial wounds started after Charlottesville,” Short said he doesn’t think the president has done so. He said that high school coaches across America are getting punished and disciplined for leading their players in prayer, while NFL players who take the knee rather than stand for the anthem are honored as martyrs in the media.” White House officials say NFL players should shut up: ‘They can do free speech on their own time’ (by Jedd Legum for Think Progress)

Disaster Response

“The devastation that Maria exacted on Puerto Rico’s aging and grossly neglected electricity system when it slammed ashore as a Category 4 storm two days ago is unprecedented — not just for the island but for all of the U.S. One hundred percent of the system run by the Puerto Rico Power Authority is offline, because Maria damaged every part of it. The territory is facing weeks, if not months, without service as utility workers repair power plants and lines that were already falling apart.” A Storm’s Never Destroyed a Grid Like Maria Ruined Puerto Rico’s (by Naureen S. Malik and Jonathan Levin for Bloomberg)

“In response to CBS4’s request for copies of the voicemails, a spokeswoman with the governor’s office, wrote in an email: “The voicemails were not retained because the information from each voicemail was collected by the Governor’s staff and given to the proper agency for handling.” The Governor has cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding for the nursing home and suspended its license. The Governor’s actions, however, have also come under scrutiny.” Nursing Home Voicemail to Governor Deleted (by Jim DeFede for CBS)

Police Violence

“She had been feeling the impact of policing on every moment of her life since July 6, the day an officer pulled over her boyfriend, Philando Castile, in the suburb of Falcon Heights for at least his 46th minor traffic stop in the past 13 years. “Again?” Diamond remembered saying to Castile that day, as the officer asked to see his license and registration. Castile, 32, reached down toward his waistband, where he kept not only his wallet but also a gun that he was licensed to carry. The officer shot him four times, and then Diamond took out her phone to record, just as she had done during a few of Castile’s other traffic stops. “Stay with me,” she told her boyfriend, as blood spread across his white T-shirt and she started to live-stream on Facebook.” For Diamond Reynolds, trying to move past 10 tragic minutes of video (by Eli Saslow for Washington Post)

Conference

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Seattle Death Salon. This is a Storify of the events of the weekend. Enjoy!